Noise|Beauty

Archie Shepp – Attica Blues – Attica Blues (Impulse 1972)


Monk Hughes & the Outer Realm – A Piece for Brother Weldon - A Tribute to Brother Weldon (Stones Throw 2004)


The Blood Brothers - Burn, Piano Island, Burn - ..Burn, Piano Island, Burn (Artist Direct 2003)


So Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium is apparently the biggest indoor aquarium in the world (at least according to the website, I don’t have the exact statistics so I’ll just take their word for it). I, being the aquarium/zoo fanatic, not that I like to see animals caged up or anything like that but I do think it’s amazing seeing those creatures in close proximities, have been wanting to see this monumental fish tank since the day I moved to Chicago back in December. But, like all exhibits of this nature, it costs money, and I guess being the biggest indoor aquarium in the world doesn’t come cheap because the entrance fee is the equivalent of three meals (that’s how I judge all prices). So it has been hard for me to justify a trip out there for financial/food-ancial reasons. But alas, the good people at Shedd have deemed one entire week out of the year to opens it’s pearly gates to the public and offer free admission for those willing to wait in line. And by pearly gates I mean a giant komodo dragon balloon, and by free, I mean you can walk around the small section behind the lobby but not any of the interesting exhibits like the oceanarium, wild reef or the special lizard exhibit. Being eager and a bit naïve, I stood in line for 45 minutes anyways battling a mix of thrusting wind, a beating sun and miles and miles of raucous children. I’m a patient person and can put up with this kind of family bullshit, well at least at large amusement parks and apparently aquariums, so I stood in line with my eye on the prize; and apparently the only person in the entire line consisting of hundreds of people with out a child.

I finally made my way through the belly of the rubber komodo dragon and through the glass doors where I was met with another line, the winding kind you have to wait in at Disney World. Another 15 minutes, no problem. So I finally make it in and into on of the 4 available out coves for us freeloaders. While I can’t be for sure, I’m pretty sure there were fish on the other side of those crowds of people. I made several attempts to catch a glimpse of a fish or even a turtle, but the closest I could get was about 20 feet. Remember that I severely dislike crowds and even more crowds of children, I finally gave up and head for the exit, my bike eagerly awaiting the ride back to the apartment. But leaving, I glanced into one of the tanks and realized how strange it was that just one piece of glass separated the peaceful tank and the yammering crowds. I started to think about music that I liked that teamed both sheer raucous noise and underlying beauty. My initial thoughts was the avant-garde jazz movement of the 70s with artists like Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, etc all exploring the possibilities of their instruments, pushing them pass melody into strangely beautiful worlds of controlled noise. And then how those ideas found themselves in seemingly all genres, not to mention a genre simply labeled ‘noise,’ that ranged from the feedback manipulating indie-rock of Sonic Youth to the paranoid hip-hop of El-P. So I picked out three of my favorite raucous tunes to highlight that portray this pretty well, though are not nearly as ridiculous as some of the noise out there.

Archie Shepp – Attica Blues – Attica Blues (Impulse! 1972)
Saxophonist Archie Shepp is an interesting character being one of the busiest and wide-reaching jazz artists in the 60s and 70s. His career began with a bang, using his sax to display passionate outbursts melodic or not, but he would later turn to contemplative bebop, ballads and blues in the 80s. My favorite album of his is by far 1972’s ‘Attica Blues’ that catches Shepp in a comfortable place between these two polar opposite styles. He mixes avant-garde jazz with vintage big band, contemplative soul and up-tempo funk making a political statement about the Attica prison massacre of 1971. It is very much an eclectic album which kicks off with this soul-stirring outburst care of a funky electric guitar, horn blasts, Latin percussion and a wailing chorus by Joshie Armstead and Albertine Robinson. Very loud, energetic and soulful.

Monk Hughes & the Outer Realm – A Piece for Brother Weldon - A Tribute to Brother Weldon (Stones Throw 2004)
This is definitely one of Madlib’s least sought out albums as he completely strays from his hip-hop roots to bring a free jazz tribute to Weldon Irvine, an innovative late funk-soul-jazz keyboardist heavily sampled in hip-hop most notably by Tribe and Mos Def. The album, recorded under the moniker Monk Hughes, is a spaced out jumble of funky keyboards, free percussion and vibraphone outbursts all care of the skilled hands of Madlib. For the most part it is straight raucous and unfocused, but upon multiple listens certain melodies start to unveil themselves and the album really grows on you (or maybe just me).

The Blood Brothers - Burn, Piano Island, Burn - ..Burn, Piano Island, Burn (Artist Direct 2003)
Straying away from the soul-jazz genre, the Blood Brother’s ‘…Burn, Piano Island, Burn’ was a complete obsession of mine for like 6 months after it’s initial release. I can’t explain it, but I found and still find the album ridiculously intriguing from the absolutely insane lyrics to the sheer energy of every second of the album. The Seattle quintet released the album right at the peak of my hardcore stage and I have never been interested in the genre since; for me this is the hardcore zenith and I need not explore the style anymore. There is underlying complexity, passion and soul in each one of the songs on the record and it is infectious to say the least. The only thing that really tops it is their live show, which I strongly recommend, no matter what shitty band they may be touring with. Interestingly enough, their recent material has transformed into very strange almost pop music; this will be a band to always keep a cautious eye on.