There are a handful of factors encouraging me to spotlight a single song for this 28th issue. Regular Readers know that I tend towards a smattering of sounds in each issue; a diffuse sonic palette on which to draw from each month. Today, I’m inviting you to focus on one single song. Here are some things about why:
Recently, we’ve come through two distinct yet overlapping moments in internet music dialogue. On the precipice of summer and at the halfway point of the calendar year, everyone was simultaneously staking claims on the ‘Song Of The Summer’ and the ‘Best Releases Of The Year So Far’. I have a self-imposed rule that I don’t write about any music released in a calendar year until my December issue. I am breaking that rule today. And I am also thereby putting forth my candidate for Song of The Summer.
Recently, in the back room of a bong shop in Toronto, I found a cassette copy of Robert Ashley’s Perfect Lives for sale. The purchase has reignited my adoration for the late composer.
Recently, I’ve been asking myself ‘could I be so bold as to propose a single song?’
Recently, I’ve been asking myself ‘would people snub their nose at a single song’?
Recently, I’ve been asking myself ‘what shape might connectedness take?’
If you do feel hoodwinked by this month’s sole selection, remember that you can always (re)visit archival issues like July 2022 or July 2021 for music best played when the sun is high and mighty.
click the cover to listen or go your own way ~~
Thomas Buckner Sings Robert Ashley - The Mystery Of The River (1991-2014)
Could this be the Song Of The Summer? Maybe yes, but more likely… not, I’m afraid. The title and artist ID alone, with their somewhat haughty, historical tone, almost certainly preclude its occupying such a ubiquitous station. And though it looks like the artists are having a lot of fun on the cover (Buckner’s shirt and Ashley’s necklace, coupled with two lovely grins), this music is admittedly a far cry from anything ‘hot girl’ or even ‘hot girl adjacent’.
‘The Mystery Of The River’ is a breezy, cyclical, twelve-and-a-half-minute bop composed by legendary American artist Robert Ashley and performed in a honeyed baritone by his longtime collaborator Thomas Buckner. The source material for the song is an ‘opera’ called Atalanta that was commissioned by the Museum Of Contemporary Arts in Chicago for performance in 1985. In advance of this staging, Ashley wrote ten hours of material for the piece and staged multiple versions in the US and Europe. With each iteration of Atalanta, the composer encouraged that the songs, themes, and ideas be altered, re-ordered, included or omitted, differently each time. Here we have one of Buckner’s interpretations of ‘Mystery’ from 2014 (the year Ashley passed on). There’s undoubtedly a lot more that could be said to contextualize the piece but let’s all just have a listen, shall we?
Something that I love so much about Robert Ashley’s work is the way in which it seduces the listener into an attempt at some kind of intellectual understanding while simultaneously evading exactly that. The mundanity, the repetition, the insistence: all folded playfully into a high concept gesture that can’t help but be first and foremost sensual. To my mind, there’s none more cheshire than Ashley. So I implore you: crank this bad boy to eleven and allow its curious eddies to wash over you.
* this song is one of five compositions featured on the fantastic Spontaneous Musical Invention (pictured above) released on June 9th, 2023 by the always-stunning Recital Program. Please consider supporting the label if you feel financially able.
ICYMI, I started a donations page for Regular Readers. All the money I receive will go back towards music (eg. purchasing physical/digital music, merch, concert tickets, supporting other music outlets, etc.). If you’re not able to support the newsletter financially (no presh!), you might also consider liking / sharing / following on Instagram.
ALSO, I started a ~*fun*~ tracking sheet that provides transparency on donations and spending. It includes a list of great tapes currently for sale as well as links to my Bandcamp + Discogs profiles. This is as much about accountability as it is an experiment in tracking my own financial investments in music over a calendar year.
I’m super interested in feedback / dialogue / suggestions. If you have ideas about the newsletter, want to share music with me, have specific questions / requests, don’t hesitate to get in touch. And please: share this newsletter with a pal if you feel so inspired!
Yrs.,
Andrew P.
andrewdanielpatterson [at] gmail [dot] com