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MP3: Shostakovich – Symphony No. 5 – Iv. Allegro Non Troppo by Bernstein & the NY Phil

In 2008, the Brit music mag Gramaphone ranked the top-world orchestras with the help of critics and musicians. We could, of course, head to Amsterdam, Berlin, or Vienna to capture the best of the best, but our home turf is rich. Here’s my take on performances that will bring the 2008-2009 season to a wondrous, raucous close.

1. Chicago Symphony Orchestra (pictured right)

We read excellent things about the CSO’s brass, which is, at times Baltimore’s Achilles’ heel.  In Chicago, immerse yourself in contemporary classical. See the noble father-and-sometime-bully, Pierre Boulez conduct a unique “American” homage: the work of Stravinsky who expatriated to Cali, Edgard Varèse, French transplant to New York, and Elliot Carter — the true American centenarian — born on Dec. 11, 1908.  Celebrations and new compositions are being mounted everywhere.

This Carter-champion, Boulez, himself is 83, so witness this living master while the getting is still good: Feb. 26th – Mar. 3rd.

Read the rest…

I contemplated whether or not to write this post as I kind of hate rehashes of old material.  Mostly because that’s one of the purported signs of a blog’s decline.  But fuck it, we’ve had a banner inaugural year and tons of shit needs to be highlighted.  Below is just a smattering of our best/my favorite articles and coverage we’ve had in the past year.

Of particular personal significance was my chance to interview one of my musical icons, Béla Fleck, breaking controversial first word on Whartscape logistics and getting press access for Bonnaroo.  So check out some of the highlights of the first of many years to come for Aural States.

Interviews:

Béla Fleck

Lo Moda (w/ Scott, Peter, Raili, Christian, Antony, Gillian)

Matmos (w/ Drew Daniel, Martin Schmidt)

The Presets (w/ Julian Hamilton)

Wham City & Whartscape (w/ Adam Endres)

Wye Oak (w/ Andy Stack, Jenn Wasner)

Show Reviews:

Photos / Review: Lo Moda, Miracles, Thrust Lab @ the Windup Space (2008.11.21)

Built to Spill, Meat Puppets, The Drones @ Rams Head Live

Jay Reatard, Vincent Black Shadow, Ratsize @ Sonar

Small Sur Record Release Party @ 2640 Space

Times New Viking vs. No Age

Show Review: Daniel Johnston, Lizz King and Jason Dove @ the Ottobar

Show Review – Matmos @ Floristree, Baltimore

Album Reviews:

Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet – Self-Titled (Nettwerk)

The Bug – London Zoo (Ninja Tune)

Small Sur – We Live in Houses Made of Wood (Tender Loving Empire)

13th Floor Elevators – Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators Mono LP (Sundazed)

Marin Alsop & the BSO – Dvorák: Symphony No 9, Symphonic Variations

Abe Vigoda – Skeleton (Post Present Medium)

Autechre – Quaristice

Other:

Bonnaroo 2008 coverage (our first national festival!)

Countdown to Whartscape 2008

Whartscape 2008

Virgin Fest 2008

2008 Wrap-Up

Live Audio Exclusives from the Baltimore Taper

Down the Vine – Updates from the True Vine courtesy of Jason Willett

Luckily, my editor is on in-between semester break. Otherwise, I’m sure he would be in T.A. mode and grade my late post accordingly…

However, I dragged my feet somewhat deliberately. What’s the point of a 2008 summation if you don’t have at least a little critical distance between current time, and the past year? One doesn’t write a book report until the book is actually finished. A conclusion about a hypothesis can’t be reached until the experiment is actually completed. You don’t say, “Wow, baby…that was some good sex,” until the deal is sealed–unless you’re an ego-tripping moron with a teenager’s maturity level.

January 29, 2008 was my emergence from the world of sub-par print music journalism into the realm of much more serious online music writing. I don’t take credit for the upgrade; that goes solely to Greg Szeto, the music editor at my former publication, and the founder and managing editor of Aural States. I know good coat tails when I seem them, and I was really excited to jump into this venture with Greg. 

The results have been unthinkable, really. Much of the work I’ve felt the best about, and been the most proud of in the past several years has been for Aural States.
For me, 2008 has been a year of amazing music–recorded, live, and starting recently, making it again. To be accurate this journey’s proper beginnings are in the fall of 2007, but isn’t it weird how events usually arise from prior events in sequential order? Event chains, I think they are called.  I have been into music all my life, but 2008 is unique in the fact that I actually, in some small way, took a spot in a broader network of music, and culture-of-music people. I began blogging, and people were actually reading what I wrote.

This status of blogger doesn’t feel quite like it fits yet. Around Baltimore, indie/hipsters types (definitely loaded words, which are commonly mistaken for being synonymous with “music types”) don such close-fitting clothes. Perhaps, feeling as though this is a role I need to grow into is a healthier stance, than having skin-tight clothing restricting, and inhibiting movement (read: critical movement, and development).

Also, clothes being the signifiers that they are designate people into one group. I personally don’t fit into one single group musically, and probably not socially, either. From my understanding (and I think it’s an accurate understanding) the same goes for Aural States. To be clear, this does not mean AS has to be everything musically to fulfill our eclectic mission statement, but we simply need to be who we are, and only who we are.

And who are we? Music geeks: pure, unabashed, genuine music geeks.

My (Highly Subjective) Most Memorable Live Performances of 2008 (in no order, and it’s more than 10)
Read the rest…

Editor’s Note: Each of the writers from Aural States was given free-reign to make an optional year-end post, filled with lists, oped, whining, whatever…this is what one came up with:

2008 has been a life-changing year for me in many ways, especially music. I remember being very intimidated by any genre that pushed experimental or noise and now it’s what I live for. Every season, new styles come back around from previous decades: saddle shoes, bell-bottoms, and grungy flannel shirts. Our generation is the melting pot of the past. Can’t we say the same for music?

And with the rapid advances in technology it’s only getting better through sampling and digitally modified sound. I guess that is my biggest realization this year—If music is sequential and cumulative then every vibration is the offspring of this movement of time and each second is a new opportunity for the creation of sound. Everything is possible at the present moment. We may find some to be more pleasing to the ear, to the brain, but it is only natural that we embrace it. We must celebrate all that is euphonic and aural.

Here are my picks of the most important tracks for my 2008 (Ed Note: Some tracks are not from 2008, and we know that.  Thanks). Have a great New Year! Read the rest…

Editor’s Note: Each of the writers from Aural States was given free-reign to make an optional year-end post, filled with lists, oped, whining, whatever…this is what one came up with:

2008 is on the books, and since we celebrate the passing of the calendar year on a certain upcoming day just about a week after the Winter solstice, it’s time to reflect on what has passed, to celebrate the good and make amends or at least clean the slate on what wasn’t so good.  2008 threw us some real curve balls, in my opinion, and I think I’ll always see it as a year of upheaval, some of it quite unpleasant.  Hopefully 2009 will reap the benefits usually unearthed after such drastic change.

Self-Obsession: Read the rest…

In line with tradition, here is my unordered, incomplete list of awesome albums from 2008.  Things seem a bit folk heavy for me.  Interesting.  Do share your thoughts.

Baltimore

Small Sur – We Live in Houses Made of Wood

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MP3: Small Sur – Roots

A subtle beauty, a gentle giant of a release from a local treasure.  Bob Keal is calling us all back to nature; it’s a wondrous journey. Read the rest…

Editor’s Note: Each of the writers from Aural States was given free-reign to make an optional year-end post, filled with lists, oped, whining, whatever…this is what one came up with:

To anyone out there who has read a rare post of mine, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your readership and wonderful taste in music. For anyone out there who is wondering why I don’t post more often, I discovered that it’s because most of the music I listen to was released prior to 1973. I did finally discover Vampire Weekend this week, but I needed a lot of help. I would also be remiss if I did not thank Greg for his guiding vision and the great care he takes as an editor to clean up all of the horrifying formatting in my posts.

This year has brought a lot of exciting new changes to auralstates.com, and I’m thrilled to be invited to use this space to take more credit than I really deserve in helping shape the public face of auralstates.com. This site is Greg’s baby, but I occasionally take some time to write a little CSS or update to the newest version of WordPress. Actually… I am reminded now that 2.7 is available.

There’s a world going on underground!

Editor’s Note: Each of the writers from Aural States was given free-reign to make an optional year-end post, filled with lists, oped, whining, whatever…this is what one came up with:

My cat gave me Videohippo’s Unbeast the Leash for Christmas, I’m not sure if that’s a statement about her sense of fulfillment in her life or not. Either way, it’s now my soundtrack to Christmas. I’m sitting around, 3:30 on December 25th, still in my pajamas. I’ve eaten a disgusting amount of cinnamon buns in the last week, and I haven’t shaven in three or four days. A little bit of me wants to die. Four cinnamon buns. FOUR.

And it’s perfect. This melancholy, slightly nostalgic music set to my yearly dose of Christmas nausea. Read the rest…