Two For Flinching : Neil Hamburger and Irmin Schmidt & Kumo

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

That would have made a perfect motto for Two For Flinching if someone hadn't gone and stuck it on The Statue of Liberty. At any rate, for this installment of TFF, I'm going to go a little highbrow/lowbrow, with little regard for delicate sensibilities or emotional wellbeing.

Neil Hamburger - Neil Hamburger Sings Country Winners



The nation's foremost purveyor of anti-humor is back and wearing a new hat, a cowboy hat, actually. Love him or hate him, Neil Hamburger has decided it's high-time he gave country music a try and the result, Neil Hamburger Sings Country Winners (available from the fine folks at Drag City) is sure to alternately delight and annoy. Hamburger has enlisted some talented friends to bring his unique take on country music to life, namely The Tubes drummer Prairie Prince, Dieselhed bassist Atom Ellis and guitarist Dave Gleason. In addition to the tasty Hamburger originals, Sings Country Winners also includes a handful of dubious covers including, the late John Entwistle's Thinkin' It Over and American Music Club's The Hula Maiden. On a personal note, since entering a state of cohabitation with my ladyfriend, it has been pointed out several times (often loudly) that I do not understand the rules of recycling. For anyone who shares in this struggle, as well as anyone else who could care less, I offer Hamburger's helpful The Recycle Bin.

Irmin Schmidt & Kumo - Axolotl Eyes

If you know the name Irmin Schmidt, you're likely at least a casual fan of krautrock. Of course, if you don't know your Can from a hole in the ground, you might assume Irmin Schmidt was a good accountant or actuary. Axolotl Eyes (available July 22 from Spoon/Mute) finds master improviser Schmidt again working with soundscaper and Professor of Popular Music at the Köln Musikhochschule, Kumo (aka Jono Podmore). Whereas their 2001 collaboration, Masters of Confusion, was designed to be performed live, Axolotl Eyes is intended to take full advantage of the studio as an instrument unto itself. This allowed Schmidt and Kumo to push the limits of their sampling and editing techniques without concerning themselves with reproducing the pieces in a live setting. If you're intrigued, I'm including Raketenstadt, a piece notable in that the entire rhythm section has been cobbled from an old audio cassette that (former Can roadie) Uli Gerlach made while inspecting a Stuttgart auto plant's assembly line. That's way better than a drummer, right? And for anyone who makes it through Axolotl Eyes unscathed, the package also includes a DVD of the duo's 2001 sound installation Flies, Guys and Choirs; perfect for entertaining children during the hot summer months.

And as usual, I'm not saying it's good or bad, I'm just sayin'...

Irmin Schmidt & Kumo - Raketenstadt
Neil Hamburger - The Recycle Bin

See Also:

Two For Flinching : mr. Gnome and Free Kitten
Two For Flinching : Mr. Lonely and Colin Stetson

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