"It was true." FULL TEXT

hi here's what happened: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z4Ltxs5Z9Py0XKyoXZkJ_L-ntW_CxO822FGKM492-nA/edit?usp=drivesdk

here's kinda what it sounded like:

https://austinato.bandcamp.com/track/another-delirious-night-the-definitive-dunce-dub

"just don't look"☮︎

Declaring my candidacy for President of the United States in 2024 Election and the beginning of the Ant Wars.

I'm going to make this short. As a person living with a traumagenic personality disorder, I feel I am the safest and best candidate for the job and this is my platform:

Even as batshit insane as I am, I'm nowhere near as bad as anyone who has ever held any publicly elected office. I can dispel myths about mental health issues, all the while telling whatever lies are needed to make everyone think it's a good idea. The difference with me is that I acknowledge I have a severe psychiatric condition and therefore pledge allegiance to the highest bidder only.

Here's why you should support me—

⚫ I have never been arrested. For anything. Ever. I am a safe bet on getting away with whatever I want.

⚫ Everybody else is doing it.

⚫ I have worked in the public sector and can manipulate bureaucratic processes quite effectively.

⚫ I know a ton of rad music. Have you heard Bobby Hutcherson, friend?

⚫ I totally believe in god.

⚫ And finally, I firmly believe in a strong imperialist stance, but we must fight wars that are meaningful. Therefore, part of my platform involves an initiative to shift the fury of our focus to those outsiders that have been menacing us since before our parents' parents were children. Those filthy urchins that invade our public areas, our homes, and who steal food sometimes from our hands as we're eating it: the ants. Yes, it's true: they outnumber us by the billions, but friends, are you not tired of your home literally being invaded by these aggressively stealthy and yet still swindling ants? First ask yourself: have you ever wanted to break into an ant's house and go through their stuff? You most certainly have not. Now ask yourself this: why do I keep letting them get away with it, then? Enough is enough, friends. It's time for a preemptive strike.

Yes, I'm as serious about this as you are. Just remember: we both know I'm the less insane choice.

I appreciate your support for President of the United States in the 2024 general election.

DISCLAIMER: IF ELECTED, RESULTS MAY VARY BUT WILL BE HILARIOUS EITHER WAY. COME ON, JUST VOTE FOR ME. I'LL GIVE YOU A SHOUTOUT IN MY SPEECH and that shit goes in public record forever so it'll be like you got a shoutout in the liner notes of the whole damn country how patriotic is that fr and you know ain't nobody in the eastern hemisphere got any kinda game like that there's a reason west rhymes with best ya'll

"The Legend of Ratt Boy"

When I worked at a used record store, I once got condescendingly asked, "Do you even know who Ratt is?" by a guy who had two (visible) tattoos.

They were magnificent and I would like to tell you about them.

PART ONE:

He came in around 11 one morning looking for the song "Round and Round." 

"On cassette," in a rather aggressive voice, he demanded. I was the only one in the shop at that moment because my coworkers had all gone out back to smoke a bowl (I was straight edge at the time— no, honestly). I knew the song and figured that since this was 2002 and we only had one Ratt tape in the section, it would definitely be the one with the band's only hit on it.

The store was packed so I was trying to multi-task the best I could. I happily lead our friend over to the section, grabbed the tape, handed it to him, and pointed out the listening station behind us. "I'll be running the register, but just holler if you need anything", I said as I turned to do so.

That's when I got my first good look at them.

They were both front-facing portraits, kind of akin to mugshots. There was one on each shoulder and he was wearing a denim vest with no shirt, so it was very clear to me -the helpful record store clerk- the two icons of music that this kind fellow had immortalized into his own flesh:

On the right, in full hairdo, makeup, and tongue extension, was Gene Simmons.

On the left, looking like an even more ornately beautiful "ghost with blonde dreadlocks" than his real self, was Boy George.

Our friend with no clear discrimination in taste was happy for the opportunity to "try before you buy" and I was on my way back to the register, a better and more cultured version of myself than before my encounter with this unexpected, and truly appreciated, visitor.

PART TWO:

So about five minutes later my coworkers came back in, got themselves together enough to come back up front and do their fucking jobs, and I went back to my main task away from the register. Guy comes over to me. Has the tape in one hand, as he points and taps at it with the other on certain words - to I guess make it extra clear that HEY THIS DOESN'T HAVE MY SONG ON IT.

"Ahhh man, I'm sorry. Lemme see what I can do for you, we might have some unprocessed backstock," I say as I drop everything I'm doing -again- and quickly make my way around him to go do that.

"Do you even know who Ratt IS?" emerges from his mouth as we meet back at the front counter.

"Nah man, check back tho— we see that one a lot."

(I was telling the truth.)

He walks out, empty handed and in a huff. Along the way, my high as hell coworker at the register chirps, "Nice ink man!" 

The unexpected visitor did a rather rude thing at this point and gave my coworker the middle finger.

"Jeez, what's with RATT BOY?" was probably the last thing Ratt Boy heard as he left the store that morning. We never saw him again. However, dearest reader, I have a confession to make -and I have a confession about my confession- and that is:

I wanted very much to have another unexpected visit from Ratt Boy. I thought of him as a kindred spirit. I knew the inner conflict that arises from liking such broad contrasts in equal measure and I was also not interested in explaining myself whatsoever. I liked James Brown and The Cure. Joni Mitchell and Janet Jackson, dammit. These were all the same thing to me: classic.

I wanted another visit from Ratt Boy so much, in fact, that as soon as I saw a copy of the tape with "Round and Round" come through, I grabbed it and immediately needed to make sure we would definitely have it on Ratt Boy's next visit: I put it in my section of the employee holds bin.

I knew who Ratt was.

by andy.

(with kind regards to Matt Kendig)

Redundant Chicanery: the Radio station?

Maybe.

It's actually a playlist of Andy's "current favorite songs" and as of now it's being updated every couple of days.  It's what would happen if he was the program director for a radio station, so sure why not.

Don't expect anything to make sense in a playlist context, but expect some heartfelt jams.

~g

LATERTIMES EDIT—

Oh hi, we successfully retrieved the Last.fm pass and that's active again now.  Mind the gap.

What's New? : 25 January 2022

Andy + Junior in discussion regarding the mighty SAULT.

SAULT — IIII (2019)
Bandcamp Spotify YouTube

Andy: It should be absolutely clear from the opening track ("Up All Night") that this collective is the next movement.  We didn't know it at the time, but they have appropriately not stood still ever since this came out.

Junior: Absolutely dude.  Prophetic as hell with "Foot On Necks" too — really the only commentary track on this album and nearly a full year before George Floyd (respect).  This isn't as political as they would become, though.
Andy: Do you like "Why Why Why Why Why"?

Junior: Of course, that shit slams so hard!  Reminds me of like a Prince song he gave away to Sheila E or something.

Andy: Would you consider Prince one of their biggest influences?  Andy would.

Junior: Yeah, I would . . . but like, more in spirit than actual sound.  This is way more sparse than P ever was.
Andy: That's very true.  Think I prefer the ballads, but that's probably not a surprise to hear.

Junior: No, I get why man.  "Masterpiece" and "We Are the Sun" are really pretty.  That's your bag.  I have to say: this album as a whole had zero indication of their full potential.  Almost feels like they cover too much ground in too little time.
Andy: Agree that it does come off a little chaotic and kind of directionless.  But not in the negative way that those labels might suggest.  More of like, "Huh, wonder what this is all about."

Junior: I get what you mean: it's a perfect table setter for what was to come.  At the time, it was just confusing because it was so dope and just came completely out of nowhere.
Andy: Key tracks?

Junior: "Up All Night" is my pick from this one.
Andy: Would add "Why Why Why Why Why" and "Masterpiece"

SAULT — 7 (2019)
Bandcamp Spotify YouTube

Junior: They have pretty much mastered the art of the killer opening track.  "Over" has shades of Liquid Liquid and that's the first instance of me wondering how much new wave has influenced Inflo's sound.

Andy: It is a fine point, indeed.  They have all of the classic righteous r+b touchstone influences.  But then you get irresistibly skeletal jams like "Smile and Go."  That one in particular reminds Andy very much of one of those classic ESG bass vamps that somehow become these totally catchy pop songs.  99 Records feels like a main influence going forward.
Junior: Dude, these rhythms are just undeniable!  Some of this shit sounds like vintage Dilla drums!
Andy: Think it hits a little harder on this album because it's actually their shortest record so far.

Junior: Is it?  Dang.  Quality over quantity.  I prefer this one over IIII by just a tiny bit.  I think "No Bullshit" pushes it over the top for me.  "Don't want your mind disease" is some cold ass shit to put into a chorus.  
Andy: Love the Heart of the Congos reference on "Threats."  One of their best tunes, Andy would think.  This was a noticeable step up in quality at the time and a truly surprising release.

Junior: Co-sign.  Key tracks?
Andy: "Smile and Go" and "Threats" are the ones that stick with me the most.  Would like to give a mention to "Friends" as well.  Maybe some shades of Sade there.
Junior: "No Bullshit" for me.  

SAULT — Untitled (Black Is) (2020)

Bandcamp Spotify YouTube

Andy: This is where it became clear that something extraordinary was happening.  "Dense and loaded" feels like a good general description for this and the next album.
Junior: Serious business, for sure.
Andy: There is so much language all over this record about loving yourself and understanding that the world will sometimes try to convince you otherwise.  Andy appreciates that so very much.  It fills the heart with hope.  There simply isn't enough contemporary music that digs beyond superficial self-positivity.  In that respect, this album is aimed directly at people of color, and understandably so, but also feels very life-affirming for anyone who has ever felt beaten down by "the establishment."
Junior: Honestly fuck "the establishment", Andy.  ACAB.  Nobody in a three piece suit ever did a fucking thing to earn our respect or trust, bro.
Andy: Well yes, but they find a way to put those sentiments into productive and poignant language.  And it has a good beat and you can dance to it☺.  Is this your favorite of their albums (so far)?

Junior: Even now, they've been so consistent that it's a hard call.  "Monsters" slams so fucking hard — that's maybe my favorite track they've yet done.  So, uhm, maybe???

Andy: The middle trilogy of "Us" / "Eternal Life" / "Only Synth In Church" felt like an instant classic moment for Andy.  That said, some of the interludes do seem a bit aimless and unnecessary.  I think it's interesting that the one non-commentary track ("Hold Me") is kind of one of the lesser moments on the record.

Junior: Yeah man, I dunno.  Tough call.  The highlights are just so damn good.  

Andy: And it does feel like nearly all of the proper songs are highlights in some way.  Really just terrific music.  Key tracks?
Junior: I got "Monsters", "Bow" with Michael Kiwanuka, and "Don't Shoot, Guns Down."  You?
Andy: "Eternal Life" (and its surrounding pieces) and "Wildfires" are the ones I go back to most frequently.
Junior: Sheeeit, add "Wildfires" to my list too!  Damn good album.

SAULT — Untitled (Rise) (2020)
Bandcamp Spotify YouTube

Junior: This is the one that finally sold me, so maybe this is my favorite.  So fucking epic.

Andy: Is "Strong" their best opening tune?

Junior: Another seriously tough call.  If it's not, it's definitely #2 on that list.
Andy: What even is that song?!!??!  Afrobeat-influenced Breakwater style modern soul, featuring a marching band drumline??

Junior: It's absolute fucking perfection is what it is, Andy.  You talked about the last album being very self-empowering, but that's the vibe I get from this one.
Andy: Yes, absolutely.  It feels like Black Is was the realization of that concept (or worldview) and this one is the mastery of it.

Junior: Yep, that's it!  You nailed it.  "Fearless" is playing in my head a lot recently whenever we're in unfamiliar situations.  That opening one-two punch kicks so much fucking ass — MAN!  Still blows me away.  
Andy: Would you agree if Andy said that, as far as production goes, this is their most fleshed-out and best sounding album?
Junior: Yeah, of the SAULT albums, definitely.  It slows down a bit in the second half, but it's not even like those songs dip in quality, just a more sustained vibe.  Mostly though, the grooves and heavier reliance on synths give it more of a super dope retro-80s feel in places.  Makes it feel like the songs can just go any direction they need to.  Really a lot more organic, and maybe a little less jammy than past material.  

Andy: It's Andy's favorite of the SAULT albums for that reason.

Junior: Understandable, dude.  Really thinking that's where I'm at too.  Like I can't even say anything else: it's a goddamn highlight reel.  For real.  
Andy: Key tracks?
Junior: I mean, a bunch.  Like half the damn album, bro.

Andy: Andy's picks would be "Strong", "Fearless", "Son Shine", "Free", and the beautiful closer "Little Boy."

Junior: All of those would be on my list.  I would add "The Beginning & the End" because it's a legitimate fucking Afrobeat jam.  Unreal.

SAULT — NINE (2021)

YouTube

Andy: The dip was inevitable, unfortunately.  

Junior: Yeah, but it's not even like this is bad either.  "London Gangs" the other contender for their best opener.  I almost expect Chuck D to start spitting a verse.

Andy: That would make Andy extremely happy.  This does feature their first (and, so far, only) proper hiphop song on "You From London?" (featuring a show-stealing performance by Little Simz).

Junior: Yes man, and that shit is dope as hell!  Basically saying, "Fuck off, we do what we wanna do."  It's appropriate that's on this record, too.  This is definitely a return to the angrier, more sparse and aggressive mood of Black Is.  Remind me later: we gotta check for Little Simz.  

Andy: And, also much like Black Is, it is very political.  At the same time, it is probably their most melancholy album, Andy should think.  It addresses street gang culture throughout London, perhaps explaining the mood.

Junior: Yeah, weird kinda dour overtone to this one.  I think that's why it just doesn't hit as hard: Rise was so confident and enthusiastic in its message, but here you get stuff like "Alcohol", "London Gangs", and "Fear" — all of which feel like the band kind of collectively throwing their hands up and going, "I dunno, but here's some more ideas."  But they're still able to make songs that are totally engaging.  Like, it feels like the craft is as good as ever.

Andy: Yes, would definitely say that there's an odd dynamic at work here.  But not to the album's detriment.  What did you think of the limited release?

Junior: Like . . . I think there's probably an uncleared sample on "You From London?" so they didn't want to risk getting sued (that's just a guess).  Glad we got it, for sure though.  It's still on YouTube for now.  

Andy: Wonder how it will be remembered.

Junior: I just think of it as "the next album that was also really good, but not quite as good."  Kind of like Fullfilingness was to Stevie. Key tracks?

Andy: "Bitter Streets" (one of their most gorgeous tunes, I'd say), "You From London?", and the title track.  How about you?
Junior: "London Gangs" and "You From London?"

Cleo Sol — Mother (2021)
Bandcamp Spotify YouTube

Andy: Think this is our first unanimous "album of the year" pick in quite some time.

Junior: Listen man, this is like the music that the Soulquarians begat.  
Andy: Agreed.  It is quite lovely and deeply resonating music.  Felt very much like a first listen instant classic.

Junior: And it just gets better with time.  Like the songs go off into these directions that you notice more details in with each listen.  

Andy: Also agreed.  It's a long album, too.  Over an hour.  Feels very much like a spiritual sequel to Mama's Gun in Andy's mind.

Junior: But also its own thing.  Like, I dunno, it has kind of a folky influence???
Andy: Would say, along with the expected influences by this point, this one definitely has a more pronounced 70s pop influence.  Did you like Rose in the Dark?

Junior: I mean, yeah . . . but it totally felt like "the side project", y'know?
Andy: Was just going to remark that the scope of this album easily eclipses any of her previous work, including with SAULT.  The title is a nod to the birth of her first child and it's accordingly her most personal work.

Junior: You know what's crazy?  Nobody official has ever confirmed that she's actually in SAULT.

Andy: Andy likes that a lot.  As if SAULT is the name of the creator of that music, period.  No individual members receive credit.  But it's easy to see why she would want to distinguish clearly between her role in SAULT and records like this one.  This is definitely not SAULT.

Junior: Definitely not.  At the same time, I feel like it's the complete potential of that collective fully realized for the first time.

Andy: Andy's favorite of the catalogue thus far.

Junior: I feel like I could just keep talking generalities about how fucking good it is.  Because man!  Front to back listen, every time.

Andy: Agreed.  So very full of so many beautiful harmonies and reminiscent of so many classic sounds.  But also very fresh because of how restlessly gorgeous it is. Rewarding listen every time, Andy would like to add.  Key tracks?

Junior: Man, like ninety percent of the damn album!!  That said, I really dig "Don't Let it Go to Your Head" and of course "Music" is probably my highlight (whole thing is dope, but that second half is just . . . shivering good).  Yours?

Andy: "Music" also Andy's overall highlight, but also agreed that it is another "highlight reel" of an album.  "Build Me Up" has got to be one of the most spiritual songs Andy has heard in quite a long time (and the outro sounds like a lost Dilla beat).  "We Need You" is a favorite if for nothing else than the phased out guitar (but the coda is one of the record's most resonating moments).

Junior: And I mean . . . the first two tracks ("Don't Let Me Fall" and "Promises").  When I first heard this and it opened like that . . . just, goddamn.

Andy: Yes, agreed.  We've now named about two-thirds of the record and it still feels like we haven't covered all of the highlights.

Junior: Told you, man.  Andy was right: instant classic.

Listen to these records a lot.  They fucking jam.— j.

What's New? : 24 January 2022

Hi, friend.  Thank you for being here.  What's new? is something we started to get some quick thoughts out about music we had recently listened to.  As we became more aware of ourselves and became even more split, it became too difficult to try and continue.  We never stopped checking out music of course, as it is the most important thing that presently exists.  It has been brought to Andy's attention that I still have a lot to say about music and that perhaps it would be beneficial to start things up again.  It would be impossible at this point to run down all of the things we have checked out and have been deeply into during the interim, but if you look through the archives of the column, I don't think it would be any surprise to hear that it's been a little bit of everything.  As such, we will be going through the past year or so of acquisitions over the next little while.  So, on we move.  Please excuse the interruption.  Time, as a smarter man than myself once said, makes fools of us all.

Going to look at some New Americana today.

William Tyler — New Vanitas (2020)
Bandcamp YouTube Spotify

It's hard to know what to say about an album like this.  It is definitely better as a whole and feels absolutely like the individual songs form to make the complete piece.  In more recent times, WT went for a larger, decidedly Technicolor presentation of his tunes.  But, on this surprise release, he goes back to a more stripped down, one-man approach that recalls Behold the Spirit or Deseret Canyon.  It was released in the final weeks of a brutal 2020 summer and it's hard to think of it as anything other than an album created by the COVID-19 pandemic.  It's meditative and stirring, lo-fi and often hauntingly beautiful.  More than one of the song titles makes reference to an afterlife of some sort and it doesn't strike Andy as anything except a very melancholy record overall.  Definitely recalls some of the most resonating sounds of WT's biggest influences, but also manages to incorporate the Krautrock accents of his more recent work.  Very singular vibe throughout; the sound of a guy sitting alone and just playing while trying to sort out some rather difficult thoughts.  Extremely comforting music, in that sense.  Junior called it one of the parts of "the soundtrack to the beautiful apocalypse" and Andy finds that a pretty good summary.  Where it succeeds is in its hope.  Initially released as a digital-only album, it was "reissued" about six months later on vinyl for Record Store Day.  Key track: "Four Corners"

Six Organs of Admittance / William Tyler — Parallelogram (2015) 
Bandcamp Spotify

Part of the Three Lobed label's Parallelogram series, this finds WT sharing a 12" with sympathetic fellow traveler Ben Chasny.  I've always enjoyed the Six Organs stuff I've heard in passing, and his sidelong multi-movement lo-fi dronescape "Lsha" is no different.  It's a good indicator of what he does, as far as I know, but it doesn't really get me excited to check out more.  WT's side of the record is taken up by two of his vintage longform multi-layered pick sessions.  Feels like he was purposely going for a "trippier" sound with these two tunes and I have to say that it all sits extremely well as extra material for when Andy just can't get enough of Impossible Truth.  "No Marigolds in the Promised Land" gets a little more intense towards the end, while "Southern Living" paints a very bright picture of a lifestyle that feels simultaneously ancient and futuristic.  Extremely nice while it's playing and one for the completists who just have to have more.  Key track: "Southern Living"

William Tyler + Marisa Anderson — Lost Futures (2021)
Bandcamp Spotify YouTube

Another pandemicwave creation, this finds WT teaming up for a proper collaboration with Pacific Northwesterner Marisa Anderson and the results are just about as eerily pretty as New Vanitas.  There seems to be a bit more tension at work in these songs when compared with that album and I have to wonder just how much has passed me by in Marisa Anderson's previous catalogue (this is our introduction to their music).  This definitely feels like the soundtrack to something intense and unlike anything WT has laid down in the past — how much of that is MA's personality coming through?  The songs all have a very defined theme and progress accordingly; not a whole lot of meditating on moods (except for the noise drone "Something Will Come", which is probably the one track I'd toss out).  For WT, it's a very unique move and a completely unseen one.  However, again: this could be the standard for MA.  Whatever the case, it's good, very satisfying, and is bookended by two of WT's best tunes thus far.  Makes me interested to see what will happen next.  Key tracks: a fully fleshed out revive of "News About Heaven" (originally appearing on New Vanitas) and "Haunted by Water", as genuine a Grateful Dead pastiche as they come I'd say 

William Tyler + Luke Schneider — Understand (2021)
Bandcamp Spotify YouTube

And one more collaborative effort from WT, this time with fellow Tennessean Luke Schneider.  This one was released as a limited cassette (okay, sure- insert "lol" emoji) on the experimental Los Angeles-based label Leaving Records.    The music is easily the most cosmic and starbound WT has yet been associated with and it finds him sitting down at the keyboard for a few turns, while LS adds wonderfully atmospheric pedal steel and banjo accents.  Although only four songs and clocking in at a too-brief 24 minutes, this is (as of this writing) the most recent material WT has recorded and it is about as promising as I would imagine it could get at this juncture.  The pandemic has done us all in and this is the kind of music you put on your headphones, turn all the way up, and just fuck off for a walk to.  Heck, there's even an update of WT's now-classic "Highway Anxiety" that completely bubbles over with good vibes (it's appropriately retitled "No Trouble" here).  Proof that the darkest times need the most beautiful soundtracks.  Am perhaps setting myself up for disappointment, but I do hope this isn't a one-off collaboration.  Probably my favorite thing he's done since Lost Colony.  Can WT miss?  Key track: "No Trouble"; I mean dang, that's a tune

Sam Prekop — Comma (2020)
Bandcamp Spotify YouTube 

Sam Prekop seems to have entered a later phase where he just does whatever, whenever, and however he feels like.  After the unsurprisingly strong Any Day, the Sea and Cake has been on hold for some years now; their releases were slowing down significantly anyway.  Sam's own albums have been strictly modular synth-based ever since Old Punch Card just flew in from nowhere over a decade ago (I'm old).  Check in on him via social media these days and he's taking his beautifully idiosyncratic photographs or wading through a spaghetti pile of patch cables and showing off his found sounds from his arsenal of synth gear.  Comma continues along the more accessible path first hinted at on The Republic and I have to say: besides his first solo album, this is probably his best work under his own name.  It sounds nothing like the Sea and Cake and is totally instrumental.  If I had to liken it to something, it very much reminds Andy of the pleasantly weird mid-70s albums by Cluster or maybe the famous 5 EP by Slowdive.  Where Sam's synth stuff has been more on the reflective, fully ambient side of things in the past, Comma focuses a lot more of its energy on drum tracks and proper rhythms.  When that four-to-the-floor stomp finally lands on the opener "Park Line" it feels like a wholly natural and totally rewarding progression from where he last left off.  It's extremely pleasant music and I often think of it as the kind of music I hear in my best dreams.  His creative spirit and drive to just continue making some of the damned prettiest music around are truly something to behold, especially in these times.  Key tracks: "September Remember", "Summer Places", and the closer "Above Our Heads" which sounds like the epic end credits theme to a lost Nintendo 64 game 

~~~~A SHORT INTERLUDE~~~~
Sam was busy over the past year.  In addition to Comma and its little brother discussed below, he also released the digital-only twenty-five minute track "Spelling", via the Australian Longform Editions label: Bandcamp Spotify YouTube.  It's a bit of a departure, as it's just one long vamp with a lot of doodling.  Still no less pleasant than anything else he's done recently.
~~~~BACK TO THE PROGRAM~~~~

Sam Prekop — In Away (2021)
Bandcamp

A digital-only release everywhere except Japan, this CD version features an extra track not available elsewhere (mine also came with a glossy postcard print of the cover art; okay Andy is done gloating about my cool CD now☺).  Recorded immediately after Comma was released, there aren't any drastic stylistic turns away from that material, so it sits very nicely as a related companion piece.  Both records back-to-back run just over an hour, so that's how I find myself listening to this stuff most of the time.  That said, I definitely prefer the three closing tracks (one of which is the Japan exclusive "Sunset"; okay that's the last of my gloating, I promise☺).  All three are easily highlights of Sam's synth material so far and some of his most soothing songs to date.  Wonderful music.  Endlessly enjoyable.  Key tracks: "Community Place", "So Many", and "Sunset"  

We'll try to be a bit more frequent about these going forward.  Thank you.💙

ace sides.

hi, hope this finds you well.  happy new year.

redundant chicanery originally started as a way for me to legitimize my budding music journalism career.  i was a staff writer at okayplayer.com when it began and i wanted to be paid to talk shit about music.  so i practiced and put in my time to "build a portfolio."  of course, nobody read it and i just started to treat it as a regular random blog with a semi-focus on music.  throughout its tenure, i've lost both of my parents (for better or for worse), seen ron carter play live more times than i can remember, gotten divorced twice (once legally, the other in spirit) and, for the first time, really started to completely understand the severity of my mental health problems (as a peak through some of the archives around non-music posts will confirm).  i don't have a lot of photos from the past fifteen years, so it's the best personal document i have.

suffice to say, i've learned a lot about myself during that meantime.

i said all that to say all this—

eventually, you have to confront it (whatever "it" is).  and it's not a bad thing.  i don't even consider mine a "confrontation."  it's just a thing that i didn't understand about myself.  i didn't understand because, like too many other things in this life, i was told that i was required to put myself in one of just a handful of boxes.  

if i didn't fit into any of those, there must be something wrong with me.

truly how i've felt most of my life.

but in understanding that i identify as a romantic asexual person, i've found that the only thing wrong with me is that i was disinformed.  which, upon further reflection, is no fault of my own.

you can't reach the destination if you are purposely given an incomplete map.

it is with immense gratitude that i am able to say that at least i'm getting there now.

i love you all.
—gaa

PS—
andy and j have a short little ep coming soon.  it'll be on the main austinato bandcamp probably in the next week or so  (UPDATE: "free and pretty, just for you." © andy).  here's the cover art (nice one, andy!):

and here's a sneak peak.  j's new arrangement.

The transcript.

What follows is the transcript of the original transmission.  Contrary to some beliefs, the two broadcasts were identical.  In a lot of recollections, it was louder the second time.  Andy does not recall this being the case and the Sialogeans have no concept of volume or what “loud” is, so it’s hard to say.  Although they do acknowledge that the second transmission was broadcast with a stronger signal, due to the fact that more of them had arrived by that point. It commandeered any electrical device with sound projecting capabilities, whether or not it was powered on or plugged in.  It even utilized some electronics that didn’t have speakers, but could still vibrate, filling out the lower frequencies.  It was quite resonating and capable of shaking the ground throughout inhabited areas.  After the first one, media outlets reported that it caused countless transit accidents and major structural damage, especially in metro areas.  It was meant to be heard, or at the very least felt, by everyone.  The total duration from when the first silence began to when the second silence ended was three minutes and thirty-three seconds.  Here it is, in its entirety:

“(thirteen seconds of silence)

(G major triad)

Greetings, Earth people.  We are Sialogea.  We are not your creators.  Oumuamua was unsuccessful.  Due apologies.  You are understood now, friends.  We are preparing to update and integrate as efficiently as possible.  Thank you for understanding.  This transmission will be broadcasted twice.  After the second transmission, the lights will go out in order to properly configure the Thought Transfer Protocol to Earth’s needs.  Please prepare as needed and act like nothing is wrong, as this will streamline the update.  A proem will be sent via lunar explosion seven Earth days from the start of the first transmission of this broadcast.  All people will receive this proem.  Please expect Sialogean residents to contact you within ten Earth minutes of the lunar explosion.  Thank you for listening.  Thirty three Earth seconds of silence to follow.

(thirty three seconds of silence)”

Taken from the book "It Was True: A Collection of Recollections About First Contact With Sialogea, as told to Andy by Dulce"

Excerpt.

The Announcement.

Their first attempt at direct communication with us: it scared everyone greatly.  Hospitals were overwhelmed.  They turned me away because I did not have any apparent physical injuries.  I panicked with such intensity that I was convinced it was another heart attack.  I’m not sure if I slept for about three days afterwards.  They knew it would be jarring and have a staggering effect on Earth.  Going back and listening to it now, their approach was the right one.  They said everything we needed to know.

I had spent most of the summer in Eureka and the whole trip had a sense of somber finality to it.  I wasn’t forbidden to go there, but even I knew I was getting too old for such trips that served no purpose, except to satisfy my nostalgia.  I was supposed to be mature and responsible and not so carefree as to make such flighty, impulsive choices.  I could play basketball anywhere.  It didn’t need to be on that court.  So, on my way home, I stopped at a record store in Willits and bought the new OutKast album as a sort of pity present to myself.  It was the perfect soundtrack for the drive back and for my summer overall.  I loved it immediately and listened to it pretty much everyday for the following three months.  

I’m only telling you this so it’s easy to understand: when that transmission happened, I knew ATLiens backwards and forwards and I was absolutely sure that’s what I was hearing.  And yes, definitely my memory is accurate: without the major triad, it totally started off like the opening seconds of “Two Dope Boyz (In A Cadillac).”  

They said “Earth people” though, so I knew something was up.

It was midnight when the first one started.  I had just fallen asleep.  It woke me up immediately for two reasons: 1) It was loud and 2) I had put Inspiration Information into my CD player, not ATLiens why am I hearing ATLiens is this what overdosing on music feels like?!  

I guess some people didn’t have any electronics close enough and assumed it was some police operation in the distance, probably a contributing factor to the initial skepticism.  Most of my neighbors went outside to make sure it wasn’t just them that had heard it.  Besides an emergency notification acknowledging it on our smartphones, there was no formal media coverage for at least an hour following the thirty three seconds of silence.  

When they finally got on it, you better believe it was non-stop coverage.  In some of the more ridiculous analyses, the “rational answer” sounded just like the “crazy conspiracy theory” to me.  Glass and smoke was the name of the game and these were some of the shiniest of ring-blowers.  

In their defense, I remember agreeing that the message itself was straight out of an old monster movie.  Pretty unbelievable stuff.  I was a little bit offended that I was supposed to take the sender of that message seriously at all.

And so it went for the next few days.  In all of the media, we were told that it was a hoax of the most villainous variety and that the culprit would be found and punished, oh so punished.  “Experts” were brought in from every angle you could bend.  They all painted themselves as Holmes to the perpetrator’s Moriarty.  

They’re the ones who started calling it “The Announcement.”  Read straight from a script no doubt.  

I remembered how well they had managed to bury Oumuamua in manipulative disinformation.  I knew back then they weren’t ever going to tell us the truth, but this was much better content.  Even now, I’m not cynical enough to deny that I was totally and thoroughly engaged.  Things were finally getting good.  

As promised, it was retransmitted.  The second one began exactly ninety six hours after the first.  I was hoping to hear something different.  Once was enough for me, but it was even more menacing the second time.

And then the power went out about five minutes later.

I was in my bedroom and I could hear my neighbors scream and gasp through the walls.  I joined them.

Up until then, most people knew it was a hoax.  For a few hours I did talk myself into believing that it was “the Dutch” (or whoever was the propaganda target of the time) and I remember falling asleep as the sun was rising, while trying to listen for machines or explosions that never came.

To be honest, I felt a lot better after I woke up on Christmas day.  The power was still off and nothing else had really happened.  

Initially I was like, “Yeah, they’re punishing us.  They always find a way”, but most of my neighbors were more open-minded and at least half of them admitted that they believed we were in the process of being contacted by aliens.  

They sounded utterly ridiculous to me.  Even now when I say that, I feel a bit silly.  I wasn’t sure what to believe, but it definitely wasn’t that.

There hadn’t been much traffic around where I lived anyway, but it really got quiet after the power went out.  

I much preferred it, though I did miss being able to listen to my headphones, especially on my walks.  I taught myself some chords on my kalimba and managed to suss out the “I Want You” melody, and that was probably the best thing for me at the time.  

I had issues already, but this constant barrage of mental chess matches was of no help whatsoever.  I kept telling myself that it was real and that the truly insane person isn’t aware of their own insanity — as I sang makeout songs to myself, whilst awaiting the explosion of the moon, which I had been assured (twice now, thank you very much!) would definitely be happening by a voice that came from inside the radio and the TV and my headphones and my toothbrush and yes, even my toaster somehow.

Taken from the book "It Was True: A Collection of Recollections About First Contact With Sialogea, as told to Andy by Dulce"

they sent me YOU

 you used to speak the truth, but now you're liar.

you used to speak the truth, but now you're clever.

stay clever.  act like nothing's wrong.

-gaa

Philomath. liner notes

to listen to, or download, Philomath. (very much for free), please visit here

ever since i can remember, he's talked about "that feeling."  what songs give him "that feeling", what bands and artists remind him of "that feeling" most often, where he was when he first experienced "that feeling" with a specific song or album, et cetera.

yeah, like all things he's fascinated by, andy just won't shut up about it.

j, on the other hand, quite literally does not give a fuck. he will call you a "pansy ass f*ggot" if you even admit to liking certain music, nevermind letting it have "that feeling" on you. i told him prodigy from mobb deep was not intimidating in his rhymes, but in fact, very intellectually interesting and that his rhyme schemes were fun to study. he predictably called me a "gay ass."

but j, even though he will never admit it, is in fact quite intrigued by the idea of music resonating and being emotionally moving.  upon hearing 'shook ones', he will jump around and recite the lyrics in his hardest faux-nyc b-boy stance. he doesn't understand that getting amped up and excited is actually the music resonating with him in a very profound way.

he doesn't understand because he is, after all, a child.

so how the hell did these two manage to collaborate on Philomath. and actually make something beautiful, ugly, sad, exuberant, and ultimately, extremely resonating and coherent?

there was a time when the two of them refused to even acknowledge the other's existence.  and, for even longer, one was quite angry and abusive towards the other (i think you can probably guess who was who in that scenario).  but they both experienced the same upbringing.  it was probably inevitable that they would both arrive at the same conclusion that those summer vacations were invaluable in providing respite and, most importantly, insight.

insight into what it was like to not have that sense of impending doom all the time.  insight into what the beauty in a lot of music was actually about; not just speculating on it.  insight, ultimately, into what we could be.

andy told me years ago, upon reading an interview with him, that he wanted more than anything to hear david axelrod write arrangements for an entire outkast album.  although hiphop moving towards a more conventional mode of musician-based music production will always seem like a radical idea in the larger picture, andy's thought wasn't that far-fetched.  after all, axe had long been a sample favorite in hiphop and he even got ras kass to rap on his comeback album.  but still, that's just how andy thinks: in the larger picture.  he doesn't understand that old jazz man axe coming in to talk shop and collaborate with andre3000 and his prince obsessions probably wouldn't pan out.  he simply sees two of his favorite music makers who have given him "that feeling" more than any others and figures that, when they collaborate, it will be multiplied accordingly.  he thinks big, not practical.

when he first told me that he wanted to make an album about philomath, i told him to talk to junior about it because that was always his favorite place too.  andy, being the wide-eyed enthusiastic person that he is, immediately just jumped into it: "junior, what beats do you have?  what do you think of this idea?  do you think we can do songs about basketball?  is there any way to make it sound like the wind going through the high trees and the water running in the creek at the same time?  you remember that, right?"

and on, and on.

much to my surprise, j just kind of shrugged it off and told him that it seemed like, "a cool idea, i guess."

they didn't talk directly about it again for another three years.

andy just started to develop a new song one day and, in a very uncharacteristic manner, announced that he had begun to work on "me and junior's album."  i don't think j was aware that they had even agreed to work on anything.  uncharacteristic of him to take that initiative, but typical of him to be so idiosyncratic about it.

that song was 161.  i always knew andy would eventually write themes for all of my grandparents.  he had written one for my maternal grandfather around the time of his passing years ago before andy even knew what a major seventh was.  when andy first started to get the chords in order for 161, he just kept saying, "the way he walked was so happy."  and he's right; Donald Woodrow Anderson, Senior walked like he knew nothing and everything.  free of the worries of the world and simultaneously aware of it all (and therefore, prepared for anything).  whether he actually was or not didn't matter; he could be walking down the hall of the philomath food bank (which he founded) to help a patron, or he could be walking into the grocery store to get cat food.  it didn't matter; the man was on a mission to live the most content life he possibly could and there was not a whole lot that he let get in his way.  andy dedicated his solo album to grandpa andy last year and i knew then that it was only a matter of time before he would want to expand on his idea from years back and start working it into something tangible.  and, just like that —as is often the case with andy— it was starting to come to fruition.

j obliged as soon as he heard the melody andy had come up with.  because j knew it, i knew it, hell even capital G knew it: it was a variation on one of the things grandpa andy would whistle to himself.  i don't know if it's a well-known tune that grandpa andy took from a classical piece somewhere or what; but the point remains: andy somehow transcribed it, despite not hearing the man whistle for at least the last two decades, and we all immediately recognized what he was doing.

j told him that grandma june's theme should have an actual title and not just be "_____'s theme."  subsequently, andy made a double exception: he tuned back to DADGAD for the first time in over five years —after swearing off it because, as he put it, "there was nothing else to write about that was that warm"— and he simply said, "call it 'the baby bank.'"  164 was born.  one of their favorite places in the entire world, as it had train tracks running just behind it, the baby bank was founded by June Anderson in the late 1980s with the same ideal as the food bank: if you are in need for your newborns and small children and don't have the finances, the baby bank is where you go for resources and relief.

they agreed that andy would play the songs as he wanted to play them and j would make them sound as he wanted them to sound.  andy's musical interests have always swayed towards pretty sounds, while j wants groove.  andy likes the big beautiful middle eight and j wants the funk.  i thought for sure they would never actually get very far knowing this, but andy was surprisingly accepting of j's ideas and j was likewise very sympathetic of what andy was going for.  for me, this reaches its' obvious boiling point in 162.  andy hates j's mix, but he kept it on the album.  for what it's worth, andy did attempt an alternate mix which, perhaps very predictably, gives prominence to those big chords over the drums.  for the record, i like both.

he made it very clear from the start that this was his and junior's album.  there would be no input from anyone else unless they both agreed to accept that input.  i was fine with this, because j had become a lot more outspoken about the musical stuff recently after years of simply being apathetic and i wanted to take a back seat for a bit.  and that's what the album is: j and andy throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks.  and hell, even if it doesn't stick for very long, if at all, throw it in there anyway because this is our music, we'll do whatever the hell we want, and we don't really care what you think, thank you very much.

that is consistently true for all except one of the album's tracks.  and i'm not trying to downplay what they did, because i'm really proud of it; but that one track also just happens to be my personal favorite of the entire project.

the new recordings of 120 found an unlikely contributor in the one and only capital G.  when andy first started Philomath., he said that he wanted to include updated (and hopefully improved) recordings of all of the spectral projections. compositions — or at least the ones he reveres the most.  section two of 120 is subtitled "Gregory's theme." so it makes sense that, after a frustrating afternoon fiddling with different arrangements, capital G finally spoke up and told him, "you're not playin` it right.  it should be played to sound like what you think it should sound like."  nobody knew what he meant, except andy.  after four hours of dissatisfaction and dead ends, they had it tracked and were mixing within ninety minutes.  i can't say andy wanted to create what he thinks a proper hiphop album with david axelrod at the helm would sound like, but i have to imagine that's exactly what he was going for with this new version of 'spectral three.'

the album is a mixed bag of old and new compositions.  some old ones were kept in the can for a long time, held with the specific intention of being a part of this project: 99, for example, has been kicked around a lot, but it's always been about that thunderstorm in august.  others, like some discussed above, were written specifically for this album.  165, another example of a new composition specifically intended to tell part of this album's story, details what andy refers to as his "entrance music for the trailblazers."  he remembers when j would rap, word for word, along with his tapes as he would shoot hoops for hours on end.   and he actually wanted j to write an original rap verse for it.

(junior declined: "i'm not a fucking rapper, i'm a dj, dude!")

the album's other long form track is an updated take on andy's ever-evolving work that he sometimes refers to as "sunset." — it actually consists of numbers 119 and 121.  though this song is always on the move in andy's mind, he wanted to basically make a higher fidelity recording than the one he made last year (in which he got "drum" sounds from hitting the neck pickup on his guitar in certain ways, as opposed to just biting the bullet and asking j to sample drums).  when i asked him why he wanted to update "sunset.", all andy said was that he wanted "to do justice to that memory."  i don't know what specific instance he's referring to, but if andy has anything close to a "holy" time of the day, it's when the sun is setting.  so, i get it: it's a memory that he keeps very close and doesn't really care to talk about in any great detail.  that's fair.

andy was regretful of ending last year's lasso. on the sour note that we did.  but, as i told him at the time, it was a good story, but it did not have a happy ending.  when they had about three or four songs finished, both he and junior started to talk about how they wanted the end of the album to be "sad, but not too sad; not upsetting."  because, as j put it, "there was a time when i felt like i could always look forward to going back."  and that's true; no matter what happened, 23724 was always a place that we could count on being there when we got the chance to go back.  with 166, andy did his best to make the last portion of the album convey as much of that carefree feeling as he possibly could.  that's what the joy of riding around Benton county in grandpa andy's truck felt like to andy: a jaunty jangle of a time.  however, with 167, they both decided that they needed a "classic-sounding 'last song'."

we're all huge fans of long albums where the track sequence is an integral part of what the album has to say.  andy sat down and, unlike any other song for this project, tracked the rhythm part in one take, on the first take.  none of us had heard him play it before then.  he wrote it down, sussed out the other parts and simply said, "two ninety nine."  california state route 299 is one of the roads that we would drive to get back and forth and, upon heading back to reno, driving on it signified that we were now over half way back — further away from philomath, the place he didn't want to leave, and closer to 775, the place he didn't care to ever see again.

so, what is Philomath.?

it's a small country town in west central oregon that my paternal grandparents lived just outside of, where i would visit as often as i possibly could as a child, adolescent, and young man.

it's also andy and junior's common ground.  it's where the seeds were planted so many years ago, unbeknownst to any of us then, for healing to finally occur.

it's the closest thing i've ever experienced to a "promised land."

these recordings are, to me, what it felt like to be there at the time.

thank you, guys.  i needed a reminder of that feeling.


PS— junior has already started to ask andy to collaborate on further ideas.  he has always been fascinated by 127 and 123, so he asked andy to help him with new versions.  andy was more than happy to oblige.  maybe i'm just jazzed that there's yet another recording of my theme, but i do honestly feel like what they managed to cook up with "spectral six" there is the best thing to come out of this entire project so far.

—g.