Morton Subotnick
RECOMMENDED
A founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center, Morton Subotnick released what ranks as the first commissioned work for synthesizer in 1968 with his “Silver Apples of the Moon for Electronic Music Synthesizer.” Issued as a single song, split into two sides, Subotnick layers enough sound atop sound to arrive at a wobbly electronic exposition serving to inform a spate of modern-day oscillator jockeys. During the two sides of his record, specific themes become readily apparent, if not utterly unstable and fleeting. Similar to classical music from the second half of the twentieth century, Subotnick’s work encompasses all the qualities Alex Ross deems necessary for new music. Listening to “Silver Apples,” the first time or the fiftieth, assigning each pitched sound some sort of personality or associating it with a specific kind of instrumentation becomes unavoidable. While the composer, associated figures from SFTMC, and eventually Mills College faculty were busy extricating those new sounds from an array of influences including hippie culture and San Francisco’s general scruffiness, most other performers on the bill for the Neon Marshmallow Festival were being swaddled or a decade-plus away from being born. Joining Subotnick, who headlines Sunday’s bill along with the likes of jazz-noiseniks Tiger Hatchery, are dissimilar groups like Los Angeles’ Lucky Dragons and Pelt, which soldiers on in the wake of Jack Rose’s death a few years back. Adding in DJ sets by folks like John McEntire and some visual art, the Neon Marshmallow Fest might out-stripe the overpriced and overcrowded Pitchforks of the summer. Of course, difficult music, skirting pop song craft doesn’t sport as wide a fan base, but that’s why such congregations are necessary and important. (Dave Cantor)
June 10-12 at the Empty Bottle, 1035 North Western, (773)276-3600, 7pm. $25-$70
Related Stories
- What’s Lost Is Profound: A Preview of Ryley Walker at The Empty Bottle Most of the tracks from Dave Matthews’ unreleased album have long been accessible online, and it’s revelatory to hear, for instance, Walker’s more nuanced take on “Grace Is Gone,” the rhythmic sophistication and jazz-infused sax line he brings to “Big Eyed Fish,” and his hauntingly beautiful vocals on “Grey Street."
- Way Beyond Cool: A Preview of Music Frozen Dancing at Empty Bottle Empty Bottle’s "Winter Block Party” is either absolutely insane, or brilliant staking out a currently-unoccupied bit of calendar for the years when global warming has turned our traditional music-festival months up to broiler-oven temps, leaving February as a warm reminder of what Chicago summers used to be.
- Riding a Wave of Buzz: A Preview of U.S. Girls at Empty Bottle This could be the last chance to catch indie contender Meghan Remy at a midsize club like the Bottle, as her growing buzz and sound will inevitably bring her to larger venues.
- Pop-Rock Redux: A Preview of Charly Bliss at Empty Bottle The story is, the band recorded its debut album twice: first as a scrappier indie-rock record, then two years later as a maximal pop statement attuned to the sound they’d honed on tour. They’ve edited their material into engulfing sing-alongs that’ll thrill audiences at small clubs (like the Empty Bottle this month), but that wouldn’t be out of place on…
