Author: isotria blaring

Richard Thompson – Blackleg Miner (trad.)

I have a general fondness for the roots of music as a tool for political education and organization. And I naturally support the right of workers to organize for better wages and working conditions. Some complain about unions while ignoring how the institutions themselves organize into manufacturing associations (and other organizations) and use their collective wealth to leverage the laws and power over their workers. It’s completely fair for workers to have the right to organize in return, to leverage their strength in concert with one another. Anyhow, here is a traditional English folk song on scab (aka “blackleg”) miners. Performed by Richard Thompson, the song probably dates to the 19th or possibly early 20th century.

Pinebender – Mask Tree

Let’s keep this simple. Reaching back into the Lovitt Records Alumni one more time to confront reality with Pinebender.

RIP Marlene Marder (Kleenex/LiliPUT)

Sad news broke last night that Marlene Marder, guitarist for Kleenex/LiliPUT, passed away on Sunday.

Originally formed as Kleenex in Zürich, Switzerland, circa 1978 the band later changed their name to LiliPUT due to legal threats. Marlene Marder was a continuous presence throughout the band’s brief history – or at least from before they learned a fifth song on guitar:

Klaudia invited me to their rehearsing room where I learned the four songs they had on guitar. I went to see the first Kleenex gig, of course. The guitarist was fed up playing four songs over and over again, but the audience went crazy and wanted to hear them all over again. So I asked him for his guitar to replace him and went on stage to join the group. The audience became even crazier, as they were witness of the establishment of the “real” Kleenex.

It’s sad to lose another great musician. If you need some LiliPUT for your collection, you can get it via Kill Rock Stars. At least listen up and celebrate her life and inspiration.

Sounds of Sputnik – Shades of the Cosmos

I’ve been on a shoegaze kick lately. It’s not intentional per se at all. Part of it is just that the shoegaze bands are showing up on my feeds. In any case, Russian artist Sounds of Sputnik (aka Roman Kalitkin) released their “New Born” lp on Monday. This is a collaboration with Ummagma. The whole album is worth a listen, but let’s start with Shades of the Cosmos. Parts of Shades of the Cosmos made me think Seam without the vocals. That works for me at least.

Game of Thrones

I rebelled against the tv later. And then un-rebelled. I’ve always been a big tv watched. There is probably some correlation between my desire to watch a lot of tv and my having been voted shyest in my class in the eighth grade. Which caused which isn’t as important as the clear correlation itself. And also not at all a surprise I did a lot of reading as a kid.

I do less reading now, but when I picked up Game of Thrones (in I think 2001?) I was skeptical. That was an awful lot of small print. And it started slow as shackles. But 100 pages in and I was hooked and reading obsessively. The series became my favorite and then to have a quality television series (and not some hack production like the attempt at turning the Earthsea trilogy into film) is basically a shy nerd boy’s dream.

I was ambivalent about this season though. I wanted to confront the future of the story in the books. But now, in most respects, the tv show is ahead of the written word. And i’m enjoying the show more than I ever have before. I always enjoyed the tv show, but up until now i’ve known the gist of the story and it’s an entirely different experience to be going in blind. And it’s quite fun to let go and experience a story with twists and turns that I don’t know (and in many cases can’t predict).

And that’s all. Really there is nothing unique or new to say about Game of Thrones. Just sharing my shit on value of unspoiled experience. We need some music. So how about some Polvo.

Xiu Xiu – Audrey’s Dance

Yesterday, Jennifer’s daughter won a special award at her high school. So we need something simple and delightful to celebrate with. So why not Xiu Xiu covering some Twin Peaks music?

5/16/16: isotria blaring – 10pm to midnight

when there are bikes on the street, horns on the sidewalks, orchids in the woods, and noise everywhere else. that is isotria blaring. every monday at 10pm, only on wrct pittsburgh.

I’m on the air. Listen in at 88.3 FM in Pittsburgh. Or stream it here. You can follow along to the music via the WRCT website or, if I get it operating tonight, using the playlist below.

Emily Rodgers – Walk Don’t Run

First, good news. Back on the radio as of tonight. Isotria blaring radio show. Every Monday this summer from 10pm to midnight. 88.3 FM WRCT Pittsburgh. You can stream it here. Also, tune in early. At 9pm we have Advanced Calculus – local bands live from the WRCT studio.

Emily Rodgers was one of the first live shows that I saw in Pittsburgh. At Quiet Storm with some friends. I liked her music enough to buy a CD and it’s grown on me ever more since then. She has a new CD out titled “Two Years” and this new video for the track “Walk Don’t Run.” As per usual, her music is beautifully haunting and somber.

You can pick up “Two Years” via Misra Records.

The Lopez – Cubito Auquet

After a little excursion into Indonesia, it’s time to plow into a little local flavor. The Lopez just released their Kill Yr Selfie EP, which features this tune from their Travel Fast cassette LP:

If you have not checked out the Lopez before, they are a great high energy show. This tune reminds me particularly of Times New Viking and of course I just love it.

Elenin – Kalam

Good morning. More amazing shoegaze indie from Indonesia. This collective band formed just last year in Jakarta features Whistler Post member Andi Hans. Both bands are on Don’t Fade Away Records. Just listen and enjoy. You can find them via their soundcloud and twitter. They do have a website but I can’t get it to load. I was able to confirm with the band that they’ll be posting some music for purchase/download in a couple of weeks. So check back for an update.