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wanted: sun ra explanation

vuk

vuk

\o/ choose anarchy
inspired by jc and avi, i went record shopping yesterday and picked up, among other things, a copy of this...

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i bought this mainly because of seeing them mentioned here all the bloody time. now, what i am looking for is an explanation of what goes on in the mind of the listener who sits there and presumably appreciates or gets pleasure out of what is going on. there are moments when it sounds like a high school band barely playing in tune!


vuk.
 
Sun Ra was born and raised on Saturn. He also has exclusive distribution rights to all of his material on planets other than Earth.*

I would suggest that to truely appreciate his music, it should be listened to in within the atmosphere of Saturn. These conditions can be approximated by getting stoned.

We could approximate these conditions in a sealed environment on Earth. I suggest we create such a space and get jc and avi to demonstrate their products within such. 5 minutes will do. Probably less.


* True. At least is specifically stated in his Impulse contract.
 
jonathan.

does wearing an aida head-costume help? we have an opera house thrift shop here.

vuk.
 
I think vuk is like me, in this respect if no other. I feel like I should listen to 'out there; stuff, but when I do it just sounds like a bloody row. I'm best with the stuff with a proper tune that you can sing along to, Abba, stuff like that, and have learned to leave Sun Ra, Eric Dolphy, Schoenberg and Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music to them as likes that kind of thing.
 
Vuk, I have only bought one Sun Ra album, Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy....I strongly suggest you give that a miss also.
 
Here then is the wonder of music, I find most classical 'a bloody row'

Its all good. *

* Except Kylie's latest, she has let her self down with that one.
 
I saw Sun Ra play at Brixton Academy in 1990 with his Year 2000 Myth Science Arkestra.

An album of the gig was released by Blast First records who also used to put out acts like Sonic Youth, The Butthole Surfers and Big Black.

The Arkestra played tunes like For The Blue People, Space Chants and Cosmos Song.

Within his band Ra had some excellent players. He had been composing music from elsewhere in the universe for quite a few decades.

Given that he was from Saturn, it is pretty obvious that some of the music he composed would be beyond us mere earthlings. It will probably take us several centuries to catch up.

If you have a spare $200,000 and decide to go into orbit on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, then take Sun Ra's music with you. It will make much more sense, and who knows you might see Ra float by the spaceship's porthole.

Jack
 
Joe Hutch said:
I think vuk is like me, in this respect if no other. I feel like I should listen to 'out there; stuff, but when I do it just sounds like a bloody row.
Click to expand...

Well, We Travel The Spaceways is not "out", it's a pretty trad record by any standards. Ra started out as an arranger for big band leader Fletcher Henderson, and knew more about traditional jazz composition than almost anyone else who came to prominence in the post-bop 50s and 60s.

I'm not sure what explanation is needed other than to listen to it. But one thing it most certainly not is badly played (it is pretty atrociously recorded, however). I would have suggested starting with Jazz in Silhouette, btw, similar period (mid 50s), an altogether more significant record.

-- Ian
 
sideshowbob said:
I'm not sure what explanation is needed other than to listen to it.
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ian.

you seem to have misunderstood my posting/question. the explanations i'm looking for are a personal ones from people who enjoy listening to this.

the shostakovich 15th symphony is a comparably deviant work, if you like, but if someone asked me why i enjoyed it, i would be able to give an account.

vuk.
 
But We Travel The Space Ways is no way "deviant", or in any way challenging, it's really quite straightforward. Its pleasures (such as they are, it's a pretty minor early record) are no different from listening to other big-ish band music of the period. Ra certainly did very rapidly develop his own specific and unique idiom, but it's only present as a trace element on this record.

-- Ian
 
ian.

i must have interpreted the lack of all musical joy coupled with frequent awkward moments and nothing really happening as some sort of radical statement. like omer's photo of the tiny insect against a blue sky.

i wasn't aware of all this saturn stuff until now and although it's really hard to imagine someone playing at this sort of childish affectation coming up with worthwhile music, i will try one more album.

vuk.
 
vuk said:
i wasn't aware of all this saturn stuff until now and although it's really hard to imagine someone playing at this sort of childish affectation coming up with worthwhile music, i will try one more album.
Click to expand...

Childish? Affectation? Pah! The man was from Saturn. Fact.

Tony.
 
tony.

there was also a faust record at the shop. simply called faust and appeared to be clear/white vinyl, from what i could see. it was in what looked like a think inner sleeve with rounded edges. has a song about eating carrots (?) on side A.

vuk.
 
Did not Stockhausen plan to move to Saturn after his death? Seems like a popular place to go at the moment.
 
vuk said:
there was also a faust record at the shop. simply called faust and appeared to be clear/white vinyl, from what i could see. it was in what looked like a think inner sleeve with rounded edges. has a song about eating carrots (?) on side A.
Click to expand...

That is their debut and is an amazing album. Kind of a really odd mid point between rock and Stockhausen / Cage type musique concrete. One of the most original records ever pressed, though anything but easy-listening. You may not like it but you will never forget hearing it! If it's a Polydor original it's worth a fair few quid too.

Tony.
 
Sun Ra ran the Arkestra from the mid-1950s until his death in the mid-1990s, many of his musicians stayed with him for a long time. Not many bandleaders have achieved this, especially playing relatively off-centre music.

During that time he covered a lot of ground - sometimes the band had that jaunty swing feel, sometimes it was quite outside, sometimes it did old-time arrangements, sometimes there were long synthesiser solos, sometimes there were space chants. Not everybody liked everything he did to the same degree.

Not only were the musicians devoted - so were/are some of the listeners. Example, just in the past few months a 28-CD box containing just the music from one week's concerts has been released (and, by all accounts sold quite well).

As I say - not everybody likes everything Sunny did. But some like some of it a lot.
 
vuk said:
i must have interpreted the lack of all musical joy coupled with frequent awkward moments and nothing really happening as some sort of radical statement.
Click to expand...

If you can't spot the joy in Ra, there's very little hope for you I'm afraid.

You will absolutely hate the Faust record, I would save your money for something else.

-- Ian
 
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