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New Chris Thile...

New Chris Thile album, "Punch"

2/26/2008 8:11:48 AM

Will

625 posts

New Chris Thile album, "Punch"

For Dan and Dave, in case you didn't hear, Chris Thile has a new album out with a newly formed/named group called Punch Brothers, the album is called Punch, and it's not bad, listening to it right now. In stores today, on iTunes. It's pretty different, won't be for everybody.

2/26/2008 10:45:49 AM

davem

402 posts

Re: New Chris Thile album, "Punch"

I read about this in the paper last week. Chris is something else. I look forward to getting the cd.

2/26/2008 12:44:54 PM

Dan

45 posts

Re: New Chris Thile album, "Punch"

I'm planning on getting it in the next couple of days when I get the chance...

Sorry I wasn't there last night, not feeling 100%.

2/26/2008 10:35:59 PM

Will

625 posts

Re: New Chris Thile album, "Punch"
Modified By Will on 2/26/2008 11:36:58 PM)

After listening to it twice today, it's good, if a lot different than I was expecting. It's sort of arranged around a central work, in several movements. It's kinda like a bluegrass string quartet in many respects, as he writes on his website...and feeling empowered to write about that, having written one of those, I'd say sure, I see that, but I'm not convinced the "experimentation" really works for my ears, but that might be because I can hear where he's addressing large scale concert music forms (I don't like to use the term "Sonata Form", since it doesn't ACTUALLY mean anything...I highly recommend "Sonata Forms", by Charles Rosen if you want to learn about the subject, but be warned it's somewhat high level)

So as I was saying, to my ear, he's sort of playing at it being a concert form, but it's a cartoon of one, a wincing smirk of one. I felt like he wasn't taking it seriously. Now that's fine, I mean, why should he? But you can't on the one hand grasp at it to gain a weightier form and use it as a form for being experimental in your usual genre and on the other hand give us a sly wink at it's seriousness. One or the other please, otherwise you're essentially making fun of yourself, or worse yet, us as listener. I would of preferred that he take it seriously, and if you really do with that form (here referring to multiple movement concert works, not sonata-allegro form, commonly associated with the "String Quartet".) you can use the form to link together really disparate ideas and moods into something cohesive. I didn't really feel that link here. Personally, I didn't use that form in my string quartet. Mine really only clues you as to instrumentation, not form. My form is more like a classical fast-slow-fast, which ended up being fast-faster-slow. Instead, in my most recent published work, I used large scale form to link together really really different concepts into a single movement work, like a story arc in a play with many acts. The effect becomes that as you move from section to section, you aren't just responding to the content of each, but also the transitions between them, and by using melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic material between sections, you force the listener to draw parallels between groups of material that otherwise they would not likely of detected on their own. That contrast, that surprise you can gift to a listener is one of the most pleasurable things to encounter as the consumer. I think that had he trusted himself to do exactly that, to trust in the value of it, in that you can take "seriousness" and "fun", and provided you do it right, instead of killing a good time, instead create something seriously fun! Had he tried, I think Thile would of really made something amazing that bluegrass has never seen. And I hope someday he does.

2/27/2008 9:19:22 AM

Dan

45 posts

Re: New Chris Thile album, "Punch"

Since I didn't understand 80% because I"m not big on musical jargon, I simply ask you Will, "Is it a buy?"

2/27/2008 1:38:10 PM

Will

625 posts

Re: New Chris Thile album, "Punch"

I think that depends on how big a fan are you, and are you willing to listen to some seriously non-standard "newgrass". I would say that if either are true, then yes, it's a buy. If you are sorta so-so, and mostly have an interest in traditional form bluegrass, I'd hold off, and perhaps invest in some Ralph Stanley, Allison Krause and Union Station, or frankly, if you're really new to it, just pick up the soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou", which is pretty solid all around. But for me, it's a yes.

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