Arthur Russell: Calling Out of Context

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There's starting to be a bit of talk about this on other threads, but I thought it deserved its own home.

I managed to get a copy and I think it's glorious. The reference point is 80s radio pop rather than disco. Many happy songs about fucking. Imagine that Hall & Oates were infinitely wise giant bunnies from outer space--they'd sound something like this. "That's Us/Wild Combination" is the loveliest thing ever.

― Marcel Post (Marcel Post), Monday, 26 January 2004 03:52 (twenty-two years ago)

*drools*

― jed_ (jed), Monday, 26 January 2004 04:27 (twenty-two years ago)

*adds to pool of drool*

― mullygrubber (gaz), Monday, 26 January 2004 04:32 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm really amazed at the amount of attention arthur russell is getting these days! i tried pitching something (what eventually became the freaky trigger article) on him in 2001 to four or five different places and was met with "..."

oh, yeah, and this sounds like just about the greatest thing ever.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 26 January 2004 05:18 (twenty-two years ago)

beta to thread! I want a full report on this. I can't wait to hear it.

― scott pl. (scott pl.), Monday, 26 January 2004 05:25 (twenty-two years ago)

always 3 years ahead of the pack strongo. i'd be quite happy to keep him a secret - but this is unheard material!

― mullygrubber (gaz), Monday, 26 January 2004 05:27 (twenty-two years ago)

well, obv writing about anyone almost always has to do with the amount of product available out there, which in 2001 amounted to the first disco (not disco) comp, i think.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 26 January 2004 05:28 (twenty-two years ago)

is there an impending media shitstorm then? will my love be made tawdry?

(i really like that FT article)

― mullygrubber (gaz), Monday, 26 January 2004 05:32 (twenty-two years ago)

This soul jazz comp is absolutely lovely.

― djdee2005, Monday, 26 January 2004 05:45 (twenty-two years ago)

DID YOU KNOW??

dj deeon sampled "go bang" for his track "deeon doez disco"

dj deeon is everywhere these days.

― vahid (vahid), Monday, 26 January 2004 06:08 (twenty-two years ago)

so marcel, are you going to convert it to mp3 for us? or start a label to reissue it on?

― vahid (vahid), Monday, 26 January 2004 06:08 (twenty-two years ago)

did i say "go bang"? i meant "loose joints"

― vahid (vahid), Monday, 26 January 2004 06:10 (twenty-two years ago)

ack shit! i meant loose joints' "is it all over..."

so tell us more about the album marcel!

― vahid (vahid), Monday, 26 January 2004 06:14 (twenty-two years ago)

is this being reissued? is it like, say, this is how we walk on the moon from another thought?

― mullygrubber (gaz), Monday, 26 January 2004 06:16 (twenty-two years ago)

It is being reissued (along with World of Echo and the new Soul Jazz comp and some collection of rarities/unreleased stuff, too). This is the year of Arthur Russell.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 26 January 2004 06:25 (twenty-two years ago)

does it have some of the stuff off another thought though? was it a muted follow up to another thought?

"reissued" = 'never issued'?

― mullygrubber (gaz), Monday, 26 January 2004 06:33 (twenty-two years ago)

mooted

― mullygrubber (gaz), Monday, 26 January 2004 06:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Are any of these songs on "The World of..."?

― Mark (MarkR), Monday, 26 January 2004 11:14 (twenty-two years ago)

no, there's no overlap of tracks. this is the follow-up to world of echo which russell worked on from '87 until his death in '92. and it is brilliant. i'm reviewing it for uncut and meant to post something about it on my blog...hopefully by the end of this week (the time it took me to do the 1985 piece means that there's an enormous backlog of things to write about for blog, and i want to get at least some of them done before we go off to san fran.

but yes the album comes out on feb 16th and...well, it's the great lost pop album of the '80s. where ar kane perhaps should have gone after side one of "i."

― Phoebe Dinsmore, Monday, 26 January 2004 11:18 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm even further ahead of the pack than strongo, I've been saying for years how overrated "World of Echo" is - check (too) numerous posts on ILM. Mind you, I haven't heard any of his other stuff, it sounds better.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Monday, 26 January 2004 15:51 (twenty-two years ago)

"Wild Combination" was on Another Thought, too.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Monday, 26 January 2004 17:45 (twenty-two years ago)

"Wild Combination" was on Another Thought, too.

er, it wasn't.

― stirmonster, Monday, 26 January 2004 21:36 (twenty-two years ago)

like Let's Go Swimming and Wax The Van, there are various versions of lots of his songs. Lots of his tracks would get the solo voice and cello treatment, maybe also a more produced pop version and maybe also a straight up dancefloor mix. There's a version of Wild Combination on a nuphonic comp from a while back, and I've seen like 4 more versions on a minidisc Kris Chen brought to my party when I did the Arthur Russell tribute last year. He had a bit of stuff from Steve at Audika, I think.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Monday, 26 January 2004 21:39 (twenty-two years ago)

"Wild Combination" was on Another Thought, too.

er, it wasn't.

You're right. I'll shut up now.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Monday, 26 January 2004 21:50 (twenty-two years ago)

just letting ppl know that this is on slsk (thanx saint toby!) & i am lost fr words.

― etc, Tuesday, 3 February 2004 10:16 (twenty-two years ago)

There was a pretty good onepage thing about AR in the Wire in April '95, which got me looking for 'World of Echo', never found it. Pity as around then it'd have been below $10. Looking forward to the Soul Jazz thing obv

― Silly Sailor (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 10:29 (twenty-two years ago)

'World of Echo' sounds like a man mumbling at the bottom of a well while a monkey paws gently at a cello. An acquired taste.

― Aloysius, Tuesday, 3 February 2004 10:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Nice description Aloysius - great album though!

― jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 3 February 2004 14:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Full article on Russell in this January's issue of The Wire as well, with some interview material from the Eighties.

― Chris T, Tuesday, 3 February 2004 15:56 (twenty-two years ago)

two weeks pass...

just heard this. cried.

― mullygrubber (gaz), Friday, 20 February 2004 22:49 (twenty-two years ago)

you honestly cried?

― cozen (Cozen), Friday, 20 February 2004 22:52 (twenty-two years ago)

at a particular point when his voice dips and swerves in wild situation a large lump came to my throat and i started shuddering.

― mullygrubber (gaz), Friday, 20 February 2004 22:55 (twenty-two years ago)

he could sing over a crumpling chip packet and still do this to me i think.
*awaits inevitable backlash*

― mullygrubber (gaz), Friday, 20 February 2004 22:58 (twenty-two years ago)

I bought this last week. It's really wonderful.

― Broheems (diamond), Friday, 20 February 2004 22:59 (twenty-two years ago)

That repeating line about "touch the other side of your face" is very affecting. "Calling All Kids" is too.

― Broheems (diamond), Friday, 20 February 2004 23:01 (twenty-two years ago)

he could sing over a crumpling chip packet and still do this to me i think

i have the same reaction, for some reason the tragedy of his death from aids looms really large over his work for me. as other people have pointed out, there's nothing really explicit in his work about AIDS. and it'd be weird to have his music stand in for all the musicians (levan, etc) (non-disco artists too!) who died from AIDS in NY in the 80s, not least because he made it until 1992. i guess to some extent this is inevitable, haring fulfills the same role in the art world, so maybe people just have an urge to do that.

― vahid (vahid), Friday, 20 February 2004 23:06 (twenty-two years ago)

just bought it last night as a pre-birthday present for myself. heartrending. and so unexpected, soundwise.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Friday, 20 February 2004 23:45 (twenty-two years ago)

its "i" by AR Kane!

― mullygrubber (gaz), Friday, 20 February 2004 23:50 (twenty-two years ago)

or not

― mullygrubber (gaz), Friday, 20 February 2004 23:51 (twenty-two years ago)

also you don't want to speculate (especially if you haven't read the wire article, let alone liner notes or a biopic) but i can't help but think of samuel delany's comments on not being able to finish novels started in the late 70s because of the impact of AIDS on his personal life (people who he'd based characters on dying, etc)

i wonder how much this had to do with so much of russell's material going unreleased / unfinished.

― vahid (vahid), Friday, 20 February 2004 23:58 (twenty-two years ago)

if this has all been chewed over already somewhere else somebody point me in that direction, please.

― vahid (vahid), Friday, 20 February 2004 23:58 (twenty-two years ago)

vahid, from the toop article and referring to the period after being diagnosed with HIV:
...he also worked on new songs...never quite finishing anything in case completion signified a greater finality. "As long as things have an element of confusion or blurring then you can imagine them in a perfect state," says Ernie Brooks

― mullygrubber (gaz), Saturday, 21 February 2004 00:28 (twenty-two years ago)

it really IS kane-y, isn't it? (which, yeah, i guess means hall & oates + the mary chain in dub.)

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Saturday, 21 February 2004 02:45 (twenty-two years ago)

it was weird. i listened to it on the way to work and was feeling like "fuck, why do i even bother listening to all that other shit i listen to" and there, sitting under my desk, completely forgotten, was "i".

― mullygrubber (gaz), Saturday, 21 February 2004 02:49 (twenty-two years ago)

"fuck, why do i even bother listening to all that other shit i listen to"

100% otm.

arthur has made me cry several times. out of joy, out of astonishment and out of sheer sadness that he is no longer with us and unable to appreciate the fact that people finally 'got' his music. i believe 'world of echo' sold around 200 copies at the time in the uk. it's strange. i know so little about the man bar what i have gleaned from a few articles but i really, truly think of him as one of my best friends. i hope one day my soul gets to show his soul the love i have for him.

― stirmonster, Saturday, 21 February 2004 17:50 (twenty-two years ago)

it really IS kane-y, isn't it?

I think S. Reynolds drew the connection back in Blissed Out and he can't have been the only one -- late Talk Talk triangulates it.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 21 February 2004 18:33 (twenty-two years ago)

I was curious about something connected with Another Thought. I was listening to "A Little Lost" on World of Arthur Russell, and I swear I've heard a longer version of this on Another Thought, but I cannot confirm due to my copy having disapeared into an Ex-Girlfriend's collection years ago. So a) is my memory right and the Soul Jazz release contains a shorter edit, and if so b) why the hell did they edit it so - it's not like they were in danger of running out of room.

― John Edmond (Jedmond), Sunday, 22 February 2004 04:56 (twenty-two years ago)

is "world of echo" going to be re-released on soul jazz? i was thinking that if a work deserves to be canonized surely this is it.

i can't wait to pick up "calling out of context".

― tricky disco (disco stu), Sunday, 22 February 2004 05:21 (twenty-two years ago)

the vers of a little lost on another thought is 3.17. haven't heard world of...maybe its a diff vers??????

― mullygrubber (gaz), Sunday, 22 February 2004 05:30 (twenty-two years ago)

'world of echo' is going to be re released by audika / rough trade.

i've not heard the 'a little lost' on world of a si just presumed it was the same version. there is a 4 track radio edits promo of 'another thought' which i guess could mean that there is an edit but as it's only 3.17 to begin with, it seems a bit unlikely.

― stirmonster, Sunday, 22 February 2004 05:46 (twenty-two years ago)

it really only sold 200 copies in the uk? what was the press like?

i remember it got a rave review in the SMH (Sydney's major newspaper) by a guy called lynden Barber, and thats why i bought it. it was also his no.1 record for the year i think.

― mullygrubber (gaz), Sunday, 22 February 2004 06:16 (twenty-two years ago)

although until i signed on to ILM in late 2002 i had never 'met' anyone who loved him (or had even heard of him :-( ! ) and thats the major reason i stayed!

― mullygrubber (gaz), Sunday, 22 February 2004 06:25 (twenty-two years ago)

what was the press like

i would love to pretend that i was there when 'world of echo' and 'let's go swimming' were released and rushed out to buy them immediately, but that would be a blatant lie. but, as i obsessively read the music press at the time, i do remember them being released. as far as i can recall, i think melody maker and nme reviewed it. there used to be a uk magazine called 'the catalogue' which was put out monthly by 'the cartel' (the uk indie distribution network) and i remember there being a full page arthur russell ad and feature in that. i think i probably glanced at it and then quickly turned the page in search of news on when the next foetus record was coming out.

― stirmonster, Sunday, 22 February 2004 12:53 (twenty-two years ago)

is Calling out of context coming out on vinyl also cause i cant find it anywhere!

DO someone know about this?

― Jens (brighter), Sunday, 22 February 2004 16:34 (twenty-two years ago)

it's coming out on vinyl march 1st allegedly (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001FUI60/ref=sr_aps_music_1_1/202-3476005-4256601)

― a, Sunday, 22 February 2004 16:42 (twenty-two years ago)

thanks!

I´m glad it is...
Now would someone (me?) reissue ANother thought on vinyl?

― Jens (brighter), Sunday, 22 February 2004 20:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Sounds like "Lost Generation" / "proto-shoegazer" stuff; sounds like something a late-80s Paul Simon would listen to while getting high with South Africans; sounds like Vini Reilly joined Klymaxx; ...; SOUNDS GREAT.

― nabiscothingy, Monday, 23 February 2004 01:05 (twenty-two years ago)

sounds like Vini Reilly joined Klymaxx

― Andy K (Andy K), Monday, 23 February 2004 01:11 (twenty-two years ago)

"My cello was fierce"

― Andy K (Andy K), Monday, 23 February 2004 01:26 (twenty-two years ago)

my cello weighs a tonne.

― jed_ (jed), Monday, 23 February 2004 02:11 (twenty-two years ago)

there's something about this that's keeping me from loving it completely and totally. something almost...diffuse, like the songs are disintegrating as you listen, slipping through your fingers just as yout hink you're finally getting your hands around them. in a way, it reminds me of those very early scritti singles, where the drumming was nailing down what sounded like a pop song, but otherwise the instrumentation was pulling in eighty different directions at once. now amplify that about 10x. arthur's singing is beautiful, as always, but it's very nearly...hermetic. you could probably lob the same criticism at "schoolbell/treehouse" or even world of echo, but the stuff on calling out of context seems especially flighty, unmoored, indistinct: like the little songs kids sing to themselves, making them up as they go, following an oblique personal logic, bits of melody or hooks surfacing only to be immediately discarded because little kids have no real concept of repetetition or how to structure a song. i have listened to it so many times now that it sounds familiar, but i probably wouldnt be able to hum any one track blind. a lot of it sounds like mid-80s pop radio songs that you're SURE you know, but you can't quite place, the radio's too low, or there's too much going on around you, or maybe you're confusing it with something else.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 04:19 (twenty-two years ago)

the songs on Another Thought seem far more focused somehow. how were that first batch chosen? were they recorded at the same time as these?

― mullygrubber (gaz), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 04:26 (twenty-two years ago)

the arthur russell/ar kane "i" thing seems most accurate for the mixes of "let's go swimming" on the 12" (which seem like a prototype for what ar kane were doing) - the parallels are eerie: fey, effete, whispery vox; dub-scored (but not overtly dubbed out) sound; massive fuck-off drums where you least expect it (cf. "anitina"); and so on. cello = guitar. and so on.
"calling out of context" is beautiful, and i think it's the aspect of 'disintegration' that makes the songs so fascinating: hearing thought processes. after all, this was an 'unfinished' album, and many have said that arthur would keep holding off the final cut/mix so as to avoid the weight of the finished product. i don't know if "world of echo" fits there, though, jess - that record's hermeticism is 'fully realised'. "calling out of context" may be pieces and souvenirs, but that doesn't detract from its gorgeousness.

― jwd, Wednesday, 25 February 2004 09:32 (twenty-two years ago)

New York Times Article here

― jed_ (jed), Monday, 1 March 2004 02:55 (twenty-two years ago)

SFJ article to appear in next week's New Yorker!!!!

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Monday, 1 March 2004 03:03 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah this stuff's ok.

― cozen (Cozen), Monday, 1 March 2004 03:05 (twenty-two years ago)

i could easily write 4000 words about this. (unfortunately i forgot to write the 250 i actually have due.)

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 1 March 2004 05:40 (twenty-two years ago)

George Russell and Hal Russell are worthy of threads

― mentalist (mentalist), Monday, 1 March 2004 08:13 (twenty-two years ago)

(unfortunately i forgot to write the 250 i actually have due.)

strongo, why don't you use the bit you wrote upthread on feb25? 226 words that really make me want to hear this record!

― willem (willem), Monday, 1 March 2004 08:48 (twenty-two years ago)

SFJ on AR: http://newyorker.com/critics/music/?040308crmu_music

― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Monday, 1 March 2004 16:18 (twenty-two years ago)

oh good now my dad will be asking for a copy (cf radiohead, 01)

― g--ff (gcannon), Monday, 1 March 2004 16:34 (twenty-two years ago)

partly out of laziness and partly because i wanted to anyway, i played the entirety of calling out of context on my last radio show (it runs almost exactly an hour, which is nice for a 2-hour block).

the two guys in the studio with me said only one thing about it:

"wow, this sounds kinda sexy."

― joseph (joseph), Monday, 1 March 2004 16:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Hmm. This is the second article to (incorrectly) state that Toop was the only person to interview AR in print. Which is wrong.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Monday, 1 March 2004 17:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I mean the NYT article. Sorry, just feeling like a nitpicker.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Monday, 1 March 2004 17:29 (twenty-two years ago)

I just picked this up today, I have not had enough time to digest it. It took me a few weeks to really get my head around World Of Echo, and now WOE is one of my all time top 5 records. I am not rushing to pass judgement on this one.

One thing I am realizing after a couple years of slsk'ing is that it is super hard to actually spent 15 dollars on a CD. It was like gutwrenching for me to buy it unheard for retail. For some reason I have no problem spending 7 bucks on an unheard LP that is obscure and 30 years old. I need to get ahold of that Arthur Russell interview from the Jan issue of Wire, I am way guilty of sleeping on that.

― Former Supposed So Called Nihilist Teenage Drug Disco Addiction Counselor (mjt), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 02:35 (twenty-two years ago)

I can't stop listening to 'get around to it'. it's like that jerry reed picture, 'let me stop looking at you!'

― cozen (Cozen), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 15:35 (twenty-two years ago)

UNDER HVY ROTATION
Listen to "Calling All Kids" and tell that's not what Radiohead was TRYING to do when they claimed they were going "funky".

― J2DanceR, Tuesday, 2 March 2004 23:42 (twenty-two years ago)

So has anybody ever heard the shit he did with Ginsberg? There's apparently some tracks on the Rhino box. I mean, I know it's just cello accompaniment but I'd still like to hear it.

― Broheems (diamond), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 23:44 (twenty-two years ago)

matos to thread

― mullygrubber (gaz), Tuesday, 2 March 2004 23:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Wow. This is spectacularly good.

― Ricardo (RickyT), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 09:56 (twenty-two years ago)

understatement.

― djdee2005, Wednesday, 3 March 2004 09:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Finally (finally?) have this in offical form, and now I'm curious, does anybody have any idea what all the numbers/letters mean? They probable don't mean anything, it just seems a strange thing to see on such a reissue - maybe they're version numbers.

― Jedmond (Jedmond), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 11:58 (twenty-two years ago)

The letters are his name, and the numbers their order in the alphabet modulo 9.

― Ricardo (RickyT), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 12:38 (twenty-two years ago)

sorry, modulo 9 + 1 ie


abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwzyz
12345678912345678912345678

― Ricardo (RickyT), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 12:42 (twenty-two years ago)

I have the Soul Jazz thing - 'World of A. Russell'. I just don't *get* it yet. Lots of ultra-repetitive disco with all the good bits taken out.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 13:51 (twenty-two years ago)

the 'good' bits?

― mullygrubber (gaz), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 13:55 (twenty-two years ago)

haha christ

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 13:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Dr. C, what is your definition of good disco?

― Jedmond (Jedmond), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 13:58 (twenty-two years ago)

So there's no rhythm?

― Andy K (Andy K), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 14:01 (twenty-two years ago)

And I forgot to mention, thanks Ricardo for the info.

Xpost, and thanks Andy for the AMG reviews.

By the way, what are people's favourite tracks on "Calling Out of Context"? I'm leaning towards "You and Me Both", and "Arm Around You" (if only for the ending of the song).

― Jedmond (Jedmond), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 14:07 (twenty-two years ago)

title track, and "that's us/wild combination".

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 14:09 (twenty-two years ago)

wild combination/arm/kids

― mullygrubber (gaz), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 14:10 (twenty-two years ago)

maybe

― mullygrubber (gaz), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 14:12 (twenty-two years ago)

title track, Platform, Wild Combination

― Omar (Omar), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 14:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Strongo OTM

Wild Combination makes me want to cry around 2:04 around "its a walk in the morning."

― djdee2005, Wednesday, 3 March 2004 15:26 (twenty-two years ago)

*Dr. C, what is your definition of good disco?*

Swagger + a great melody + unstoppable momentum + hooks, hooks, hooks!

e.g Boogie Nights, Best Of My Love, Staying Alive, He's The Greatest Dancer + Funkytown

I guess Russell's doing something completely different - I'm just saying it sounds like a framework for something more compelling to be built onto at a later stage. In truth a lot of that NY & Ze stuff sounds like that to me.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 16:03 (twenty-two years ago)

This is where I say that while I've deeply enjoyed Arthur Russell for a while now (an example here)...I admit I don't *quite* get the rapturous response he commands from a lot of others, though I'm very impressed by the power of emotion his music can evoke for them. Which is me saying to Dr. C: let it grow on you, don't worry about forcing it. I first heard him back in 1993 or so and he's yet to rank as an all-time hands-down favorite for me still.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 16:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Wise words.

What does he do well?

Proviso : 'Kiss Me Again' is fantastic.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 16:27 (twenty-two years ago)

What does he do well?

An evocative melancholia, no matter how compelling/omnipresent the beat is or not (and often the contrast is key). In that review I linked I mention the Durutti Column as a possible comparison point.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 16:30 (twenty-two years ago)

I know what C is getting at - I like both kinds, the direct comparison seems pointless. Doc I would seek out "Tell You Today", not on the Soul Jazz comp and for my money his loveliest thing. (not heard "...Context" cos I've not been into a proper record shop lately).

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 16:32 (twenty-two years ago)

The direct comparision came about because I kept thinking Russell was heading in a disco-direction that was 'fuller' yet obv still more arthouse and odd than mainstream. But he was heading somewhere else...this is probably good. I will listen some more.

Tom- I definitely have Tell You Today on some comp or other. Will find and play.

Slightly related - I have been playing Teardrop Explodes
'Wilder' non-stop all week. That confused the hell out of everyone when it came out - some awful reviews. I've always liked it, but very, very slowly I TOTALLY get it. Bloody genius.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 16:40 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm not yet convinced by a lot of "The World of..," either, Dr.C (note: this is all new to me) but I really like Calling Out of Context.

I think it's the fact that these songs seem so private, so fragile. If you tried to add more (personnel, production, whatever) they'd break under the strain.

Fave 3: "Get around to it", track 3 (can't remember title), "That's us/Wild combination".

― Jeff W (zebedee), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 17:35 (twenty-two years ago)

what's the deal w/ Matos agreeing w/the dude who said: best record with the worst vocals ever

http://www.hiphopmusic.com/archives/000442.html

― JaXoN (JasonD), Thursday, 4 March 2004 00:54 (twenty-two years ago)

but 'is it all over my face?' DOES have the worst vocals ever. that's why it's so good!

as for 'calling out of context' - this is causing me real problems. EVERY time i put it on, i can't get beyond 'the platform on the ocean' which i end up listening to on repeat for ever. i guess the good thing is that there is years more pleasureleft in this album for me.

as for his disco moments - the 13 minute russell mix of 'kiss me again' - NOT the version on disco (not disco) - is possibly thee greatest dance record of all time.

― stirmonster, Thursday, 4 March 2004 06:39 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm a big and long time fan of the man but this is really not very good music. there's so much great great experimental dance music from this period. i'm saying don't believe the ilx hype.

― suzisweeps, Thursday, 4 March 2004 07:52 (twenty-two years ago)

i am blinded by love then

― mullygrubber (gaz), Thursday, 4 March 2004 08:01 (twenty-two years ago)

I wish people would stop mentioning the extended version of Kiss Me Again (by the way, I just told a lie, I want to know if there are any changes to the mix?).

I know what you mean about "the platform" - on "Another Thought" I had the same problem with "Home Away From Home", and on "Calling Out Of Context" I get stuck on "You and Me Both". Which asides from sounding like (to me) early Neptunes (something about it reminds me of the laser sounds they used to deploy), proves I have managed to progress at least one more song than you.

I agree, the amateurishness of the vocals help make IIAOMF, but I actually think Matos was referring to Russell's voice. In which case, Matos I respect you, but: Bllrzzzbzzzbzrrrrggh.

― Jedmond (Jedmond), Thursday, 4 March 2004 08:07 (twenty-two years ago)

plus those vocals are mixed so high. i'd have to admit its not my favourite russell.

― mullygrubber (gaz), Thursday, 4 March 2004 08:16 (twenty-two years ago)

the backlash begins . . .

― jack cole (jackcole), Thursday, 4 March 2004 08:18 (twenty-two years ago)

........and ends.

Anyway, Jess was there on the 25th of Feb. So NAH!

― Jedmond (Jedmond), Thursday, 4 March 2004 09:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Wow, sure didn't think I'd start a controversy with that one! ha.. you mean some people don't think those vocals are bad? I thought that was embraced as part of the charm..

It's always been a running joke with my friends who were Paradise Garage heads, whenever someone plays that.. they love grooving to it while gigging on the singers.

― Jay Smooth (jsmooth995), Thursday, 4 March 2004 09:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Wow, I finally managed to download the full-length "Kiss Me Again" (it had been my buggabear, I either couldn't find it, or the people I downloaded it from disapeared never to be seen again while I was online). Worth all the effort just for the last minute or so. Does anybody know how this version was released?

― Jedmond (Jedmond), Thursday, 4 March 2004 12:47 (twenty-two years ago)

haha glaswegians turn on 105.6 fm right now to hear arthur russell played out by my flatmate!

― cozen (Cozen), Thursday, 4 March 2004 14:19 (twenty-two years ago)

i had no idea you were rooming with marcello

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Thursday, 4 March 2004 14:20 (twenty-two years ago)

can you imagine?!

this sounds good on the radio!

― cozen (Cozen), Thursday, 4 March 2004 14:25 (twenty-two years ago)

jedmond - it was released as a sire 12" with a jimmy simpson mix on the a-side (ok, but not as good) and arthur russell's mix on the b-side. david byrne is on fire on the guitar here. there are red vinyl and black vinyl versions of the 12".

http://www.tigersushi.com/site/content/disc/cover/3917_2.jpg

― stirmonster, Thursday, 4 March 2004 16:54 (twenty-two years ago)

two months pass...

so the cd of the new issue of the wire has a track from "corn" called "you did the right thing when you put that skylight in". it's pretty good. can't find any more info on forthcoming audika releases, though...

― toby (tsg20), Monday, 24 May 2004 08:43 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah, it's a nice track. i like that the lyrics (when they eventually arruve) are actually about Arthur loving his new skylight!

also Heavy Metal Cellos! I've not heard World of Echo so this might not be untypical of Russell's stuff but I liked that it was quite different in style from the two CDs that came out this year

― Jeff W (zebedee), Monday, 24 May 2004 09:13 (twenty-two years ago)

no, it's definitely much heavier than anything else i've heard by him (world of echo isn't heavy at all). i thought for a minute that they'd mislabelled the tracks or something.

― toby (tsg20), Monday, 24 May 2004 09:47 (twenty-two years ago)

I really don't like COOC. I can't deny that its unusual/private/fragile etc etc but I just find that I'm frustrated by lack of dynamics and the really irritating vocal delivery where he bends words around to disguise the basic lack of melody. Hear the first 30 secs of any of the tracks and there's really no reason to listen to the rest.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Monday, 24 May 2004 10:49 (twenty-two years ago)

i have cooled on this record considerably since feb.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:03 (twenty-two years ago)

What don't you like about it now, strongo?

Andy Kellman wrote somewhere (AMG?) that you could approach it like a proto-Jam &Lewis and I sort of *got it* for a while. But I can't stand it now.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:06 (twenty-two years ago)

it's less good than you think on 1st lesson

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:06 (twenty-two years ago)

listen - ugh!

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:07 (twenty-two years ago)

i think dave really nailed it there. it's just diminishing returns.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:08 (twenty-two years ago)

the "songs" (i don't mean the disco tracks, just the two culled from another thought) on the world of arthur russell are so memorable i could probably sing them blind right now. but i'm having a hard time remembering anything from calling out context. it kind of sounds like mid-80s IDM, vis a vis the jam and lewis thing.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:10 (twenty-two years ago)

well, the thing is it's a collection of offcuts etc and at 1st you're like "yay, new arther russel business " and that gives it a frisson in itelf. it's *good* so you're thinking, hmmm i like this, then you listen to it a lot and you start to hear its shortcomings. i think the expectation placed on it was far too high. i still like it, but i'm just not turning cartwheels like i was. it's just that russell *was* a pioneeer and a genius and he's till a total hero to a lot of people, me included. victim of his own appeal, here.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:12 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah, i think was just excited to see product in the store after so many years. (i still like it too, don't get me wrong.)

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:13 (twenty-two years ago)

shame it doesn't stand up like world of echo etc, but like ai say i think it's just us being silly for ever having expected it to! btw jess i've got my lazy butt in gear and linked you on the blog, finally.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:15 (twenty-two years ago)

i like you - hey!

that one stand ou,t for me.

― jed_ (jed), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:18 (twenty-two years ago)

jess have you heard "you did a good thing when you put that skylight in" yet?

― jed_ (jed), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:19 (twenty-two years ago)

another thought is all you need.

― cutty (mcutt), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:19 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah i just saw dave, thnx. (now i suppose i should update.)

x-post: no, is it just on that wire thing? i'm not in a place where the wire is easy to come by, sadly.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:22 (twenty-two years ago)

actually it's called "you did the right thing..." not " a good thing".

― jed_ (jed), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:39 (twenty-two years ago)

So the backlash has officially started has it?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:42 (twenty-two years ago)

only against jed's thread ;-)

― zebedee (zebedee), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:44 (twenty-two years ago)

no backlash here, if there is one it's against overexcitable critics and fans (meself included) expecting too much, not AR, himself.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:49 (twenty-two years ago)

i did the right thing when i started that thread!

― jed_ (jed), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:50 (twenty-two years ago)

and i did the wrong thing when i failed to notice it.

― toby (tsg20), Monday, 24 May 2004 11:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Am I the only ILM poster not to really get all the jizzing over Arthur Russell?

― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Monday, 24 May 2004 15:24 (twenty-two years ago)

No. See above

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Monday, 24 May 2004 15:33 (twenty-two years ago)

"Platform On the Ocean" aside, COOC just fizzled out for me, too. Sad.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Monday, 24 May 2004 16:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Big Sigh. I haven't got either of the recent Russell releases yet. I've been a bit wary. World of Echo had some songs on it I couldn't get out of my head for the longest time, really special stuff. I got Another Thought when it came out and thought it was okay, but maybe not as interesting as I'd hoped. So I am already weary of high expectations with him, which is why I've been reluctant to delve into these two new ones.

― Bimble (bimble), Monday, 24 May 2004 16:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Bimble, go for the SoulJazz comp first. I think there's very little on there you won't love and listen to repeatedly.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Monday, 24 May 2004 18:09 (twenty-two years ago)

four weeks pass...

I take it all back!

This is amazing.

― AdamL :') (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 21:32 (twenty-two years ago)

So it took me 6 months or so. I've been busy.

― AdamL :') (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 21:33 (twenty-two years ago)

how weird. just yesterday i actually paid for my first disc in about a year and it was The World of Arthur Russell. Nice stuff!

― ken taylrr (ken taylrr), Thursday, 24 June 2004 00:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I walked around after a few tonight with "Kiss Me Again" blasting in my ears and it was glorious. It always is glorious, but it made me play all AR music once I was home and , goddamn, he's beautiful.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Thursday, 24 June 2004 01:48 (twenty-two years ago)

when's World of Echo coming out???????!!!

― JaXoN (JasonD), Thursday, 24 June 2004 02:47 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm still not sure I actually meant Klymaxx, above.

― nabiscothingy, Thursday, 24 June 2004 02:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Audika web site have the new release date as September 2004 - with bonus tracks from "Sketches For World of Echo" - fancy way of saying demos. There will also be a limited edition release with a DVD containing two videos (Doesn't say how long they are). The first video is "Terrace of Unintelligibility", the second is "Some Imaginary Far Away Type Things" AKA "Lost in the Meshes".

Does anybody know anything about the two videos?

― Jedmond (Jedmond), Thursday, 24 June 2004 03:15 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd say that "That's Us/ Wild Combination" has definitely stuck with me, especially the melody! Absolutely.

I don't really agree about the diminishing returns but i had no expectations going into it...so I imagine that's the trouble. A bunch of the tracks I skip. "Calling All Kids", "Platform", "TU/WC" are incredible though.

― djdee2005, Thursday, 24 June 2004 07:55 (twenty-two years ago)

djdee OTM re: "TU/WC" unbelievably beautiful. And I love the funky following track, too: "Make 1, 2." I burned COOC after buying TWOAR and I have to say the reviews/advance word underestimated COOC, it really grows on you and feels less sketchy/unfinished the more you listen.

― lovebug starski, Thursday, 24 June 2004 12:19 (twenty-two years ago)

just watched some of the DVD. "SIFATT" is about 33 min. of a medley Arthur played at Phill Niblock's loft. it is all shot by Niblock. all done in a very close-up style (back when video was 'art'), to where you get such pleasures as watching Arthur's knuckles dance upon the strings, and how the ever-changing light reflects off his profile. simple soul-affirming stuff.
didn't see the other one.

― Beta (abeta), Thursday, 24 June 2004 13:18 (twenty-two years ago)

that sounds great! I like this espeshally:

back when video was 'art'

― AdamL :') (nordicskilla), Thursday, 24 June 2004 14:53 (twenty-two years ago)

that was a deliberate mispelling, btw!

― AdamL :') (nordicskilla), Thursday, 24 June 2004 14:54 (twenty-two years ago)

four months pass...

I refuse to believe that I neglected to mention "Get Around To It" which has recently surpassed "TU/WC" as my favorite track on the album.

"Show me what the girl does...to the boy...if you can get around to it."

"learning more about you...."

― djdee2005 (djdee2005), Monday, 22 November 2004 05:41 (twenty-one years ago)

damn straight!

― cºzen (Cozen), Monday, 22 November 2004 11:02 (twenty-one years ago)

one month passes...

anyone else heard the 'itunes exclusive' Let's Go Swimming ep?

its got lets go swimming, you did the right thing when you put that skyline in, hiding your present from you and they and their friends

― artdamages (artdamages), Monday, 10 January 2005 16:38 (twenty-one years ago)

What's the last track like?

keep thinking "Calling Out Of Context" should just have been a double CD.

― Jedmond (Jedmond), Monday, 10 January 2005 16:49 (twenty-one years ago)

I may have been wrong about World Of Arthur Russell upthread. It IS good disco. And that 'A Little Lost' track is exquisite.

I now want to hear COOC again, but I sold it. These volte-faces are getting embarrassing.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Monday, 10 January 2005 16:51 (twenty-one years ago)

but which version of "Let's Go Swimming" is it? there are like, forty.

― Beta (abeta), Monday, 10 January 2005 20:35 (twenty-one years ago)

I was an idiot to even doubt the brilliance of Arthur Russell.

― .adam (nordicskilla), Monday, 10 January 2005 20:40 (twenty-one years ago)

artdamages - thanksfor the tip about the itunes exclusive tracks. i'd never have known.

― stirmonster, Monday, 10 January 2005 20:45 (twenty-one years ago)

the "songs" (i don't mean the disco tracks, just the two culled from another thought) on the world of arthur russell are so memorable i could probably sing them blind right now. but i'm having a hard time remembering anything from calling out context. it kind of sounds like mid-80s IDM, vis a vis the jam and lewis thing.

strongo totally otm here

― cathy berberian (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 10 January 2005 22:01 (twenty-one years ago)

"Platfooooooooorm, on the OCEan" and I've heard it twice ever

― Andrew Blood Thames (Andrew Thames), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 01:23 (twenty-one years ago)

"Show me what the girl does... TO the boy... if you can get arooound to it...

― Douglas (Douglas), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 02:00 (twenty-one years ago)

"we're leeeeaving at fiiive in the morning...."

― robots in love (robotsinlove), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 02:46 (twenty-one years ago)

a semen-drenched visage peers across the dance floor .... BUSTED

― LSTD (answer) (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 03:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Is this stuff good? (World Of Echo reissue:) Tell me about it.

1. Tone Bone Kone
2. Soon To Be Innocent Fun/Let’s See
3. Answers Me
4. Being It
5. Place
6. She’s The Star/ I Take This Time
7. Treehouse
8. See-Through
9. Hiding Your Present From You
10. Wax The Van
11. All-Boy All-Girl
12. Lucky Cloud
13. Tower of Meaning
14. Let’s Go Swimming
15. The Name Of The Next Song
16. Happy Ending
17. Canvas Home

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 11:21 (twenty-one years ago)

simple wish to espy close companions giving/getting bang.

― tender milch, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 19:58 (twenty-one years ago)

time to clean the econoline

― LSTD (answer) (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:05 (twenty-one years ago)

xypost: World of Echo is similar to Calling out of Context, but even more wipsy/ethereal. As mentioned in other threads, DVD contains bonus chin footage.

― LSTD (answer) (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:12 (twenty-one years ago)

i don't think 'world of echo' is anything like 'calling out of context', and it's far better. here's a brief desc - http://www.tigersushi.com/site/Rcd.jsp?RcdId=4163

― a, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:30 (twenty-one years ago)

time to clean the legumes

― tender milch, Tuesday, 11 January 2005 20:49 (twenty-one years ago)

two weeks pass...

Finally bought it, listened to it today, I cried as well.

― Andrew Blood Thames (Andrew Thames), Monday, 31 January 2005 12:01 (twenty-one years ago)

two years pass...

Bumping this because I feel like it ended on a bad note and because I've been seeing these tracks popping up all over the place (Henrik Schwarz DJ Kicks, Kaos & Sal P. Danse Gravite, the new Justine D RVNG mix.)

It seems like the turn around in critical consensus after the initial gush period has damaged it's reputation. I remember having some of the hesitations mentioned way upthread, but with (over) 3 years to engage with these tracks it easily ranks with Arthur's best.

I mean, really, Steve Knutson and Audika deserve to be praised to the ends of the earth for releasing this material, not the blasé "meh" that it got.

Can we please admit that this is waaay classic?

― s. morris, Friday, 29 June 2007 07:17 (eighteen years ago)

five months pass...

Yes.

― I know, right?, Monday, 10 December 2007 01:07 (eighteen years ago)

two years pass...

listening to calling out of context for the first time, as i'm new to arthur russell. was instantly converted by world of echo about three years back, but have been catching up w the rest only very slowly. like WOE, like like love is overtaking me, it initially strikes me as the most wonderful (sad, alien, lovely, joyful) music i've ever heard. i'm sure that will fade and i'll put it in some kind of reasonable context, but for the moment, i can't imagine anything more perfect. i love you, AR, and i wish you were singing only for me.

― the other is a black gay gentleman from Los Angeles (contenderizer), Friday, 4 June 2010 05:10 (sixteen years ago)

'Wild Combination/That's Us' = one of the greatest tunes ever

― Michael B, Friday, 4 June 2010 10:24 (sixteen years ago)

two years pass...

Was reading back through this thread and got to:

Am I the only ILM poster not to really get all the jizzing over Arthur Russell?
― @d@ml (nordicskilla), Monday, May 24, 2004 3:24 PM (8 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

and was totally shocked.

Then got to:

I take it all back!
This is amazing.

― AdamL :') (nordicskilla), Wednesday, June 23, 2004 9:32 PM (8 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

and everything made sense again.

― Tim F, Saturday, 27 April 2013 22:56 (thirteen years ago)

ha that's lovely
this record was playing in drawn & quarterly when I walked in the other day & I've been dipping into it since. it was never my favourite but it's been sounding really nice.

― daft on the causes of punk (schlump), Sunday, 28 April 2013 01:18 (thirteen years ago)

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