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Core of the Coalman



Last Updated: 11/19/2009

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City: Prague
State: CALIFORNIA
Country: CZ
Signup Date: 5/1/2005

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Tuesday, December 08, 2009 
........

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Summary and Disclaimer (form, part 7)

In the previous essays I have used many words. Lest some be misunderstood I will clarify some things now.

First of all, in case it is not obvious from these previous essays, the idea of "form" being used here has nothing to do with "essences" in the Platonic or Phenomenological senses. Rather, this designation has been chosen in light of its common usage as regards artistic and especially musical practices. This will be the subject of the forthcoming section of which the previous section serves as an adjacent land.

What I have been discussing here is not concerned so much with ontological arguments of proofs or refutations of this existence of independent entities. One needn't simultaneously assert the existence of some idea or object (thereby putting it to use) and simultaneously be troubled as to whether the thing being used exists. Or rather, that too is an interesting approach, but is not the approach of these essays.

This discussion is concerned with the fallacy created by attempting to refute the formal existence or structural attributes of propositions and material objects stated to exist or expressed in utility. The falsifiability of such a proposition, and especially a material substance is paradoxical, and while entertaining it is otherwise useless. It is a partial description of a void in a made up language that violates its own grammatical rules.

As such, while phychology is also very interesting, the chemical processes, emotional correlates, and behavioral manifestations of the individual mind are not the subject of this discussion. I want to talk about action in light of forms the actor believes to exist.

Nor is the subject at hand Intentionality, even though I am discussing ideas.

Nor have we need to bring up whether or not ontology or epistemology is being placed first in the chain of analysis. That is another game, and besides for the purposes here they are quite linked, embedded in one another even. Here we are concerned with use, not even value (so ethics aren't really relevant either).

Furthermore, certainty is not the issue. We are dealing with material as such. It is said to exist, it is used, and thus its existence is demonstrate-able. The question is: can something which exists be deprived of form or or structure?
Posted by Dan Wrath at 12:47 PM 0 comments

Points in Rotation (form, part 6)

It seems that the meeting place for material and immaterial forms in human life and history is a zone of controversy. In the history of Science, for example, neither "the ether" nor gravity have ever been found to have either a physical body or to exhibit mass (lets ignore the controversial 'graviton' for ease of conversation). Yet both act as fundamental concepts, the ground on which much of the science of their (in the case of the ether) or our (in the case of gravity) rests. A change in belief as to the fundamental nature of these concepts, themselves fundamental, offers many new perspectives not believed to exist if not a complete shift in the shared predominant worldview, the 'reality' of science. Concepts moving from substantial (material) being to non-being (immaterial, insubstantial being) thus create quite a stir. Yet formally of course, they still exhibit structure much as material objects (mathematics, for instance, can be expressed entirely conceptually- this is the very nature of its existence. Yet, as pointed out in earlier essays, it, for all its mass-less-ness it has no lack of structure, but that is a different conversation).

It is interesting to note that before their redefinition, reevaluation, or replacement by other objects on the border between form immaterial and material that concepts held to be the fundamental ground on which systems of ideas are based function not only to support ideas but also as a barrier, or fence over which the imagination has a difficult time reaching. This is basically the converse of the idea in the last paragraph: the REASON that a change in belief regarding the structure of an idea between material reality and immateriality is often such a breakthrough (or alternately controversial) is that what is being tested is the limit of what was thought to be possible, even as a conception. Thus conceptual borders, fences, assume physical behavior in terms of what can be believed to be possible.

Also worthy of consideration is the strange power which energy in this transitional space takes on. People start WARS because of such shift in ideas. Religions, with all of the strife, oppressive behavior, magnificent architecture, civic organization, and mass movement of people that they inspire, require, effect and so forth have no mass! They are just concepts, and they clearly illustrate a pivot between the material and immaterial world. In fact, in many religions it is a gesture from a spiritual immateriality that granted existence to material suchness! Of course, though many people also feel that this evolution happened in the opposite direction, it cannot be denied that this point of transmutation, transmigration, or transmediation (whatever they call it) between the material and immaterial worlds of form and vice-versa (if one considers religions whose goal for the individual after death is a paradise- thus movement from material to immaterial form) serves as a center of motivation within a particular aggregation of individuals, an intense bond of unity capable of momentous action.

In this way shared immaterial forms container at the very least function in the material environment of material forms for the population which shares them. Despite the fact that this process is itself mental, some of these forms can function on a metastructural level, underlying basic thought processes resulting in assumptions as to the nature of existence shared by a collective population. These assumptions are strong enough to influence even individual perceptions of 'real' objects, to place the previously mentioned boundaries around the imagination (which, to be fair, might not be able to function without them) and effect even the ground of collective thought believed to be empiricist in nature. Thus immaterial forms can serve to control the aggregate if seen from a wider view (in a psychologically fascist sense). Of course, the same ideas can be seen to be the result, rather than the cause, if this process is viewed in reverse, as an (unconscious?) collective democracy, actively participating in the creation of their reality.
Posted by Dan Wrath at 7:11 AM 0 comments

Friday, November 9, 2007

Independant Worm Saloon

In light of all this discussion about form and structures innateness within things that exist it is interesting how easy it is to create something as a human being. As human beings we have such an ingenuity with which to create forms of infinite variety, basic natural forms (like our bodily forms) and the natural forms we create. I am espiecially interested in the forms that we create out of experiment, play, or individual or direct responses to specific needs.

It is interesting that the minute a sentence is uttered it can begin to acquire multitudes of meanings both for the speaker or for those who hear it. Not only can a proposition uttered with some literal intent carry many meanings but even a phrase created out of a deliberate attempt at obsurdity acquires meaning and exhibites form an structure as soon as it is uttered. Perhaps this even occurs as the phrase is being uttered, this aquisition of structure acting as a physical transition between the mental form (what we where referring to as a "special" sort of form) and the physical form (its spoken version, which not only exhibits grammatical and semantic structures but involves physical displacements of air molecules and muscular and nervous actions on the part of both sender and reciever).

Pavla is speaking about Dada here to me. Dada as impetous as a reaction to the senselessness of the war, and as senselessness itself. Yet there is no senselessness is there? Not once some form is put forth. The reseach value of Surrealism as expressed by its participants (and espiecially the early participants such as Desnos and Ernst) seems to circulate around this point. Juxtapostion, association, reaction conscious and unconscious - forms and minds interact through thier structures and processes and meaning arises, sometimes seemingly out of nothing.

I would like to give an example of one such (as Breton paraphrases Lautremont) "chance meeting of a sewing machine and an umbrella on a dissecting table," but rather than utilize the tired and perhaps at this point overly associative heritage of the surrealists or other bastard children of dada I would prefer to use an example close at hand. Take these two Butthole Surfers records "Rembrant Pussyhorse," "Locust Abortion Technition," and "Independant Worm Saloon." I mean each of those phrases consists of words that wouldn't really suggest the others. They could have easily been chosen at random or selected from lists of three word juxtapostions assembled by opening the dictionary at random. Yet each of them (I am reading them one at a time, slowly) suggest many images, and come with whole imaginary stuctures attached and carry moods, atmospheres, emotional overtones, as such meanings.

I am picturing an Independant Worm Saloon as an animated worm dressed as a cowboy with a hat and leather holsters standing at a wooden bar against a yellow background. The bar is in Texas and there is going to be a Libertarian party meeting but the Worm we are watching wants to get drunk first. He is drinking a tequila with a worm in it.


Posted by Dan Wrath at 8:02 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Form is Inevitable, Part 4

What can be said to exist? Can anything not? If it is asserted that a thing does not exist is the assertion itself enough to prove it's existence?

Recall that we are not discussing the 'complexity' of the form in question. Recall also (Part 3) that ideas exist in a 'special' way that is different from other forms existent, and this is because they lack mass and do not occupy space. Yet ideas move forms that do occupy space and in fact have mass. Thus, while it is certainly a danger that such a discussion could easily avail itself to defenders of religious or of solipsistic world views, ones which are not within the scope of my present interest, I must still address some questions concerning the special form of the 'idea' and its role in defining 'reality' and its constituents.

It is often the case that they consequences of an observer's ignorance of an otherwise existent phenomena are negligible. The Form simple does not exist for this individual. If their internal structure or interactive processes are not impacted by this omission (say, as in the example which concluded Part 1) then it makes no difference either way whether said phenomena exists or not. This individuals world is complete without it. They can function in their environment (which they share with this ghost they have no knowledge of) and they strength of the both form's interactions are negligible to the other.

This completeness of a perceives world is called into question by doubt. Doubt arises out of interactions between a body and an unknown body, or between known bodies in which the interactions themselves are foreign, unpredictable or inexplicable under the structures and processes (the world view) believed by one form or another to exist. Of course by belief I am referring to human forms but the idea of belief could be extended to plant life. An organism is could be said to be expectant of, say, sunlight. If it does not arrive death does. Nor is any sort of consciousness necessary: Having removed what I believed to be all the rocks on the path outside my house I am stymied by my sandaled toes interaction with a sharp stone, out of which arises doubt in my belief that no stone existed there.

As such, doubt may come from any activity between forms. An unexpected form emerging within or joining an environment, or an unexpected interaction intruding on an unwitting form. Doubt, or enlightenment depending on how optimistic one feels about it, thus may bring all attributes of known forms and structures (again, the world view) within an environment into question. Especially for people, which is something I am interested in speaking about here for a moment.

Similar situations arise when two or more observers or groups share some environment but act under diverse perceptual sets. Thus their mental models of the environment, on which their interactions within this environment are based, include different pictures of 'reality'. While as in the case of the individual some of these attributes are negligible many must be agreed upon before the observers can interact within the environment without damage to one another. Conflict occurs as these differences are made apparent.

Another interesting case, similar to the solipsism mentioned earlier (or that of some schizophrenics) , is to imagine a phenomena that only a single individual responds to. In fact, many of these instances must exits, and perhaps they exist in every human consciousness. Again, most of these doubtless have negligible or even beneficial results giving us say, a creative or unique view of a situation or a solution to a particular problem. Other times, however, a phenomena known to exist by only a single individual can wield such a power over the individual and create such a strong divide between this individual and others that the doubt mentioned earlier can become expressed violently or destructively.

This is a problem for analysis by psychologists (they are working on it already of course). The question as to whether a phenomena existent for only one individual is likely a malfunction within that individual or not is a difficult one, as human beings must, of course, preserve their visionary and creative potential.

This discussion must wait, however, as first we must treat the relationship between form and structure in phenomena acknowledged by a majority to exist.

Isn't that, after all, how cities work? Is this very different from any human group? It seems that the collective unconscious manifests itself as a democratic reality.
Posted by Dan Wrath at 6:07 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Form is Inevitable, Part 3

Can ideas be said to exist in the same way as other forms of existence?

Certainly they, like other objects, materials, or processes can be seen to exist throughout their interactions within their environments. Also, like other objects, materials or processes (that is, those things external to a person's imagination, those that occupy three dimensional space or exhibit mass) ideas can be seen from a multitude or even perhaps an infinity of vantage points. They also often have structures similar to the body in which they reside (the mind, the perceptually fueled imagination world of consciousness, or unconsciousness to the extent this could be said to exist). They may even control complex structural processes, generating or moving masses of other forms while having no measurable weight or even a discernible physical body and that is very interesting, isn't it?

Nonetheless, ideas must be considered special sorts of forms, even when they can be seen to exist in many people's imaginations or consciousnesses simultaneously, even when they drive the creation of three dimensional forms exhibiting mass. The can be said to exist, but they are "special," aren't they?
Posted by Dan Wrath at 8:58 AM 0 comments

Form Is Inevitable, Part 2

Form is built out of other forms. Structures, in the sense of the elements of which a single body is constructed and Processes, interactions between these elements. Form is also defined by its environment to a large extent, and in a parallel way analogous to its interactions within this environment.

In other words, the environment defines its physical body through its own systems of Structures which interact with individual Forms physically. At the same time, environmental Processes are interactions between the Form and other forms which together create the environment. A form apprehended and those apprehending it define themselves both in terms of their own physical mass and structure, and the mass, structure, and effects of their interactions within the environment that is their own creation. Thus an environment is defined and evolves at the same instant.

The environmental processes and structures with respect to a particular form spiral out from that form creating eddies around themselves and other existants within the environment. These eddies can be thought of as a lattice of structures within the environment (rigid or static structures within a crystalline frozen picture) or as vectors (active, moving) which define the shift in meaning and physical intensity between processes of interaction between forms and their structures.

The vector image of these interactions could be graphed as three dimensional waves or as lines of force (the lattice idea) displaying in a frozen moment the constructive and destructive interferences between all existants within an environment and even within a singular form. The processes and structures within each could be shown to spiral out from the center of each disturbance or action in a wave like manner in at least three dimensions, in turn effecting the structure/processes and the effects, themselves propagating like wave vectors in a similar manner of all other forms in the environment.

A thing which exists can be denied neither form nor structure.
As such, make sense of this:

http://www.digitalisindustries.com/foxyd/reviews.php?which=2736
Posted by Dan Wrath at 6:21 AM 0 comments

Form is Inevitable, Part 1

As much as something can be said to exist it can be said to posses form.

Form may be determined by the internal component structures of a body, or by other factors such as the internal component structures of other forms interacting with the primary form. Thus internal structures or processes of some bodies which exist in the environment of a specific body may be said to subjectively determine the form of the body in question, though of course this does not necessarily change the formal aspect of the body in question.

Between observers, attributes, or even the existence of a particular form may be disputable. This, however, often has more to say about a particular observer than about the phenomena (body, primary form) in question.

A form interacts with its environment. This is one way in which its existence can be described, or "proven".

The absence of an observer's belief in an existent form may in fact negate the existence of the form for that observer. The effect of this is more of less negligible depending on the strength of the form's interactions within the shared environment between the form and the (non) observer. This shared environment may be described in terms of an array of vectors of interaction which describe strength and proximity in the relation to and object existent and one perceived.

Of course, this is how a person may be struck by a car they didn't realize existed.





11:43 AM 
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Tuesday, December 08, 2009 
........

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

"Whatever you do with a surfboard in the surf remains a part of surfboarding."

That quote is part of the liner notes of David Behrman's piece on the record The Sonic Arts Union from 1971.

Seems sensible, no?
Posted by Dan Wrath at 12:29 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Sort of Like the Photo Below of the Black Wooden Pieces

I think that there are really two poles of my interest and in my music, which interact like magnetic poles.

One deals with music of a continuous nature. This can be imagined as a drone or as like a pedal tone in a Bach organ piece, but one with no figuration above it, such that that the pedal tone itself or the details within it come into focus and figure/ground relations are discovered within it itself, and infinitely. Periodic pulses, regular and/or overlapping ostinatos also. These have similar effects. For me, the music I am writing dealing with these affects has to do with perception. It has to do with perceptual activity and creating a field for it to occur within. I am not pushing anyone but it is like an installation of sorts, an environment one enters voluntarily in which certain peculiar perceptual affects take place.

The second aspect of my interest deals with what at first seems to be the opposite. Music (by which, of course, I mean simply organized sound, or even sound-payed-attention-to, as this itself is a highly organizational activity), anyway, music made of sounds and silences whose relations and durations are unpredictable. In other words these occur with an aperiodic or at least an unpredictable juxtaposition or intersection to one another. This can be true for the performer, for audience members, or both. Who, after all, can say what another will predict?

The interesting thing for me, is that these two situations that I love seem at first to be so opposite one another, yet in truth they are completely related.

In the first case, the music functions almost as a machine for focusing attention.

In the second, focused attention is required for one to be interested. By "interested" I mean for separate from what one might ignore in the outside world. By being interested in such textures one's perceptual acuity is developed. Its fascinating.

well

interest = payed attention to

isn't that interesting?
Posted by Dan Wrath at 3:58 AM 0 comments

"whatever I did it wasn't in my mind...and that leads to a kind of improvisation that results in discoveries"

that from John Cage. I tend to like those moments and cultivate or at least look for them. Its okay with me if you don't, but please allow me to continue to do so.
Posted by Dan Wrath at 3:56 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

The Special (Form Is Inevitable, Part 8)

No
Nothing
Nothing can
Nothing can be
Nothing can be said
Nothing can be said to
Nothing can be said to exist
Nothing can be said to exist and
Nothing can be said to exist and simultaneously
Nothing can be said to exist and simultaneously denied
Nothing can be said to exist and simultaneously denied structure.


*
(Nothing that can be said to exist can be denied structure)

*
That got discussed alot earlier, in parts 1-7 of this essay. In addition, earlier, ideas where spoken of in terms of a special category. They were given a special designation because, although they interact with, act on, and motivate material forms they themselves are immaterial.

"If something is immaterial can it be said to exist?"

Of course, it can. Try it.

"If an immaterial thing is said to exist what constitutes its structure?"

An immaterial form is constituted of immaterial structures. This is why ideas may often transcend the physical laws of material forms. Ideas need not obey the law of gravity or the arrow of time and so we can fly in our dreams and revisit our childhood memories in reverie.

Yet if ideas are to interact with material forms in the ways summarized here and discussed at length earlier, how can they do this? There must be an intermediary that shares something of both the material and immaterial world of forms and structures, similar to the way a sign in a grammar shares something with the signified in terms of use, or metaphor. In fact this particular intermediary must share as much as possible with the world of material form while behaving with the freedom of immaterial form, as an idea.

The intermediary, of course, is language. Though immaterial and malleable (as doubtless evidenced in many places here) it is itself a system of signs functioning in terms of a grammar, the structure of which approaches laws and rules more commonly found in the material world than the material. As such, language may be used to transmit images from mind to mind regarding material or immaterial forms through a material medium of many levels (levels of linguistic structure, levels of physical material such as paper or air pressure) while remaining in itself an immaterial form which nonetheless clearly possesses structure.


Posted by Dan Wrath at 2:13 AM 0 comments

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Ludwig Also Says

(this time substitute "musical" for "philosophical")

"Most propositions and questions that have been written about philosophical matters are not false but senseless. We cannot, therefore, answer questions of this kind at all, but only state their senselessness."
Wittgenstein, Tractatus
Posted by Dan Wrath at 10:47 AM 0 comments

White Noise Ritual

Isn't it interesting that we produce broadband white noise at the end of concert performances? I think it is espiecially effective on recordings.
It is sort of like dessert.

But wouldn't it be better if everyone did it before the music started?

Maybe before AND after? I guess we do applaud before concerts sometimes.

It seems like it would do more beforehand anyway.
Posted by Dan Wrath at 10:43 AM 0 comments

I'll Have What He's Having


"If I try to make clear to someone by characteristic examples the use of a word like 'wish', it is quite likely that the other will adduce as an objection to the examples I offered another one that suggests a different type of use. My answer then is that the new example may be useful in discussion, but isn't an objection to my examples. For I didn't want to say that those examples gave the essence of that one calls 'wishing'. At most they present different essences which are all signified by this word because of certain inter-relationships. The error is to suppose that we wanted the examples to illustrate that this essence hadn't yet been correctly grasped. That is, as if our aim were to give a theory of wishing, which would have to explain every single case of wishing." Ludwig Wittgenstein (Philosophical Grammar)

I'll just order what he's having, but can I substitute an order of 'art' for the 'wish' please?

The arts, at least for now, have many, rather than one function. They have many, rather than one value as well and are motivated by many rather than a single perspective.

We are discussing some of these, some aspects of this.

It is, in fact possible, is it not, that this multiplicity of viewpoints is one of the most characteristic features and beneficial aspects of the arts as a whole within human societies today?

"Again, we cannot achieve any greater generality in philosophy than in what we can say...Here too (as in mathematics) we leave everything as it is." (Ibid.)
Posted by Dan Wrath at 10:45 PM 0 comments

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Lightning Bolt, for example, and multiple personalities as an ideal

Form and function can be said to be negotiable in terms of the perspectives of the creators and users of particular forms. Even if one hasn't read any of the previous long long long long strings of words proceeding this present page, it seems obvious that if this is true anywhere within the encyclopedia of human industry it is true in the arts, especially the arts of recent times. Despite the efforts of the many lovers of classical and romantic tendencies, fearful that new ways of asking questions might threaten beloved historical solutions, elegantly elaborated throughout the ages, and addressed to problems long forgotten, AND in the face of the efforts of a critical establishment hostile towards that which it perceives as a threat to its vacuous base of power (that is, the psuedo-objective application of an arbitrary hierachy of aesthetic criteria based on conventional models arising out of a system of historical averages established through the misinterpretation of certain works considered historically significant and re-applied ad hoc to works which may in no way resemble the models in form or function which the criticism draws upon for its 'criteria'), OR despite the protest of others trying to disavow the existence of or otherwise disempower forms and functions in use by many people out of fear of the unknown or worse, DESPITE THESE THINGS, artists have managed to utilize the negotiability of form and function to discuss many possibilities from many perspectives.

"Wait, let me get a beer. Now do you mean to say that it is desirable to view things from multiple perspectives? Like even if the "thing" thereby ceases to be one things and instead becomes several??"

What I am saying is this: Art is useful for many reasons. One is Perspective, as Leonardo pointed out, but lets hold onto this idea because I have more to say about this later, for now I want to talk about experimental forms as manifest in the arts and their function. Realize, please, that I am don't mean "form" as some old or even new convention out of which works spring to to which pieces are cast in the manner of a mould. Rather I am referring to the 'form' as the thing in itself, the object or process that is present.

At first, it might seem like the notion of "experimental form" in the arts is redundant. Maybe it should be redundant. I mean, the arts are about creativity, right? Well, I thought so at least, however what seems largely expected of artists by cultural institutions, the critical establishment, and the public by and large consists of conventional behavior, a sentimentality acted on nostalgically to create warm memories of past aesthetic joys, and above all a respect for the dominant social values- even when the work in question pretends to disagree with them. Need examples? How about all the capitalist punk bands out there? It seems there is a contradiction here.

Out of this contradiction comes many things. Its like a cloudburst. One of these things is the habit of artists to consistently re-open the boundaries of the art world and art forms for themselves through the creation of experimental forms of work. One way that many artists do this, with or without knowing it, is through work in which the form and function are united, where they are simply different aspects of the same thing.

Experimental form emerges when someone decides to design or present their work in a way that the current conventional context for "art" or whatever else does not include. For example, an artist might decide that the very short film they are making (say the sixteen second one) is best presented on a very small (say, cell phone sized) screen. This is in contrast to the standards Hollywood has set, and enforced culture, for what is considered a "movie." A "movie" is thus for many people something which lasts for a specific duration and is projected a certain way, among other things. In fact, the convention could be taken further into what a "movie" has become for many people, as under the leadership of Hollywood the conceptual field available to the filmmaker is strikingly low, but this is really to frightening to discuss here. I am only trying to give an example, and that example is of a that is different from what is expected of a "movie" yet certainly could contain much useful content. In fact, the difference in presence do to this forms experimental nature might increase the effect of its content especially where the content and form are structurally integrated.

Another, deeper example could be given. If not only the form and function but also the motive behind the creation of a piece departs from the conventional set if motivating principals (if the piece has a distinctly different catalyst or reason for its existence than is common for works appearing to be of similar media) than a situation arises where the form created is already a priori its own function, which then continues to develop further functionality as it interacts with the public and the environment as a whole (including other artworks). I feel like Pauline Oliveros' music illustrates this idea nicely in that, taking active listening on the part of both performer and audience as a manner of operation, and the spiritual, conscious, awareness which her practice is involved in as its motivation she unties form and function. The uniting principal is the point of motivation for the work as well as its product.

Well I think I am going to make a new film.

"and what will it be about?"

you know I don't like talking about films I haven't seen...

"should be very popular"

I don't see why not.
Posted by Dan Wrath at 4:44 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Masterbation Convention

At this point we are no longer discussing the presence of form, but its function. This is negotiable. Use is dependant on context, need, analogy, and experience. People will use a tool as needed in a particular instance, and thereby, a more general tool can address itself to a larger body of needs and finds more universal utility. People also apply a solution from one problem to another that they consider analogous to the first. Their application of design to this set of challenges may be based on their experience with a particular tool or set of tools, their experience with the problem or need in question or one considered analogous, or their observation of another's situation.

Over time, good and useful solutions are perfected and become conventions: the norm. This makes life easier and progress swifter in many ways. No need to re-invent the motor for each revision to the lawn mower paradigm, especially when the revision concerns the wheels or cutting mechanism. Yet not re-inventing the basic components of a design can result in dead weight or worse, a restriction of the possibilities one has available to work with in one's conception of reality. One can take too much for granted.

The arts, and for now I am referring to the Fine Arts of Western Culture, are simultaneously based on convention and inventiveness. The very designation "arts" has been applied to the genesis of convention. In Plato's Republic, an artist is a master of particular set of conventions, including those pertaining to war or say, plumbing. The definition of art given here is thus closer to the modern sense of an "artisan" or master of some trade. This idea of an art representing mastery over a particular set of conventions has refined itself throughout history, to the present in which the Particular Set of Conventions one masters in order to be an Artist are the "classical" or Fine Arts disciplines of painting, sculpture, music, dance etc. Yet masters of these Particular Sets of Conventions (the Fine Arts again) have also traditionally been expected to innovate, and they do, as do many who never become "masters" because their innovations lead them right out the door of the Fine Arts. In fact these Fine Arts have lost some of their designations and clear boundaries both between themselves and the rest of the world. There are fewer of these "masters" as well, in the classical sense, who work strictly within a single field, a single discipline. And why is this?

The is clearly nothing wrong, so we shouldn't panic. People still love beautiful dancers and fast guitar players, not much has changed.

Yet if a need exists, solutions are found. Over time a useful solution may be continually refined, eventually being appreciated for its own internal elegance. It could be possible to imagine a solution where as it developed on its own over time that it might outlast its initial need and even loose sight of it, thus developing its own structure and evolving as a form on its own. We are then in the presence of a complex form, a beautiful set of conventions that, like the vermiform appendix of the human body, is a relic. Whatever problem it posed a solution to has long been forgotten, and like the appendix, it can even contain the seeds of systemic distress.

Still, if this vestige is considered elegant or beautiful enough by enough people, some will find it so important as to defend it against anything they might perceive as a threat to it. While simple conservation might serve fine for their purposes (after all, why not preserve in a living way such fine works of human refinement?), often people adopt a more militaristic approach toward what they fear to be a threat to these elegant solutions to long forgotten problems. Thus, (an individual?) categorically negative first reaction to an experimental approach seen as a threat to a much beloved set of conventions could result from fear fed by cultural anxiety created out of the loss of the reason for the conventions to exist in the first place.

Perhaps this is why many become so hung up on 'meaning' in the arts. The idea that there is some meaning believed to be lurking in the background of an art piece beyond what is simply there in front of one serves to restore the lost reasons behind these conventions. It is no surprise then, that such meanings are expected by many people to be explicit, non-discursive, presented objectively and wherever possible re-expressed in a secondary medium (the explanatory text). This attempt at the restoration of lost meaning for swollen conventions is one way of appraising value the arts for a large number individuals.

In the absence of a clear use, people have nothing to evaluate the situation (environment) before them with. This situation, when not ignored, often leads to a sort of panic. Outside the arts, things are instantly evaluated for use conscious or not, and confusing, atypical objects or ideas are filed for later, forgotten, or in a few cases, followed to the genesis of a new perspective or until they are rejected as an unsuccessful route. Within the arts, a similar algorithm is applied. This is learned in school or socially, from or other people's behavior in real life or films or whatever. Ideas of aesthetic, narrative structure, and certainly "meaning" become criteria by which art is judged, by comparing it to how these values are perceived to exist in a handful of historically acknowledged works (which, in most cases, the viewer hasn't experienced). It is curious how many people who have not actually seen a famous art work, even reproduced, can still explain its "meaning", as if the object exists as a grammatical construction more so than it's physical embodiment.

The arts are, in fact, by nature conversational. That is one use of many objects. The arts are discursive, and perceptive disciplines. Innovation has always paradoxically, in light of what has been discussed just previously, been part of the expectation of the consumer of art works, and curiosity and the asking of questions expected to be part of the working process of artists.

So what?

So the arts in the west have evolved into a new use from within their own tradition. Now, through experimental forms, the arts can point anywhere. They point inward and outward, and possibly infinitely. Inward, certainly, combining what used to be viewed as distinct media, incorporating critical discourse as or into art works themselves and in many other ways, and outward also: right out of these traditional disciplines, and out of the refined conventions of the fine arts themselves, almost back around to Plato's sense yet, importantly, without the need to 'master' anything. The arts have become a place where ideas from many disciplines can be juxtaposed or examined in light of one another's criteria, they can be made algebraically interactive with each other with unknown results. This is a laboratory for cultural, individual, aesthetic, historical, scientific, political, improvisational, emotional, empirical, expressive, and or introverted questions, design responses, examinations, and problems and curiosities of all kinds.

At this point we are no longer discussing form, but function , which along with form is negotiable.
Posted by Dan Wrath at 11:52 PM 0 comments

experimental form

Human beings are designers. Responding to needs of all kinds we create new things. At times our inventiveness is such that the new forms we create bear little resemblance to the raw materials used to make them, and the use is often a departure from these materials as well.

When human beings rely on ingenuity and imagination more than convention, using conceptualization to deal with an imaginary or real scenario rather than simply trying to satisfy a unique need or specific problem with a solution designed by someone else or for some other purpose however analogous, experimental forms are the result.

It is natural to borrow solutions from others, or use what worked before in your own or what is observed to be others' experience. Analogy, and one's capacity for it, is part of intelligence, or what is generally thought of as "intelligence," right? Aren't IQ tests full of analogies? And consciousness, or at least "thinking" has a lot to do with metaphor, no?

Where and in what combinations of ingenuity and imitation do experimental forms emerge?

Where in human life DON'T they?

Some of my favorite examples of experimental form have to do with basic human needs like cooking (see below) and housing. Homeless encampments and cottage handiwork, in the absence or negligence of building codes and in the face or real need and human fancifulness (pleasure- "and who is to say pleasure isn't valuable" Eames) account for the later and my friend Ben Piekut's "baklasagne" (a hybrid correspondence of baklava and lasagna) the former. Outside of architecture and culinary experimentation humans constantly innovate utilities systems and agricultural systems, on large and small scales. The design of an agri-business network of shipping transports illustrates the large scale with respect to farming, but how is Ms. Alguire's method for keeping neighborhood cats out of the garden any less involved a design problem?

Further human experiments with form deal with the transitional zone discussed in earlier essays between ideas and material forms. Several examples from capitalism's more egregious expressions spring to mind. The selling of concepts, for instance, as insurance illustrates what must have been an experimental design solution to a perceived problem. Real estate furnishes many excellent examples of this concept selling, and even the notion of private property must have begun as a solution to a need, and risky one at that: the first deed-holder took who as authority of the authenticity of the deed? Probably god, whose inspiration of the worlds many religions at least partially satisfy many people's need to deal questions as to with the nature of life. In the arts too, capitalism has articulated fabulous examples of the intersection of ingenuity and imitation in an experimental design solution. I can think of two examples of people packaging and selling air as artwork.

Many more examples from every field of human activity exist, and certainly many outside of capitalism. My fondness for selecting these examples of experimental form based in ideas from capitalist manifestations comes from the fact that so much in capitalism is itself symbolic (like currency) and yet moves physical mass, and as such sits right on the line between idea and material. Also considering that this practice is entirely human and based in a need for stable exchange value seems to illustrate the point reasonably well. Yet I have other things to discuss.

The fact that experimental form is risky accounts for many of our human attempts to contain it. Such is the reason behind the aforementioned building codes. It is interesting but not surprising that humans, who are so inventive, are simultaneously resistant to invention and even go to great lengths to keep design fenced in a pasture (at best). And with good reason: one can't have one's neighbors experimenting with radiation, can one? Besides, change is certainly difficult. Yet the risk of "falling asleep on one's feet" is also very real. One may easily come to take too much for granted, allowing social convention to proscribe solutions for needs that one might design solutions better for oneself, had one not put their ingenuity out to pasture. Often, the 'solutions' supplied by convention do not even fit the needs of the individual or solve the problem at hand. Where design is most useful, and thus most dangerous, it has been largely relegated to ornamenting existent forms in a largely decorative manner, or creating new disposable forms (or needs) for the monetary benefit of the inventor or the inventor's patron. The arts, often seen to be the site of design's greatest elegance, have come to be where it is furthest removed from any material use, and thus along with the arts, design in this sense functions solely as entertainment.

But isn't this for the best? After all who hasn't spoiled dinner and all its ingredients after hours of preparation all because of a desire to try out some idea?

And so, what is the solution to this problem?

At this point we are no more discussing the presence or existence of forms but instead, of their function, which is negotiable.
Posted by Dan Wrath at 9:00 PM 0 comments

Friday, November 16, 2007

BioNatural and HomoNatural

As established previously, forms taken to be for the most part external to humans, or independent of us, operate by what we have decided to call natural laws. Basic interactive processes dependant on the internal component structures of the involved interactant parties and the overall structural rules governing the environment as a whole (a product of either larger interactive processes or component systemic structures or the synergistic or sum result of the component interactions within some field). Interestingly, within these natural systems design experiments still seem to occur, as part of the process of interaction between components of the systems themselves (organisms within environments, or even minerals in their chemical (in)organic environments).

I am more interested here in pursuing more pedestrian forms, their meetings and interaction with ideas (those immaterial forms) and their evolution as expressed in human life and especially in the arts.

Human-created forms are, of course, still governed by the same "natural laws" and interactive properties as everything else in nature. We still belong to an environment, everything we do is 'natural'. In fact, I can think of nothing unnatural (except maybe a thought, an immaterial form, that isn't really part of the universe. Still, some would say that the electro-chemical reaction that occurs simultaneously with my 'thought' is material so therefore thoughts are material, thus part of the universe, and therefore 'all natural.') That being said, our created forms must also answer to rules of interaction beyond that of many other forms found in nature. While still being beholden to their own internal structures and properties of interaction they are also subject to social needs and processes. Some extremely have extremely long lifespans thusly, while others, such as those forms governed by fashion needs, have relatively short ones.

In between the processes and laws of both natural and social orders, in the middle of the zone between immaterial and material manifestation, and with our brains, tongues, and opposable thumbs, we as humans create experimental forms in response to a need. Some needs are life-threatening, others are simply problems posed for amusement or research, yet through both processes experimental forms are the result.

Research, in particular, is something I am interested in. Human beings ask questions, express curiosity as a basic trait. This is the root of human inventiveness, and that is where these essays will continue: how the idea forms being discussed relates to the present human situation.
Posted by Dan Wrath at 10:59 AM 0 comments

nature is like an industrial designer without a trash can

Forms that evolve external to human beings seem to do so in terms of multi-dimensional processes of interaction. An individual organism's structure develops, with luck, from birth into adult forms which then die and decay. Each aspect of this process is interactive with the others, the genetics of the organism, the interaction and individual function of the component parts within the individual, and the interactions between the individual and the environment. The behavior of the individual within an environment is even to some extent dictated by it's internal maintenance needs.

Behaving within it's environment the individual organism (or inorganic object for that matter) becomes, from the perspective of another individual, a part of this second individual's environment. Nothing within an environment exists apart from that environment. Everything is simultaneously interacting with it's own version of the shared environment (from its own perspective) whether consciously or not.

As the individual interacts with and affects its environment (by its presence, even) so too the environment acts on the individual. To an equal extent, and often to a greater one, the development of form in nature, be it organic or otherwise, is directed by the environment the form in question is developing with. "With" because every environment is itself in a perpetual state of development, as are its components.

An individual's internal structural development can be seen to be effected over time by it's environment (early death by falling rocks). Taking an even wider view, of species evolution through natural selection, one can see how the environment can shape development. Slowly, nature responds to a need or a problem which another aspect of nature creates. The solutions produced to these problems take the form of experimental forms. Nature can be seen to operate, as such, through experimental processes, in response to a need.

Posted by Dan Wrath at 9:38 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Summary and Disclaimer (form, part 7)

In the previous essays I have used many words. Lest some be misunderstood I will clarify some things now.

First of all, in case it is not obvious from these previous essays, the idea of "form" being used here has nothing to do with "essences" in the Platonic or Phenomenological senses. Rather, this designation has been chosen in light of its common usage as regards artistic and especially musical practices. This will be the subject of the forthcoming section of which the previous section serves as an adjacent land.

What I have been discussing here is not concerned so much with ontological arguments of proofs or refutations of this existence of independent entities. One needn't simultaneously assert the existence of some idea or object (thereby putting it to use) and simultaneously be troubled as to whether the thing being used exists. Or rather, that too is an interesting approach, but is not the approach of these essays.

This discussion is concerned with the fallacy created by attempting to refute the formal existence or structural attributes of propositions and material objects stated to exist or expressed in utility. The falsifiability of such a proposition, and especially a material substance is paradoxical, and while entertaining it is otherwise useless. It is a partial description of a void in a made up language that violates its own grammatical rules.

As such, while phychology is also very interesting, the chemical processes, emotional correlates, and behavioral manifestations of the individual mind are not the subject of this discussion. I want to talk about action in light of forms the actor believes to exist.

Nor is the subject at hand Intentionality, even though I am discussing ideas.

Nor have we need to bring up whether or not ontology or epistemology is being placed first in the chain of analysis. That is another game, and besides for the purposes here they are quite linked, embedded in one another even. Here we are concerned with use, not even value (so ethics aren't really relevant either).

Furthermore, certainty is not the issue. We are dealing with material as such. It is said to exist, it is used, and thus its existence is demonstrate-able. The question is: can something which exists be deprived of form or or structure?
Posted by Dan Wrath at 12:47 PM 0 comments

Points in Rotation (form, part 6)

It seems that the meeting place for material and immaterial forms in human life and history is a zone of controversy. In the history of Science, for example, neither "the ether" nor gravity have ever been found to have either a physical body or to exhibit mass (lets ignore the controversial 'graviton' for ease of conversation). Yet both act as fundamental concepts, the ground on which much of the science of their (in the case of the ether) or our (in the case of gravity) rests. A change in belief as to the fundamental nature of these concepts, themselves fundamental, offers many new perspectives not believed to exist if not a complete shift in the shared predominant worldview, the 'reality' of science. Concepts moving from substantial (material) being to non-being (immaterial, insubstantial being) thus create quite a stir. Yet formally of course, they still exhibit structure much as material objects (mathematics, for instance, can be expressed entirely conceptually- this is the very nature of its existence. Yet, as pointed out in earlier essays, it, for all its mass-less-ness it has no lack of structure, but that is a different conversation).

It is interesting to note that before their redefinition, reevaluation, or replacement by other objects on the border between form immaterial and material that concepts held to be the fundamental ground on which systems of ideas are based function not only to support ideas but also as a barrier, or fence over which the imagination has a difficult time reaching. This is basically the converse of the idea in the last paragraph: the REASON that a ch
11:27 AM 
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Tuesday, December 08, 2009 
Frank and Claude
The King and his very arrogant cartographer, Honza, were lost in the Great Grey Wood. The King had on a very large and heavy hat made of gold so that all could see his shining eminence, and the cartographer kept his back very stiff and straight and was very careful to always check his teeth in the small mirror he carried with him, to ensure that they remained clean and white.

It must have been during one of these breaks in Honza's concentration, when he was looking at himself in the mirror, that he failed to notice the trail receding behind him in the mirror and soon, despite being less than a 20 minute ride from the castle, they were perfectly lost.

Later, upon returning to what they believed to be the same mountain for the fourth time, and as they were without food and very hungry both Gentlemen began to become uncomfortable and move back and forth in their saddles. Ni ether wanted to admit aloud they were lost. After all, for the King, it was perfectly unthinkable that he should be lost in his own kingdom, much less just outside the walls of his own castle. For the cartographer, it was, of course, a matter of pride.

Soon, however, the two men and their two horses visited the same breathtaking vista for the fifth time. This time, clearly something had to be done, as it was certainly becoming quite late.

"I do say", said the King, clearing his throat loudly," I feel that I have seen thither mountain before..."
"Ah yes" said the cartographer," indeed."

This type of exchange continued for several minutes, the King becoming more and more frustrated and the cartographer more and more reserved and the horses more and more and more tired (the horses had long ago grown hungry and amid the droning monotone of their two noble masters could only think of how they might get moving again, for horses dot mind distance if they are moving but if they are forced to stop and listen to men talk, they get VERY impatient very quickly).

"And what is the name of that mountain" continued the king.
"Not sure..."replied Honza, the cartographer, smoothing his mustache," but you own it, oh liege"

And on and on in like manner, still neither nobleman wishing to admit that they were totally lost. Finally, it could continue no longer, after all, a horse must get home!

"Claude" said Frank the light coloured horse with the big socks, to Claude, the dark coloured horse to his left. "You reckon its a left up there, and then a right, to get back to the castle"
"Pffffffffft" said Claude blowing his nostrils loudly and shaking his mane," surely, I could have told you that hours ago."
"Well, why didn't you speak up then?"
"well, why didn't YOU speak up then?|
"OK, ok lets just get going" and so off they went, snorting and tossing heads and tails, in the direction that they knew would take them home for sure. A left, a right, and in the distance, though not at all too distant, the castle could be seen. The King and his map-maker were beside themselves. they couldn't speak and both were a little embarrassed.

"I am the smartest man in my land" thought the King," that is why I wear this great and noble crown on my great and noble head, and still these horses seem smarter than I. What if the people hear of this, that I, the King, became lost in my own wood and had to seek help from my horse? Can such a man lead his people? Better I keep this quiet, that no one will find out"

Meanwhile, the cartographer was busy trying to take credit for the achievement of the horses. "Look here, you beast, I told you to turn left hours ago, if you hadn't gone running off hither and thither but followed my directions we never would have been lost in the first place. And were do you think you are going now?" to which neither Claude nor Frank responded, endlessly loyal and defiant to their masters, and, truth be told, much happier to be moving along again.

Finally the King spoke aloud, but to the cartographer, as everyone knew that horses can't talk:
"I shall have your head"
at which point the cartographer, struck cold to his toes, stopped his bubbling and nonstop rant.
Then, disparate, he began again
"but how could you do such an unkindness to me? for if it was not for me we should still be lost deep within the wood and you would never have found the way home?"
the King responded, his voice deep and grave
"That, as usual, is untrue. You, in your arrogance and distraction, got us lost,and besides your maps are all wrong".
"OK, ok" replied the cartographer, "but lift my head from my shoulders and you shall have to explain to everyone how you returned from the forest with the help of a talking horse. Thus really you should consider it a great favor that I keep silent."

And so the cartographer lived to make it back to the castle, but his pride burned inside of him. That he, the royal mapmaker, could be bettered by a talking horse was simply inconceivable. Angrily he stomped back and forth in front of the stables, making such a fuss and racket that the boys who worked there left, not wanting to disturb the noble man in his foul mood.

Then Honza had an idea. If Frank and Claude had helped him in the forest, surely they could keep helping him. These horses must have many secrets to tell, after all they bore the great King on every hunt and midnight tyrst. These horses could help him have the power he had always wanted. So, looking around to make sure he was unobserved Honza entered the stables.
"Frank" he whispered, "Frank...wake up"
but Frank only snorted and tossed his head.
"Dammit beast," Honza said, punching the horse in the neck" wake up"
at which point Frank suddenly opened his eyes, and deep inside them for a moment, but only a moment a fire raged. Then, instantly, he remembered his place, and being loyal, looked blankly back at the servant to the king who stood in front of him.
"Look Frank, I brought you some nice oats" said the cartographer, pushing bundles of oats into the pen where Frank and Claude lived. But Frank ignored him. He could sense that something was strange, something was not as it should be. he just snorted, tossed his head.
"All I ask," began the cartographer, "is that we make a little deal. You like oats right? I like information. We are both looking out for what is right for this kingdom, yes? So maybe you can tell me somethings about where you carry our King at night and what things you hear..."
Again, Frank just snorted and tossed his head, moving away from the oats. They smelled of trouble.

"Fine!" yelled Honza, "if you can't cooperate with me, I shall have you made into dogfood! At least perhaps your colleague is more reasonable."
but Claude, Frank's "colleague" simply tossed his head and snorted, pretending to be asleep.

The map maker was beside himself with rage. Mixing with the fatigue from the days journey and the whiskey he had drunk earlier that evening, he was no longer sure if he had really heard the horses talk or if instead it had all been a dream. He feared for his own sanity but wanted power more than anything. "Speak!" he commanded them. "Damn you! Speak!"
but still the horses kept silent.

Honza grabbed a nearby broom and began striking Claude violently on the head again and again. Frank tried to put his body in the way of the broom but being tied to a pole managed instead to catch the pull force of the assault in the teeth.
Still, both horses stayed silent. After beating them for a few minutes, the map maker showed his teeth and snarled:
"last chance, speak, speak or BURN!" and being greeted with silence he spilled the oil from his lantern onto the hay beneath where the horses were tied. He lifted the lantern high above his head, ready in a moment to smash it down onto the oil soaked hay, his eyes glowing with murder. Frank and Claude, though frightened, stood their ground. They looked back at him with their deep eyes. Without hatred, they were his superiors.

And at that moment they were saved. In rushed the stable boy and poured water all over the fiend and his lantern. And in rushed the Sheriff and, wrestling him to the ground, placed handcuffs on the would-be horse murderer.
"Madman," he said, " why are you trying to burn the King's barn? The stable boy heard you in here talking to the horses and getting angry, so he called me to come. What is wrong with you, fool? You will be hanged in the morning for certain."

And so he was hanged the next day, and as the stable boy drove the cart with the body of the cartographer's body to the prisoner's cemetery (for, being a traitor, he could no longer be buried in the King's cemetery) he asked the horses:
"So, what was all that about last night? What did you say to make him so upset?"
Now the horses had long been friends with the stable boy and had come to love him very much and so when no one was around they talked openly with him.
"I said nothing" said Claude, "I just pretended to be asleep"
"Me either" said Frank, tossing his head and snorting.
"So what was the problem?" asked the boy
"dunno" said Frank, "maybe he was crazy, "thinking horses could talk"

Later that day, while Claude and Frank were chewing things in the pasture, the King came to see them.
"So," said the King, "I must thank you for showing me the nature of the incompetence and treacherous fool I had in my court. I owe you greatly, and from now on you will receive special oats every midday."
The horses said nothing, ignoring him, as is the usual behavior for them.
"But I must ask you" asked the King" how is it that you never spoke to me before, after all, I am your great and noble king?"
There was a long pause, and then Claude looked up from the grass, looked into the Kings blue eyes with his own dark infinite eyes, and said "you never asked".

And so it was true. The King went home, and everyone went to sleep. Tuesday, December 8, 2009
If It's Too Loud You Are Too Old
Dear ________________,

I wanted to write to thank you again for your concerns and advice following my recent performance at ___________, and I want to take this opportunity to respond to a few of your comments.

First of all, I want to say that I entirely agree with you that in terms of volume I was louder than would be normal for the space in that room. There were several reasons for this:

1. I sided with achieving an overall physical balance of sounds in the room, regardless of the position of individual audience members. Since the music I was performing is meant to be heard in the chest and knees as much as the ears, and as it is common practice to wear earplugs at many of these concerts (as ridiculous as this practice is) I figured it would be a good idea to turn it up. Besides, you guys had just hosted the _____(big noise) Festival in ________there so I figured it would be fine to turn it up.

2. I sought and achieved a correct mix of live-acoustic and amplified sound in the space. For me to perform this music correctly it is necessary that the electronically amplified and the reproduced sounds be at least as loud and at most times louder than the acoustic viola. Due to the spacial positioning of the audience in this space, the sound system, and the performance area, a sufficient volume turned out to be a pretty loud one! Still, it was necessary to eliminate the dominance of the non-electric element in the music.

Bearing these factors in mind, perhaps it would have been wiser, upon realizing the intimacy of the space, to abandon these pieces entirely in favor or an improvisation or some other alternative. Maybe after seeing the other bands perform, I should have opted to play very very quietly like they did. Perhaps it was my poor judgment to try and present an immersive work in such a context, however, these are the pieces that I was presenting on this tour, and so I stuck to this model even though it was, admittedly, a small space.

I played the music I had prepared, which requires a sensitivity to the space, but not so much to every individual person in it. After all, I play the way I like. I don't conduct a social survey before I start to determine what each audience member might feel like that evening and then average them in the manner of Komar and Melimid to find the perfect mediocrity that satisfies the greatest number (in theory). I think these pieces are interesting. They haven't killed me yet. Since you are like me, by analogy, I assume you will like them too. That is my logic. Its a small space. Still, it is a small space inside ___________'s best known experimental music studio/theatre complex. So I figured people would know how to deal with it. With the exception of yourself, it seems most of them did.

In addition, I am sure you have been to numerous performances that occur at even higher amplitudes in even smaller spaces than yours. This is quite common today, fortunately or not. I am forced to present a good deal of my work in such contexts as many places that are not as well off as _______(rich country) and have little else to offer in the way of venues, especially for the immersive sound experiences, which I am designing. Ear plugs are standard equiptment at many venues associated with rock and "noise" music and I play a lot of concerts in such places. In my own work, I look for the line at which ear plugs should still be unnecessary when the scale and physicality of the sound I am seeking is reached. In fact, I don't think the sounds I was producing at my concert there were all that painful or dangerous, but if you wish to wear earplugs, or for that matter, go outside, please be my guest.

I am not fond of the fact that earplugs have become such standard equiptment. I believe the negative function is twofold. Firstly, in most cases people do not have good earplugs and the music is distorted, especially in the high frequencies, to a ridiculous extent. Second, musicians are playing louder because they and the audience have their ears plugged, and because of this ear plugs have become a requirement to avoid hearing damage at many concerts. I think this is ridiculous. Yet your venue presented the ______(big noise) Festival the weekend prior to my concert there. How was I to know that my show was to be a "quiet" show? Perhaps I was simply misprogramed. As you said, maybe I just played "on the wrong night." Its possible, but was that my decision? Not really. My music is generally quite large in terms of scale and in terms of amplitude in particular, promoters should know that, I sent samples. There is no secret.

Now, unfortunately, I do have a few differences of opinion regarding some other assertions you made about me and my music:

A. You observed that I kept increasing the volume as I was performing. This is, in fact, entirely inaccurate. I rather decreased the overall limit of possible volumes and worked for a balance between this and the component frequencies involved. The density increased, and yes, in the first piece so did the volume, but at no point did I raise the overall ceiling of the sound, and at all times it was well within control. As such, you may have thought it too loud, but I did not. This puts all the blame on my initial decision to play loudly, but as I explained earlier, I accept that.

B. You observed that my music is cumulative, and actually yes, in the case of a few of the pieces I am presenting on this tour, you are correct.

C. You questioned other promoters decision to present my music. This is totally indefensible and assinine. The promoter in question that you brought up organizes a lot of concerts, most of which you would probably find too loud. If you don't enjoy what I am doing than fine, don't come to my next concert, but keep out of my business. What I do with other people is not your concern.

D.Although "violin phase" by Steve Reich is indeed a wonderful piece. However, and though I am very grateful to Mr. Reich for his music, my current work bears only a passing, cursory and superficial relationship to this famous work, and only in terms of surface. These pieces, as one can hear easily with even a little attention or better, a little analysis, are structured entirely differently from the Reich piece. They employ totally divergent conceptual and constructive processes and at best can be said to share a starting point. In addition, they were, I imagine, arrived at through totally different perspectives, at least I would be very surprised to learn otherwise.

Still, you know, we are in a world of imitators. I like Reich's music and am now way concerned if a couple of pieces of mine bear a slight resemblance in passing to a few of his. He has written a lot of music, you know. Its like being told you look like a wonderful, beautiful model from the past whom you admire very much. It makes me feel quite glamorous that you think so highly of my work as to compare me to this guy. Still, in the larger body of my own work these pieces occupy a logical place and are in no way a stopping point. Besides, I enjoy playing them, and they are quite different from the work in question.

Further, this entire comment was misplaced as the only piece I played that can even be said to bear a resemblance to a Reich work was the one I used for sound check, but I didn't present this one at the concert. Additionally, this relationship is purely coincidental, and the only relation between the piece and Violin Phase is that I am playing the viola. In fact, the motive is similar to and inversion of the motive of Piano Phase, another Reich piece. Though still, this piece was arrived at independantly and from another perspective entirely. Thus if similarities ("to any persons living or dead") than it is purely coincidential. And then it is important to consider that I did NOT present this music on the concert.

E. Your final and most offensive comment was the remark implying that I am not paying attention or thinking about what I am doing musically. That one nearly got you a bloody nose, but I was to tired, in fact, to respond to your dim witted blather any more in any form. I hope by now your concerns as to whether I am thinking about what I am doing musically are satiated, though I appreciate your concern, and love above all else the pursuit of new questions. In that spirit, or should your prefer, the spirit of the bloody nose which I would still gladly give you when next we meet, I am happy to answer any more questions you have regarding my work (though you might need to wait until I have time to respond to you).

Good luck and happy listening.

Jorge Boehringer
the Core of the Coalman
Posted by Dan Wrath at 2:52 AM 0 comments  
Mobius Strip,or "Why I am Not Looping"
To loop implies things. To loop implies that something heard once will be heard again. Is that even possible? I will leave that up to you, but from a certain perspective of time and progression it most certainly is NOT. That perspective is one which views time as an irreversible continuous flowing suchness, in which we float as little mice upon our leaf-rafts, on downward and upward through through the rivers of our lives. The rivers even change speeds, there are rapids...but this is the apparent perspective, the one most of us describe experiencing most of the time with respect to time.

Still, in all practicality, we do loop. We do it, or we say we do it. We move in circles and revisit recursive materials in time. And we say we do, we describe ourselves as doing "the same" things each day, going the same places, having been somewhere before. At least we don't know how else to describe these experiences otherwise, or it is merely too much trouble. Everyone understands what you mean, after all, so there is no point in delving into a phenomenology of time just to explain to someone that you have "seen that film before" when she asks you to the theatre.

Yet, hidden inside of this is something of a paradox. After all, the very thing which gives the "repetition" its experiential appeal, at least for me, is the very fact that a repetition highlights the fact of time gone by, or time going by. If the material being presented is kept exactly the same and presented in exactly the same way, which is not at all difficult to achieve digitally, there are still myriad changes in both the presented and perceived phenomena. These changes, the moving frame of the sounds, as well as the participative aspect of the mind and body of the listener and her environment (not to mention other listeners and their behavioral interactions with the aforementioned listener) are all highlighted by the presentation of repetitive material. The solid, exact repetition of a material of enough substance to take up a certain amount of attention or perceptual space, be it sound, or a physical object of static quality, can function to highlight the otherwise under- or un-perceived qualities of many experiences. The complexity implicit in our own systems and the environmental systems complexity which we are part of is highlighted by the regularity of the presented material, which inversely becomes a frame for the environment. This is, of course, a complete reversal of the normal framing aspect of an environment with regard to the sounds played into or on top of it to make music. And yet, there it is.

We loop, or say we loop. And in music especially. My friend Mike used to say when we were at school in California "everyone here is looping and drone-ing." Still, I am not looping even when I am and I will tell you why, after a little while.

To loop in music implies that material previously heard is heard again. In a sense it implies that it is played again and again either mechanically or physically. Regardless of whether that is philosophically possible (see paragraph one) I am not doing this. Not guilty.

The recurring materials that I set into play against one another are assymetrical themselves in terms of their phrase structure. Further, they are placed against one another in irregular and rhythmically asymmetrical ways. Thus they recombine on their own once set into play and these recombinations, since not sequenced or rhythmically quantized or otherwise locked into sync with one another, drift in time, and develop a certain amount of unpredictability, an indeterminacy in their relations. This is surprising and a source of great happiness to me, since the initial phrase material is quite set. This way I get to compose and be surprised.

This is true for almost all the "lattice patterned music" that I developed over the last couple of years and performed on the tours listed in previous entries to this blog. This music can be heard on the records Affinity Groups, which is not yet released, and on Box of the Last Help, which should come out on Zum records soon, I hope.

Where overall periods of true repetition in this music, that is to say, the point at which all individual patterns and periodic patterns of interaction between patterns become periodic (repeat), where such periods actually exist they are too long to be perceived as such, and likely they have been augmented by other material and their original orientation with respect to time and spatial function (background/foreground relation) in the music will have changed prior to the point at which repetition can be perceived where overall periods of true repetition in this music exist. Thus even when the material "loops" through the use of one or more electronic devices which play the recorded material again and again and again and again, it is either that the combination of two or more of these functions to create a highly changeable or even chaotic situation in which overall periods of repetition in the whole do not exist, or that the overall period is so long that it is negligible, where overall periods of true repetition in this music exist. Further, in these instances the material presented is not heard as a loop even when it is in fact, looping, in the sense of being re-presented by one or more electronic devices which record and then play back sounds in the manner of a tape-loop, but rather the material is heard as a continually shifting pattern of changeable pieces as in the manner of a polychromic kalidescope, in which individual sheets of colour are translucent and as such when superimposed affect one another in the manners described by Wittgenstein in his book about Colour. Sounds lack opacity in general. Though they can mask one another, when presented in a musical context sounds of similar timbre and amplitude will blend into an incredible variety of translucences. And this is what is happening when I play these patterns on top of and against one another, and since the colours are always changing the overall aspect is not looping. It doesn't repeat, even if the parts inside do, and the do, a lot.

In fact, the only way this recent music of mine can even be described as looping is in the most simplistic (overly simplistic, reductive levels of description) and with reference only to a few of the tools and techniques used to play this music live. Only in terms of construction can this even begin to be described in this way. In effect, it is something else.

The overall assymetry of the superimposed parts (themselves assymetrical) results not in bland repetition (which itself can be, or produce, very interesting effects as mentioned above in terms of functioning to re-frame the perceiving mechanism of the listeners themselves) but instead the result is the unfolding of a continuous process, which may only be described as looping in the specific cases where it wraps back on itself in the manner of a mobius strip, which is indeed a special sort of loop.
Posted by Dan Wrath at 2:31 AM 0 comments  
Monday, December 7, 2009

And so it was true. The King went home, and everyone went to sleep.
Posted by Dan Wrath at 6:11 AM 0 comments 
 

ancient mammoth
remain aloft
let not thy
eyelids drop
though heavy let me keep
the movement steady
the footprints deep
and roots that grow
through rock and ice
growing warmer
with ancient voice
whose ringing out
melts blocks of ice
and melting
dispels sleep

Posted by Dan Wrath at 6:08 AM 0 comments  
Deep Mine Nitro Uhlíře Time Tunnel parts 1-e
Havent been really putting any writing up here for a while, because I have been busy for the most part but now I will begin to put some new things here...here is, more or less, the record of my tour from the end of last summer...there were some changes, some additions and things, but this was basically it.

Deep Mine Nitro Uhlíře Time Tunnel parts 1-e
letni konzerti
dates in chronological order, bands in no particular order, according to my memory or momentary proclivities
as such:

August 12
Tabor, Czech Republic
Core of the Coalman/Dead Labor Process/Crank Sturgeon/Hans Svoboda

August 15
Praha, Czech Republic
Core of the Coalman/Dead Labor Process/Steve Weenie

August 20
Edinburgh, Scotland
Henry's Cellar Bar (grind sight open eye)
Bo Ningen/Core of the Coalman/Fordell Research Unit

August 22
Glasgow gig cancelled due to miscommunication (I am pretty bummed about this but I might play a fest in Birmignham on this day)

August 25
Cambridge (organized by Bad Timing)
The Portland, 129 Chesterton Road, Cambridge, CB4 3BA.
Part Wild Horses Manes on Both Sides/Core of the Coalman/Motherfucking

August 27
Liverpool
Pilgrim
Blues Control/Tropa Macaca/Core of the Coalman

August 29th/30th
Manchester
Rowf!Rowf!Rowf! Festival

August 31
Leeds
Victoria Hotel
Blues Control/Tropa Macaca/Core of the Coalman

Sept 2
Hull
Core of the Coalman + other acts TBA

Sept 4th
maybe Blackpool? crossing fingers and things

Sept 5
Nottingham
Rammel Club@Chameleon
Blues Control/Tropa Macaca/Core of the Coalman

Sept 6
London
Upset the Rhythm @ Barden's Boudoir
with (seeing a pattern here?)
Blues Control/Tropo Macaca/Core of the Coalman

Sept 10
Brighton/Hove
The Greenhouse Effect
Murphy&Nyoukis/Teignmouth Electron/Core of the Coalman/Sunshine Variety

Sept 11
Hamburg, Germany
Sued-Balkon
Hosho/Core of the Coalman

Sept 13
Berlin, Germany
Fuel@ Schokoladen Club
Core of the Coalman and other acts TBA

Sept 16
Hamburg, Germany
Unlimited Liability
Core of the Coalman and other acts TBA

Sept 17
Berlin, Germany
Sinclub, Kruetzberg
Core of the Coalman & other acts TBA

Sept 18
Tillburg, NL
ZXZW Festival
I play at 8 I think in the cellar bar v39
Hey Greg, if you are reading this we should meet up and hang out because I think you are playing nearly the same day (but I could be wrong, it happens alot)

Sept 19th TOTALLY OPEN BUT REALLY IT WOULD BE RAD TO PLAY SOMEWHERE so drop me a message

Sept 20
Helsinki, Finland
(subject to small changes)
Ptarmigan
Core of the Coalman and Nicola Morton's Dog Cloning Workshop

Sept 22
Stockholm
and hopefully 23 in Sweden someplace TBA

Sept 25/26
Oslo, Norway
Sound of Mu
Core of the Coalman other acts TBA

Sept 27
Trondheim, Norway
Core of the Coalman other acts TBA

Sept 28
Koln, Germany
Tsunami Club
Core of the Coalman other acts TBA

Sept 29
Strasborg or Metz
Core of the Coalman other acts TBA

Sept 30
Hannover
Der Salon of Silly Art Fick
at Silke Arp Bricht
Core of the Coalman other acts TBA

Oct 1
Paris
Le Generale? unclear where show is actually
Chad Popple/Core of the Coalman/other acts TBA

Oct 2
Angers
unclear where show is actually but its on
Chad Popple/Core of the Coalman/other acts TBA

Oct 3
Lyon
unclear where show is actually but its on
Chad Popple/Core of the Coalman/other acts TBA

Oct 4
Marseille
Le Embobnieuse
Chad Popple/ Core of the Coalman/other acts TBA

Oct 5
Bordeaux
unclear where show is actually but its on
Chad Popple/ Core of the Coalman/other acts TBA

Oct 6 WE WOULD LOVE TO PLAY SOMEPLACE IN BETWEEN HERE AND GENEVA OR THEREABOUTS

Oct 7 Milano? but really same situation

Oct 8
Geneva
Cave 12
Chad Popple/Core of the Coalman/other acts TBA

Oct 9
Antwerpen in all hope
unclear where show is actually but its on I hope
Chad Popple/Core of the Coalman/other acts TBA

Oct 10
Liege
unclear where show is actually but its on
Chad Popple/Core of the Coalman/Buital Orgasm/other acts TBA

Oct 11
Gent
unclear where show is actually but its on I think
Chad Popple/Core of the Coalman/other acts TBA

Oct 12
Maastricht? still dont understand if this one exists
Core of the Coalman and ???

Oct 15
Impakt Festival present by Kraak
Theatre Kikker
Posted by Dan Wrath at 6:04 AM 0 comments  
Monday, December 8, 2008
CORE OF THE COALMAN+PLEASE THE TREES FRIDAY IN TABOR!!!

....
THIS FRIDAY IN TABOR CORE OF THE COALMAN and PLEASE THE TREES.
MC ORION 12/12/08 21:00



and next friday 19/12:Core of the Coalman, OTK and
Deerhoof

OTK and Core of the Coalman

www. silver-rocket. org/news/910
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ParentResource, classname: 'embedDialog', title: "Add to your calendar", content: "

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Friday 19 December 2008 at 9:00pm

Meet Factory
Ke Sklárně 15
Praha
Czech Republic
Show on Map

Web: www. meetfactory. cz
http://nl. youtube. com/watch?v=ZNRwX1wH6xs&fmt=18
Starcastic & Silver Rocket presents:

DEERHOOF (USA, Kill Rock Stars), OTK (CZ, Silver Rocket), Core of the Coalman
Praha - Meet Factory, 19.
prosince 2008 www. meetfactory. cz

Geniální diletanti Deerhoof letos vydali na Kill Rock Stars vynikající desku "Offend Maggie", kterou jen potvrdili svoji výjimečnou pozici na současný scéně. Tahle kapela se nezastaví před ničím a její ikonoklastickej přístup k muzice je stejně neodolatelnej jako nebezpečnej. Deerhoof se při dekonstrukci rocku občas dostanou k hravejm melodiím, občas vás proženou hlukovou spirálou. Na jejich zvuku už na první poslech fascinuje absolutní svoboda, s kterou se pouštějí do dalších a dalších krkolomnejch dobrodružství. Pověstnej souboj nejhlasitějšího bubeníka na světě s nejtišší zpěvačkou planety máte poprvý možnost vidět i v Praze. Předkapelou Deerhoof budou OTK, protože - co si budeme nalhávat - tenhle rok byl ve znamení "Okolo" a OTK nehráli v Praze dlouho žádnej pořádnej koncert. A vánoční spojení geniálních diletantů s diletantskejma géniema musí fungovat... Večer otevře projekt Core Of The Coalman.


www. myspace. com/deerhoof
www. myspace. com/otka
http://www. myspace. com/coreoggthecoalman

9:23 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove
Posted by Dan Wrath at 12:55 PM 1 comments  
Friday, November 28, 2008
Odd Associations Between Spaces and Written/Read Language
Want to know what I think is really weird? I think it is really weird that my brain assigns random photographic images of real (or really close to real) spaces that I pass through or by in everyday life to material that I am reading or writing. What I mean is that I will be reading and I will realize that that specific article or book has attached to it, for no apparent reason a specific frozen view, one perspective, of the parking lot of the grocery store by my house. Why?

The spaces attached to the reading (or at times written) material are always unremarkable places I have merely passed through, for example: the place the bus waits before turning when taking me to the metro station- there is a long concrete wall there with some plants hanging over it and this view is paired with Ada by Vladimier Nabakov. Ben Piekut's new musicological study "Testing, Testing....New York Experimentalism 1964" gets different spaces assigned to different chapters, for instance Chapter 3, about Bill Dixon and the Jazz Composer's Guild, gets the odd grassy square between some of the block buildings here near Malovicka, but the other chapters received different, now forgotten associations.

It seems to me that I have always done this. The only characteristic thing about the associations is that they are always unremarkable spaces, usually spaces I am passing through regularly during the time I am reading the book (not while reading, but in the same day or so) and the other thing they have in common is that they are forgotten as soon as I leave the book. Why does the brain merge these things which have nothing in common. It is rather nice, for nostalgia's sake, yet it is very strange, don't you think?
Posted by Dan Wrath at 11:55 AM 0 comments  
border states
order/disorder

order and disorder/disorder and order

order from disorder/disorder from order

order in disorder/disorder in order

order in disorder in an individual/disorder in order in an individual

order from disorder in an individual/disorder from order in an individual

order in disorder from inside itself/disorder from order from inside itself
(from inside of its structure or its structure in interaction with itself)

order in disorder from outside itself/disorder from order from outside itself
(in terms of interaction with an environment, an other or others)
order from disorder en masse/disorder from order en masse
(in terms of an interaction with a similarly structured plurality of great magnitude)
order from disorder from being seen/disorder from order from being seen


order from disorder in being seen/disorder from order in being seen


order in disorder from being seen/disorder in order from being seen


order in disorder in being seen/disorder in order from being seen


order in disorder from looking/disorder in order from looking


order in disorder in looking/disorder in order in looking


order in disorder in looking at order in disorder/
disorder in order in looking at order in disorder

order from disorder in looking at order in disorder/
disorder from order in looking at order in disorder


order in disorder from looking at order in disorder/
disorder in order from looking at order in disorder


order from disorder from looking at order in disorder/
disorder from order from looking at order in disorder


order in disorder in not looking at order in disorder/
disorder in order in not looking at order in disorder


order from disorder in not looking at order in disorder/
disorder from order in not looking at order in disorder


order in disorder from not looking at order in disorder/
disorder in order from not looking at order in disorder


order from disorder from not looking at order in disorder/
disorder from order from not looking at order in disorder


order in disorder in looking at order for disorder/
disorder in order in looking at order for disorder


order from disorder in looking at order for disorder/
disorder from order in looking at order for disorder


order in disorder from looking at order for disorder/
disorder in order from looking at order for disorder


order from disorder from looking at order for disorder/
disorder from order from looking at order for disorder


order in disorder in not looking at order for disorder/
disorder in order in not looking at order for disorder


order from disorder in not looking at order for disorder/
disorder from order in not looking at order for disorder


order in disorder from not looking at order for disorder/
disorder in order from not looking at order for disorder


order from disorder from not looking at order for disorder/
disorder from order from not looking at order for disorder


order in disorder in looking at disorder in order/
disorder in order in looking at disorder in order

order from disorder in looking at disorder in order/
disorder from order in looking at disorder in order


order in disorder from looking at disorder in order/
disorder in order from looking at disorder in order


order from disorder from looking at disorder in order/
disorder from order from looking at disorder in order


order in disorder in not looking at disorder in order/
disorder in order in not looking at disorder in order


order from disorder in not looking at disorder in order/
disorder from order in not looking at disorder in order


order in disorder from not looking at disorder in order/
disorder in order from not looking at disorder in order


order from order from not looking at disorder in order/
disorder from order from not looking at disorder in order


order in disorder in looking at disorder for order/
disorder in order in looking at disorder for order

order from disorder in looking at disorder for order/
disorder from order in looking at disorder for order


order in disorder from looking at disorder for order/
disorder in order from looking at disorder for order


order from disorder from looking at disorder for order/
disorder from order from looking at disorder for order


order in disorder in not looking at disorder for order/
disorder in order in not looking at disorder for order


order from disorder in not looking at disorder for order/
disorder from order in not looking at disorder for order


order in disorder from not looking at disorder for order/
disorder in order from not looking at disorder for order


order from order from not looking at disorder for order/
disorder from order from not looking at disorder for order



order in disorder in looking in order for disorder/
disorder in order in looking in order for disorder

order from disorder in looking in order for disorder/
disorder from order in looking in order for disorder


order in disorder from looking in order for disorder/
disorder in order from looking in order for disorder


order from disorder from looking in order for disorder/
disorder from order from looking in order for disorder


order in disorder in not looking in order for disorder/
disorder in order in not looking in order for disorder


order from disorder in not looking in order for disorder/
disorder from order in not looking in order for disorder


order in disorder from not looking in order for disorder/
disorder in order from not looking in order for disorder


order from disorder from not looking in order for disorder/
disorder from order from not looking in order for disorder



order in disorder in looking for order in disorder/
disorder in order in looking for order in disorder

order from disorder in looking for order in disorder/
disorder from order in looking for order in disorder


order in disorder from looking for order in disorder/
disorder in order from looking for order in disorder


order from disorder from looking for order in disorder/
disorder from order from looking for order in disorder


order in disorder in not looking for order in disorder/
disorder in order in not looking for order in disorder


order from disorder in not looking for order in disorder/
disorder from order in not looking for order in disorder


order in disorder from not looking for order in disorder/
disorder in order from not looking for order in disorder


order from disorder from not looking for order in disorder/
disorder from order from not looking for order in disorder


order in disorder in looking in disorder for order/
disorder in order in looking in disorder for order


order from disorder in looking in disorder for order/
disorder from order in looking in disorder for order


order in disorder from looking in disorder for order/
disorder in order from looking in disorder for order


order from disorder from looking in disorder for order/
disorder from order from looking in disorder for order


order in disorder in not looking in disorder for order/
disorder in order in not looking in disorder for order


order from disorder in not looking in disorder for order/
disorder from order in not looking in disorder for order


order in disorder from not looking in disorder for order/
disorder in order from not looking in disorder for order


order from order from not looking in disorder for order/
disorder from order from not looking in disorder for order


order in disorder in looking for disorder in order/
disorder in order in looking for disorder in order

order from disorder in looking for disorder in order/
disorder from order in looking for disorder in order


order in disorder from looking for disorder in order/
disorder in order from looking for disorder in order


order from disorder from looking for disorder in order/
disorder from order from looking for disorder in order


order in disorder in not looking for disorder in order/
disorder in order in not looking for disorder in order


order from disorder in not looking for disorder in order/
disorder from order in not looking for disorder in order


order in disorder from not looking for disorder in order/
disorder in order from not looking for disorder in order




Posted by Dan Wrath at 11:28 AM 0 comments  
Saturday, February 9, 2008
I BRAIN MY ONLY BREAK
you know what the problem with this blog format is? it is that if you try and write some sort of consecutive things that are related to one another, you end up with the problem that a reader will inevitably start reading in the middle. Then, to make sense of what is being read, they scroll DOWN to the next article. The result of this is that people are reading what you are trying to tell them backwards and this of course changes the structure of the point one might try and make. You can, of course, choose to display your blogs with the first post first and set it up so that it scrolls chronologically downwards with the most recent at the bottom, however then when someone firsts visits your blog, the date of what appears to be your first post reads some old date like May 14, 1989 and this also discourages readers.

So if you are reading this, and you realize you are in the middle of something alread in progress (which I try to designate in my titles) please return to part one and start there and then read the others, thus things might make more sense.

ha!
Posted by Dan Wrath at 10:16 AM 0 comments  
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
corollary (moth part3)
This is a corollary to the model of human need I posted in response to my idea for the moth ( that is could satisfy its dream of light and heat beyond its wildest ambition yet without killing or burning itself by simply figuring out how to wake during the day). After some thought I realized that each of the levels I gave below in my evolution of need in human life and culture could also loosely correlate to various aspects of the thinking mind of the human and the human individual, as opposed to what we seem to think about animal consciousness, plant consciousness, or the consciousness of a person not yet born or dead. The correspondence between these modes of consciousness and the needs in the earlier article are really not the point. They exist in some way but are not nessecary and are not especially solid or meant to be serious. In fact, the model of need represents development while this model of forms of attention is elastic with movement between all levels occurring at many times for many individuals.

I am using numbers both to suggest some sort of outward movement from a conceptual center and to represent the endless bifurcation of a frame of mind as it divides ideas of activity, self-consciousness, identity and the like. As in the hierarchical model of needs earlier, these numbers increase, their complexity increases, as one moves away from the more instinctual mode inherent at birth, and through normal development acquires a more specialized consciousness and tools or habits for working with attention. Again, this (as the other model earlier) is just an example of ways of organizing something, a personal view for the purpose of determining, like the moth, how to take what is in front of one, to realize one's dreams beyond belief without burning to death first.

The "space" represented by this model is a conceptual space only, not intended to be an analogue of physical space, but who knows.

and so consider some levels of awareness to be:

0. null: unborn, no separation from anything. no nothing.

1. unity: unaware of self, no separation between an individual and an environment

2. duality: beginning awareness of self, or skin at least. separation between environment and one's own self

3. trinity: continued separation. now there is a separation between mind and body within the individual in addition to the separation of the individual and the environment.

4. instance/moment: the discovery of time, frames of time and how these interact with individual attention further divide the environment, which now begins to re frame itself infinitely in the mind of the individual which sometimes includes its own body in this environment and sometimes does not.

5. purpose: the further awareness of these frames of reference, or of information about the mind, the body, or other aspects of "environment" provide for the individual to interact with the environment meaningfully on many levels, but as a separate entity. People move meanings, build houses, but as separate people operating in an environment not as a unity energy moving aspects of itself around. Individual consciousness reinforces this separation but also affords one the power of movement within this environment.

6. void: similar or identical to 1. a tabula rasa.
External to experience, a field of possibility. Is the movement discussed in 5 an illusion? What are the limits of reason/knowing? this is the mystic's return to the indivisibility of consciousness. Its outside the frame but aware of it if it chooses to be.
Posted by Dan Wrath at 11:49 PM 0 comments  
Maslow Inverted (moth part 2)
If one where to apply the idea discussed in my previous post regarding moths to oneself, where would one begin?

As with design, one begins with need. It is not so difficult to think about what one, or even easier, you yourself might need.

Abraham Maslow did a pretty good job with his famous hierchy and of course all of his critics and followers did a nice job too. What I have come up with though, in thinking about my own needs has a different sense to it.

People often graph Maslow's hierarchy as a pyramid, for example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow#Maslow_hierarchy
with basic, primative needs at the bottom and "self-actualization" at the top. This suggests a movement away from animal, or survival needs to some sort of spiritual, human quality. The idea of movement in this model is undeniable, and that is what gives it its hierarchical nature. The issue for me is that this goal, this self-actualization, isn't really a need. Further, to some extent it may even be post-human. If the basement of Maslow's hierarchy is somewhat sub-human, or at the very least represents needs that can be said to be shared by both humans and other animals than the attic might be a goal that transcends human possibility. That isn't a situation that interests me now.

Thus, my hierarchy of need works differently. It could also be graphed as a pyramid, but the movement begins at the top of the pyramid and descends. The model begin with the most basic, shared needs of all people and expands to represent the more specific expressions of these needs in their complex developments which mirror the development of a modern person's lifeline as well as the evolution of human society and culture.

Despite the vastness of this claim, it is quite a simple idea. When born, a modern human in the most modern city still shares all immediate needs with animals. As this human person develops physically, their skill set and lifestyle also develop and they have new more specific needs, which they share with less and less people. In addition, a person's needs move further away from the immediate needs of the body as the individual becomes increasingly self sufficient in providing for their body. This is a direct collaboration with the society the individual lives in. A society which provides more support and protection for the individual more quickly frees them from the immediate needs to insure adequate food, shelter and the like. Thus a modern society, free from the dangers of predatory animals, allows free time for humans to develop specialized skills and interests, bringing with them new needs, independent from the primitive ones. Interestingly, there is a curve somewhere in this, because as people age they once again find their needs intersecting with others. As the body slows and ceases function people once again become dependent on others and their needs become once more directly tied to maintenance of the human body.

In this hierarchy each level makes possible the development of the following one by providing a ground for the new needs to develop once the previous level's needs are satisfied. At the same time each new level reflects the influence of the all prior levels and may even restart the process from the primitive animal level. Thus highly specialized modern activities and their needs may satisfy primitive drives or provide expression of them. Since the hierarchy begins with birth, the sexual drive exists not in some theoretical quality but as a physically observable result of the feedback and interplay between levels. Thus birth is the catalyst to a new life (of need, ha ha) and the result of the fulfillment of other's needs and drives.

This is not meant to be taken as a complete analysis of course, but is only a sketch of a personal view which I am taking in light of the moth idea discussed earlier. One must know what the needs are, of course, before one knows which things are "habit" and which are really "essential". One musn't rely on instinct because instinct itself can lead to extinction. Once the essential needs are determined one can organize a strategy for addressing them. And so, without further claptrap:

birth ..............................................................................(catalyst)
results in the need for:

1.nutrition and shelter.................................................(survival)
which, once satisfied, provide opportunity for:

2.sex partners/families/community.........................(continuity)
which are grouped together because the larger units are nessecary to care for the recently born, representing the feedback discussed earlier. In fact the needs of the recently born represent level 1, and they are helpless to satisfy these on thier own. Nonetheless, in the creation of families and communities tasks for survival are distributed in some manner and this results in:

3.what is done while awake........................................(occupation)
which begins an increasing variety of technological possibilities and occupational specializations. The first level, the more essential tasks given to human invention when it is freed from subsistence enough to operate in a purely conceptual manner result in the organization and defense of communities through invention:

4.what is achieved through mental and physical exploration...(invention/organization of community)
community organization being set in motion, people are free to function in a purely mental (or purely physical realm for that matter) for the purpose of self enrichment. New questions are asked, new needs arise:

5. what is done to avoid boredom/provide sense to life/answer curious impulses
(invention: enrichment, speculative science, art, sports, religion, entertainment)

I do not mean to suggest that the development ends here but this is as far as my own needs for organization took me. The only reason I post this at all is as an illustration of a process by which one may analyze one's own (or in this case one's own view of everyone's) needs. This is in no way intended to be taken too seriously or scientifically as the analysis is totally incomplete and I don't know if I am really interested enough in it to complete it. I feel that it is useful to me as it is. The basic idea is that once a person's basic sustenance needs are accounted for, more specialized developments occur, and these provide new needs. It may seem at first that I am suggesting that art or religion are less important than food, but then I feel that maybe people only thought of these sorts of models or modes of living once they where warm and well fed enough to stop scrambling around like mad dogs.

Well, thats the news.

Also, I don't mean to suggest by placing theoretical (speculative, as opposed to applied) science on the same level as art, entertainment, and religion that it is simply a pastime. In fact I think none of these are simply ways of passing time. I think they are in fact ways of dealing with ideas of meaning or purpose, understanding. The thing is, to repeat, an individual isn't as concerned with the meaning of the cold when freezing to death. The issue is to get warm. Then, by the fire, one asks "what the hell?" or plays checkers or something.
Posted by Dan Wrath at 10:53 PM 0 comments  
A Suggestion for Moths
Moths are attracted to flames. They will travel quite a long distance to reach one in fact. Lights too, it turns out. They like heat, and they are persistent. Persistence is usually such an important trait, so positive, but in this case, when it is combined with endurance and hyper-activity it is deadly. The moth decides to claim its prize by flying into the light or flame. Thus purposefully or by accident the individual ends up burned, maybe to death, maybe not.

Okay, but that aside there is a way out of this mess. It requires work of course, but the answer is right in front of the moth. All that is needed for all of its dreams to come true beyond its wildest conceptions is to change its habits. The moth must learn to wake during the day. It takes work is all, and may be slow, but the answer is there.
Posted by Dan Wrath at 9:38 PM 0 comments  
Friday, January 4, 2008
European Tour
I have no idea what order things happen in though they end up having one, and so:

Sunday 6th
Helbaard! Den Haag, NL
Ducktails
Buffle
In the Eye of Vision
Core of the Coalman

Jan 7,8,9
various undefined actions not yet determined
as to their location or structure

Thursday 10
Salon Bruit @k77
Lichtblick Kino
Kastanienallee 77
Prenslaverberg
Berlin, Germany

Sunday 13
Hamburg, Germany
Radio FSK

Monday 14
at Occii in Amsterdam
Amstelveenseweg 134
door at 21:00
XBXRX
Core of the Coalman
Silver Salts

Friday 18
Udine, Italy
at Edera
Core of the Coalman
Al:arm!

Saturday 19
at SHOWCASE
in Reggio Emilia, IT
Al:arm!
11:05 AM 
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Wednesday, December 17, 2008 
friday 19/12:Core of the Coalman, OTK and
Deerhoof

OTK and Core of the Coalman
Photobucket
www. silver-rocket. org/news/910
..> $('addToCalendar').observe('click', function (e) { e.stop(); var dialog = new LFM.Dialog({ resource: LFM.
ParentResource, classname: 'embedDialog', title: "Add to your calendar", content: "

    *
          o

            Friday 19 December 2008 at 9:00pm

            Meet Factory
            Ke Sklárn&283; 15
            Praha
            Czech Republic
            Show on Map

            Web: www. meetfactory. cz
            http://nl. youtube. com/watch?v=ZNRwX1wH6xs&fmt=18
            Starcastic & Silver Rocket presents:

            DEERHOOF (USA, Kill Rock Stars), OTK (CZ, Silver Rocket), Core of the Coalman
            Praha - Meet Factory, 19.
prosince 2008 www. meetfactory. cz

            Geniální diletanti Deerhoof letos vydali na Kill Rock Stars vynikající desku "Offend Maggie", kterou jen potvrdili svoji výjime&269;nou pozici na sou&269;asný scén&283;. Tahle kapela se nezastaví p&345;ed ni&269;ím a její ikonoklastickej p&345;ístup k muzice je stejn&283; neodolatelnej jako nebezpe&269;nej. Deerhoof se p&345;i dekonstrukci rocku ob&269;as dostanou k hravejm melodiím, ob&269;as vás proženou hlukovou spirálou. Na jejich zvuku už na první poslech fascinuje absolutní svoboda, s kterou se poušt&283;jí do dalších a dalších krkolomnejch dobrodružství. Pov&283;stnej souboj nejhlasit&283;jšího bubeníka na sv&283;t&283; s nejtišší zp&283;va&269;kou planety máte poprvý možnost vid&283;t i v Praze. P&345;edkapelou Deerhoof budou OTK, protože - co si budeme nalhávat - tenhle rok byl ve znamení "Okolo" a OTK nehráli v Praze dlouho žádnej po&345;ádnej koncert. A váno&269;ní spojení geniálních diletant&367; s diletantskejma géniema musí fungovat... Ve&269;er otev&345;e projekt Core Of The Coalman.


            www. myspace. com/deerhoof
            www. myspace. com/otka
            http://www. myspace. com/coreoggthecoalman 
5:55 AM 
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Tuesday, December 09, 2008 

....

THIS FRIDAY IN TABOR CORE OF THE COALMAN and PLEASE THE TREES.  MC ORION 12/12/08 21:00

Photobucket


and next friday 19/12:Core of the Coalman, OTK and

Deerhoof

OTK and Core of the Coalman

www.silver-rocket.org/news/910

..> $('addToCalendar').observe('click', function (e) { e.stop(); var dialog = new LFM.Dialog({ resource: LFM.ParentResource, classname: 'embedDialog', title: "Add to your calendar", content: "

    • Friday 19 December 2008 at 9:00pm

      Meet Factory

      Ke Sklárně 15
      Praha
      Czech Republic
      Show on Map

      Web: www.meetfactory.cz

      http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNRwX1wH6xs&fmt=18
      Starcastic & Silver Rocket presents:

      DEERHOOF (USA, Kill Rock Stars), OTK (CZ, Silver Rocket), Core of the Coalman
      Praha - Meet Factory, 19. prosince 2008 www.meetfactory.cz

      Geniální diletanti Deerhoof letos vydali na Kill Rock Stars vynikající desku "Offend Maggie", kterou jen potvrdili svoji výjimečnou pozici na současný scéně. Tahle kapela se nezastaví před ničím a její ikonoklastickej přístup k muzice je stejně neodolatelnej jako nebezpečnej. Deerhoof se při dekonstrukci rocku občas dostanou k hravejm melodiím, občas vás proženou hlukovou spirálou. Na jejich zvuku už na první poslech fascinuje absolutní svoboda, s kterou se pouštějí do dalších a dalších krkolomnejch dobrodružství. Pověstnej souboj nejhlasitějšího bubeníka na světě s nejtišší zpěvačkou planety máte poprvý možnost vidět i v Praze. Předkapelou Deerhoof budou OTK, protože - co si budeme nalhávat - tenhle rok byl ve znamení "Okolo" a OTK nehráli v Praze dlouho žádnej pořádnej koncert. A vánoční spojení geniálních diletantů s diletantskejma géniema musí fungovat... Večer otevře projekt Core Of The Coalman.

      www.myspace.com/deerhoof
      www.myspace.com/otka
      http://www.myspace.com/coreoggthecoalman
4:23 AM 
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Saturday, November 29, 2008 

Current mood:http://opakptak.blogspot.com/
order/disorder

order and disorder/disorder and order

order from disorder/disorder from order

order in disorder/disorder in order

order in disorder in an individual/disorder in order in an individual

order from disorder in an individual/disorder from order in an individual

order in disorder from inside itself/disorder from order from inside itself
(from inside of its structure or its structure in interaction with itself)

order in disorder from outside itself/disorder from order from outside itself
(in terms of interaction with an environment, an other or others)

order from disorder en masse/disorder from order en masse
(in terms of an interaction with a similarly structured plurality of great magnitude)

order from disorder from being seen/disorder from order from being seen


order from disorder in being seen/disorder from order in being seen


order in disorder from being seen/disorder in order from being seen


order in disorder in being seen/disorder in order from being seen


order in disorder from looking/disorder in order from looking


order in disorder in looking/disorder in order in looking


order in disorder in looking at order in disorder/
disorder in order in looking at order in disorder

order from disorder in looking at order in disorder/
disorder from order in looking at order in disorder


order in disorder from looking at order in disorder/
disorder in order from looking at order in disorder


order from disorder from looking at order in disorder/
disorder from order from looking at order in disorder


order in disorder in not looking at order in disorder/
disorder in order in not looking at order in disorder


order from disorder in not looking at order in disorder/
disorder from order in not looking at order in disorder


order in disorder from not looking at order in disorder/
disorder in order from not looking at order in disorder


order from disorder from not looking at order in disorder/
disorder from order from not looking at order in disorder


order in disorder in looking at order for disorder/
disorder in order in looking at order for disorder


order from disorder in looking at order for disorder/
disorder from order in looking at order for disorder


order in disorder from looking at order for disorder/
disorder in order from looking at order for disorder


order from disorder from looking at order for disorder/
disorder from order from looking at order for disorder


order in disorder in not looking at order for disorder/
disorder in order in not looking at order for disorder


order from disorder in not looking at order for disorder/
disorder from order in not looking at order for disorder


order in disorder from not looking at order for disorder/
disorder in order from not looking at order for disorder


order from disorder from not looking at order for disorder/
disorder from order from not looking at order for disorder


order in disorder in looking at disorder in order/
disorder in order in looking at disorder in order

order from disorder in looking at disorder in order/
disorder from order in looking at disorder in order


order in disorder from looking at disorder in order/
disorder in order from looking at disorder in order


order from disorder from looking at disorder in order/
disorder from order from looking at disorder in order


order in disorder in not looking at disorder in order/
disorder in order in not looking at disorder in order


order from disorder in not looking at disorder in order/
disorder from order in not looking at disorder in order


order in disorder from not looking at disorder in order/
disorder in order from not looking at disorder in order


order from order from not looking at disorder in order/
disorder from order from not looking at disorder in order


order in disorder in looking at disorder for order/
disorder in order in looking at disorder for order

order from disorder in looking at disorder for order/
disorder from order in looking at disorder for order


order in disorder from looking at disorder for order/
disorder in order from looking at disorder for order


order from disorder from looking at disorder for order/
disorder from order from looking at disorder for order


order in disorder in not looking at disorder for order/
disorder in order in not looking at disorder for order


order from disorder in not looking at disorder for order/
disorder from order in not looking at disorder for order


order in disorder from not looking at disorder for order/
disorder in order from not looking at disorder for order


order from order from not looking at disorder for order/
disorder from order from not looking at disorder for order

order in disorder in looking in order for disorder/
disorder in order in looking in order for disorder

order from disorder in looking in order for disorder/
disorder from order in looking in order for disorder


order in disorder from looking in order for disorder/
disorder in order from looking in order for disorder


order from disorder from looking in order for disorder/
disorder from order from looking in order for disorder


order in disorder in not looking in order for disorder/
disorder in order in not looking in order for disorder


order from disorder in not looking in order for disorder/
disorder from order in not looking in order for disorder


order in disorder from not looking in order for disorder/
disorder in order from not looking in order for disorder


order from disorder from not looking in order for disorder/
disorder from order from not looking in order for disorder

order in disorder in looking for order in disorder/
disorder in order in looking for order in disorder

order from disorder in looking for order in disorder/
disorder from order in looking for order in disorder


order in disorder from looking for order in disorder/
disorder in order from looking for order in disorder


order from disorder from looking for order in disorder/
disorder from order from looking for order in disorder


order in disorder in not looking for order in disorder/
disorder in order in not looking for order in disorder


order from disorder in not looking for order in disorder/
disorder from order in not looking for order in disorder


order in disorder from not looking for order in disorder/
disorder in order from not looking for order in disorder


order from disorder from not looking for order in disorder/
disorder from order from not looking for order in disorder


order in disorder in looking in disorder for order/
disorder in order in looking in disorder for order


order from disorder in looking in disorder for order/
disorder from order in looking in disorder for order


order in disorder from looking in disorder for order/
disorder in order from looking in disorder for order


order from disorder from looking in disorder for order/
disorder from order from looking in disorder for order


order in disorder in not looking in disorder for order/
disorder in order in not looking in disorder for order


order from disorder in not looking in disorder for order/
disorder from order in not looking in disorder for order


order in disorder from not looking in disorder for order/
disorder in order from not looking in disorder for order


order from order from not looking in disorder for order/
disorder from order from not looking in disorder for order


order in disorder in looking for disorder in order/
disorder in order in looking for disorder in order

order from disorder in looking for disorder in order/
disorder from order in looking for disorder in order


order in disorder from looking for disorder in order/
disorder in order from looking for disorder in order


order from disorder from looking for disorder in order/
disorder from order from looking for disorder in order


order in disorder in not looking for disorder in order/
disorder in order in not looking for disorder in order


order from disorder in not looking for disorder in order/
disorder from order in not looking for disorder in order


order in disorder from not looking for disorder in order/
disorder in order from not looking for disorder in order


http://opakptak.blogspot.com/

4:37 AM 
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Thursday, September 04, 2008 
Here are the confirmed or mostly confirmed concerts for my tour beginning today!
Hopefully some of these gaps will be filled in as things progress.  Please email me if you would like more details about a specific show (or if you can help me fill in one of the little swiss cheese holes herein)


BRIGHTON, UK

Color Out of Space Festival

FRIDAY 5th SEPTEMBER
(I am playing at like 6:30 or something, early, dont miss it!)

Aaron Dilloway (USA)
Peeesseye (USA)
Skaters (USA)
Leslie Keffer (USA)
Gastric Female Reflex (CA)
Adam Bohman / Ali Robertson / Dylan Nyoukis (UK)
Helhesten (UK)
Core of the Coalman (USA)
Helm (UK)
Rat Bastard (USA)
HRT (UK)

SATURDAY 6th SEPTEMBER

Reines D'Angleterre (FR) + Limpe Fuchs (DE) + In Camera (DE/FI) + Vibracathedral Orchestra (UK)
+ Skullflower (UK) + Paul Hession / Biggi Vinkeloe / Sami Pekkola (UK/SE/FI) + Charlie Draheim (USA)
+ Mark Durgan (UK) + Datashock (DE)

UNDAY 7th SEPTEMBER

Thurston Moore / Chris Corsano / Bill Nace (USA) + Koichi Makigami (JP) + Lionel Marchetti / Yoko Higashi (FR/JP) + Neil Campbell / Karl Bauer (UK/USA) + Pigs In The Ground (USA) + Dave Phillips & G*Park (CH)
+ Black to Comm (DE) + Muscletusk (UK) + Weirding Vessel (UK) + Vole (UK)

*******************************************************************

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 9
MDG Gallery, UK
182 Brick Lane
(I think this is in Manchester)

Leslie Keffer
Pigs in The Ground
Stellar Om Source
Kam Hassan & Ottaven
Core of the Coalman

******************************************************************

WEDNESDAY SEPT 10/11
am I in Berlin? Am I in UK still? Where am I?

*****************************************************************

Friday 12 September

GHENT, Belgium
September 12th 2008
Jorge Boehringer (US, Core of the Coalman)
+ Yannick Franck (BE)
in Croxhapox
Lucas Munichstraat 76/82 - 9000 Gent,
Cost : 4 euro
doors at 20h

www. myspace. com/coreoggthecoalman
www. myspace. com/idiosyncrasia

***********************************************************************


Tuesday 16 September

Den Haag, Netherlands
this is this interesting sounding squatted space, a church or a theatre or something.  I don't have details yet....

***********************************************************************

Wednesday 17 September

Electric Church, Berlin
Soft Teeth
Core of the Coalman
Yuko (a dancer)
(others?)

*************************************************************************

Thursday 18 September

White Rabbit, Berlin

Soft Teeth
Core of the Coalman
TBA

*************************************************************************

Friday 19 September
Rotterdam, Netherlands
WORM
(I am so happy to finally be playing there)

Rammellzee
Core of the Coalman (with Ava Mendoza, Jacob Heule, Tony Dryer)
three other bands
and I a DJ
(I dont have all the information yet!)

**********************************************************************

Saturday 20 September
Amsterdam, Netherlands
zaal100

Soft Teeth
Core of the Coalman
others
(again dont have all the information yet)

********************************************************************

Some talk of an Antwerp show, but I am waiting to hear....

*********************************************************************

AND WAIT, WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR SOME CORE OF THE COALMAN?

http://opakptak.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/coreoggthecoalman
http://www.virb.com/coal
http://www.last.fm/music/Core+of+the+Coalman
http://opakptak.blogspot.com
http://www.last.fm/music/JorgeBoehringer
http://www.myspace.com/opakptak
http://www.last.fm/music/Jorge+Boehringer
http://www.resipiscent.com
http://www.stin-g.com/boc.htm
http://www.artofthestates.org

here is a recent interview:
http://www.nonalignmentpact.com/labels/interview.html

here is an article about noise or something:

http://www. popmatters. com/pm/feature/59586/noise-bleed/

here is my super long stinky cheese art bio:

Jorge Boehringer is an electro-acoustic musician, composer, sound designer, and installation artist from the United States. He was born in New York, grew up in Texas, and then moved to Oakland, California. Since coming to the San Francisco Bay Area ten years ago he has become an unstoppable navigational presence in the noise and experimental music scenes. As one of his alter-egos Core of the Coalman, Jorge performs solo on a variety of electrical and acoustic media in live performance. These pieces address a variety of conceptual and artistic intents and interests and result in the creation of novel sonic architectures. Core of the Coalman has performed on concerts alongside many diversed experimental bands and artists including Gowns, Rubber O Cement, Deerhoof, Ikue Mori, Luciano Chessa, Ramon Sender, Tralphaz, Sixes, the Breezy Days Band, Xome, Jessica Rylan, 0th, Bulbs, and Joshua Churchill to name a few. He has collaborated directly with members of D Yellow Swans Grouper, Marfa and Ne-Af, Liz Albee, 7 Year Rabbit Cycle, Miba, and the Grey Daturas, and with artists as diverse as Pauline Oliveros, Marco Eneidi, Tuesday Faust, Paul Baker, and Che Chen. In addition to his solo work, Jorge Boehringer has composed music for the American Conservatory Theater(SF), The Barton Workshop, cellist Loren Dempster, EnsembleInc (NYC), the Mills College Contemporary Performance Ensemble,and for many other ensembles, dance groups, films, and individuals. His composition teachers have included Fred Frith, Pauline Oliveros, Alvin Curran, and Gerald Gabel, and he has attended workshops with Allan Kaprow, Marianne Amacher, and Paul De Marinis. Jorge has also organized countless concerts and acted as curator for series of concerts and festivals such as the Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival, and Music for People and Thingamajigs Festivals, as well as curating several gallery shows in San Francisco. He has also participated in several gallery shows, and to this date his light and sound works have been presented in several places in the United States, as well as in Japan and Europe. Having performed throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Japan, he is now living in Prague and exploring Europe. Otak Ptak  (http://www.myspace.com/opakptak) is a place to bring some of these seemingly divergent areas of activity in Jorge's work together, various options for interaction are left in your hands, where they belong, enjoy
5:58 AM 
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Wednesday, February 06, 2008 

CORE OF THE COALMAN Canarsie (Custodian Color Zoo Containers) cassette 5.98
We've all been digging the recent cassette revival. It was inevitable really, as the cd-r became more commonplace, the tape became the underground format of choice. And in some ways we're all for it. Nowadays you can knock out a cd and a printed cover in minutes flat, the amount of effort it takes to release a cd-r borders on NONE (apologies to the labels who do it right, with gorgeous music, and great attention to packaging, you know who you are, and we love you). But with a tape, even the copying requires more time and effort. And it seems that folks making tapes understand this and have been going way out of their way to customize their releases, and make the look as special as the sound.
But none quite as impressively as Custodian Color Zoo Containers, a new tape label, whose packaging is so intricate and over the top, each one is a work of art, stunning and intricate and incredibly time consuming. So much so that these tapes have been in the works for more than a year, and when you see them you'll understand why. Our new favorite tape label in one fell swoop.
The second release on CCZC is by Core Of The Coalman, an Oakland based noisemaker who traffics in thick corrosive drones, long tracks of thick coruscating low end, like Niblock on steroids, a lo-fi industrial drone symphony, noise music, but rendered warm and thick and prickly, but somehow still soothing and intense, the various tones intertwining into soaring sheets of sound, eventually transforming into high end shimmer, some serious Sunroof! style effulgence, heart of the sun ur-drones, glimmering and glistening, a brilliant sky full of sonic supernovas.
And then there's the packaging. Holy shit. Several different designs. The covers black ink on transparencies, with various insect shapes knocked out, as well as the text, flowers cut out on the other side through which the tape spools show, the cassettes themselves hand painted, and numbered, the number showing through a little transparent window in the sleeve. LIMITED TO 83 COPIES!!!
Totally eye popping. As gorgeous and intense as the music inside. WAY recommended.

6:39 AM 
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Friday, January 04, 2008 
I have no idea what order things happen in though they end up having one, and so:

Sunday 6th
Helbaard!  Den Haag, NL
Ducktails
Buffle
In the Eye of Vision
Core of the Coalman

Jan 7,8,9
various undefined actions not yet determined
as to their location or structure

Thursday 10
Salon Bruit @k77
Lichtblick Kino
Kastanienallee 77
Prenslaverberg
Berlin, Germany

Sunday 13
Hamburg, Germany
Radio FSK

Monday 14
at Occii in Amsterdam
Amstelveenseweg 134
door at 21:00
XBXRX
Core of the Coalman
Silver Salts

Friday 18
Udine, Italy
at Edera
Core of the Coalman
Al:arm!

Saturday 19
at SHOWCASE
in Reggio Emilia, IT
Al:arm!
Core of the Coalman

Sunday 20
at Lokomotive
in Bologna, IT
Above the Tree
Core of the Coalman

Monday 21

remains to be seen

Tuesday 22
Milanos, It
at showcase
Core of the Coalman
Above the Tree

Wednesday 23
Senagallia, IT
at Zabumba
Core of the Coalman
and mysterious other

Thursday 24
Arrezos, It
at Libreria Arrezo
Above the Tree
Core of the Coalman

Friday 25
I think we are in Firenze

Saturday 26
I think we are in Verona

(sometimes I am not sure where I am or what I am doing)

Sunday 27
Verona, It
at Villafrancas
Al:arm!
Core of the Coalman

Monday 28
Vienna, Austria
Core of the Coalman
Above the Tree
others yet unknown
(this is Marco Eneidi's series so I am very excited to be playing here but I havent alot of info yet because we just organized it,  I believe it is located at
Celeste and starts at 22:00
Jazzkeller im Celeste
18 Hamburgerstrasse 1-1050 Wien

Wednesday 30
Prague, Czech Republic
at 007 Strahov
koleje UUJ Blok 7
Chaloupekého 7
169 00 Praha 6
Core of the Coalman
Above the Tree



you can hear Above the Tree who I am doing the entire Italian part of my tour + several dates at the end with athttp://www.myspace.com/bluerevenge1.

You can hear my Jorge Boehringer Core of the Coalman here

http://www.myspace.com/coreoggthecoalman

Last.fm page

http://www.last.fm/music/Core+of+the+Coalman

http://www.myspace.com/opakptak

and read it here
http://opakptak.blogspot.com/

cheers!

Jorge
10:17 PM 
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Tuesday, November 20, 2007 

Current mood:  ecstatic

Hello,

The new Core of the Coalman record ASOLTMUSKET is available on SauceJuice.com and you can listen to or even download the whole bone wagon without paying for it!  (for free, that is, for a while at least)

www.saucejuice.com/coreofthecoalman/asoltmusket.html

This album was recorded before Core of the Coalman left Oakland for Prague.  It is a sequel of sorts to his last record ANXIETY, which is available from San Francisco's premier purveyor of ear worms Resipiscent Records.

http://www.resipiscent.com/

CORE OF THE COALMAN: It's Jorge Boehringer's solo viola axe and silver toned frequency drift for the vibration of the air surrounding the Aural Coils, electrically.  Both of them, vibrated in phase pulses sometimes symmetrical, and other times it's life burning to pour out. Its Yam Yad much picked over when found in the company of a rough legged hawk. It's a barbershop quartet dedicated to performing baroque slink slop in concordance with thermoelectric properties, and when they are hot, they are hot. It's a theoretical cure for chronic coryza, and while the predicament is allieviated, the geocephalo-cotex  is also direly affected, causing an initiative of obsessive vision: geological and musical time frames became supercooled and thus glacially motivated. Slow in form but powered and etched by sunshine continually, in the spirit of biting the hand that feeds one, Core of the Coalman is dyspeptic subtended prescient lacuna.

AND WHY NOT?!!

www.myspace.com/coreoggthecoalman

 JORGE BOEHRINGER:  Jorge Boehringer is an electro-acoustic musician, composer, sound designer, and installation artist from the United States. He was born in New York, grew up in Texas, and then moved to Oakland, California. Since coming to the San Francisco Bay Area ten years ago he has become an unstoppable navigational presence in the noise and experimental music scenes. As one of his alter-egos Core of the Coalman, Jorge performs solo on a variety of electrical and acoustic media in live performance. These pieces address a variety of conceptual and artistic questions and result in the creation of novel sonic architectures. Core of the Coalman performs regularly, and has shared programs alongside the most diverse experimental bands and artists including Gowns, Rubber O Cement, Deerhoof, Ikue Mori, Luciano Chessa, Badgerlore, Ramon Sender, Tralphaz, Sixes, the Breezy Days Band, Xome, Jessica Rylan, 0th, Bulbs, and Joshua Churchill to name a few. He collaborates directly with a spastic mash-up of the american experimental music community and the international avant-garde.  His roster of collaborators includes members of D Yellow Swans, Grouper, Marfa and Ne-Af, XBXRX, 16 Bitch Pile Up, Liz Albee, 7 Year Rabbit Cycle, Miba, and the Grey Daturas, and with artists as diverse as Pauline Oliveros, Marco Enidi, Tuesday Faust, Paul Baker, Bonne Banks, and Che Chen. In addition to his solo work, Jorge Boehringer has composed music for the American Conservatory Theater(SF), cellist Loren Dempster, EnsembleInc (NYC), The Sf Sound Ensemble, the Mills College Contemporary Performance Ensemble,and for many other ensembles, dance groups, films, and individuals. His composition teachers have included Fred Frith, Pauline Oliveros, Alvin Curran, and Gerald Gabel, and he has attended workshops with Allan Kaprow, Marianne Amacher, and Paul De Marinis. Jorge has also organized countless events and acted as curator for series of concerts and festivals such as the Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival, and Music for People and Thingamajigs Festivals, as well as curating gallery shows in San Francisco. He has also participated in several gallery shows, and to this date his light and sound works have been presented in several places in the United States, as well as in Japan and Europe. Having performed throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Japan, he is now living in Prague and exploring Europe. Otak Ptak  (http://www.myspace.com/opakptak) is a place to bring some of these seemingly divergent areas of activity in Jorge's work together, various options for interaction are left in your hands, where they belong, enjoy.


SAUCE JUICE: Are you familiar with SAUCE JUICE?  This is an amazing distro from the Middle East(ern) United States.  They are distributing some things genuinly unique.  Cassettes made of carpet, a record that comes packaged in a living moose,YOU GET THE PICTURE: http://www.saucejuice.com/

 The website is itself hours of confusing fun to play with (it links into the larger Lation umbrella).  In addition to handling most of Core of the Coalman's entire catalog Sauce Juice also handles distribution for these artists and musicians and cooks and noisemakers:

Ascent of Everest, Baby Teeth Thieves, The Big Bads,The Dead Hippies, Een (who is a cartoon character), Evil Nenos, Sparkling Wide Pressure, action phantom, q'mir (who is unbelievable), Nose Markt, kalw nonlissenabulls (which is merch pertainting to so cal (thats south carolina's) premiér collage radio station),  Pefff shirts (t shirts with extra arm holes for modified and mutant persons) and The Uproar (which is an odd publication of brain buttered and then melted collage).

ENOUGH:

http://www.lation.org/creation.htm
http://www.last.fm/music/Core+of+the+Coalman
http://www.myspace.com/coreoggthecoalman
http://opakptak.blogspot.com/
http://www.lation.org/nosemarkt/
http://www.myspace.com/opakptak
http://www.artofthestates.org/cgi-bin/composer.pl?comp=31
http://youtube.com/user/CoreOgg
http://www.deepoakland.org/text
http://soundcrack.net/2007/03/soundcracknetroaming-radiocore-of.html
http://www.resipiscent.com/
http://brutalsoundeffects.com/dolordel01.html
http://www.zum.bigstep.com/category.html;$sessionid$LGTRKOYAAAAJNTZENUGZPQWPERWRJPX0?UCIDs=506764%7C1329731

11:41 AM 
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