#activator

[retrocgads]

UK 1987

[dustedmagazine]

Gerycz/Powers/Rolin — Activator (12XU)

Activator is the third album by percussionist Jason Gerycz, hammered dulcimer-player Jen Powers, and guitarist Matthew J. Rolin. Powers and Rolin are partners as well as collaborators, and often play in entirely improvised duo settings. There is no shortage of underground free folk interplay here. There are also, as they describe them, “song-based structures,” in which melodic themes abound.

“Entrance” begins the recording with a rootsy riff from Rolin with rolled chords from Powers, gradually supplanted by metrically unstable and textural playing from Gerycz. Rolin soon incorporates raga-inflected scales and Gerycz follows with kit-fuls of fills while Powers accentuates upper partials. A gradual slowdown leads into arpeggios and repeated percussion attacks. The original riff returns, but now is savored in the new tempo and then distressed with repeating dissonant intervals from both Rolin and Powers. Bends and harmonics populate the piece’s coda.

“Sun Rays” is a short-form piece filled with chugging beats and a hummable tune. Partway through, it erupts into repeated notes and thunderous drummed punctuations. The balance is a revised version of the opening coruscated with repeated notes. Sometimes, theme-based sections and effusive improvisation are melded into a single piece. The 11-minute long title track is an example of this, with a mid-tempo riff and sustained pitches creating a thematic section that is succeeded by intensely wrought improvisation.

“Ivory '' is a durable long-form piece, probably the best music on Activator. After a melodic guitar intro, repeated intervals from the instrument plus clangorous percussion and thrumming pentatonic patterns glinting on dulcimer blend into a non-Western sounding accumulation. The next section is more placid, pitting a sustained pitch in the percussion against arpeggiations and a dulcimer drone. Then a noise-filled drone is accompanied by overtones and chimes.

The recording closes with “Stasis,” in which a repeated chord progression is treated to placid adornments. Gerycz is a fantastic power drummer, but the hand percussion that he uses here is perfect for the piece’s mood. Its gentle rattling provides a layer of non-metric activity at odds with the solid pulse of the guitar and dulcimer ostinato. “Stasis” ends without fanfare, the music simply stopping at the tail end of a progression. It is an idiosyncratic conclusion, a microcosm of the various twists, turns and surprises on Activator.

Christian Carey

[hgirasol-blog]

[sw5w]

Double-Bladed Lightsaber

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 01:51:03

[nondivisable]

I need to say something and I need y'all to be calm

if it isn't actively bad or harmful, no representation should be called "too simple" or "too surface level"

I have a whole argument for this about the barbie movie but today I wanna talk about a show called "the babysitters club" on Netflix

(obligatory disclaimer that I watched only two episodes of this show so if it's super problematic I'm sorry) (yes. I know it's based on a book, this is about the show)

this is a silly 8+ show that my 9 year old sister is watching and it manages to tackle so many complex topics in such an easy way. basic premise is these 13 year old girls have a babysitting agency.

in one episode, a girl babysits this transfem kid. the approach is super simple, with the kid saying stuff like "oh no, those are my old boy clothes, these are my girl clothes". they have to go to the doctor and everyone is calling the kid by her dead name and using he/him and this 13 year old snaps at like a group of doctors and they all listen to her. it's pure fantasy and any person versed in trans theory would point out a bunch of mistakes.

but after watching this episode, my little sister started switching to my name instead of my dead name and intercalating he/him pronouns when talking about me.

one of the 13 years old is a diabetic and sometimes her whole personality is taken over by that. but she has this episode where she pushes herself to her limit and passes out and talks about being in a coma for a while because of not recognizing the limits of her disability.

and this allowed my 9 year old sister to understand me better when I say "I really want to play with you but right now my body physically can't do that" (I'm disabled). she has even asked me why I'm pushing myself, why I'm not using my crutches when I complain about pain.

my mom is 50 years old and watching this show with my sister. she said the episode about the diabetic girl helped her understand me and my disability better. she grew up disabled as well, but she was taught to shut up and power through.

yes, silly simple representation can annoy you if you've read thousands of pages about queer liberation or disability radical thought, but sometimes things are not for you.

[nando161mando]

[politijohn]

Source

[katsigian]

Changing my belief system from "this is the hill I'll die on" to "this is the hill I'll kill you on" has done absolute wonders for me 10/10 do recommend

[flango87]

FUCK YEAH COLUMBIA UNI STUDENTS!!!!!!

[perrieedwards]

i feel like people are skimming over the uk riots in a way that makes me want to tear my hair out. muslims in the uk are in active danger. immigrants in the uk are in active danger. refugees in the uk are in active danger. people of colour in the uk are in active danger. asian communities in the uk are in active danger. black communities in the uk are in active danger.

there are massive far right riots throughout the country right now and people like fucking elon musk and nigel farage are inciting it and still have a platform to speak. people have used three young girls deaths, people's genuine grief in southport, to try and gain traction for their own racist bullshit and it's working.

a lot of refugee charities have been forced to close leaving many people without support, homes, funding, food, etc. if you aren't able to donate please consider sending a message via the conversation over borders campaign! it will send a hopeful, welcoming letter to a refugee in the uk. there is also a guide to staying safe here.

please do your own research and donate to refugee charities, anti-islamophobia charities, mosques who are trying to rebuild after being destroyed, counter protesters, here are some i've heard positive things about but the list is extensive; southport strong together (support for the southport victims and their families), southport mosque rebuilding, riot repair fund, middlesbrough vulnerable residents, nasir mosque rebuilding, hull help for refugees, bristol welcomes migrants,

[mirkobloom77]

‼️🇵🇸 An activist, who destroyed multiple engine parts of the jets Israel uses, has been released!

🔸 Source: pal_action

[sniperct]

"I live in a red state my vote doesn't ma-"

If your vote didn't matter they wouldn't try so hard to make it harder to vote in red states. Voting in red states can turn them into swing states like Georgia, Ohio, and Arizona. And voting in blue states can keep them from becoming swing states.

California used to be Red. Texas was Blue long ago. Florida was once a swing state. Obama took Indiana but it's gone redder since. Ten years ago Arizona and Georgia going blue was unthinkable.

Things change and we can make them change.

And that's before getting into more local elections. Turning cities blue, the state legislature.

Red states have flipped blue in recent years at those levels too.

Because people vote, and if we vote in high enough numbers we can turn a tight election into a walk in the park. If we vote in high enough numbers, we can turn a loss into a win. So many good things have happened in states where someone won by like 100 votes. (arizona is one)

[fascistsarefreefood]

Daily reminder that we do not actually live in a dystopian movie put the apocalypse down and back away slowly. You know when your cleaning a room and you pull everything out of it's draws to sort through it and you're like "what the fuck have I done I'm never going to be able to tidy all of this" I think that's the stage we're at in the world. Thanks to social media we've pulled out all the messed up shit from the cupboards of the world, it was always there but now we can see it and we're going to have to sort it all out we made this mess and we can fix it. Falling to the floor sobbing will not clean a crusty room. A group of people working systematically (preferably with music in the background) will.

[hgirasol-blog]

[sw5w]

Even Piell and Yoda

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 02:09:15

[oldbutchdaniel]

hey guys if you’re planning on making a vaguepost on the dashboard can you message me with the details and some of the lore behind the vague post you’re making. a vaguepost for the dash and a detailedpost for me. because i like to know what’s going on. if you do this i will automatically take your side because you’ve done the right thing by letting me know what’s up. thanks in advance ❤️