Pick Three with Don Ryan

01/05/2012 By

1. Dimensions of Dialogue – Jan Svankmajer (1982)
Broken up into three parts, Dimensions of Dialogue explores just what its namesake suggests, but in a way that only the master of stop motion surrealism Jan Svankmajer can bring. Part 1 is my favorite of the three. It depicts a profile view of heads constructed of household items (some made of kitchenware, others made of fruit and similar such food items, and eventually some made of clay) devouring and regurgitating one another repeatedly, each time becoming slightly more human in shape. The frenzied pace and tight closeups on the subjects make this thing impossible to look away from!

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Nice Playlist, Brah: Did You Know Music Existed After 1975? by Christiaan Mader of Brass Bed

12/22/2011 By

Despite being a contemporary artist, I struggle to keep up with contemporary music. Most years, my pals start passing around “best of” lists that utterly baffle me. “What is a Fleet Fox?”, I’m left to wonder. For 2011, I made a concerted effort to keep up with my contemporaries, and was pleasantly surprised. Did you know music has consistently been produced after 1975?Click to Stream:

“The Afterlife” – from So Beautiful or So What by Paul Simon
A rare reminder that classic artists can still crank out quality material long after their period of relevance is over. As an avid listener of 60s and 70s pop, I shudder to think of most material recorded by the greats since John Lennon’s death in 1980. Post S&G Paul Simon has consistently produced beautiful music. This is just the latest example. Where is G-Funk I wonder?

“Unrequited Love” – from Wounded Rhymes by Lykke Li
Aside from having a voice that can vacillate between pure velvet and Psycho screeching violins, Lykke Li seems to be comfortable being both earnest and sexually playful (a la I’m Your Prostitute). This song is just damn gorgeous. I’ve got mad songwriter envy for this one. She makes doowops seem contemporary and grave.

“Green Aisles” – from Days by Real Estate
Real Estate is easily one of my favorite new bands. Their carefree jangle jams seem to carry some existential weight to them. The tone, timbre, and mood set by their recordings is utterly in synch and capitivating, plus they make guitar phasers cool again. They’re a rare group that are able to sound homogenous and focused without sounding samey from song to song.

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Locals Only: Audra Brown of Snagglepus Listens to Jeffery and the Pacemakers

10/06/2011 By

My dad says that all music is derivative. That we all build upon one another while working for that sonic perfection. I play in a new Memphis power pop band, and I have found my forefathers.

I go and see Jeffery and the Pacemakers every chance I get. Why? Well, I was not around during the heyday of the classic Memphis venue, The Antenna Club. I was not old enough to hang around my idol Jay Reatard. But this band brings a lot of it to me. They are some of the best musicians in Memphis and play the music that both their band’s and my band’s music is built upon: Classic British Invasion and some other ’60s greats.

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