Here’s something well worth reading: What Have I Learned, in which our author and blog host, a one James Kirsch (nom de guerre: general fuzz), ruminates on what it means to be an independent musician and self-producer, making music for the shear joy and intellectual satisfaction of it, only to release it to the perceived indifference of the Web.

So, not a prescriptive cataloging of EQ and compression tips as the post title might lead you to believe; no “How to build a super saw patch” here. What we get are some thoughtful excogitation for we project studio jockeys, huddled over our screens of Project5, Logic, Live, et al, filling up our hard drives with sound collections and virtual instruments, inflicting the results on girlfriends, family, newsgroup acquaintances. I’m not full agreement with everything Mr. fuzz is offering but the spirit of it is %100 on the money.

The irony of it is with this one post the general negates a lot of what he was writing about. He has generated a whole lot of feedback, made a lot of people who weren’t previously aware of his music, and collected I’d imagine a bunch of new fans, many of whom would gladly buy his music.

I for one am chuffed to have discovered the collected works of general fuzz. Nice downtempo tunes with a breeze of jazz blowing through the spaces, full of hooks and well-considered instrumental embellishments. Perfect for an early morning work session, such as I’m enjoying as I’m writing this. I’ve paid for albums that weren’t half this good. Click on the album cover above to check out his complete discography.

General, I salute you. (Groan…)

Allow me to present for your consideration one of his fine songs, off his latest release, Cool Aberrations:
general fuzz, “reasonable ability”:

It’s been brought to my attention that WFMU is having their annual fund-raising drive. Not only is it a worthy cause but the fund raiser itself is hugely entertaining radio. If you are unfamiliar with WFMU be sure and check them out on the web. They have a no bullshit web presence, an amazing blog, live streams and archives, and music and personalities you don’t hear broadcast 24/7, well, anywhere.

Album:
Music Has the Right to Children

Artist:
Boards of Canada

Lable/Year:
Warp Records, 1998

How I Came by It/Why I Purchased It:
I came by this before I came by The Campfire Headphase - another in the stack of CDs I got when M. divested himself of his collection. It has its Other Music import price sticker ($21.99!) still on it.
(more…)

Album:
Chemistry is What We Are

Artist:
Simian

Lable/Year:
Source, 2001

How I Came by It/Why I Purchased It:
I think I got this in the pile from my friend when he divested his CDs. A still-exploring-electronic-music era acquisition.
(more…)

Album:
Silent Alarm Remixed

Artist:
Bloc Party

Lable/Year:
Vice, 2005

How I Came by It/Why I Purchased It:
You know if I was younger by 15 years I would have loved Bloc Party. As it is, I appreciate what is tight and inventive and familiar about them but I’ve heard this band so many times by this point it’s not like they’re that original. So I never felt the need to buy the album.

But an album re-envisioned as a remixes. That sounded cool, so I got it at the New Release discount price.
(more…)

Album:
Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts [Enhanced]

Artist:
M83

Lable/Year:
Mute, 2004

How I Came by It/Why I Purchased It:
To be honest, I think I first read about M83 on pitchfork.com. A couple of MP3 online was enough to convince me. I looked for a while to find this used and snapped it up when I did.
(more…)

Album:
For Nearby Stars

Artist:
VPN

Lable/Year:
Evil Teen, 2001

How I Came by It/Why I Purchased It:
Through an odd set of circumstances not worth going into here, I was friends with Austin and his band/siblings in my last years in NYC. Great people. Great band. I had fallen out of touch by the time this was released, but when I saw this on half.com for a sadly low price I had to pick it.
(more…)

Album:
16 Greatest Hits/Compact Command Performances

Artist:
Al Green

Lable/Year:
Motow, 1972/1984

How I Came by It/Why I Purchased It:
I’m not sure where or when I picked this up. Maybe from a record club back in the 80s, or at a used/discount bin somewhere along the line.

5 Reasons I might have purchased an Al Green Greatest Hits CD:

1. Big date that night and was in the mood for some seducing.
2. Tired of owning mostly music no one had heard of or cared about.
3. Writing a Rom-Com screenplay and need music to get the mood right.
4. At a truck stop and I was sick of country music.
5. It’s frickin’ Al Green!

(more…)

Album:
Loud

Artist:
Timo Maas

Lable/Year:
Kinetic Records, 2001

How I Came by It/Why I Purchased It:
A couple of years ago. It was in a Newbury Records “Dance/Electronica” used bin, a notoriously under- trafficked section of the store. So it was cheap.
(more…)

Album:
You in Reverse

Artist:
Built to Spill

Lable/Year:
Warner Brothers, 2006

How I Came by It/Why I Purchased It:
This may well be the last major label released I’ve purchased new. If not it was certainly among the last.

At one time Built to Spill might have presented a quandary in my boycott of all major label releases. I can think of a few other releases I might have picked up (Decemberists) if it weren’t for the fact that I can’t in good conscience support major record labels at this time. But I enjoyed Built to Spill as much as I have enjoyed any band and a lot more than some. I thought their music was so superlative that I even saw them more than I’ve seen most non-local acts, and if you’ve ever seen a BtS show you know what I mean. There’s really not a lot to, you know, see. Though they can be mighty in concert.
(more…)