New Music Alert!!

More details coming tomorrow, but today I got notice on (evil evil) Facebook that Mr. Tom Jenkinson, the inimitable Squarepusher, will have a new album on a new label THIS MONTH. This is incredibly exciting since the artist had been on Warp for ages. His sound wasn’t stale by any means, but I sensed a lack of excitement at the label on the last two releases. Today’s announcement is striking because it is accompanied by a single, which I’ll post tomorrow, and because the record will be in our hands before we know it.

Many moons ago there had been a rumor of collaboration between Squarepusher and Eno, which sounds mind-blowing in a cross generational way. Within the past week it was revealed that Eno will release an album of edited jams with himself, a guitar player and a drummer. I’ll post more on this tomorrow as well. While such a project is extremely exciting on it’s own (apparently recorded over several years of jamming), of note is that it will be released on Warp. That news briefly reawakened hope of a Squarepusher Eno project, but with the former moving on, I think it’s less likely. I, for one, will be perfectly satisfied with new music from each, even if not on the same record.

Finally, the Paul Gilbert album “Fuzz Universe” came out in the U.S. today, and I’ll be on iTunes bright and early to get my copy of shredding, shredding, and more shredding. Looking forward to reporting on that soon after.

In the meantime, don’t forget to check out the Progscape Podcast, which is new every Tuesday. That means you can download it at the Progscape page or from iTunes right now. I’m looking forward to seeing what treats Mike has picked for us this week.

Short stuff…

I’m very pleased to have wrapped up the Squarepuser / Artist of the Week project.  It was great to go through all of that stuff, especially the ’97 show from Shinjuku Liquid Lounge.  I’ve never seen that one posted, except for the torrent i got a year or two ago.  The torrent is long gone (off the Dime tracker, anyway) and I’ve never seen the show posted elsewhere.  The best part is that it came with no track listing.  That forced me to listen to these jams over and over again to get the song titles right.  Hopefully this whole exercise will tide me over until August.

The Fretbuzz.net project is coming along nicely.  FBDN himself has proven a capable and attentive webmaster and the resource is really stimulating our collective creative juices.  The best part is that the sight is active, even if not terribly well visited.  We’re not exactly counting hits, but a quick google search this morning revealed that if you just put in the ‘fretbuzz’ we come up tenth – first page, baby!  That’s pretty strong, considering the (most likely) scanty readership.  This means that our updating (sometimes a few times per day!) is paying off.

I recently found an Aimee Mann bootleg from the Bachelor No. 2 / Magnolia era.  It’s a superb recording and there is a sense of commitment and passion in her performance.  So, that will get posted this week, along with my comments on this troubling artist.

The work week ended with an aggrieved father who attempted to strangle his daughters killer during sentencing.  I was waiting for me cases to be called when, on this other case, the Judge consented to hearing from the victim’s family prior to sentencing.  Big mistake.  Now, that’s what I call Courtroom Drama.  Everything was put under control quickly by the highly skilled (and much appreciated) Camden Sheriffs.  Nice work, people.

The next work week begins with the deposition of an officer that killed a 15-year-old boy who allegedly threatened him with a clothes iron.  Cop shot that boy dead.  I’ve go the kid’s mom as a client in a wrongful death / Civil Rights / Excessive Force (yuh think?) case.  So, I’ve got a lot of work to do today to get ready for this clown.  He’ll be well prepared.

Sci-Fi stuff of note includes Ronald D. Moore’s Virtuality which was on Friday night.  I haven’t checked it out yet, but maybe tonight if the work goes well.  I’m excited about sci-fi that is strongly connected to this world and this planet.  It’s a nice break from faraway planets and alien races.  Another project that appears to work along similar lines is Moon, which is getting a UK release next month.  I’m not sure if we’ll be getting this one in the U.S.

And, speaking of movies, we went with my mom to see The Proposal yesterday afternoon.  Betty White was HUGE!

I’m declaring Squarepusher the ‘Artist of the Week’

Let's fucking 'av it!!

Let's fucking 'av it!!

Which is a problem, because it’s Thursday.  So I’m taking a loose approach to the term ‘week’.  I’ll be focusing some entries here and at Blogerantz on Squarepusher.  I just recently unearthed an old bootleg of his, and I’ll work my up to making that available.  Then I hear that a new record is coming out later this summer.  I’ve obviously got no choice; it must be Squarepusher week.

So, without further delay, this is Planet Gear from last year’s ‘Just a Souvenir’.  Notice the newly discovered punk feel:

[audio:http://mpomy.com/Music/planetgear.mp3]

And from the classic, early era this is Journey to Rheedam (7AM mix) – the drums are being performed live on the synth bass! – it’s triggering the drum sounds.  Insane:

[audio:http://mpomy.com/Music/journey.mp3]