First posted on Mark Is Cranky:
I'm on the verge of making a big decision (in fact, I think I've already made it...but shhhh, don't tell me!). I can't really say what it is yet. And, hoooboy, it's got me nervous and somewhat ill. You know how it feels, with stomach all a-burbly and stuff. No fun at all.
So this morning I'm sitting kinda slack-jawed in front of the CD rack, trying to find something to mirror the scattershot thoughts pinging around in my head. Normally, I'd try to listen to some calming-type music...but I fear that'd be wasted time. Nothing is going to provide calm.
So here instead is John Zorn's More News For Lulu. This is a Zorn trio with George Lewis on trombone and Bill Frisell on guitar. The material is more-or-less bebop, but with a bunch of unexpected twists. At some points, the trio plays things fairly close to the vest. At other times, players veer off into skronk-land. Frisell in particular plays both ends of the scale. An almost Jim Hall-ish single-line to full-on Frisellazoidisms. This stuff perfectly simulates my current state of mind.
Oh, and the record is out of print (thanks Hat Art!), which raises other delicious parallels.
Article comments
1 - Tom Johnson
Ah, damn, once again, Mark, you have picked out something that is NOT on my Ipod yet, and which I would really like to listen to at this moment. Note to self: rip both News For Lulu discs (which I spent a LOT of time tracking down a few years ago - praise be to Ebay for ending the search!)
2 - Mark Saleski
i tell ya, it borders on criminal that these things have been allowed to go out of print.