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Buyer Rating: 100.0% positive (2 ratings)

Bruce Nauman - Footsteps - 21-Feb-09 01:14 PM
One of the more conceptual audio pieces included in the SMS series, this requires more effort to set up for playback than the others. The tape is wrapped around a card with instructions and must be removed (it is taped to the card on both ends) and spliced together for playback. Although knowledge of magnetic tape will guide the listener as to which side is the playable surface, there is no indication as to which is the beginning and end so it it easy to mount the tape backwards. However as the recording is simply a loop of footsteps, it is ease to quick discern whether the tape is being played in the correct direction. Despite the implications suggested by the instructions, the audio is not confrontational and the reference to as long as you "can stand" seem to refer more to the listeners attention span rather than tolerance. Likewise the instruction to "play the tape quite loudly" seems to refer to the fact that the tape is in fact rather quiet. In my own experience, I found that playing back the tape was a two man job and difficult to keep playing back continuously for very long, although this was probably due to the mechanics of the particular open reel deck we were using and may be much easier to set up with a different playback deck. While I was more concerned with keeping the playback continuous than noting the actual time of the loop (and didnt think to measure the tape when we had it unfolded from the card), I was struck that the loop was more than several seconds in length and was actually a very enjoyable listening experience. Given the effort required to play this back, I would assume this is the one of the less often played audio works in the SMS series, but worth the effort to set up.

La Monte Young - Drift Study 4:37:40-5:09:50 PM 5 VIII 68 NYC - 21-Feb-09 12:50 PM
Although La Monte Young was the music editor of the SMS folios, this manifested in only two musical audio recordings in the series, as the other multiples featuring sound were oriented toward poetry or conceptual works. The first of these was Terry Rileys "Poppy Nogoods All Night Flight (The First Ascent)", while the second was this work of La Montes. One likely explanation for the short run of audio works in the SMS series was the duplication of open reel tapes for the sets proved impractical. In fact only 25 copies of each of these two reels was made and those just in order to satisfy prepaid subscriptions. In 1988, the Reinhold-Brown Gallery completed these editions by filling the empty 5" reel boxes with cassette recordings of the original pieces. In the case of the La Monte Young work, the reel box was decorated by the calligraphy of his life partner Marian Zazeela. The audio work is neatly divided into two half hour segments. A rare solo recording (as most of his work as a performer has been in collaboration with Zazeela), this is also an excellent example of why Young is so often associated with the minimal aesthetic. Using only a Moog synthesizer whose oscillators are tuned closely together, the work is an exploration of the subtly varied beat frequencies heard as the oscillators drift in and out of phase with each other over time. In this way it is a very static piece whose changes are in the minute details which are best appreciated when played a high volume - a requirement has often stated as necessary for the appreciation of his works in order to fully appreciate their harmonic details. Because the work deals with relatively pure tones, the sound changes quite noticeably depending on the position of ones head in the listening space. By using the low pass filter on the Moog synthesizer Young focuses on the the more physical lower frequencies creating a meditative and concentrated listening experience. However on the second the tone is doubled being at once more confrontational and engaging. Although not widely heard at the time due to its limited circulation, the work prefigured that of many other artist working with long forms works with minimal changes. In particular it is very similar to work by Eliane Radigue on the ARP synthesizer, who might very well have been one of the few to hear the work at the time as her then husband Arman had work included in that same issue of SMS.

Diane Wakoski - The Magellanic Clouds - 21-Feb-09 12:30 PM
One of the most straightforward and accessible recordings including with the SMS series, this record present the poet reading her own work which was used as the title piece for a collection of her poems published by Black Sparrow Press in 1970. The poem itself deals with the Magellanic clouds as a metaphor for personal experiences, but to analyze it in too much depth would take away from the poetic impression gained from reading or hearing the poem. That said, Wakoski beautifully evokes thoughts both cosmic / spiritual and cuttingly personal. Marrying the written word with the poets own voice helps definite the intended rhythm of the work and brings another level beyond just reading the printed page.

Bernar Venet - The Infrared Polarization Of The Infrared Star In Cygnus - 21-Feb-09 12:16 PM
A very conceptual piece, this record is a straight reading of an astronomers very technical notes. While some sources claim the piece is read by Venet himself, there are in fact two voices heard on the record. The main speaker appears to be an American, while at the very end, a speaker with a French accent identifies the piece and its author. The record is beautifully packaged in a gatefold sleeve reproduced the astronomical notes which were original written on graph paper and include a diagram and table relating to the infrared polarization of this specific heavenly body. Unfortunately, the sleeve is quite a tight fit, and often copies of the record will be marked by residue from the sleeve. Only a few years after this publication, in 1971, Venet suspended his artistic activity due to "theoretical reasons". However, he later resumed activity including further work with sound.

Marcel Duchamp - Esquivons Les Ecchymoses Esquimeaux Aux Mots Exquis - 21-Feb-09 12:08 PM
Part of a folio of artist multiples, Marcel Duchamps piece works on at least two levels. One side of this disc features a short word game printed on black paper which covers the area of any grooves. The text "esquivons les ecchymoses esquimeaux aux mots exquis" plays on the similarity of the sound of words with quite different meaning and is one of the many circular texts seen rotating on similar discs in Duchamps film "Anemic Cinema". The whole series of text is read by Duchamp on the opposite side of the disc in a 7 minute recording. While almost all are in French, Duchamp does include a single example in English: "my niece is cold because my knees are cold" which helps convey the sense of word play inherent in these pieces, and in fact in much of Duchamps work. The reading and circular representation of one of the texts display the circular aspects of these pieces which draw their sly humor from internal references within each stanza. While published in 1968, the recording sounds much older due to its thin quality, and may in fact have necessarily drawn from an archival source as Duchamp passed away that year. Adding to this, the record is haunted by a large amount of surface noise as the playing side was mounted directly to the folder cover enclosing SMS No. 2 leaving the surface exposed to more abuse. The combination of the fidelity and surface noise leaves the record sounding like an older 78 shellac disc even after extensively cleaning. Nonetheless, it is still an important document given the scant number of recordings of Duchamps calm speaking voice.

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