Another big week - lots of themed pieces and others - all made for some great listening this week.  The random number generator picked out these pieces for me to listen to:

Kavin Allenson
gubner GoodHair - Strong percussive beat with guitar accompaniment.  A video game-like undercurrent in the
rhythms. A good mix of contrasting elements. 

Steve Moshier
Scraps - Low swoops of glowing electric tones - a sort of aurora borealis in music.

J.C. Combs
Swan Song (feat. the GOP) - An actual political discussion.  Speeches by the Repiblican hopefuls but it does not
inspire much hope...  Now a low whirring.  Are we still on earth?  Hard to tell from the political dialogue.  (Beam me
up Scotty - no sign of intelligent life here...)   A piece that is certainly on-theme.

Kevin Macneil Brown
Little Dobro on the Big Prairie - Open, expansive guitar sounds - a bit like Kavin's music.  Quiet, but it does evoke
wide open spaces.  

Shane W. Cadman
Piece110411 - Electronic melody - light a bright light in your face at night.  Mysterious, other-worldly.  Develops a
nice counterpoint by 1:40 - smooths out again at 2:30 and comes in for a smooth landing.  Simple but memorable.

Kevin Martin
Apokalupsis (St. John on Patmos) - Not an idyllic island setting!  Lots of electronic sounds here, strange and space-
like.  Perhaps a meteor shower or some other cosmic display is inspiring St. John? 

Johnny & faith
The Degrading Of Women And Eating Animals - A busy sound - percussion, now birdlike sounds.  Voices  announce the title.  A series of distant chirping sounds. Forces a certain reflection on the state of our society...

Norbert Oldani
Mother Courage - Good to hear some German singing!  Norbert translates - a sort of cynical soldiers song as they
go off to battle.  Must date from the first world war.  A cheery sort of black humor, but all the more shame for us who
do nothing about the fighting now.

Jim Goodin
The Human Dichotomy of the Failure of Political Struggle - A sad lament unwinds from the strings - a sort of political blues.  Well-played...  The failure of political struggle must, of necessity, lead to revolution.

Bruce Hamilton
gargle ritual - A low humming/buzzing that changes pitch with faint vocalise.  A convincing musical realization of
exactly what the title says, yet it evolves to a sort of chant-like solemnity.  A zen finish.  Morning will never be the
same... 

Joel Sutton & Benjamin Smith (mix Steve Layton)
Dream Pairing - Spooky mix of syncopated horn-like sounds with keyboard riffs weaving in and out.  The sense of
being trapped in a dream is here expanded by the addition of Ben's piano.  These parts work well together.  Well-
crafted.

Richard Sanderson
Divided Country - A low humming sound, gradually increasing in volume, now varying in volume and timbre slightly. 
Harmonics are added to the drone by 3:00 and the effect is like watching a series of colored flames. At 4:20 there is
an abrupt change - now a much higher pitch hovers over the lower drones - the components  fading away as the
piece ends.  Interesting.

Jeff Duke
Dreams of Times That Never Were  - Dreamy yet chime-like - we are watching shards of glass tumble gracefully
above us in slow motion.  A warm and restful wash - too short!

James Ross
Vapor Trails (Drone and Exploration II) - Another fine exposition of a drone evolving from a clean tone to harmonics,
partials and melody.  Restful and reflective - another beautiful piece from JR.

Roger "ErocNet" Sundström
Just Talking - Lush opening chords with a strong melodic component.  A feeling here of longing for things far away
and long ago.  Too short!

Steve Moyes
This Song Is Not Oligarchical - Distortion rules!  Perhaps a commentary?  Like the famous painting: "This is not a
pipe..."  On theme!

Benjamin Smith
Ben.improv.Nov.3.2011.a - Disconcerting at the opening - an uncomfortable melody jangles along rising in tension
as the tempo increases.  By 2:00 there is a noticeable undercurrent below that adds to the uncertainty.  A sort of
musical representation of what happens to that hour we are gaining by setting our clocks back.  

Chris Vaisvil
No Right or Wrong in Music - Some pithy remarks - The chords are firmly struck,  reminding one of a harpsichord
that has been amplified.  Nice series of progressions leading to a laid back, relaxed feeling at about 4:00.  More
solemn by 5:00. Seems to have had an impact on those listening.


Some Non-Random Thoughts

Just one more week to send in a piece to Roger Sundstrom for his '111111' project.

Thanks to Richard Sanderson, Roger Sundstrom and Steve Layton for including my 'Soft Siren' in their mixes this
week.  Thanks also to everyone who had a good word for it on FB.

Don't forget to send out some Tweets tagging IF and your music - 200 milllion users are out there!

Here in the US we are setting our clocks back one hour - use it to create something!

See you next week!