in my ears

Chris Knight: Heart of Stone
The Backsliders: Southern Lines
Son Volt: Acoustic Radio Sessions '95-'96

This Son Volt stuff is amazing. I think we all have certain music that defines us, because of where we were (physically and otherwise) in our lives when we discovered it. Even as my taste evolves and I keep discovering new music, the original incarnation of SV from the mid-'90s will always be MY music.

Topic: Take Photos. Discuss.

I couldn't decide which photo that i took this evening to use, so I'm including both. They're related, anyway.

For those who don't know, about four years ago I bought the house that I grew up in. So the things that surround me now are largely the things that were familiar to me at an early age as well. This number "36" is on my garage. I don't know why, except that it was on the old garage that used to stand in the same place. I guess it's more accurate to say I don't know why it was on the old garage. As a kid, I used to look at it (on the old garage) and imagine that the former owners must have kept a racecar in there.

The other photo is a 1971 Chevelle that is sitting in my next-door neighbor's backyard. It's not a real SS car, even though it has the trim. And the only reason I know that is that when I was growing up, the car belonged to a kid who lived on the other side of my house (and I remember it before it had the trim). It appears to need some attention in its current location.

in my ears

Richmond Fontaine: Lost Son
Bloc Party: Silent Alarm
Bright Eyes: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
my latest mix ("Bury The Nineties Under a Pile of Loud Guitars That May or May Not Be In Tune")


The Bright Eyes had been lost for a while. I found it this morning and was pleasantly reminded of how good it is. Not a huge Bright Eyes fan in general, but this record is awesome.

Topic: find good art and talk about it

This piece is titled "MPD" and is by the artist Grant Barnhart. I'm really drawn to his style of working, probably because it relies on a collage-like composition of imagery similar to mine (even if the imagery is much different). There is also a strong reliance on the process of drawing, which is obviously a plus in my book as well. His work has a very contemporary (almost trendy) look that would make it fit with much of the "pop surrealism" that is hot right now (see Juxtapoz magazine, etc.), but to me it transcends that trend by not relying on cliched kinds of images. I don't know anything about the guy, but I get the sense that he might be one of those artists who is well-versed in history and tradition, but isn't afraid to keep his eyes open to the present (and we need more of those people).

For more of his work, see www.okokgallery.com.

Topic: How do you feel about art-making right now?

I think somehow as artists we all are familiar with the "if only I had more time to make art" sentiment. It's an easy trap to fall into; you're busy, you have things that you literally HAVE to do, and making art is somewhere further down the list. The obvious response is that you have to force yourself to do it anyway, right? We all know this, but we also know that forced art without inspiration or ideas is art that sucks.

So what do you do? You figure out the strategies that work for you. For me, I don't try to force myself to make art, but instead to look at or read things that inspire me. These things then are the catalyst for my art-making - in other words, when I look at good art (and by that I mean the things that I wish I had done), I can't keep from working on my own stuff. I have to teach, and I have to take care of my family, and I have to pay my bills, but I will make art at the same time as those required activities if I have to. So the only reason I end up doing it is because I know myself well enough to know what will cause the desired activity to happen - so I flip that switch. Sounds simple, I know. Which brings me to my other point.....

It doesn't get any easier to find time to make art. You graduate from college, and you get a full-time job, and other things take the place of the things that currently keep you busy. DO NOT COUNT ON HAVING MORE TIME FOR ART THAN YOU DO NOW. It won't happen. In fact, you'll have less. So figure out what you need to do to flip that switch, and use it when you need to use it. It may be as simple as knowing where to (or having the resources to) look at the kind of art that inspires you.

And that, my friends, is my long-winded post about how I feel about art-making right now. Since school started up again, I haven't made any art. That was starting to bother me, so today I pulled out a couple magazines that I like, flipped through them, and voila: I'm sitting in class, watching my students draw while I cut out some stuff to collage onto a piece of paper.

an explanation, in advance

I'm requiring my ARTS 450 (Senior Seminar) students to blog about certain topics that are assigned periodically. My hope is that this will encourage a different kind of dialogue than is possible in the traditional class discussion format. It's not intended to replace the class conversations, but I'm certain that some things (for some people, anyway) are easier to post than to say. As usual, it's an experiment.

Which brings me to this explanation: the students have asked me to respond (via this blog) to the same topics that I give them. Sounds fair to me. So in the future, when you see the heading "Topic:" at the start of a post, that's a class pseudo-discussion in progress.

in my ears

Doug Burr: On Promenade


I've always been fairly aware of the production qualities of recorded music - it's just something I think about when I'm listening. Textures, balance, even how many different sounds are going on in relatively simple songs. I vividly remember, though, when I started thinking more about how nontraditional (postmodern?) production could affect songs that might otherwise be classified as very straightforward folk music. Two albums in particular contributed to that awareness: Richard Buckner's "Devotion and Doubt" and Chris Mills's "Every Night Fight For Your Life". It happens that both of those came out in the mid '90s, which was a very formative period for me, musically and artistically I guess.

I don't really know anything about Doug Burr, but I came across this album on some blog that I don't recall the name of now. It's folk music (just ask iTunes), but the production is stellar, and it's the textural/ambient/slightly dissonant stuff that makes this such a great listen. If you aren't afraid to admit that you like pretty songs, but you love it when they're buried in some really interesting soundscapes, well.......this one's for you (and me).