here are two music writings i did recently for friend and artist cole pierce and his recent mix cd project that he exhibited as part of the vega caucus art show in chicago on the 17th of May. truly it's an excellent mix, two cds. maybe he'll send you one if you ask...the first writing block is what he used for the liner notes and the second is a false start...

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Cole is a good friend and I think this is one of his best mixes. Like a lot of ambient music, it fills a space with feeling rather than hooks and lyrics and meanings. I write this out of experience: sitting in the kitchen grading papers and listening to these CDs over and over again. Later I put them onto my mini-disc (no ipod) and started to walk around with them, but I have to admit they work better at filling a room than a mind. What's strange is that I've never heard most of the musicians on these mixes. That there's this much supremely excellent music out there that doesn't even approach popularity is a comforting thought of what's to come. Now that the world has been discovered, our job, instead of succumbing to cynicism is to connect the disparate pieces that lie on the ground, or pull them out of dumpsters. Our job is not to create but to connect. If you find it easy to say what's on your mind, practice restraint; and if you have a hard time getting comfortable, insist on what you want. We live in a golden age of music.
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Ambience allows for change: the bells outside or a roommate coming home. Any smell could fill the kitchen but there is such a thing as choice. Riding the train with my headphones on I imagine my life as a movie: somebody sees and hears what I see and hear and puts it into context; the back story, but we know there's no one there. I was told once that the only kind of work harmful to a person is mediocre work, work that doesn't care enough to be good or bad. "What is the definition of mediocre?" asked Krishnamurti. Answer: Pushing a rock half-way up the hill. I get angry at people who don't think this is profound. A song can be skipped but let it play. Speak clearly, sit up straight and be ready. It's hard to be ready.