Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Paris 1919


A friend reminded me to listen to the original recording of this song. John Cale released a record in 1973 and this was the title track. I believe this is a 1995 performance, live in Paris.
Cale is a great modern musician. A classically trained Welsh pianist and cellist who came to New York in the early 60's and immersed himself in the world of experimental and avant garde music. He worked with Lamont Young and Terry Riley. He recorded a record with Terry Riley called Church Of Anthrax after the Velvet Underground disbanded. Yes, he did play cello in the Velvet Underground. An interesting fact, as a child in Wales, he was raised speaking only Welsh. English was a second language learned  when he was an adolescent.

I was very much influenced by Cale as I drifted into Punk and New Wave music. One of the first songs I ever performed in public was Cale's, Fear Is A Man's Best Friend from his 1977 recording Animal Justice. Cale produced the Stooges, Nico, Devo, Jonathon Richman, the first Patti Smith record, Horses,worked with Brian Eno and reunited briefly with Lou Reed for their song cycle memorial for Andy Warhol, Songs For Drella.

There even was a brief VU reunion early in the this decade....
An intensely interesting career, his talents easily straddle violent anti social punk rock (CHICKEN SHIT!) experimental noise and pure classicly orchestrated surreal pleasure.

5 comments:

mud_rake said...

You continue to 'enrich' my musical repertoire and expand my horizons. Your eclectic selections are enriching. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Hi Microdot,

That is one great piece. It's like a compilation of a thousand thoughts merged into one presentation. The video was also well done. After 13 years of keeping my Flintstone computer in operation, I broke down and purchased a new one. The monitor actually has a brightness function that works. All video no longer looks medieval. I had to watch that twice.
The colors,,,,the colors.

P

microdot said...

I have to watch videos on my wifes computer to really see them, but this old relic keeps chuggin away!
I found another cd that every young easily influenced bass player should own...
ZOOMA by John Paul Jones...
There are mny things on the cd that you probably never imagined a bass could do before.
I'm making a copy!

lizzie said...

'n fendigedig
thanks for this Microdot. Love listening to Cale on my ipod but didn't know this history. Also thanks for the John Paul Jones post - was a big fan of his way back so it's great to see what he's doing now.
Interested to hear of your early punk ventures. Right now we've got Chris Bailey and Ed Keupper playing and writing music together in our warehouse apartment in Brisbane for the first time in over 20 yrs (The Saints - a cult punk band of mid 70s, see wikipedia on Australian Punk).These guys had been playing this style of music for years before the Ramones. Chris Bailey is visiting this week from the Netherlands to work with Ed again so we're really excited to see/hear what, if anything, will come out of this collaboration. You should come and play base for them Microdot.
I'm Stranded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFvhd--qDDU&feature=related

and Know Your Product.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qatJHDHRwJg&feature=related
or
Lipstick on your collar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYqSsDuOOvc&feature=related

microdot said...

Lizzie, thanks for the links to Australian punkoid music.
I started playing guitar in Ohio.
I moved to NYC in the late 70's to be involved in the art scene there...
Something happened and I ended up playing bass guitar and guitar and singing in bands for the next 15 or so years.
It was good, it was bad and it was ugly!