Bagatellen

Bagatellen, who I've only mentioned in passing, has a hilarious review on Sean Meehan's Sectors (for Constant), which has sparked a great discussion on approaching art as something different than what we perceive. Few magazines out there allow their readers to comment on their criticisms and those who avidly read Bagatellen are as adept as its writers. This is something I wish more magazines would do. "Letters of the Editor" have already lost steam by the next issue and if there's a response from the writer, it's left there as the definitive end. Then you have magazines like Pitchfork that have completely removed reader response; thus, erradicating any check power. It only reaffirms what forced authority they exert and that's dangerous. Discussion on art is not a dead stop but a continuous, meandering, and annoying conversation.

So I raise my cup to Bagatellen and hope that others will follow suit.

Tonight I'm missing Wolf Eyes in Atlanta, noise's unlikely free-form poster-boys, as I have no money. Not surprisingly enough, that money was spent on records at Agora:
+ Paul Bley/Bill Connors/Jimmy Giuffre- Quiet Song [Improvising Artists]: The softer size of free-improv.
+ Keith Jarrett- The Koln Concert [ECM]: Often considered one of his best. I'm still getting into him, personally, but Jarrett apparently improvised the entire concert, so that intrigues me.
+ Gary Burton/Chick Corea- Crystal Silence [ECM]
+ Anthony Braxton w/Muhal Richard Abrams- Duets 1976 [Arista]: Mainly picked it up for "Composition 40B" and their take on Eric Dolphy's "Miss Ann."
+ Ralph Towner/Gary Burton- Matchbook [ECM]: Classical guitar meets vibes. I've been meaning to pick this up since I first heard Ralph Towner's solo record Diary.