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hey, it's not that bad. just some extra shredwank from a self-absorbed reviewer who likes to hear himself talk. read many before. ----- Original Message ----- From: <KILLINFO@aol.com> To: <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com> Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2002 9:30 AM Subject: A negative review for 2002 > Hi all, > > Just to show some evidence of fairness and that I am just > as likely to deflate my own party balloon as blow it up. I > thought it might be instructive to share a recent negative > review my CD has gotten. I've passed along a few of the > positive ones from time to time (as I have been pretty > darned pleased to get them) and thought I'd distribute > this one as well. It's really quite funny in it's own way. And > besides, even bad publicity is still publicity -- or so they say. > > Anyway, I have a question for everybody at the bottom of > all of this (should you get there). I'm also including a > "translation" of another review I got from a publication > in Lithuania a while back. > > >-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > -- > > If Terminator 2's evil robot played Morricone-styled guitar to > the accompaniment of loops of questionable tonality, it'd > sound like Ted Killian. Despite the lofty philosophical > statement that graces the sleeve of Flux Aeterna (adorned > with mathematical symbols, natch), this is an album that > wants only to stand in front of an amp stack and wail, > albeit in a slightly mechanical, dystopian way. > > The tunes on this disc are all vaguely soundtrackesque. > For some reason, I was put in mind of the Cronenberg > flick Videodrome while listening; the whole idea of a > disintegrating future, of some kind of technological > breakdown is communicated in these tunes so > successfully that it's difficult to believe that there isn't > a piece of film that goes with them. "Leaving Medford" > is an edgy, angry piece of work, leaving no doubt in the > listener's mind that the future's fucked, and Ted's here > with his newscasting guitar to tell you all about it. > "Cauterant Baptism", on the other hand, uses the > depressive tone to rock out: it begins with some loose > space-cowboy noodling, then turns into a late-Bowie > toned behemoth, with a stomping bassline and searing > guitar that threaten to rip off your ears. Not as truly > astringent as other guitar-wielding noiseniks, Killian > seems to always keep some sense of the tune inside > his world-o'-shred. While this makes you crave more > spark in his playing --occasionally, it can sound more > like he's practicing for the real deal more than experiencing > it -- it's satisfying to have something to hold on to amid the > sonic excursions. > > The propensity for albums like Flux Aeterna to devolve into > nothing more than shredwank isn't entirely sidestepped > here -- there are a couple of moments when one imagines > that Ted's giving Steve Vai a run for his gurning-while-fretboard- > whizzing money -- but thankfully, these instances of cringe > aren't too long-lived when they occur. The weakness with > ambient/experimental guitar tunes is that they can fall > into the "Hey! I've played that in my bedroom before!" trap. > Whether this is a welcome familiarity in the world of > anonymous rock, or merely annoying when you've forked > over money for the disc, is a personal call, but let's just say > that if it's the latter, you might want to give this disc a miss. > That said, it's a strong album -- there are some good ideas > here -- but just don't be surprised if you find yourself digging > out your guitar and an EBow after giving it a spin. > > Luke Martin, http://www.splendidezine.com > > >-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > -- > > A few months ago I got a review from a Lithuanian print > magazine called "Tango" and asked the list if anybody new > a translator. Well, I finally got a translation on my own from an > online outfit. I am still not sure the translation is quite right > because it sounds so darned academic, but here goes... > > >-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > -- > > Linas, Tango Magazine, Lithuania, October, 2001 > > I did not manage to find any additional information on this > musician, so material received previously from pfMENTUM > is the only context in which it is possible to present this > musician and his new work. pfMENTUM is a small record > label based in California and specializing in modern > experimental and extemporaneous music. Tango has > reviewed records of this firm before. From the small > amount of given works, it is possible to make conclusions > and suppose that this work, “Flux Aeterna,” fits into a frame > of aesthetics introduced by this publisher on other occasions. > Like the previous records, it is issued in unique and unusual > packing (even in a box), like the musical concepts it contains, > along with the cryptic motto: "Change equals hope. Hope > equals change." > > It's obvious, that Ted Killian is a musician who has grown > and matured under the influence of the school of effects > (guitar of the seventies and eighties) especially from the > peripheral aesthetic point of view of repetitive minimalism, > plus an extensive musical heritage -- without which musical > (not only guitars) thinking and interpretation would be > impossible -- in electro/acoustic music and urbanized blues. > But, such a generalized set of references certainly doesn't > explain anything to us. Listening to the given work, I cannot > escape being reminded of one persistent idea: It is clear > that not one popular band has survived the speeding > 50-year long evolution of the electric guitar. > > Nonetheless, it is natural that different crumbs of this history > can be found in the vocabulary of any musician who knows > it from experience rather than from second hand. Among > these fashionable musicians we can also rank Ted Killian -- > who's music is vigorous and mysterious with wide and > multi-channeled overlappings designed around electronic > musical effects. Here one can reference such luminaries as > Frank Zappa, Carlos Santana, Robert Fripp and Glenn Branca. > > There is distortion, overloaded "phasing", different from the > electronic effects approaches that which the former bluesmen > have passed on to us, and their aesthetic marks (also well > known: progressive chords and dynamism). Add "Fripertonic" > overlappings of sounds and feedback, a minimized figure of > a rhythm and "ostinatic" motifs and you have a formula for the > next plan. All this is easily read, without claims and is a result > of "converging" music with original Ted Killian characteristics > and an exacting feeling of the form --all-in-all, worthy of note -- > and I actually recommend listening to this modern guitar music. > > >-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > -- > > So, here are two reviews -- one more or less negative and one > more or less positive --and neither one of these guys really > seems to understand what he's listening too -- or at least neither > one really seems to understand what caused the music to be > made in the first place (me). Did I make a mistake in being rather > stingy on the liner notes? Should I have said more? Not that it really > matters -- the CD is still something I'm pretty proud of. I continue > to be astonished that it has gotten any attention at all. > > Given the recent thread concerning the idea that we might > (or might not) take some time to explain ourselves and our > techniques and/or concepts to an audience before a performance > how does one go about handling liner notes? The press kit that > went out with my CD had more info about the label pfMENTUM > than about me. Was that a mistake? It's not the reviewer's fault > that I'm a somewhat unknown entity. But I'm also neither a wannabe > bedroom shredmeister nor an academically trained composer/ > musical philosopher. Both are way off from my point of view... > and pretty substantially to boot. Is this sort of thing unavoidable? > > Anywho, thanks for your time. > > Ted Killian >