For the last few weeks, I’ve been chipping away at a special issue of the newsletter. But don’t get too excited: this ain’t it. The special issue would be in the style of Pitchfork’s 5-10-15-20, which invites people reflect on their lifetime of listening in 5 year increments. I’ve drummed up some selections and, so far, I’m feeling like the piece might be uninteresting for y’all (though perhaps that’s because I’ve lived my life and you haven’t). At the very least, it’s been an interesting thought process. What’s really struck me is just how incredibly important local music has been in my life. In many ways, it’s incomparable to other music for me. My sense of connection to it is so much more charged and complex. And now that I’ve tried making sense of my musical journey in this particular format, it seems so weird to me that I don’t recall a single edition of said Pitchfork feature wherein anyone references the local music scene of their youth. How can this be?
I went out this weekend to a thoroughly local show, had my dome thoroughly twisted by some great improv and wound up having a night cap with a friend from the scene. We waxed about the current algorithmic flattening of music history and the staggering importance of Weird Canada (RIP). The whole night reminded me of how lucky I am to be held in community. I never want to lose touch with local music and it’s wonderful people – maybe I should do a special issue on that?
I’ll keep tinkering. For now, here’s a thoroughly regular Regular.
click the cover to listen or go your own way ~~
Jun Arasaki & Nine Sheep - Kajyadhi Fu Bushi (1977)
More and more, I’ve been using the term ‘umami’ to describe music, and I feel like this languid, otherworldly tune is a great example of what I mean. It’s been lingering in my mind since first hearing it on NTS this past September. It’s an unlikely rendition of a traditional Okinawa folk song for large jazz ensemble, performed only once, unrehearsed, for a television broadcast in 1977. It has a somewhat tentative yet deeply concentrated quality, as if the players are hesitant not only due to lack of preparation but also because they’re experiencing the collection creation of this overwhelmingly magical piece of music for the first time. Please, join me under this spell.
Willie Nelson - Teatro (1998)
It’s kinda hard to know where to begin with this one. As someone from So-Called Canada, I feel obliged to address the presence of ‘super producer’ Daniel Lanois off the top. But here’s the truth: I don’t really care much for his work. The rare exception being this record (and the comparable one he did with Emmylou Harris a few years previous). Recorded in an old movie theatre in Oxnard, California, Teatro features the Red Headed Stranger laying down reimagined classics alongside Harris and backed by an incredible, wurlitzer + percussion-heavy ensemble. The whole thing is warm and lonely and wonderful, but I’m particularly taken by ‘The Maker’, a song about calling up hope amidst life’s darker conditions. I actually just learned that it’s written by Lanois, so I went and listened to his version. A bit weenie innit? I also just learned that there’s a beautiful film version of the album directed by the one and only Wim Wenders.
** shout out to my dear friend EB for introducing me to this record, for copy editing the very first issue of Music Regular and for generally being a generous, brilliant, beautiful person!
Cleaners From Venus - On Any Normal Monday (1982)
There’s been a lot of writing on the state of music journalism lately. And there’s been a lot of writing that starts by saying there’s been a lot of writing on the state of music journalism lately. So forgive me for succumbing to a current cliché, but amidst this barrage of ruminations, I haven’t yet heard anyone mention Texting Interviews, a fun Substack and IG that interviews musicians via text. Not sure if this format has been done elsewhere, but I’ve really been enjoying it, even as someone who’s not terribly interested in a lot of the artists featured. There’s something oddly intimate about it in an almost voyeuristic way. ANYWAYS– Nourished By Time was featured recently and he professed his obsession with this Cleaners album. I’d never paid them much mind before, having unjustly coded them as a less interesting version of The Clean. But this jangly collection of pop jammers is mighty fine, mighty fine. Having an absolute heater as an opening track never hurts.
Prasant Radhakrishnan - Meditations: Ragas on Saxophone: Vol. 1 (2011)
Listening to this humble collection of thoroughly transcendent music has me trying to write the most profound shit on ~the essence of music~. Which is at least partially because I’ve been finding myself in wonder lately, like: how is it that I’ve dedicated my life to this thing, Music? …as if I’m just seeing the scale of that truth for the first time. Hearing music like this makes it abundantly clear. Like, THIS. Hearing this. Being with this. Is why.
ICYMI, I started a donations page. 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 also includes 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
Japanese folk record a total banger.
Teatro is an incredible record! I've been diving into Willie's daunting discography for the past few years and as far as I can tell, there's really not much like this one, except for maybe its precursor, Spirit. I could probably do without those occasional keyboards (which I think are Lanois's doing) but all in all it's a really special atmosphere throughout the whole album.