Doom & Gloom Dispatch #36: I Bought That Ticket & I Took That Ride
Golden Feelings, Coca Leaves & Pearls, Suzanne Ciani, Lou Reed, Sonic Youth
Golden Feelings - Better Weather
One of the best capital-A Ambient records I’ve heard in a while, Golden Feelings’ Better Weather clocks in at just under a half-hour. But it seems like it contains entire universes in its enveloping soundwaves. Throughout, Dustin Krcatovich mixes and matches an array of loops, field recordings and live instruments, coming up with a vibe that occasionally makes me think of a (much less doomy) spin on Popol Vuh’s Aguirre OST. Luminous and lovely, getting Better all the time.
And hey, Dustin is headed off on tour in the upcoming days and weeks … go see him if he’s passing through your town!
Coca Leaves & Pearls - Trans Pecos, Queens, New York, June 11, 2023
I went to see Neil in LA this week! Holy Shakey. He pulled out some serious deep cuts ... my prayers for “Will To Love” were not answered! But whatever, I bought that ticket and I took that ride, right? I’ll have more to say about the show later, but it was fantastic.
Neil hasn’t announced any dates after this west coast tour, but I’m sure there will be some forthcoming. For those out east, I implore you to go see this new-ish band featuring Doom & Gloom faves Chris Forsyth and Nick Millevoi plus bassist Jordan Burgis and drummer Joey Sullivan.
As Coca Leaves & Pearls, they head delightedly for the ditch, playing some extremely sweet Young covers drawn primarily from the 1970s sweet spot. There are a bajillion Dead tribute acts, there should be at least a bazillion Neil tribute acts. CL&P are setting the gold standard right now. Lookout, Joe! (Now, where’s the tape of Zach Cale’s set?!)
Suzanne Ciani - Cafe Oto, London, England, November 9, 2017
Let’s hear it for the Diva of the Diode! I caught modular synth icon Suzanne Ciani this past spring. In a church! In quadraphonic sound! To say that it was heavenly, well, that would be an understatement. Amazing to watch this pixie-ish 70-something woman coax such sublime (and occasionally dangerous) sounds out of her Buchla.
And it’s amazing that she’s been doing it for over 50 years now — at this point the music she makes may as well be considered folk music. At the end of the show, she invited the audience onstage to check out her gear, clearly excited to share her secrets with the chosen few.
At the link above, you can check out a pretty similar performance from a few years back in London — you won't get the full quad immersion, but believe me, it still sounds awesome.
Suzanne Says: I come from a different value system, the early days of analog, when there was something that sparked a different approach back then and we are revisiting what that was all about. Analog is alive now, exploring in the moment is alive now. Non-sampling is alive now. Interactive in the moment is alive now. And that’s where I came from a long time ago.
Lou Reed - “Street Hassle,” Eindhoven, The Netherlands, August 10, 1978
A good Lou longread — Aidan Levy's new examination of two key Reed muses: Candy Darling and Rachel Humphreys.
“Starting in the 1960s, Lou Reed brought mainstream awareness to LGBTQ+ lives — particularly trans lives,” Levy writes. “Michael Stipe referred to him as the ‘first queer icon of the 21st century, 30 years before it even began.’ Songs like ‘Candy Says,’ ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ and ‘Halloween Parade’ go beyond the gender binary with a frankness and depth rare for any major artist of his era. Yet he didn’t just chronicle LGBTQ+ lives; he lived one. Two trans women — Candy Darling and Rachel Humphreys — profoundly influenced some of his best work.”
Follow it up with this killer live version of “Street Hassle” (a song said to be inspired by Rachel) from the summer of '78, which weaponsetc has kindly paired with some beautifully hazy footage that captures Lou with his translucent guitar, Lou Reed t-shirt and suspenders. A deathless look! This stuff was filmed by VU scribe Ignacio Julia — and I still need to get Linger On, his recent book, which looks great.
Sonic Youth - Old Greek Theatre, Melbourne, Australia, January 20, 1989
Daydream Nation — down under! The end of the 1980s saw Sonic Youth taking their new double LP masterpiece all over the world, from London to Leningrad, from Tokyo to Nijmeegen. But first, they rode the silver rocket to New Zealand and Australia for the first time.
What we’ve got here is a pretty rough audience tape, but don’t let that discourage you. The lo-fi nature of the recording gives everything a pleasingly scuzzy edge, a sense of impending chaos, a teenage riot about to happen. It also makes me think: is Daydream Nation Sonic Youth’s most metal album? Something about the way the band leans into some of the wicked riffs here feels kinda Slayer-ish. Maybe?
Then again, I can't imagine even the most insane death metal vocalist finding the intensity that Kim Gordon brings to “Eliminator Jr.” on this particular evening in Melbourne. Yowza! Another highlight is the noise section of “Silver Rocket” — which is actually a little more quizzical and playful than other renditions of this song, moving into semi-harmolodic zones, if you can dig it. The whole show wraps up with some Aussie underground royalty guest stars — Rowland and Harry Howard (and perhaps Epic Soundtracks?) from These Immortal Souls join SY for a demonic “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” everyone losing their hearts on the burning sands. Well, come on!!!!
Bandcamp | Merch | Concert Chronology
From the Doom & Gloom Archives
Unearthed, Vol. 15 :: Demolition Derby
For this Unearthed bootleg mix we’re digging into our decades-spanning stash of unreleased demo tapes. Some of them are exceedingly rough, still searching for the song. Others are fully formed, the finish line in view. Some are recorded straight to a boom box at home, others in a tricked out Hollywood studio. What ties them all together is the feeling that we’re getting a little peek behind the curtain, eavesdropping as a great songwriter or band puts the pieces together. The vision might still be a little blurry, but it’s starting to come into focus.
Gypsy – Stevie Nicks / Time Fades Away – Royal Trux / Shakedown Street – The Grateful Dead / Warning Sign – Talking Heads / Airplane – The Beach Boys / My Rival – Steely Dan / Edith and the Kingpin – Joni Mitchell / Double Exposure – Television / The Open Road – Galaxie 500 / Strawberry Fields Forever – John Lennon / Overcome – The Breeders / Safe Neighborhood – Madonna / Ballerina – Van Morrison / Changes – David Bowie / Sleeping is the Only Love – Silver Jews / Just the Motion – Richard & Linda Thompson / Ride Into The Sun – The Velvet Underground / Place To Be – Nick Drake
Currently Reading: Cheap Land Colorado by Ted Conover
Just want to take a moment to say thank you for all the Doom and Gloom. You assemble all this incredible Free Stuff every week, great shit from masters of rock and obscure artists that I would never find on my own. So, thanks! Your work is appreciated.