Five & Five on Friday, 8/18/23

The return of Lamniformes Radio, thoughts on syncs, and a neat documentary

Happy Friday! Congratulations on making it to the end of the week. As you head into your weekend, here are five recommendations and then five micro reviews of albums from my high school CD collection. Maybe you’ll find something new to read, listen to, or do this weekend. See you next week!

1. ICYMI: I’m playing drums with Bellows on September 6th at Sundown Bar in Ridgewood, Queens. This will be Bellows’ first time playing Sundown, and we’re playing a unique set to accommodate our three-man lineup. We’re also opening, so swing by early!

2. Earlier this week I interviewed composer and ambient pop singer Cassie Wieland, who performs under the name Vines, for my podcast Lamniformes Radio. The first Vines EP, Birthday Party, is out as of today. Cassie and I talk about the EP, moving from the classical music world to the pop one, navigating social media, and much more!

3. I found this article on Pitchfork about the way that the ongoing WGA/SGA strikes have effected music licensing, which has in the streaming era become a crucial revenue source for many recording artists. I do however wish that they had addressed the financialization of music copyright by firms like Hipgnosis, who have spent the last five years buying the rights to countless classic catalogs. I imagine there are dots to connect between the surplus of sync opportunities that streaming platforms have created and the gold rush mentality by firms trying to control the songs that are filling those gaps.

4. Back in music school my friends and I would often put on old live videos of Chick Corea’s Elektric Band and simultaneously gawk at the gaudy outfits and marvel at the outrageous skill of the band, so I enjoyed this piece on Burning Ambulance about how the band reflect the worst tendencies of a particular moment in music recording technology.

5. For reasons that I hope will become clear soon-ish (basically depending on how much I’m able to write in a moving car over the next few days) I’ve been thinking a lot about the Russian neoclassical composer Dmitri Shostakovich. I’ve been a big admirer of his music ever since college when I was assigned to write an essay on his Fourth Symphony, however Shostakovich is just as fascinating as a political figure. If you’ve got an hour to kill, check out this documentary about both his life and his music, featuring interviews with his contemporaries and surviving family members.

Now, onto the five micro reviews. Long time Lamniformes Instagram followers will recognize these from my stories back in late 2020, however they’ve been re-edited and spruced up with links so that you can actually hear the music instead of just taking my word for it.

Disintegration by The Cure (1989) - Goth Rock

This CD appears under your pillow after your first teenage yearning like a gift from the tooth fairy. An all-time, never-left-the-rotation favorite. You might have noticed that I often want records to be shorter. Not this one! Wouldn’t cut a second, the build up to the title track is worth the wait. Sounds incredible too.

Life is Wasted on the Living by The Great Deceiver (2007) - Metallic Hardcore

Ah, the metalcore circle of life. At the Gates are inspired by Swedish d-beat, then go on to be ripped off by 10 million metalcore bands, only for their singer to start a band that mixes d-beat with the music inspired by At the Gates. Some very clicky late 00s production aside, I enjoyed this. Scratches all the right itches, and great Bannon art too.

Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd (1975) - Progressive Rock

I think this CD was a birthday present, thanks Dad! Teen Ian was very into Pink Floyd out of more a sense of obligation than anything else. “Welcome To The Machine” blew that Ian’s mind. I’ve cycled through just about every stance you could have on this band. It is interesting an early example of the “cost of fame” record. The middle chunk of the album doesn’t grab me anymore, but the vibe curation on “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” is pretty sick.

Altars of Madness by Morbid Angel (1989) - Death Metal

A canonical classic in extreme metal that 18 year old Ian couldn’t live without. I specifically sought out the Florida death metal scene after I thought I had outgrown metalcore, little did I know that this stuff would all get absorbed by into the hardcore lexicon a decade later. The first five tracks are so, so killer. After that the band’s flaws catch up with them.

Once Sent From the Golden Halls by Amon Amarth (1998) - Death Metal

Features a pre-Opeth Martin Lopez on drums, who hadn’t yet moved beyond trying to play like Gene Hoglan and into playing like himself. Amon Amarth’s style on the other hand emerged fully formed. They would go on to refine and streamline their songwriting but all the essential elements are here.