I have a playlist on Soundcloud of my own original rock music and I’d love for you to check it out, preferably on some good speakers, up loud. I’m really proud of this, and would love to hear what you think.
If you have “I like music” in your profile, you must listen. It’s the law!! 🫶
My latest column for @Locusmag is "What Kind of Bubble is AI?" All economic bubbles are hugely destructive, but some of them leave behind wreckage that can be salvaged for useful purposes, while others leave nothing behind but ashes:
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
I was listening to my own music last night, which is not unusual, I listen to my own music quite a bit. I like it. But as I listened to it last night, I began to view it for the first time as a body of work. I’m not sure what it was before that moment, but as I played through the almost-hour long collection of my original songs, I was struck with the feeling that this is… a thing, a representation of something, I’m not sure what. I’m usually good with words, but I’m finding it difficult to describe the shift I felt. I know I must continue to add to this body of work, and that the work must stay true to itself. Music for the sake of music, and tunes that I personally enjoy listening to over and over again. I’m not sure if it was because I’d just binged on Ween, or maybe had too much sugar, but it was like an epiphany, and The Dgar Project has taken a new seat in my own consciousness. I am a songwriter, and this year, I’m writing songs.
Here’s the link if you’d like to open up the #Dgar for yourself and see what’s inside.
Two years ago today, Space Pop was released into the wild. The accompanying music video would come some months later. Still one of my most fun songs, it has no mention of butts, guns, or anacondas.
Interesting #news values on the #BBC site just now, down from the main news from #Russia. A #pop#festival performance is apparently more important to us than the #UK government's response to the #crisis in nuclear armed Russia. Further down, more from the same festival is more newsworthy than policy developments in the #SNP, a party seeking the breakup of the UK. I don't know who pockets the profits at #Glastonbury, but they must pay their #PR bods plenty to get this stuff reported as "news"
Hey I just “updated” my website. I was using koji but it got bought out and rather than transfer to linktree my spouse coded a basic website for me. Can someone please check and make sure it all works? It’s pretty barebones at the moment, but hopefully functional.
It should be visible in both light and dark mode. Thank you! 🙏
🎧 "One World (Not Three)" (1981) zooms me back to Summer, 1983 in DC. I DJ'd Happy Hour in the courtyard of a new office building. 19th and L-ish—outside a "Cantina."
Yuppies and Guppies and Jose Cuervo, mostly. This track made them move!
[Verse]
I took my baby
To the esplanade
We grabbed a bite to eat
And found a place to park
They said to me
I like your car
Was then I knew
We’re gonna go far
We headed to the beach
And we chased the tide
We watched the sea
And the sun collide
We put some dolphin stickers
On the sides
Of our little black hatchback
And go for ride.
[Pre-chorus]
It looks so good
Looks so right
Driving along
Taking in the sights
[Chorus]
In my little black hatchback
Driving from town to town
Taking all the back tracks
In the coolest little car around
[Verse]
We drove out back
Looking for some fun
It was like we were sailing
On the sun
Look out world
Here we come
In a little black hatchback
That wants to run
We went on a search
For something new
We climbed the mountains
Just to see the view
You vowed to me
And I vowed to you
To connect our souls
And forever be true
[Pre-chorus]
It feels so good
It feels so right
Driving along
Afternoon delight
[Chorus]
In my little black hatchback
Driving from town to town
Taking all the back tracks
In the coolest little car around
[Solo]
[Pre-chorus]
It’s so good
It’s so right
Driving along
Into the night
[Chorus]
In my little black hatchback
Driving from town to town
Taking all the back tracks
In the coolest little car around
My little black hatchback
Driving from town to town
Taking all the back tracks
In the coolest little car around
Written, composed, performed, mixed, and produced by Jon O'Hare.
Sometimes I don’t understand people – take this for example
This week the most listened to track on my al bum “No Laments for Pale Sunsets” seems to have been what I consider the worst track on there, it’s my least favourite, the one I don’t like, and incidentally the one I spent most time turning into an almost totally different track from it’s origins and still didn’t like the result all that much but as I’d spent so much time on it, it went into the album anyway
verse 1:
thermo dynamo
b b f# g a
throw on set to go
a b c# b a
part you’re faster now
charting vacant glow
rebel quirk you know
metal work plateau
chorus:
Way life appears - we don’t understand
b a b c# - b c# b c# d
Send your idea - to boundary lands
Maybe I’m near - the master of plans
Send your idea - to boundary lands
verse 2:
work to leave the plane
up our ether lane
terse by weave inane
supply entertain
touch your whisker gain
particular drain
middle 8:
surface flow, metal grow, heat beat ratio
d d f# g a g e d e c# d
orange glow, warm glass show, air where apropos
d d f# g a g e d e c# d
chorus 2:
Way life appears - we don’t understand
Send your idea - to boundary lands
Maybe I’m near - the master of plans
Send your idea - to boundary lands
(Yes, as you’ve almost certainly guessed, the original lyric (verses and middle eight) was a song about thermionic emission, but with the new chorus lyrics it suddenly became transformed into a wistful song about human and personal achievement via transmission of ideas, hrmph)
#NowReading - the reboot of sound collector audio review, large format #print zine i wasn't hep enough to read in the '00s. nothin' but writing about not-new albums (#jazz, #indie, #rock, #pop, #punk, more), long & longer form by record review standards, short by essay standards. many feel (in nice ways) like hyper-condensed 33 1/3 books. not all to my taste, but all passionate. beautiful antidote to the #pitchfork etc. bullshit. free at record stores: https://soundcollector.com/stockists@vinylrecords
What’s the cheesiest track that you love with your entire heart?
For me it’s
KC & The Sunshine Band - Give It Up
It reminds me of every wedding I went to as a kid, sliding around on the dance floor, looking cool as shit. I don’t think I could ever grow tired of hearing it.
The Bevis Frond - Homemade Traditional Electric Jam
Most of the huge Bevis Frond catalog is just good #noisy post #punk#acid#pop art #rock songwriting but every once in awhile they just cut loose. Not sure there's a better example than this 42 minute improv session to wrap up an excellent live album (link follows)