Daily Listen by Brian Brock

Agustin Barrios - The Complete Guitar Recordings 1913-1942

As beautiful as a butterfly in a meat grinder.

Most discussions of this CD will weigh the importance of Agustin Barrios’s performances of his own pieces against the static, noise, and downright degradation present on a recording from a different time and place.

Although that conversation is valid, I would offer that this sound can be enjoyed purely on its own terms. Barrios writes music which is often particularly suited to being distorted and mangled, and at many points in the CD his repetitive passages, filtered by the ravages of time, are downright haunting. Jim O’Rourke or Thurston Moore would be proud to release a CD as compelling as this one at its peaks.

Of course, not everyone will expect a CD subtitled “Augustin Barrios plays his own and other compositions” to be an ambient grinding drone, and that mistake in packaging is likely the reason this collection has passed out of print. Still, even so, it is recommended if you like the Pablo Casals disc on EMI in which he plays the Bach Cello Suites (the original CD master, not the “restored” version).

I often think about making an edit of this music, wherein the grindy parts are emphasized.

Common - Universal Mind Control

I’m not sure I can make it through this album all the way.  It sounds like spiders are eating into the back of my brain.  I need to hear some Missy Elliott or something else similar that I like, to make sure I’m not coming down with mind-shingles.

The problem is that the mixing/mastering of this music is designed to force us to hear it.  It’s distorted, and as loud as is physically possible.  Just as Mencius asks if there is anything you value more than your life, and just as businesses should recognize that profit is only a desirable second effect of accomplishing a good purpose, musicians should ask if attracting attention at all costs is wise.