- Latest favorite new-to-me word: "acoustemology" (i.e., acoustic epistemology): "a sonic way of knowing place" http://j.mp/cvoV3D #
- The sonar ping in "Early Winter (For Phill Niblock)" off Alva Noto's new For 2 album sounds eerily like The Listening Post by Hansen/Rubin. #
- Up for some quick weekend copyleft sonic activism? If you make music from existing sounds, reply to this or get me at [email protected]. #
- The restaurant I'm in admonishes against not only cellphones but also computers in the dining room. That's a first. #
- Cover art for upcoming Oval album, Oh, appears to be one of those PETA-baiting birds-on-a-guitar-wire projects by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot. #
- Saw 2 headlines, thought they were related: "Lost iPhone Prototype Spurs Police Probe" "A State With Plenty of Jobs but Few Places to Live" #
- Listening to forthcoming Oval album, titled Oh, due out June 15 from Thrill Jockey. #
- In response to print request the printer across the room revs up; its monastic hum gently reassures that the tech infrastructure is holding. #
- Location isn't everything. Tribeca Film Fest has $45 pass to 8 streaming films, plus discussions, panels & short films: http://is.gd/bEWky #
- Last week on Fringe: turntables & time travel. Tonight: out-of-phase tuning forks & universe-jumping. Like if Steve Reich played Doctor Who. #
- Last week Fringe = genius. Whoever does dissertation on Turntable as Symbol of Quantum Nostalgia in Work of JJ Abrams please send me a copy. #
- Pardon. It's the Society for the *Preservation* of San Francisco Scenery. Great art prank. Reminds me of DeLillos's "most photographed tree" #
- Signs in Alamo Square attributed to Society for Protection of SF Scenery seem to bar, or alert to barring of, photography of Painted Ladies. #
- I know "there's no such thing as streaming music" but when I'm on @soundcloud I spend less time on music I don't have the option to download #
- Beep boop: how kids in third grade draw synthesizers: http://is.gd/bC7yd Who knew modular synths could be this adorable? #
- Thanks to Brian Biggs of @mrbiggsdotcom & @robotdancerobot for drawing my new analog Twitter background. More info at http://is.gd/bBoMh #
- RIP, Guru (b. Keith Elam, 1962), best known from hip-hop duo Gang Starr. Listening to nothing but him & DJ Premier today http://is.gd/bAHr1 #
- Remain fascinated that the vibration on my phone is considerably louder on most surfaces than is the phone's ring at the lowest volume. #
- Pauline Oliveros is on Twitter @olivep … "Are you listening now?" … "The last sound that you heard – what was it?" #
- RIP, James M. Brody (b. 1941), composer, teacher, student of Iannis Xenakis: http://is.gd/byyWU http://is.gd/byz1L #
- Made yesterday another "no computer day," but a half hour with Listening Post @sjmusart by Mark Hansen & Ben Rubin may have been cheating. #
- Commas are a true luxury on Twitter. #
- RIP, jazz musician and author Mike Zwerin (b. 1930), veteran of Birth of the Cool”“era Miles Davis. #
- From backyard the passing propeller plane emits two sounds: engine rumbling like old washing machine; thick whine coming in and out of focus #
- Sunday morning = Alva Noto's recent album, For 2. #
Current Activities
Upcoming
• February 5, 2020: The first session of the 15-week course I teach at the Academy of Art about the role of sound in the media landscape.
• April 15, 2020: A chapter on the Disquiet Junto ("The Disquiet Junto as an Online Community of Practice," by Ethan Hein) appears in the forthcoming book The Oxford Handbook of Social Media and Music Learning (Oxford University Press), edited by Stephanie Horsley, Janice Waldron, and Kari Veblen. (Details at oup.com.)
• December 13, 2020: This day marks the 24th anniversary of Disquiet.com.
• January 7, 2021: This day marks the 9th anniversary of the start of the Disquiet Junto music community.Dates TBA
• There are entries on the Disquiet Junto in the forthcoming book The Music Production Cookbook: Ready-made Recipes for the Classroom (Oxford University Press), edited by Adam Patrick Bell. Ethan Hein wrote one, and I did, too.
• At least two live group concerts by Disquiet Junto members in the San Francisco Bay Area are in the works for 2020.
• I have liner notes for a musician's solo album and an essay in a book about an art event due out. I'll announce as the release dates come into focus.Ongoing
• The Disquiet Junto series of weekly communal music projects explore constraints as a springboard for creativity and productivity. There is a new project each Thursday afternoon (California time), and it is due the following Monday at 11:59pm: disquiet.com/junto.
• My book on Aphex Twin's landmark 1994 album, Selected Ambient Works Vol. II, was published as part of the 33 1/3 series, an imprint of Bloomsbury. It has been translated into Japanese (2019) and Spanish (2018).
disquiet junto
Background
Since January 2012, the Disquiet Junto has been an ongoing weekly collaborative music-making community that employs creative constraints as a springboard for creativity. Subscribe to the announcement list (each Thursday), listen to tracks by participants from around the world, read the FAQ, and join in.Recent Projects
• 0472 / Jam Time (1 of 3) / The Assignment: Record the first third of a trio that others will complete.
• 0471 / Phase Transition / The Assignment: The Assignment: Record the sound of ice in a glass and make something with it.
• 0470 / Calendar View / The Assignment: Create a sonic diary of the past year with a dozen (or more) super-brief segments.
• 0469 / [Missing in Caption] / The Assignment: Make music that pushes the constraints of descriptive television captions.
• 0468 / Mirror Rorrim / The Assignment: Create a new persona for yourself, and record a duet together.Full Index
And there is a complete list of past projects, 472 consecutive weeks to date.