Xenogenesis Suite and other links…
Floyd Webb let me know about a musical tribute to Octavia Butler called “Xenogenesis Suite” by Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble. You can listen to (and perhaps purchase) the low-res preview (M3U) tracks at the official Firehouse 12 web site. In case you are too “lazy” (like me) to establish yet another trust relationship, you can use your Amazon.com credentials to pick up the tracks for 10¢ more.
The Black Earth sound on this project reminds me very much of Max Roach’s woman singing in Garvey’s Ghost, The B52’s girl vocals of Rock Lobster and the non-objective strophes from Cecil Taylor’s Unit Structures. The tracks that stand out for me are “Oankali” and “Adrenalin.”
Unknown Hinson
This hick ghoul character Unknown Hinson is the starring voice talent in my Adult Swim favorite squidbillies. This cartoon is the comedic arm of a certain genre of American Art that I have no (flattering, academic) name for… but it is led by luminaries such as Michael Stipe, David Lynch, Harmony Korine and William Eggleston. One could dismiss Adult Swim cartoons as work done by largely domesticated suburban kids who earnestly regard themselves as rebellious (this includes The Boondocks as well) fascinated with metro-sexual scatology and (literally) cartoon violence. What sets squidbillies apart (and Dr. Steve Brule), is that it is packed full of real rebels—real old rebels—you know: self-deprecating Confederate Flag rebels.
I could tell by the voice acting and the music that the producers of this show have high-resolution, intimate depth in whatever the hell they are focused on… What I am saying is that it does not matter what the subject of focus is—you can always communicate how well you know it—even to people who have no idea what you are looking at… What the hell is a truck-boat-truck? I don’t know. All I know is that shit is funny!