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Tuesday, November 16, 2004  10:38 am 

Master the Minimal (Walk Alone Between Heaven and Hell)

Let’s talk about Glenn Branca’s Lesson No. 1 for Electric Guitar. I can’t say much, I know next to nothing about modern composition.

Of course this is a void I hope to fill at some point in the future, but for now I can’t really get into the theoretical aspects of this song, the classical/minimal tradition in which it is embedded and from which it departs, I guess, by adopting the electric guitar, an instrument so often despised by the high brow intelligentsia, as its main element. I don’t know.

But I’m not going to stay quiet, anyway, let’s talk about Glenn Branca’s Lesson No. 1 for Electric Guitar: let’s just say that if with the song I posted last friday (Crow by Shellac) Steve Albini built a dark tower from which he would strike terror in the hearts of travelling mormons, in this piece Branca erects a magnificent cathedral combining the imagination and knowledge of an architect with the passion and skill of a mason. The waves of subtly distorted guitar fly like fireworks into the sky and on reaching their apex, they don’t explode but become iridiscent stars, the line that joins The Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth via Neu! breaks the black of the night like a lightning bolt (I like to think I know a bit more about what the High Brow Intelligentsia- and amazon.com-would call ‘pop music’).

Glenn Branca- Lesson No. 1 for Electric Guitar

This song is included in the re-release of the album of the same name on Acute records this year, as well as in the awesome New York Noise Compilation that the good people of Soul Jazz Records put out in 2003.

PS-I would like to join the rest of the mp3 blog community in the mourning of Ol’ Dirty Bastard, the most deranged genius that ever roamed the temples of Shaolin. He was a true master of the drunken style, he twisted and broke the beat as if it was the spine of a deadly snake, he was my gatekeeper in the order of Wu Tang, may he rest in peace. For a beautiful and truly heartfelt obituary as well as some songs, please visit the Tofu Hut. Respect where it’s due.


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6 Comments »  


6 Comments on “Master the Minimal (Walk Alone Between Heaven and Hell)”

  1. Anonymous

    Tuesday, November 16, 2004   2:54 pm

    Assuming you guys haven’t heard…:(

  2. Anonymous

    Wednesday, November 17, 2004   6:13 am

    Hello, Gary here. I found this ODB obituary rather sweet and heart-warming, and hence not particularly fitting to this the most coarse and crude of all Wu Tangers. Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan – just that I find it a little amusing the way each line quoted in the obit reveres each word of the ODB like wisdom-enriched gospel. I mean, if this is the case, then please explain to me the profound hidden meaning behind the line “If you wanna die you gotta drink my sperm; the other way to die’s to drink a can of worms”.
    Mind you, the man did have sparkling wit enough to rival Wilde at times. A personal fave is ‘I ain’t got a problem wit you fuckin’ me, but I got a real problem wit’ you NOT fuckin’ me’. X

  3. 20jazzfunkgreats

    Wednesday, November 17, 2004   1:39 pm

    yeah, the tribute is a bit over the top, guess its also aimed at compensating the view of those who saw odb as some sort of clown (which he was, but also much more)…
    That rhyme of i’ve got your money is also one of my ODB faves.
    Ah, Coil, RIP Jhonn Balance, I can’t say much about his passing away (transition) except by expressing my condolences (I wasn’t a big follower of theirs), anyway, keep your eyes on the blog for some sort of humble tribute…

    Cheers Gary!

    JuanFunkGreats

  4. trmw

    Wednesday, November 17, 2004   4:26 pm

    I studied music a little in college, and this Branca track kind of reminds me of the stuff Steve Reich was doing with minimal loops and chiming vibes, especially “Music for 18 Musicians” which is one of the only songs that has ever made me cry tears of joy upon first listen. Thanks for posting!

  5. 20jazzfunkgreats

    Thursday, November 18, 2004   6:32 am

    You’re welcome Matt! As I mentioned in my posting, I don’t know much of all that sort of stuff, I think the song you mention might be a good starting point, cheers!
    Thanks for reading
    Juanfunkgreats

  6. More Guitar Links | Email Efficiency Tips from ReplyTool

    Thursday, August 28, 2008   3:52 am

    [...] Master the Minimal (Walk Alone Between Heaven and Hell … – I can’t say much, I know next to nothing about modern composition. Of course this is a void I hope to fill at some point in the future, but for now I can’t really get into the theoretical aspects of this song, the classical/minimal tradition in which it is embedded and from which it departs, I guess, by adopting the electric guitar, an instrument so often despised by the high brow intelligentsia, as its main element. But I’m not going to stay quiet, anyway, let’s talk about Glenn Branca’s Lesson No.  [...]

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