Elvis Presley and America

I used to love U2. It was a big day – a humid, windy, overcast day – when, after school, I got to ride my bike across town to the shopping mall on the day of release for U2’s “The Unforgettable Fire.” I was 14. Early surprise favorite was of course, “Bad,” as well as “A Sort of Homecoming.” But there was this other, odd, song – the longest song – on the B-side called “Elvis Presley and America.” It had no verse, it had no chorus, it just kept going, and changing as it went. The story goes, it was just U2 improvising in the studio with Brian Eno. This was the first record U2 had done with Eno and Lanios. And, although I didn’t love it, I certainly didn’t hate it either. It intrigued me. I tried to figure out the words – most of Bono’s lyrics were pretty hard to figure out at this time if they weren’t printed out on a lyric sheet (like the next, breakthrough album would provide), and – truth be told – probably better off that they’re shrouded in mystery, and, anyway, I never really figured out much from this track. Through the years of liking U2 less and less, this song, “Elvis Presley and America” still gets me. It’s obviously the most free, loose, risky (why not save this for a B-side? what’s this doing on the album?) and dare I say “out there” U2 had ever been or would ever be again. Bono sounds like he’s just waking up, and The Edge is strumming chords – which he never does – channeling something from somewhere else, just rolling and rolling, and just when it sounds like the wheels are falling off in the mucky bog, the sun breaks out and Edge and Bono victoriously come together for what has to be their most experimental song to this day. Although songs like “With or Without You” or “One” are still capable of giving you chills, “Elvis Presley and America” has to be U2’s most magical piece of music ever recorded.

Forthcoming:

Spiritualized – sweet heart sweet light (fat possum [US]/domino/double six [UK]) mar 2012
Altar eagle – nightrunners (type) 2012
Sic alps – vedley 7” (dc 508)
Windy & carl – we will always be (krank 163)
Mike harding – repaired/replaced 7” (ts 013)
Biosphere – mysterier 7” (ts 011)
Oren ambarchi – audience of one (to 083)

New this week:

Maria Minerva - Sacred & Profane Love 12" (SILK 013EP)
howling hex - Wilson Semiconductors CD (DC 501CD)
graham lambkin - Amateur Doubles LP (KYE 015LP)
Geoff mullen - Accidental Guitars LP (REL 018LP)
Guided by voices – doughnut for a snowman (fire) dec 2011
ryan Elliott - Kicking Up 12" (SPC 106EP)
Refractor – locus suspectus (under the spire) dec 2011
Xela – exorcism (learnwithxela) dec 2011
Flower / Corsano / Hejnowski – The Count Visits (Hot Cars Warp/Flowerhouse Records 14/03) dec 2011
Demdike stare – elemental pts. 1 & 2 of a 4 part set 2x12” (modern love) December 2011

Grabbed:

Wooden wand and the briarwood virgins – briarwood (fire) nov 2011
Sculpture – toad blinker (dekorder 58) October 2011
Andrew pekler – sentimental favourites (dekorder 061) nov 2011
Pete swanson – man with garbage (type 102) bonus CD w/ “Man with Potential” (type 101v) nov 2011
Jefre cantu-ledesma – conversations with myself (no label) jun 2011
Pole – waldgeschichten 2 (pole) dec 2011
Jérôme Noetinger & Will Guthrie - Face Off (Erstwhile 064) nov 2011
Xela – exorcism (learnwithxela) dec 2011
Alog – unemployed (rune grammofon 2116) dec 2011
Efdemin – Chicago remixes 2 (dial 61) dec 2011
Terranova – so strong (kom 246ep) dec 2011
Jakob olausson – morning & sunrise (destijl 97) dec 2011
Bvdub – then (ay, JAP) dec 2011
Heatsick – intersex (pan 19) nov 2011
Lawrence – kurama 12” (pampa) dec 2011

Older stuff:

Panda bear – surfer’s hymn (actress rmx) ltd. Single-sided 12” (kompakt) jul 2011
Derek rogers – populist context (goldtimers 011) june 2011
Derek rogers – the exhaustion of emotion (Bridgetown 44) jun 2011
Derek rogers – concealed weapon (calypso hum 14) oct 2010
Six organs of admittance – maria kapel (pavilion 10) may 2011
Richard skelton – black combe (sustain-release _ Aeolian editions) sept 2011
Xela – dunwich dreams 7” (life like) sept 2011
War on drugs, the – slave ambient (secretly Canadian) aug 2011
War on drugs, the – future weather ep (secretly Canadian) oct 2010
Concern – living wage (digitalis ltd. 220) aug 2011
Derek rogers – relative quiet (bathetic 43) aug 2011
imaginary softwoods - the path of spectrolite (amethyst sunset 013) aug 2011

Beer:

Short's the Wizard
Short's the Liberator

Down Colorful Hill

Only one snowfall so far, Nov. 17th. Since then the ground has not been covered in white. Had a good Thanksgiving with little travel. Still looking forward to things missed (extra tracks from Blues Control and Laraaji, Pete Swanson's bonus disc, "Man with Garbage," Wooden Wand's "Briarwood," Concern's "Living Wage," new Sean McCanns (Experimedia & Amethyst Sunset), William Folwer Collins on Type, Bryter Layter & Mike Shiflet on Students of Decay) as well as one or two surprise releases before year end.

Forthcoming:

Peaking lights – 936 remixes 12” (100% silk 014ep)
Starving weirdos – land lines (amish 044)
Sean mccann – (amethyst sunset)

New this week:

Greg Kelley / Olivia block – resolution (erstwhile) nov 2011 (mimaroglu best of 2011)
Jerome noetinger / will Guthrie – face off (erstwhile) nov 2011

Missed (still interested):

Wolfgang voigt – kafkatrax w/ ruckverzauberung 4 CD (profan) oct 2011
Pete swanson – man w/ garbage (bonus disc w/ man w/ potential LP) (type 101v) nov 2011
1958 – 2009 – LP (amethyst sunset) sept 2011

Grabbed:

Minamo – documental (room40) oct 2011
Eleh – floating frequencies _ intuitive synthesis 3CD (important 344) sept 2011
Naph + chehei hatakeyama – air (whereabouts CD6) oct 2011
Pete swanson – man w/ potential (type 101) nov 2011
No ufo’s – soft coast (spectrum spools 11) nov 2011 FROM JESSE POSS. DISCREPANCIES
Astral social club – generator breaker (dekorder 055) sept 2011
Robag wruhme – donnerkuppel (kompakt 233) nov 2011
John wiese – seven of wands (pan 22) nov 2011
ensemble economique - crossing the pass, by torchlight (dekorder 060) nov 2011
Blues Control & Laraaji - FRKWYS Vol. 8 (RVNG Intl.) nov 2011
Vladislav delay – Vantaa (raster noton 136) nov 2011
Harmonizer – world complete 12” (software) sept 2011
Sistol_Pole – the synth remixes (slices of life 2) oct 2011
Mark fell – periodic orbits of a dynamic system related to a knot (eMego 133) nov 2011
Steven Hess & christopher mcfall – the inescapable fox (under the spire) oct 2011
greg kelley & olivia block - resolution (esrtwhile 063) november 2011

Older stuff:

Oren ambarchi – stacte (jerker SKUN-3) 1998
Oren ambarchi – stacte.2 (jerker SKUN-5) 1999