11.1.17

Up 8, left at 10. Spent an hr or so at E77 doing online promo for upcoming shows, email. To library, worked on intro from 1-4:30. Did something resembling last 2 grafs of section, but it all needs a once- or twice-over. Met Laura and Pete at a rehearsal studio in the mid-30s to rehearse Sat. set. It’ll be fine. From there to David Nagler’s space in DUMBO. Ran into the bros. Baluyut in the hallway – they’re playing a Pacific Ocean set at Chickfactor tomorrow, which I can’t go to. Listend to David and Jessica Pavone work out “Famous Blue Raincoat” and “Venus in Furs,” which involved retuning her viola, then ran through “Dress” – finally decided not to just sing, w/o gtr. Stopped in Berl’s Poetry Shop on the way to train, said hi to Jared, bought the W.D. Snodgrass chapbook of translations from the Minnesinger that I’d eyed last time. Train home – read most of the rest of Monson, inc. close reading of this Jaki Byard recording over the course of the day. Home 11, lights out 12.

[Sallie Martin Singers, “Ain’t That Good News” to Marian Anderson, “Ain’t Gonna Grieve”]

October 2017 reading

China Mieville, October

Catherine Blauvelt, Here High Note, High Note

Leonard Feist, Music Publishing in America

Carl Richardson, Autopsy: An Element of Realism in Film Noir

Nicole Brossard, French Kiss

Margo Jefferson, Negroland: A Memoir

Caroline Levine, Forms: Whole, Rhythm, Hierarchy, Network

Campbell Jones, Can the Market Speak?

Ron Moy, Authorship Roles in Popular Music

Susan McClary, Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality

Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

George Starbuck, Bone Thoughts

John Ellis, Literature Lost: Social Justice and the Corruption of the Humanities

10.31.17

Up at 8. Wasted time online, left by 10, mailed a CD to Jack Silbert, got coffee and read Ellis (I don’t know why I’ve interrupted Monson and Kluge for this fairly bad book, it just seems like something I can polish off and forget, except as an example of a running strand of hidebound reaction to the political motivations of the contemporary humanities. It’s weird, the book is from 1997 but would be about the same if written today – seems like there’s just a standoff, except that the exponents of traditional views are dying off.) Decided against the library, went no further than Lucid in Woodside, got another coffee, worked on book from 11:30-3. Added another 1000 words that need heavy editing but are at least in the right order, feel like I need one last paragraph before I make another pass over the whole section to get into shape (and proportion). Unsuccessful attempts to call the Kitchen (for Raincoats tix) and my dad. Came back, ran into Bree on the corner, watched a bit of the local kids’ Halloween parade together. Went home, rested and read a bit. Dad called back w/ some bad news (not medical, but not general readers’) that screws up some of my plans for the next year or more; told him so frankly. Distressing. Finally found the last box of copies of The Accordion Repertoire in our storage space. Went out for an hr, got back into Monson (interesting discussion of Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things” – some of the usual “destroying the standards” cant, but more measured and detailed than many). Came back, figured out the weird additive-rhythm to PJ’s “Dress” for rehearsal tomorrow, rehearsed a few songs I might play in Hudson. Got involved in a fb thread about Big Dipper w/ three of its members. Lights out by midnight, listened to a relationship podcast I’m embarrassed to name.

[James Brown “Ain’t That a Groove” to Fats Domino, “Ain’t That a Shame.”]

10.30.17

Up at 7. Send Dylan changes in E to “Keeping the Weekend Free.” Got out before 10, read Kluge on train, listened to the end of the A-Z playlist (as much of it as I had put on my phone), switched to Fats D. Spent an hr. at coffee, reminding myself of the structure of the current intro section and starting to get into next graf. Therapy. Lunch. Went back to same coffee place (B’way/96) from 1:30-4:30, drafted the 3 nec. paragraphs on hip-hop production vis-à-vis songwriting/publishing. Not genius, not bad; anyway, they bridge things to the last “movement” of the section. Got into the first graf of that. Guess I could put this down as a 1000 day. Enough for a while (and I forgot my power cord). Walked down Broadway (since it’s cooling off but still nice, and it won’t be in a week or two) listening to the YMRT episode I’d slept through, stopped in at Westsider books. Bought John M. Ellis, Literature Lost, very much in the death-of-the-humanities genre. Was tempted by Strange Tools, a collection of essays on aesthetics by philosopher of mind Alva Noë, because rather than despite the thesis of an essay on pop (it isn’t, you know, music) pissed me off; I have to look it up to cite disapprovingly. Got a snack at Zabar’s, rode home, listened to most of the first disc of the Fats box. Read Ellis, which is predictably bad, until it put me to sleep. Got up around 9, tried to answer some of Dylan H.’s questions about my (poorly edited) piano score for “Nick Cave,” went out to Starbucks for a little bit to read (Ellis) and jot ideas for my Hudson set list. Did the daybook poem at some point. Home, lights out by midnight.

[The Velvettes, “Ain’t No Place Like Motown,” to Sheri Washington, “Ain’t Talking To You Baby”]

10.29.17

Up at 7, went out for a bit and started a response to Steph. Burt’s “lyric” talk (not to publish, just a correspondence I owe him out of courtesy). Came back to meet Bree and a neighbor to take some of the building’s junk to an Electronics Disposal Day at the post office – of course, it started raining as we pushed handtrucks 4 blocks. Rested for a while, then had another more arduous round of same, loading 6 TVs into cars. Done w/ that by 1. Went out for a bit, read another 50 p. of Monson, wrote daybook poem. Came home and did some minor tasks, figured out key I want to sing “Keeping the Weekend Free” in with Dylan Hicks. Tried to look at an issue of Poetry from a couple years back I picked up somewhere, couldn’t get traction. Watched a 10 min. video about the making of Trout Mask Replica, got involved in a couple of lecture videos by composer/music theorist Samuel Andreyev, analyzing, respectively, Webern’s Op. 19 (a rarely heard work I’m pretty sure I heard performed downtown last month), and Tom Waits’ “Underground.” Laura came over about 5 to rehearse Chickfactor set for next Sat. – mostly originals I’ve played w/ her a number of times, plus “Indoor Fireworks,” “Love Vigilantes,” and possibly a new one. She threw out the idea of having Pete Galub play gtr on a few, so we called him, and he’s in. They’ll practice separately. Went back out for a last cup of coffee, read Jennifer Bartlett, (a) lullaby without any music [I also read this in MS several years back], worked a bit on “Viable” lyrics (which I’ve been doing off and on, may have started to crack it, transition out of ¾ bridge back into what I intend to be a pretty straight power-pop main section will be tricky musically), started Alexander Kluge, Learning Processes with a Deadly Outcome. Maybe a documentary-styled novella about the destruction of human society after an interstellar war isn’t what I should be reading right now, but hey. Came back at 9:30. Finally transcribed Brandon’s bassline at the end of “Believe in Ghosts” so I can arrange something (Chamberlain?) over it.