Chelsea Light Moving: Frank O'Hara Hit / Burroughs

I'm about a week late with this, but wanted to share not one but TWO songs from Thurston Moore's new musical project, Chelsea Light Moving. The line-up of the new band consists of Keith Wood (Hush Arbors), Samara Lubelski (Jackie-O Motherfucker) and John Moloney (Sunburned Hand Of The Man) and Thurston, channelling a heart that is, in his own words, "broken and blessed at the moment". After string-led subdued solo outings last summer, the introspective evaluations have morphed into crashing bolts of bright electricity; voices raised, heads in the sky, summoning the past, present and future, calling out, "We are the third eye of rock 'n' roll".

Download new song 'Frank O’Hara Hit' here (and read Thurston's introductory letter about the influences that led to it), and stream 'Burroughs', the first offering from the band, below.

http://chelsealightmoving.blogspot.co.uk/

Thurston Moore - Benediction

I was trying really hard to avoid another Sonic Youth-related post so soon after my last, but this song has fully taken over a small spot in my brain and isn't moving out any time soon.

'Benediction' is the first song to be leaked from Thurston Moore's new solo record, Demolished Thoughts, produced by Beck (check them out 15 years ago looking moody on the cover of Crossbeat):

Beck & Thurston in '96

A finger-picked introduction leads to a simple acoustic track with sweeping strings and a plucked harp, laced with heartbreaking grace and affection. As the title hints, there is a heavily religious essence to the song, with mentions of "Thunder demons swipe her halo / and then they run away", and "With benediction in her eyes /  Our dearest gods are not suprised". The lyrics carry the sentiments of gratitude, security and pleasure, but with suggestion of a devouring relationship; possibly with faith, possibly with a partner, but one that urges a level of caution to both sides, warning "you'd better tie your lover down, tie him to the ground... I know better than to let you go".

You can download the track now over at NPR. Demolished Thoughts will be out on the 23rd May (I can't wait).

Zine: Afterzine

Image from the Afterzine site.

I was on a book search last week in the Tate Modern book shop, and came across the first issue of new zine Afterzine. With a stark, black and white cover design and promises of submissions from the likes of Thurston Moore, Noma Bar and Peter Saville (the graphic designer responsible for many of the Factory Records' album sleeves, including the iconic Unknown Pleasures), it was an intriguing find and was hastily purchased (for the pretty OK price of  £9 ($10), considering that it's more like a thin book than your usual photocopied 12-pager).

In true magazine tradition, Afterzine's first release has a theme; all content circles the notion of 'Negative Space', which in itself is quite an all-encompassing subject and a good jump off point. As the cover image suggests, some contributors chose to look at the negative space that can be found in sound (Thurston waxes lyrical about what it means to be a "true black metal warrior"), while others opt to delve into the theme within imagery, short stories or conceptual writing. A few submissions are stronger than others; Alexa Chung's underwhelming snapshots awkwardly raise the question that maybe her inclusion is more reliant on who she is rather than what she can do. But all content is beautifully laid out, presented as sharp images and neat text on a simple white or black background, each given the freedom to breathe and to be fully absorbed by the reader. My favourite pieces include the '10 Spines' photographs by Jessica Pigza, documenting the spines of rare books in the New York Public Library, with well-observed accompanying text, and a short tale by Andi Teran, entitled 'The Space Between Lines'. Lucy Martin's 'Negative Space Roundographs' are also stunning.

Image from the Afterzine site.

With a limited run of 1000 copies, this zine is likely to be snapped up pretty quickly, so be sure to order a copy now. And if you need any more encouragement, Afterzine also promises to donate $5 to the Red Cross in support of their Japan disaster relief efforts from every purchase made from this link, so you can do some good whilst treating your retinas to some magnificent imagery and ideas.