Let me just start this post with a disclaimer. I am not a dark person, or at least choose to avoid dark things. I’m not emo, I don’t like death metal I don’t really even like hard rock. But I love Comus.
A brief history. The group made a first appearance in 1969 at a concert hall in London. They played a couple good songs, or at least, enough to gain a small following. The key members of this group were (song writer) Rodger Wootton and Glen Goring (arranger). 1970 was the big year for the group. In an interview with Folk Alley, Wootton said that the group spent allot of the year in “a rural setting” he also noted that “there were allot of drug around”. Interestingly, he notes that the drugs were a big factor in the music 0_0. Comus came into a Dawn Records in ‘71 and after a lot of fuss, the group released “First Utterance” *shivers*. The title, and cover, describe the album. Listen to it yourself, if you dare.
Wootton got mad twice in his interview with Folk Alley’s Jim Bloom. Once after talking about Dawn Records, and again after discussing their second album, “To Keep from Crying” (aka the producer made us wright this crap). The album was an about face for the group. The songs were mostly depressing, and contained non of the great aspects, that gave “First Utterance” its character. I don’t remember for sure but it seems like Dawn Records made the change for Comus. But it doesn’t matter, the album was the bands death sentence.
The group broke up after a couple more years of unsuccessful touring. Many of the die hard fans had left, and Wootton had lost hope. The band made a couple reappearances in 2007 and are still (to the best of my knowledge) still touring a little. At any rate, I recommend “First Utterance” if you want to be scared.
Sufjan Stevens will forever annoy and fascinate me. His music ranges from really sad techno to incredible guitar solos to the darkest piano to the happiest banjo. The average stevens fan is placed on an emotional roller coaster, but for those who chose to stay on the ride, there are some incredible rewards. One of those rewards is “All Delighted People”.
Stevens had spent the last few months (after the release of the BQE) playing with “The National”. Good stuff has come from Stevens collaborations (the welcome wagon comes to mind). Somehow, it just didn’t strike me that he could be working on a new EP. So I was pleasantly surprised a few weeks ago when I visited asthmatic kitty, and found the early release of a song from his new album “Age of Adz” (due in October).
The song “Too Much” really turned me off at first. Listening through it once I was sure that Stevens had returned to his old electric sounds. Stevens released an album that was entirely electric “Enjoy Your Rabbit”. It was a tribute to the twelve Chinese Zodiac years, and I purchased a copy because the idea sounded great. I was disappointed by the album, and still am. So hearing the electric sounds in the foreground of the release really scared me. The song itself reminds me allot of sonic the hedgehog, but thats another topic.
I spent the next day or so listening to the “Avalanche” just to rengain some confidence. Then I dived in again this time I streamed “All Delighted People” from his website I was pleasantly surprised. Sufjan brings out songs that could have fit in the Illiniose album, or maybe even a Christmas EP. In addition to these older sounding acoustic songs, he also gives us a scent of the BQE. The song “All Delighted People” is whole 11 minutes long, plus there are two versions of it on the EP. The first is allot like the BQE in the sense that it has some very classical themes and sounds. The second brings the “Welcome Wagon” image to mind, with armies of horns, backed by a choir of vocalists, drums penetrating the den and somewhere in the background the quiet voice of Sufjan and the twang of his banjo.
Another song that struck me was “The Owl and the Tanager”. Sad, quiet, Gothic sounding, it adds another element to the EP. Stevens has always had an element of darkness in his songs, but this really brings that aspect of him to the surface. ”John Wayne Gacy, Jr.” begins and ends with the piano, somehow the “Owl & the tanager” isolates the piano in Sufjan and then holds your attention for a few minutes.
Well thats my take on the EP. 4 out of 5 GallimaufEPs, if your a Stevens fan Buy the EP, then listen to the next album on NPR on October 12th. I’ll make my final call as to whether I buy it or not, then.
I’ve been a Chess fan for a long time. The first time I played was when I was nine. My Dad pulled our old, cardboard, piece of junk board from somewhere in a closet. The set was probably designed by some american tycoon of industry, with the intention of spending as little as possible in material cost. The pieces were made of ultra thin plastic, the type of stuff your dog loves to chew. On the back of each piece was the label, MADE IN CHINA. MADE IN CHINA somehow made the whole thing worse. It conjured up images of little men, hunched over an assembly line, gingerly placing the final touches on a rook.
I still loved it. Since then there have been little developments in my chess skills. I learned the rules and played a few games with my dad, then siblings, then friends. Usually my opponents cared less about the game than I did, and so I typically won. Then came a lull in my chess career, my game of choice was stratego then monopoly. Then Halo came along and Chess lost its charm entirely.
Fast forward a few years, a bike, and a star wars craze later and I’m in front of the board again. This time though, I was watching. Its 2010 and Topolov was placing his bid for the championship. Standing in his way was the current title holder Anand. I was too late to watch them live, so I watched them on you-tube, then I would watch experts analyze the games. Before I knew it, I was enjoying chess.
The next step was to start playing. I registered a chess.com account via facebook, and began playing real chess, with real people, who played real well. Within five games I had gone from the standard registration rating of 1200 to 500. I bottomed out the next day at 450. Needless to say, I was disappointed, and a little frustrated.
So I changed gears. I removed the minimum rating level, and started playing only sub-600s. After a close draw I won my first game on a rematch. Things just got better from here, I upgraded my account a little to unlock the tactics trainer. The trainer places you in unique situations, and forces you to find the best option in a limited amount of time. I’d work on tactics in between biology and algebra, then after writing I’d play a couple games of chess.
So now I’m here! I have a lowly rating of 643, but for me it’s an accomplishment. I still play a game or two during the average weekday, and I’ve learned to like chess. Story book ending! I have a feeling though that this is just the beginning.
If you’d like to play me sometime, my username is jlsims.
