I dig the Gastr del Sol cover of that one a lot, too.
― Jimmywine Dyspeptic, Saturday, 3 August 2013 00:27 (ten years ago) link
interesting would be the question why people find him so great.
Specific feelings evoked, like most music. Trying to talk about it ultimately doesn't get anywhere. Not that it can't be fun to nibble around the edges.
― _Rudipherous_, Saturday, 3 August 2013 02:34 (ten years ago) link
I could say something like "Americana reverse domesticated for Americans people more comfortable with oud solos."
― _Rudipherous_, Saturday, 3 August 2013 02:35 (ten years ago) link
But why, why do you like a nose shaped like that?
― _Rudipherous_, Saturday, 3 August 2013 02:37 (ten years ago) link
Maybe it is answerable in concrete terms but as with music it's going to be disappointingly mathematical and the qualia is going to slip right through your fingers.
Sorry, I'm kind of sudafed damaged.
― _Rudipherous_, Saturday, 3 August 2013 02:40 (ten years ago) link
re: dry bones, i prefer the fahey version, i think it's neater. the gastr one w/ conrad creaking along starts to feel like it's about to collapse under its own weight, but i love that album and it's a good closer.
i think i cld come up w/ a lot of perhaps hyperbolic-sounding reasons why i like fahey but idk. i was more tempted a while ago when i think hurting said something about fahey "not having enough tricks" or something, which struck me as so absolutely wrong that i was tempted to post a list of selected JF tricks. i don't care if ppl don't like him though, that's fine
― ogmor, Saturday, 3 August 2013 10:46 (ten years ago) link
Post away
― Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 3 August 2013 14:16 (ten years ago) link
Yeah ogmor, I really dug your post on after the ball & transfiguration above, feel free to get as hyperbolic as you like from my perspective.
― grandavis, Saturday, 3 August 2013 14:29 (ten years ago) link
dry bones is the ultimate fahey slow-motion jam
To that end, I can completely understand why by the 90s he may have found these records to be personally uncomfortable and maybe a little embarrassing.
― Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 3 August 2013 14:36 (ten years ago) link
otm. Some great writing on this thread!
― Jimmywine Dyspeptic, Saturday, 3 August 2013 15:59 (ten years ago) link
I'm playing the Fahey and Gastr del Sol versions of Dry Bones simultaneously and it's freaking me out.
― things are going to get better or worse (WilliamC), Saturday, 3 August 2013 16:04 (ten years ago) link
hopefully this bio will answer this thread title's question:An early heads up on a biography of John Fahey by Vin Du Select Qualitite label head Steve Lowenthal, slated for publication next year. Dance Of Death: The Life Of John Fahey – American Guitarist will be published by Chicago Review Press im June 2014. It includes interviews with all three of Fahey's wives, plus Michael Chapman, Leo Kottke, Byron Coley, Glenn Jones, Jim O'Rourke, The No Neck Blues Band, Dean Blackwell and many others. More details to be announced at chicagoreviewpress.comhttp://thewire.co.uk/news/26412/john-fahey-biography-on-the-way-in-2014
― tylerw, Thursday, 29 August 2013 15:19 (ten years ago) link
Now that looks like a good read, gonna go ahead and pencil that in for 2014 birthday/Christmas.
― grandavis, Thursday, 29 August 2013 15:47 (ten years ago) link
did we talk about this already? the talking heads don't look great but there's some new (to me) interview footage, so i'm excited!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=&v=3NoXyb9AjJw
― ogmor, Thursday, 29 August 2013 19:13 (ten years ago) link
i didn't know about that...did you see the basho doc got kickstarted?
― everything I do is funky like Debussy (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 29 August 2013 19:16 (ten years ago) link
knew about the fahey doc, think that might be a new-ish trailer?
― tylerw, Thursday, 29 August 2013 19:22 (ten years ago) link
xp yeah! i'm excited about that, basho is more mysterious to me. there is currently one known video of him playing though, so it's going to depend entirely on who they get involved. jack rose would have been so good for both of these
― ogmor, Thursday, 29 August 2013 19:25 (ten years ago) link
yeah i'm more excited for basho too, seems less documented.
i like that pete townsend is in both. cool someone of that stature would make time for both. i enjoy listening to pete talk about things. stephan grossman in the fahey - he's like the cat daddy of 80s fingerpicking instructional video tapes.
who's the guy who says "John Fahey was punk rock"? I hate that shit, not everything that is good or interesting or individual or challenging is "punk rock". Oh man "There's a Riot Goin' On" is PUNK ROCK. Bitches Brew is PUNK ROCK. Rite of Spring was PUNK ROCK.
― everything I do is funky like Debussy (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 29 August 2013 19:28 (ten years ago) link
copy of the handbook for 13 bucks if anyone needs one:
http://www.amazon.com/The-John-Fahey-Handbook-Vol/dp/0985302801/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377804503&sr=8-1&keywords=john+fahey+handbook
― scott seward, Thursday, 29 August 2013 19:29 (ten years ago) link
xp punk rockists! haha, yeah, you can almost see in that dude's face that he's like "oh shit why did i say that!?"
― tylerw, Thursday, 29 August 2013 19:30 (ten years ago) link
i think the people in this thread account for roughly 43% of the sales on that fahey handbook.
― tylerw, Thursday, 29 August 2013 19:31 (ten years ago) link
i think the guy who says he's punk rock is a member of ilx favourites the decemberists.
― Clyde One DJ Diane “Knoxy” Knox-Campbell (Merdeyeux), Thursday, 29 August 2013 19:39 (ten years ago) link
i like that pete townsend is in both. cool someone of that stature would make time for both. i enjoy listening to pete talk about things.
Me too. As a huge Fahey and Townshend fan, I'm pretty excited to see this doc.
― Shart Week (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, 29 August 2013 19:41 (ten years ago) link
i don't have it!
if i was making a fahey doc i would try to get ppl like joe bussard, dick spottswood, anthony lee, pat sullivan, ED denson, terry robb, barry hansen, his various wives & gfs, peter lang, david grubbs, jim o'rourke, glenn jones, keith from nnck, steffen basho junghans, byron coley..... all way before pete townshend or whoever. but it is cool he is doing it. laurie spiegel said some interesting stuff about fahey, she'd be in there too. might go and see stefan grossman when he tours in a couple of months.
― ogmor, Thursday, 29 August 2013 19:49 (ten years ago) link
This one was disappointing:
http://www.amazon.com/Lake-Chelan-Greatest-World/dp/193617846X/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1377807743&sr=1-7&keywords=john+fahey
― Evan, Thursday, 29 August 2013 20:23 (ten years ago) link
He divides his time between Lake Chelan, where he and his wife own and operate a vacation rental business, and Restlawn Memory Gardens in West Salem, Oregon.
― christmas candy bar (al leong), Thursday, 29 August 2013 20:25 (ten years ago) link
The legend:http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/e1/80/d79086cff4280a7f02359d.L._V146557155_SY470_.jpg
― Evan, Thursday, 29 August 2013 20:29 (ten years ago) link
Revelation on the Banks of Lake Chelan
― tylerw, Thursday, 29 August 2013 20:32 (ten years ago) link
it's weird if they didn't reach out to peter lang and leo kottke
― everything I do is funky like Debussy (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 29 August 2013 20:33 (ten years ago) link
guess it was shown in NYC w/ screenings in seattle coming upUSA Theatrical Release:August 16-22 New York City, NY. Cinema Village, Manhattan.September 6-12 Seattle, WA. Grand Illusion Cinema. http://www.johnfaheyfilm.com
― tylerw, Thursday, 29 August 2013 20:40 (ten years ago) link
they should have talked to my pal doug decker. he worked at takoma for years and engineered/produced a bunch of fahey stuff. he's a wealth of info. then again maybe they did. i haven't seen the thing.
― scott seward, Thursday, 29 August 2013 21:25 (ten years ago) link
screened in portland last october, was serviceable
― bear, bear, bear, Thursday, 29 August 2013 21:38 (ten years ago) link
way more psyched about the book
― tylerw, Thursday, 29 August 2013 21:39 (ten years ago) link
xp can you resolve the hot issue of who they had as talking heads?
― ogmor, Thursday, 29 August 2013 21:42 (ten years ago) link
chris funk of the decemberists explains punk rock
― tylerw, Thursday, 29 August 2013 21:45 (ten years ago) link
xp not entirely, no. nnck dude definitely, decembrists guy gets a lot of time. b coley maybe? not too broad a cast. had heard that the filmmaker ran into some issues getting people on board for one reason or another. def works as a sort of primer for folks and is a net positive for that, but maybe not a lot for heads or whatever.
― bear, bear, bear, Thursday, 29 August 2013 21:51 (ten years ago) link
is there any particular reason the decembrists guy is even in there? does he make cool solo records we should know about? (not picking on him, i'm sure he is a good dude, just curious, seems like a random guy to interview).
― tylerw, Thursday, 29 August 2013 21:56 (ten years ago) link
hmm, jack cole review http://spectrumculture.com/2013/08/in-search-of-blind-joe-death-the-saga-of-john-fahey.html twitter https://twitter.com/JohnFaheyFilm director's twitter https://twitter.com/JamesCullingham
q&a
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdUAmzmHAr4
― ogmor, Thursday, 29 August 2013 22:20 (ten years ago) link
Chris used to live in Eugene and is a good guy based on my experience and friends in common, fwiw but I dunno why he would be in this - Fahey played in Eugene a fair amount near the end and released a record on a local label so there are some connections.
(I am really busy and have not watched the video)
― money, chicken and other DNA (sleeve), Thursday, 29 August 2013 23:34 (ten years ago) link
sufjan stevens was on a fahey tribute album i reviewed for the Voice once. does HE make cool solo albums that we should know about?
― scott seward, Thursday, 29 August 2013 23:40 (ten years ago) link
who will chip in for my basho doc kickstarter if i get sufjan stevens to talk about how he was influenced by zarthus when making illinoise
― ogmor, Thursday, 29 August 2013 23:55 (ten years ago) link
sufjan stevens was on a fahey tribute album i reviewed for the Voice once. does HE make cool solo albums that we should know about?not entirely sure what your point is, but i guess you're trying to be a dick? bravo!
― tylerw, Friday, 30 August 2013 05:21 (ten years ago) link
And where I was once astounded by his machine-like precision, I am now driven mad by his machine-like precision.
So, why is John Fahey's music so boring?
― valdemar (nubbin), Tuesday, January 10, 2006 2:25 AM (7 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
^this is kinda weird, from the original post....machine-like precision is not something i would use to describe fahey at all!
― everything I do is funky like Debussy (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 30 August 2013 14:05 (ten years ago) link
No definitely not.
― #fomo that's the motto (Hurting 2), Friday, 30 August 2013 14:08 (ten years ago) link
if anything he's on the sloppier side compared to like kottke or lang or lots of players really, and he really goes in and out of tempos (in a cool way IMO but still it's not conventionally "correct")
― everything I do is funky like Debussy (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 30 August 2013 14:10 (ten years ago) link
If he's "boring" at all it's usually because he gets either droney or meandery, sounding like a stoned dude fucking around in his bedroom. But even his more boring moments have a certain charm to them.
― #fomo that's the motto (Hurting 2), Friday, 30 August 2013 14:17 (ten years ago) link
I hate this fucking thread title.
― Jimmywine Dyspeptic, Friday, 30 August 2013 14:50 (ten years ago) link
I received a DVD of the Fahey documentary a few months back in return for supporting the project via Kickstarter. I was very much looking forward to it but found it disappointing. Somehow fails to get beyond uninspiring talking heads telling us what a pioneer Fahey was (I can't remember an example, but I cringed on a couple of occasions).
― Duke, Friday, 30 August 2013 16:16 (ten years ago) link
^ ^ I realise many music docs are like that, but I'd hoped for something more.
― Duke, Friday, 30 August 2013 16:17 (ten years ago) link
"not entirely sure what your point is, but i guess you're trying to be a dick? bravo!"
people were wondering why the decemberists guy was in the doc. when i got that tribute album i kinda wondered why sufjan stevens was on it. that's all there is too it.
― scott seward, Friday, 30 August 2013 16:18 (ten years ago) link