Abbess Hildegard von Bingen- A Feather on the Breath of God (1993)

http://www.mediafire.com/?s1e9eno35w5a51m

Let me introduce you to another CD that i purchased based on visual interest: Abbess Hildegard of Bingen.

Hildegard von Bingen was a self-taught Christian mystic who created music, poems, visual art (iconography), and religious texts during the 12th century. Her music is amazing--serene, surreal, haunting, evocative, and blissful. The title of this collection, A Feather on the Breath of God, is meant to convey the role of mankind in the earth-- floating at the whim of the supernatural. It's also a perfect description of this music.

Her artwork/iconography is also unbelievable. I hate to add to the piles of internet knowledge, so i'll refrain and just say how incredible the music is. I think of cds like this when i think of Michael Stipe's quote that "Music is proof that god exists."

Please just download it and listen to it.

Some of Bingen's sensational--and academically neglected-- visual artwork. 

A beautiful self-commissioned holy icon.

Alice Coltrane- A Monastic Trio (1968)

http://www.mediafire.com/?ywr1c5gv4r4236r

I know nothing about Jazz. Nothing. Really, honestly, nothing.

It's tough to write about jazz, inquire about jazz, and sometimes listen to jazz. It's just hard to do. I understand it to be a vast universe that exists inside a little box. Most people--like myself--don't really venture to open that box, instead happy to stay inside their little land of pop/experimental/choral/opera or whatever music.

I found out about Alice Coltraine through MC Schmidt and Drew Daniels from Matmos, who played one of her cassettes for me on the way to Salvadorean food. I didn't look her up for many years, but recognized it off the bat.

What to say--she leads a jazz group both on piano and harp. She plays with precision, as Nina Simone can, but ventures off into strange and beautiful territory. She became very interested in meditation, and her latter albums (i am told) veer off into this territory even more.

Blue Hawaii- Blue Gowns

http://www.mediafire.com/?wjsbe4fbnmjldww

The downside of having an awful band name (besides having an awful band name) is having would-be fans slew through dead-end internet searches to find information on your band. Let that be a lesson to you, future bands "Total Recall," "Barak Obama," and "Santorum."

For now, it's best to focus on just how nice this cassette is (CASSETTE!!!). You can think of it as a dreamy, blippy, poppy beach record, but it still has that shimmery sound to it that i associate with Scandinavian sonics, or 4AD records from the late 80s. It's Raphaelle Standell-Preston (Braids' vocalist, who is quickly becoming one of my new favorites) plus a boy playing instruments, and it has all the great aspects of a folk guitar duo without any of the painfulness. Does anyone else notice this great and weird keyboards/effects-becoming-the-new-guitar-of-folk phenomenon? I like guitar and all, but it's nice hearing the same aesthetic with a different sonic palette.

The lyrics get confessional/awkward ("when i picture you thrusting into her"), but they always come across as being comfortable and inviting. This whole cassette is start-to-finish very solid. Warm, spacey, bright, faraway, and just nice. 


Maybe it is more like the beach after all.