As record companies continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosphere hopes to pull back the curtain on a wealth of sights and sound from luminaries such as Good House Stuff.
I doubt the world has been clamoring for another folk deviation the likes of Jandek but to hell with what the in-crowd desires. They get their way all the time, so for those of us looking for the torch-bearers of starkly confessional music, we are bequeathed Good House Stuff.
Of course, we were given GHS in 2006 via Time-Lag but people and circumstances change, not to mention Time-Lag speaks in coded email secrets that not even Benjamin Linus can decipher. Plus, the reputation of Scott Tuma and Zelienople (the principles of GHS) has risen in 7 years’ passing. That is the magic of gestation.
Holodeck dusts off the potential instant classic for a reissue and so it lands on my desk, just as I wince from the magnitude of 9 hours of Jandek piano work. Here is an album not nearly as hefty in time commitment yet as poignant as the stubborn mule’s canon. So I indulge it, embracing it wholly and without circumstance. It becomes my everything, spinning continuously on my turntable even after the music is gone, for I have turned to furniture. I am now the couch, and people will sit on me to listen to the work which has left me in this state only to become part of the fabric themselves. Of furniture. Of circumstance. Of time. It sounds creepy but really it’s freeing. No more worrying about work and food, just a new form of family without cultish overtones and power tripping.
You missed this once, don’t do it again. And it’s fun to have people sit on you and listen to GHS for the first time. They’ll soon be part of you and you a part of them. Join us! Afterward, we have 9 hours of piano which to look forward.
Justin Spicer is a freelance journalist whose work can be viewed at his website. You can also find him on Twitter.
As major labels continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosp…
Some artists have a real gift for creating worlds. In an interview with Pitchfork talking about Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, M83's Anthony Gonzalez said, "I would rather live in an imaginary world forever. My music is my retreat". You can here the escapism in that record - a neon brilliance of clouds …
San Francisco garage rock band Weekend have been doing some serious growth over the last couple years. On their 2010 debut Sports, Weekend gave us an enjoyable, noisy introduction that put them in tune with the scene and its direction. Now, with a couple years under their belt and a fresh batch of …
As record companies continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated At…
