This page contains all entries posted to Manufactured Environments in May 2002.

two mixes to rule them all.

i finished up “electronica” an 80-minute mix the other day. tonight i’m hard at work on “avant garde” a mix of new classical music. i hope to have it completed by saturday, the 18th. the “electronica” mix turned out exceptionally well. i worked hard to mix together 14 songs and they hang well together.

these are the first mixes i’ve done since my 9-11 mixes. i made three mix cd’s shortly after the attack on new york. i called that series “the duality of lovers.” the first mix “love builder” contained contemporary songs, the second “seekers who are lovers” was more laid back with a mixture of mellow contemporary and classical songs, and the third “soft as fire” contained avant garde classical songs from a variety of composers.

as part of the package are my hand-designed sleeves, which are both beautiful and informative. the new sleeves for the two mixes are especially stunning. “electronica” and “avant garde” — what shall this new series be called? “id formation?” “subatomic possibility?” “love is spanish?” “mix series part b?” any suggestions?

here’s a great article in the new york times about espresso — http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/15/dining/15NOTE.html

here’s a great article about a book about ideas — http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/06/books/review/06ZALEWST.html

take care, and have a good wknd.

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Avant Garde

Avant Garde - 16 May 2002

It is necessary to be a seer, to make oneself a seer. The poet makes himself a seer by a long, immense and reasoned unruliness of the senses… . He attains the unknown. — Arthur Rimbaud

TRACKS

1. Frédéric Chopin - Nocturne, Op. 37, No. 1
2. Astor Piazzolla - La Calle 92
3. John Adams - Lollapalooza
4. Erik Satie - Gnossienne No. 4
5. Red Byrd - So elle encina
6. Brodsky Quartet - Nanatsu-no-ko
7. Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians - V.
8. Graham Fitkin - Hard Fairy
9. Philip Glass - Symphony No. 3 - I.
10. Kronos Quartet - Two Studies
11. Kronos Quartet - Ecstasy
12. Astor Piazzolla - Chiquilín de Bachín
13. Frédéric Chopin - Nocturne, Op. 48, No. 1
14. Benedictine Monks - Laetatus sum

Running time: 79 minutes, 32 seconds.

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Electronica

Electronica - 10 May 2002

Fainthearted animals move about in herds. The lion walks alone in the desert. Let the poet always walk thus. — Alfred de Vigny

TRACKS

1. Daft Punk - Superheroes
2. Roni Size/Reprazent - New Forms
3. freQ. NASTY & B.L.I.M. - The Desert Music
4. Crystal Method - She’s My Pusher
5. Basement Jaxx - Yo-Yo
6. Underworld - Kittens
7. Chemical Brothers - Galaxy Bounce
8. Coldcut - Music for 18 Musicians
9. The Age of Love - The Age of Love
10. Roni Size/Reprazent - Trust Me
11. Mantronik - Drumming
12. Clint Mansell - We Got the Gun
13. pH10 - 2600 Funkus
14. Daft Punk - Something About Us

Running time: 79 minutes, 36 seconds.

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plenty o’ blogs.

there’s been a rash of articles lately about blogging. here’s a couple appearing today in salon [1] [2]. enjoy.

as the semester draws to a close, this blog will probably go on hiatus. i’ll be busy with … life … this summer. the blog always feels slightly unreal, though there are plenty of readers my hit logs would attest.

i’m working on a two mix series of CD mixes. the first, an electronic mix, is done, and the classical mix is starting to shape up. i always work to maximize the play time of my mixes — the electronica mix is 15 seconds shy of 80 minutes. i’m listening to it right now in the headphones. 14 tracks long. i’ve got some decisions to make on the avant garde classical mix. mostly i’d like to include a few 15 minute songs, but they take up so much time that there isn’t a lot of room left over — depth instead of breadth? i’m planning on making a test pressing this weekend, and i’ll see how it all sounds.

well, i’ll keep this short. i watched “eight and a half” last night, the italian film. i saw it some ten or twelve years ago. it still plays good. came out in 1963. highly recommended despite the absurdist ending. take care, [signed] ds.

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the head on the door was a dream.

the semester has gone quickly. tomorrow’s the last day of classes for my web journalism class. a camera crew will be there to do some recording for a promotional video. it’s been a good semester overall. i’m looking forward now to having some time off. i’m planning to be at a couple of conferences this summer. had lunch with j. yesterday. she’s presenting at two conferences this summer — one in korea and another in miami. not bad! got an email from a boston publisher today. they want me to review a new book they’re working on about web journalism. sounds interesting so i said yes. of course i didn’t mind the honorarium either.

here’s an interesting story on salon about a british book thief.

life in academia. more to come.

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can you believe.

i’m listening to greg brown tonight. can you believe this guy? his music is so good. i especially recommend his recent “covenant.”

there was this article in the new york times this weekend about an 80’s revival — talking about the twenty year cycle of popular culture. the 70’s are passe and the 80’s are here. i’m so glad. the 70’s were such a down time for music, and the 80’s had such great things happening in that respect. no i’m not talking madonna, more like new order, the chameleons, siouxsie sioux and such. i have a hankering to hear “nothing’s shocking” by jane’s addiction. anyone want to send me a copy? i’ve also been listening to manu chao a lot this weekend. i picked up his album “esperanza” on saturday.

what a great weekend! it was the first weekend in a while that one felt like being outside — it was sunny, warm. i’m looking forward to this summer. good luck.

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working the mix.

i’m listening to chopin tonight. nocturnes. my brother came down to the city last weekend for a visit. had a good time. we wandered through various high-end audio stores. said brother recently spent a load on some new home theater gear. as he moves into 7-channel audio & video, i remain resolutely with 2-channel audio. movies are good, but personally i’m mostly interested in the fidelity of my music collection.

the classical cd club convinced me to buy something finally — they were offering four for the price of one. not a bad deal — i picked up some gorecki, john adams, etc. my classical collection seems to have a significant share of recordings released on the nonesuch label. they have most of the recordings i want — kronos quartet, steve reich, philip glass, etc. they publish more avant garde classical than most labels. that is their focus — contemporary.

it’s raining tonight. a slow, long rain.

i’m working on two new mix cd’s. one is electronica and the other classical. the electronica mix is nearly done. i’ve been listening to a couple of test pressings and it’s almost there. i had a chemical brothers song on it, but that one’s out, and instead i’ll be adding a different song. i’ve just started working on the classical mix. that should be done in the next week or two. actually i should have a lot more time to do this sort of thing in a couple of weeks — i’ll be done teaching for the semester after next week. i’m taking some time off this summer, which will be nice to have. recharge the batteries.

so anyway, i’ve been planning the summer. i’ll be spending a week in cincinnati for a conference. otherwise, i’m looking forward to some long summer evenings spent in the coffeeshops. it’s so much easier to get a table when the university is out and the students are gone. i’m also looking forward to my thirtieth birthday this summer. it’s little more than a month away, and i need to finalize my plans. it falls on a saturday this year. perfect!

well, that’s all for now. take care.

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