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May 2000

Tape-beatles Inspire Works of Art, Feverish Activity in Belarus

20.05.2000 / Pressing another ball-headed tack into a map of the world that represents the current state of the Tape-beatles ‘empire,’ consummate anti-imperialists The Tape-beatles gleefully announce that we have at least one devotee in (former Soviet republic of) Belarus. And such a ‘phan’ as this we have never seen the ilk!

As testimony, a visit to Dmitri Kolesnik’s The Egg and We, a ‘personal webzine dedicated to all sorts of experimentalism in music,’ reveals the screaming headline (transliterated) — PLANDERFONIYA - REKOMBINATSIYA - PLAGIARIZM — beneath which unfurls a new Russian translation of the mysterious document Good Times: A Play by C. This text, which appeared among the liner notes in the booklet that comes with the CD of the same name, appears in English here. Our college Russian lessons, having receded some fifteen years into the distance, are not of much help to us in evaluating the quality or accuracy of the translation — but announcing the fact that such a thing exists is surely pleasure enough for us.

Following the translation of the play is (apparently) a review or description of the kind of work we do, interspersed with Russian translations of quotations from other commentary on our work, many of which have appeared on this web site previously.

Beyond that, we take further pleasure in a digital ‘painting’ by Kolesnik entitled KOLLAZH that has been done using source material from this web site, as well as from our printed work. This ‘painting’ has also been posted to The Egg and We web zine.

Read the translation and other material (in Russian).

Visit The Egg and We ‘veb-sayt.’

View the digital ‘painting’ ‘KOLLAZH’.

17.05.2000 / ‘The Grand Delusion’ Re-issue Reviewed. Richard Fontenoy of the UK web site FREQ has informed us that a review of our latest release, the re-issue of 1993’s The Grand Delusion, will soon be posted (if it is not already). What follows is the last paragraph, which deals with the 20 minutes of new material that can be heard on the re-issue—

‘[…] As a bonus, the CD is repackaged with twenty minutes of material from the same sessions, oddly entitled "15 Minutes In Search Of Peace", as a coda to and recapitulation of the original album — appropriate given its subtitle Synthety No.3. These pieces are perhaps even more disorienting in their collages of rhythm and spatchcocked samba symphonics, and verge from the mockingly stirring to the stutteringly down-home and regurgitively noisy. The Grand Delusion is really quite a heavy listen sometimes, as befits its subject, but stands up substantially in its own right as a landmark of plunderphonics too.’

The review appears at the FREQ site in the Reviews section.

Of course, you can purchase the CD from this site.

McLemore Responds to new Tape-beatle ‘short subject’

16.05.2000 / In keeping with well-established Plagiarist® dicta, The Tape-beatles never ask. In the words of one local guru, ‘It is better to seek forgiveness than ask permission,’ or as Lloyd likes to paraphrase it, ‘if you don’t ask, they can’t say “no”.’ This is the situation we have created for ourselves, over and over, even as we looked down up on our shoe tops like bad school boys. We look down at such a steep angle in a vain effort to hide our smug, self-satisfied smiles.

But southern gentleman John B. McLemore didn’t mind our using his correspondence as the main subject matter for our recent new ‘short subject’ Re: Disk Rot (see below). In fact, it might be appropriate to truck out the old cliché ‘pleased as punch’ to describe his feelings on the matter, as detailed in the letter that follows:

Well I just finished viewing the exciting world premiere of Disc Rot [sic], the new film by the Tape Beatles [sic]. It was so exciting, that an encore performance was needed to meet the demand for this rousing performance.

As you know, I went through the house with my .357 Magnum a few years back, and shot out all of the Televisions (as well as doors and windows). So this house has been TV free for nearly %?? %?? 5 or 6 %?? %?? [sic] Years or whatever.

(So he took the tape I sent him over to a friend’s house to watch it. -Ed.)

I don’t know if TV advertisements have gotten stupider since they changed my Pine Sol, but it certainly seems so. Unfortunately I had to endure an agonizing episode of 90210 (first I have ever seen of it), and apparently it is the finale of this long series of soap operas centering around these girls screwing these guys. AGONY.

I hate to be so self centered, but the McLemore/Tape Beatles [sic] presentation on disc rot may be one of the most exciting films I have ever seen. Certainly more interesting by far than the Terminator or Fight Club.

Actually, the film was less light hearted than I thought it would be, and it was nice to see all of the beer bottles (and Altoids for when you have had too much beer) laying around your house. A rare glimpse into the private life of perhaps one of the most influential persons involved in Experimental Music of this century [sic!!].

I was honored to be a part of this presentation.

(signed) McLemore

PS: The background music from Kill the King was most appropriate for the suspenseful ending!

New Short Subject — ‘Re: Disk Rot’

2.05.2000 / One of the consequences of having a mail box and being generally connected to the outside world with wires and other physical objects is that the occasional listener or ‘phan’ will trouble himself to contact you. Sometimes this is — shall we say charitably — less than pleasant or illuminating. Other times, it can open up hitherto unforecast worlds of extravagant thinking.

Falling somewhere in between those two extremes was the phone call we got from Green Pond, Alabama’s John B. McLemore. An antique clock restorer by day, by his own estimation, he owns 3000 compact disks. He is not an entirely satisfied customer, having documented all manner of decompositions that CDs undergo under various, often modest and ordinary, conditions.

McLemore was kind enough to send us his ‘10 greatest hits’ of disk rot. You can see us go over them one by one in a new short subject by The Tape-beatles entitled Re: Disk Rot.

Watch the film Re: Disk Rot by The Tape-beatles.

1.05.2000 / Another ‘Good Times’ Review appears. George Parsons, writing in the latest issue of Dream Magazine, has this to say about our most recent release of all-new material:

My favorite work yet by this Iowa outfit. Wider range of subject matter, but still conceptually cohesive. The worker in the jaws of Corporate ‘America,’ remanipulating the plastic terror masks, childrens’ voices, Brimstone croaking, trip-hop, personally I could live to be 99 and die happy, never hearing Oliver North’s voice again, but, it works in its segment, as always their choices of source material are remarkable; Edward Teller, Rappers explaining stuff, Andrew Carnegie, lots of ad-speak, sweeping musical waves, drama, space, tension. Deprogramming the programming, jamming cultural consciousness, mondo movie violence, all quite hypnotic in living STEREO! This is bleeding-radio sonic bliss. ‘Thoroughly aroused.’

[DREAM Magazine, P.O.Box 2027, Nevada City CA 95959; geo@main.gv.net]