Thursday 27 November 2014

The U.S. Could Learn a Lot About Domestic Policing From What it Preaches Abroad

William S. Burroughs (Duke Street London 1973)

The Velvet Underground/Exploding Plastic Inevitable live filmed by Andy Warhol in Boston 1967 (30 mins/colour)

Via

Birthright Citizenship in the United States: A Global Comparison

Jennifer Shryane: 'Evading do-re-mi' - Destruction and Utopia (A Study of Einstürzende Neubauten) PDF

Thesis: PhD Performing Arts University of Liverpool (2009)
ABSTRACT:
This thesis represents the first comprehensive examination in English of the work of the Berlin-based music collective, Einstürzende Neubauten. It intends to offer evidence that the sonic forays of this group have not only defined a particular cultural moment but have also created new musical possibilities (to appropriate words from Brandon LaBelle). It does this by investigating why the work of these musicians is important within contemporary music, what cultural concerns their music reflects and how the music is created, performed and disseminated. These questions are explored through a range of contexts, including post-war Berlin, Germany’s problematic relationship with music, the development of Musique Concrète, Noise/Music and strategies for creative independence. There is a detailed analysis of Neubauten’s performance and textual techniques.
This thesis argues that Einstürzende Neubauten are one of the few examples of ‘rock-based’ artists who have been able to sustain a breadth and depth of work over a number of years while remaining experimental and open to development; that their work offers evidence that they are one of the most complete examples of Artaudian practice in contemporary performance and that their Supporter Initiative (2002-2007) provided a unique working strategy for independence of the consumerist model of music. Finally, it argues that their work helps to present the case for the re-evaulation of European, non-English language contemporary music.
Note -this version contains German spellings, corrected after final submission at the author's request.
HERE

(Bedankt Erik!)

Einstürzende Neubauten - NL Centrum Amsterdam (16/2/85)

Meningitis Live
Photos by Claude Crommelin for Vinyl magazine (NL)
This was a great gig by EN that was unfortunately shut down by the cops after about an hour. I was lucky enough to catch all the London and Amsterdam gigs by them until I moved to Australia in 1986. The sheer power and 'danger' (e.g. a pneumatic drill making its way into a support column of the Westway when they played Acklam Hall) of their performances back then are something that was missing when I caught them last year out here in Melbourne when they played at ATP's 'I'll Be Your Mirror'. and indeed also way back in 1989 when they played at The Old Greek Theatre.

Anyway I am currently reading this book, which I have to say for an academic tome is actually really enjoyable (and accessible)

Firstly one thing that constantly irks me though is the rewritten history of the 'Concerto for Voice and Machinery' night held at London's ICA back in January 1984 (and I am not going to go anywhere near The 2007 re-enactment except to ask "why?")*

It is stated that it was not advertised as a Neubauten gig...

...but it certainly was. There was a sign outside the door explaining that this was not to be a performance by Neubauten and this partly explains the 'aggressive' behaviour of the crowd that night. I'm sure Frank (Fad Gadget) Tovey was a lovely bloke but that was not who I had spent my money to see.The crowd's palpable disappointment certainly contributed to the rather mild (to my mind at least) mayhem of the night but it was also helped along by a certain Genesis P'Orridge, who with the aid of a megaphone was encouraging everyone to basically cause as much damage as they could. This resulted after the twenty minute set, in a rather ludicrous tug of war involving a cement mixer going on between those on stage and off.

Those supposed secret tunnels under the ICA that led to Buckingham Palace were safe that night after all...

*At the discussion after the 2007 re-enactment Chris Bohn (who attended both performances) is quoted in Shryane's wonderfully engrossing book)as remarking that the original night was a "non-event musically, made into an event through media coverage." At the conclusion instead of being forced out of the gallery by the ICA staff as quickly as possible, the audience having now endured forty minutes of theatre could disperse leisurely to discuss the art that they had just witnessed.

Which still begs the question "why?"
Secondly while I can whinge that I have been slightly disappointed in the two live EN experiences that I've encountered in the last twenty eight years, on record they have matured into one magnificently (mostly) refined beast culminating in 'Lament' which is quite probably the crowning achievement of their long career.
If there was ever a band to summon the horrors of war then that band is Einstürzende Neubauten

Wednesday 26 November 2014

Einstürzende Neubauten - Grundstück/Palast der Republik (4/11/04 Supporter DVD)

Einstürzende Neubauten were the first band which successfully used the Internet productively to gather and concentrate activities of their fans from around the world. Einstürzende Neubauten launched their official website neubauten.org in 2002, and made it the center of their musical activities. Entire albums are financed by registered Supporters via subscription.
The principle was simple: their Supporters bought the next Einstürzende Neubauten album before it was recorded. With this funding in hand the band had time to work in peace rather than wasting time and energy in endless discussions with record companies about marketing and "brand identity" - irksome intrusions into the artistic process! In return Supporters world-wide have exclusive access to Einstürzende Neubauten's internal working processes.
Supporters were able to watch the recording sessions via web-cam for the first two Supporter Albums (2002/2005) and were also called upon by the band members in direct chat discussions to comment on the working process and influence it. In the same way, the Musterhaus series (a collection of experimental albums) is being marketed solely on the website.
One high point of the supporter-project was the highly symbolic 4th of November 2004 show at Palast der Republik, the former headquarter of the power apparatus of the fallen GDR which was in the process of being demolished. This impressive and unique performance (featuring the 100-person Supporter choir on Grundstück) was recorded and filmed for release as the Grundstück CD and DVD of the same title (2005) as well as on the Palast der Republik DVD (2006).
The project ended in 2007 with a supporter edition of the album Alles Wieder Offen and a supporter DVD 3 Jewels.
Via
The different official release