Category: Music

Since Orson’s Telescope‘s Jeremy Grimshaw is working night and day to finish his dissertation (right, Jeremy? That wasn’t you I saw logged on to the Warcraft server, was it?), he has left it up to me to inform ya’ll that the Spring 2005 issue of Dialogue features his essay “Music of a ‘More Exalted Sphere’: The Sonic Cosmology of La Monte Young.”

For those, like me, who are too cheap to subscribe to Dialogue, Jeremy’s earlier article on Young — The Sonic Search for Kolob:
Mormon Cosmology and the Music of La Monte Young — is available online (originally published in repercussions).

Read it — even if you don’t know a thing about 20th century avant garde music. What’s most interesting about the article is how Jeremy is able to infuse the right amount of Mormonism into readings of Young’s work without a) trying to overstate its influence and b) becoming self-conscious about the Mormon aspects of the project. I don’t know enough about the state of minimalist music criticism to fully critique the piece, but to my untrained eye, it seems to provide a needed corrective to the blind spot that is Mormonism for many critical studies of 19th and 20th century artists, which tend to both overdramatize and romanticize Mormonism as biography and discount it’s influence in terms of theme and form.

The Harvard Crimson has posted a review of a recent Low concert. It follows the typical story line of Low’s music reflecting the band’s native Dultuh and the Mormonism of two of its three members — the husband-wife team Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker. What’s interesting about the review, though, is that the way it describes the Mormon-ness of the band:

“Alan and Mimi, as practicing Mormons, lead a quiet lifestyle worlds removed from most of their groupies-n-gin peers. Shining through in their lyrics and in their relationship, this faith that sets them apart also brings their sound to a new level. Although less minimalist than their first release (every song title on I Could Live In Hope is one word), The Great Destroyer is just as bare and beautiful as the rest of their albums. The music, although not conducive even to foot-tapping, rewards patience and silence with a beautifully austere, wintry texture reminiscent of Duluth, even in a scene saturated with New York swagger and California ennui. The perfect complement to a cold, listless winter day, Low’s music becomes more beautiful as it becomes more familiar, their maudlin, Mormon message piercing to the bone of even the most jaded big city hipster.”

I’m not sure how “practicing” Alan and Mimi are — and on an aesthetic level, I don’t really care — but I find it interesting that the style of music that Low plays (often labeled “slowcore”) is seen as connected to their Mormonism. As part of a Mormon aesthetic. I’ve listened to some of Low’s music, but not enough to know if that’s really the case. The band members themselves tend to say that they started playing slow and spare as a reaction against the loud grunge sound (and also to just piss people off — which they apparently did at some of their early concerts).

This question of “Mormon-ness” is a difficult one. One made even more difficult when it comes to music and visual art that doesn’t explicitly feature Mormon cultural materials. I’m tempted to go off on the idea of their sound and reverence, but I don’t know their music well enough, and I think that’s a dead end idea anyway.

[Tangent]I’m not sure what’s up with the use of “maudlin.” I don’t think the adjective fits their music, but, you know, anything for a sweet use of alliteration, right? Music and film reviewers seem to be especially susceptible to its siren call.[/Tangent]

Low’s latest album “The Great Destroyer” was released Jan. 25 by Sub Pop Records. For more on Low, including to listen to samples of their music and purchase albums (plus really cool merchandise), visit Chairkickers Union Music. Low will be touring extensively in support of the new album — the West Coast swing of their tour takes place in March and April and includes stops in Salt Lake City, Seattle, San Francisco, LA and Phoenix.

POSTSCRIPT: On this day, the day that we mourn Arthur Miller’s passing, I think it’s only fitting to point out that one of the singles from Low’s latest album is titled “Death of a Salesman.” You can hear a clip from it at Amazon.com.

There has been quite a bit of traffic over the past few days to A Motley Vision as a result of internet searches for “The Fireside Song.” I wrote about it back in September. In addition, a couple of people have e-mailed me asking where they could get a hold of a copy of the song — apparently it was played on a Utah radio station.

To hear a clip from the song, click here.

To purchase a high-quality MP3 of “The Fireside Song” for $2.99, .

Finally, as far as I can tell, the lyrics are not available on the Web.