Steve Smith

  • Playlist.

    Robert Scott Thompson – Pale Blue Dot (excerpts) (Anodize < Bandcamp; due Fall 2015) The Gurdjieff Folk Instruments Ensemble – Komitas (ECM New Series; due Oct. 2) James Moore & Andie Springer – Gertrudes: music for violin and resonator guitar (New World)> Larry Polansky – 10 Strings (9 Events); Paula Matthusen – in absentia; James…

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  • Uncle Acid & the deadbeats, by Ben Stas/Noise Floor Photography When I posted my Boston Globe review of a concert by Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats here last week, I suggested that interested readers watch out for a subsequent post by photographer Ben Stas on Invisible Oranges. Turns out I was half-right: Ben's posted more…

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  • Playlist.

    Pixels III (October) by Mick Chillage King Crimson – Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, MI, June 23, 1974 (The Road to Red 10) (DGM) Ryoko Akama/Bruno Duplant – immobilité (Notice Recordings < Bandcamp) Yarn/Wire and Pete Swanson – Eliminated Artist (Distributed Objects) Louth Contemporary Music Society – Song of Songs (Louth Contemporary Music Society)> David Lang…

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  • Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, by Ben Stas/Boston Globe "Uncle Acid dispenses mystery, melody at Royale"Boston GlobeSeptember 16, 2015 A fun show with a solid bill, top to bottom. Keep an eye out for a report with copious photos from Globe shooter Ben Stas at metal e-zine Invisible Oranges; meanwhile, read what Ben wrote about…

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  • Anniversary.

    Fall and all attendant memoriesCrowd the day with unrelated historiesEach year leaves its unresolving fantasiesTo hang around each cornerHang around each street. Thick with ghosts, the wind whips round in circuitriesCarrying words as strangers exchange pleasantriesDo they intrude upon your private reveriesAs they meet you on each cornerMeet you on each street. Watch for daily…

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  • Playlist.

    King Crimson – Civic Auditorium, El Paso, TX, June 8, 1974 (The Road to Red 7) (DGM) Keller Quartett - Cantante e tranquillo (ECM New Series)> Ludwig van Beethoven – String Quartet No. 16 in F, Op. 135 – Lento Assai, Cantante e tranquillo; György Ligeti – String Quartet No. 2 – Allegro Con Delicatezza –…

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  • Album review: Iron Maiden, The Book of SoulsBoston GlobeSeptember 4, 2015 Another one from last Friday…this actually shared a page with my Scorpions feature story, which made for a rather interesting impression on folks who mostly knew me for my work in The New York Times, which was about 99.99999995 percent about classical/concert music. @nightafternight…

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  • Scorpions, by Oliver Rath "Scorpions celebrate a half-century, on record and onstage"Boston GlobeSept. 4, 2015 Did you know that the venerable German metal band Scorpions turns 50 this month? Neither did I… and according to this interview (and others I've read), neither did founding guitarist Rudolf Schenker until he went looking for an old tape…

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  • Billy Sherwood, by Leslie dela Vega for Rolling Stone Yes + TotoFoxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, MA, Aug. 7, 2015RollingStone.comAugust 8, 2015 My second piece of music writing for Rolling Stone, and a review I ought to have posted a long time ago… the very first show by Yes following the untimely death of founding bassist-vocalist…

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  • Found art, East Boston Greenway, Sept. 5, 2015 I feel like I've been been decrying and lamenting my lack of genuine blogging (as opposed to endless playlists) here for some years now. But frankly, I've been an especially miserable blogger this past year or so. I've rarely even managed the bare-minimum gesture of posting links…

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  • Playlist.

    Jenny Olivia Johnson – Don't Look Back (Innova; due Sept. 25)> Dollar Beers (Redondo Beach '96); Pilot; Cutter; Starling; The After Time (Dancing); The After Time (Drinking); The After Time (Falling) – Megan Schubert, P. Lucy McVeigh, Amanda Crider, Jessica Schmitz, Eileen Mack, Andrew Delclos, Todd Reynolds, Peter Gregson, David Russell, Melinda Menezes, Lisa Liu,…

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  • Playlist.

    Lou Harrison La Koro Sutro – Boston Modern Orchestra Project/Gil Rose (BMOP/sound)> Lou Harrison/Richard Dee – Suite for Violin with American Gamelan – Gabriela Diaz; Lou Harrison – La Kora Sutro – Providence Singers Lukas Foss – Complete Symphonies – Boston Modern Orchestra Project/Gil Rose (BMOP/sound)> Symphony No. 1 in G; Symphony No. 4 ("Window…

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  • Spooky Action by The Fierce And The Dead Celer – Pockets of Wheat (Soundscaping < Bandcamp) Josh Mason – Hellified Irie (FET Press) The Crimson ProjeKCt – Live in Tokyo (Inside Out) Mahavishnu Orchestra – Birds of Fire (Columbia/Legacy) The Flaming Lips – The Soft Bulletin (Warner Bros.) Cardiacs – Sing to God (YouTube) The…

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  • Playlist.

    Lea Bertucci/Leila Bordreuil – L'onde Souterraine (Telegraph Harp; due Sept. 14) Harmonia – Musik von Harmonia (Grönland) Navel – Ambient 1: Music for Spaceports (taping-desk-ophon-mania < Bandcamp) Kamasi Washington – The Epic (Brainfeeder) Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly (Top Dawg/Interscope) Keller Quartett - Cantante e tranquillo (ECM New Series)> Ludwig van Beethoven – String…

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  • Playlist.

    Great Star Entered The Fire by Tuluum Shimmering Blue Heron – Music from the Peterhouse Partbooks, Vol. 4 (Blue Heron)(Nicholas Ludford – Ave cujus conceptio; Sarum plainchant – Kyrie Deus creator omnium; Robert Jones – Missa Spes nostra; Robert Hunt – Stabat mater) Andrew Rudin – Cello Sonata – Samuel Magill, Beth Levin; Viola Sonata…

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  •   Mick Thomson and Sid Wilson of Slipknot, by Matthew Shelter for Rolling Stone Slipknot + Lamb of GodXfinity Center, Mansfield, MA, Aug. 4, 2015RollingStone.comAugust 5, 2015 Much to my surprise and delight, my debut writing about music for Rolling Stone, to which I'd previously contributed a sizable Doctor Who feature last fall. I'm grateful…

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  • Playlist.

    Katharina Rosenberger – Erzählung – after Igor Stravinsky "L'Histoire du Soldat" - Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble (Soundcloud) Clay Wilson – Skandha EP (The Bunker New York) Hallock Hill – Folsom Cave (Bandcamp) Toto – XIV (Frontiers) Yes – Union (Arista) Thurston Moore Band – St. Vitus, New York, NY, Oct. 21, 2014 (YouTube) Sonic Youth –…

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  • Playlist.

    Chen Yi – KC Capriccio; Suite for Cello and Chamber Winds; Woodwind Quintet; Feng; Tu – Carter Enyeart, members of the Lubbock Chorale; Texas Tech University Wind Ensemble/Sarah McKoin (Naxos) Stephen O'Malley – Gruidés – ONCEIM: l'Orchestre de Nouvelles Créations, Expérimentations et Improvisation Musicales (DDS) Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Trio in D, Op. 70,…

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  • Playlist.

    Weeks by Motion Sickness of Time Travel Motion Sickness of Time Travel – Weeks (self-released < Bandcamp) Tuluum Shimmering – Dark Star (Tranquility Tapes < Bandcamp) Palehound – Dry Food (Exploding in Sound; due Aug. 14) Palehound – Kitchen (Exploding in Sound < Bandcamp) Steve Reich – Music for 18 Musicians – Ensemble Modern/Brad Lubman…

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  • Playlist.

    Billy Gomberg – 061715a (tw) (Soundcloud) Billy Gomberg – 051715 (not even tides) (Soundcloud) Billy Gomberg – 053115 (everything is a voice) (Soundcloud) Kid606 – Recollected Ambient Works, Vol. 1: Bored of Excitement (Tigerbeat6 < Bandcamp) Kid606 – Recollected Ambient Works, Vol. 1.5: Discreet Music (Bandcamp) Alcest – Tristesse Hivernale (Drakkar Productions < YouTube) Quiet…

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