newcritics - Latest Comments in A Tinny Little Sputnik

Re: A Tinny Little Sputnik

decorativeinc — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:42:31 -0000

very interesting interview, enjoyed reading it. Thanks!

Re: A Tinny Little Sputnik

landscapersutah — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:32:01 -0000

landscape helps musicians to think about what they will right and the concept or the topic they want to express.

Re: A Tinny Little Sputnik

Tom Watson — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 22:59:18 -0000

Compositions, fair enough (though the conventional classic compositions all came from songs, or linked songs together).

I'm still trying to figure out if they could be played by others - is there/could there be notation?

And if I get hooked on a riff and start humming it and eventually brought it into a 2:30 song - is it mine?

Re: A Tinny Little Sputnik

Neddie Jingo — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:45:49 -0000

So are they songs?

Certainly not by the dictionary definition of the word. "Compositions," I think, is the better term. Spontaneous, communal compositions. As Andy says in the interview, the best metaphor is recorded musical conversation -- but an abstract one, using noises produced by instruments rather than words -- or of three people making a sculpture together.

Remember his considered rejection of architecture as a metaphor to describe the process of making these -- things, whatever they are. (That was why I'd planned to ask the faux-naive question, by the way -- I knew he'd reject the metaphor.) Songs have structure, balance, and symmetry, and the ornateness or simplicity of the decoration determines the emotional effect of the piece -- anything from Rococo to Bauhaus.

The compositions on Monstrance have none of these characteristics; they meander from one timbre to another spontaneously, at the common whim of the composers. This can be a recipe for self-indulgent poot at the hands of less sympathetic performers, and it's a real marvel that they've managed to pull something off that's extremely listenable and accessible.

Re: A Tinny Little Sputnik

Tom Watson — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 17:26:47 -0000

So are they songs?

Re: A Tinny Little Sputnik

Neddie Jingo — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 10:52:51 -0000

Andy replies to Tom's question in an email to me:

Nah! we of course couldn't play these live. Where would we start? We could only play unheard ones live, but only one sixth of the gig would be any good.

Re: A Tinny Little Sputnik

Ralph DeMarco — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 23:37:40 -0000

Great Partsy interview. Looking foward to hearing the whole album and offering my two cents. (I'm still absorbing the eight Fuzzy Warbles discs I got for Valentines Day.) Of course I would be very surprised if any type of live performance came from the Monstrance. But hell, you never know, maybe Conan? Funny how my next post also mentions Sputnik -- the real one. Small world.

Re: A Tinny Little Sputnik

Tom Watson — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 21:15:43 -0000

I listened to the Cosmonaut track - enjoyed it. Here's a question - if they only play it once, shouldn't we only listen once. Shouldn't our experience be improvised, temporary, momentary and fragile?

Actually, it would have been cool to fall into some jazz/blues progressions and then out again...

Re: A Tinny Little Sputnik

Neddie Jingo — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 11:57:10 -0000

Are these Ã¢â‚¬Å“permanentÃ¢â‚¬Â songs now? Could the band play them again, take them on tour, cut different versions?

No more than you'd want to have exactly the same conversation you had three weeks ago, I think. It's an interesting philosophical question, isn't it: When does an improvisation stop being one?

Could you or I do a cover?

I suppose you could play the same notes as you hear on the record. Another interesting question for the philosophers...

i>This seems very considered.

I get the impression that the three approached the job very determined not to fall into conventional patterns like blues changes. These truly are some of the finest musicians and songwriters around, and they're good enough to know how to avoid a pitfall like that, even playing completely spontaneous music.

Did you listen to any of the samples? It's really interesting stuff. Partridge has always had a rep as being a "musician's musician," and "Monstrance" has at its core a fascinating lecture on how music is created, where it comes from in the human soul.

Re: A Tinny Little Sputnik

Tom Watson — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 10:47:32 -0000

Wow Neddie a fantastic and interesting interview - so many things to comment on. Here's one:

Are these "permanent" songs now? Could the band play them again, take them on tour, cut different versions? Do they live on? Could you or I do a cover?

I think anyone who has a band has done this kind of thing to warm up - usually with most basic units, you all into the blues or something close and familiar. And sometimes you do this when half-loaded. This seems very considered.