Since my review is, predictably, HUGE, I've broken it into 13 chapters & placed it in my "Writing" section of Goodreads under the name of "Re: Source". The pre-fab categories provided by Goodreads are very frustrating. There's an "Art & Photography" section but not a "Music" one. Instead, there's "Entertainment", wch is what I ironically placed "Re: Source" in. What follows is the beginning of the "PREFACE:" followed by links to each of the successive chapters.

review of
the Larry Austin and Douglas Kahn edited
Source - Music of the Avant-Garde, 1966-1973
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - April 30 - May 27, 2015


PREFACE:

There are 3 main music magazines relevant to my primary musical interests that I don't have any issues of in my personal archive/library. The Henry Cowell edited New Music Quarterly (1927-1936), Benjamin Boretz et al's Perspectives of New Music (1962-present), & Larry Austin et al's Source (1966-1974). I've been reading mention of these publications for 4 decades. Of all of them, Source seems like the most lavishly & imaginatively produced one - perhaps the one closest to my own development. I've managed to see 2 issues of it but never had the chance to read any of them.

Fortunately for people such as myself, the University of California Press has issued a selection of material from the 11 issues of Source as a bk (2011) & Pogus Productions has rereleased all of the six 10" records that originally were a part of these Source issues as a 3 CD set (2008). These are both very affordable & I'm extremely grateful to the publishers for the service they've thereby provided.

"Much as we would have desired to, it would have been impossible to reproduce the full contents of Source, let alone the original format and radical design and production, without creating a prohibitively expensive book. It made no sense to replace one collector's item with another. This has necessarily produced a series of compromises with our original editorial intent. Most obviously, we have not been able to include all those chosen for publication in the eleven issues of Source" - Douglas Kahn, Preface, p xii

The 1st paragraph of Douglas Kahn's Preface begins w/: "Source: music of the avant-garde was a beautifully produced publication of new music scores, essays by composers and artists, statements, interviews, artworks, sound and concrete poems, photo essays, circuit diagrams, instrument designs, event reports, documents, and LP recordings. It appeared in eleven large-format issues from 1967 to 1973, semiannually in runs of two thousand copies" (p ix) One might note that the title of the bk dates the magazine as being from "1966-1973" & that I date it as from "1966-1974". My dating is based on the date that the editor of the final 11th issue, Ken Friedman, signed his Editorial w/: "January 1974" (p 353). Presumably the issue had been compiled by the end of 1973 but, nonetheless, 1974 enters into it. No biggie.

The above quote gives an excellent summary of the scope of Source. What isn't immediately communicated is how forward-thinking, how utterly innovative, Source was. Source was truly "avant-garde" in the sense that enthusiasts for such things hope for. The contributors were very consciously using their imaginations & their analytical capabilities as fully as they were capable of. Source represents a phenomenal amt of paradigm shifting.

All this was happening in the general environment around the University of California at Davis w/o being strictly speaking a direct part of it. Kahn notes that "The arts at the University of California at Davis are often remembered as the visual arts, and for good reason. The Art Department faculty at the time of Source included such notable visual artists as Bob Arneson, Wayne Thiebaud, William T. Wiley, Roy DeForest, Manuel Neri, and their most famous student, Bruce Nauman." (p xi) This immediately resonates w/ me in ways that wd be very obscure to most people. For one, proto-Neoist David Zack heavily promoted a mvmt that he called "Nut Art" (& that, apparently no one else called that) of wch Zack promoted Arneson, Wiley, & DeForest as central members.

In the Istvan Kantor edited Amazing Letters - The Life and Art of David Zack there's a cover of a "Nut Art" catalog (p 97) from California State University, 1972. On the following page (p 98) it's stated that "Roy DeForest's Nut Art Manifesto, dated April 12, 1972, confirms David's principal part in launching this movement." On p 159 there's another Nut Art image. I don't mention these things as a proponent of Nut Art, I mention them as an example of why even more peripheral aspects of the Source environment have sent ripples thru my life: Zack lived w/ me briefly in 1981 & we were correspondents for many more yrs.

Kahn's descriptions of Source's actual physical construction presages my own similarly lavish publications:

"The status of Source as a work of art, however, is exemplified by its remarkable achievements in printing & publishing techniques.

"Perhaps best known, in this respect, was Nelson Howe's Fur Music, which required pieces of synthetic fur to be meticulously cut and glued into each copy. Jogn Cage's 4'33" required pages to be cut off-format, and his Plexigram IV (Not Wanting to Say Anything about Marcel) used screen printing onto a set of transparencies; Dick Higgins's The Thousand Symphonies consisted of pages from "Symphony #585" made by machine-gunning music paper"; and Jon Hassell's MAP2 required a large square of magnetic audiotape fixed into each issue, over which one would move a playback head in not-so-random access. Therefore, there may have been runs of two thousand copies, but each copy was handcrafted. Pages and materials would show up for assembly, collation, and spiral binding at the houses of the editors, where the task would be transformed into a social occasion involving family and friends." - p xi

For people who haven't encountered such lovingly prepared publications, it's crucial to understand that this level of meticulousness & printing-outside-the-box is a prime indicator of the overall philosophical attitude of the Source (& fellow travelers) approach. I was only 12 or 13 when Source started so they were way ahead of me as publishers but I feel it's only fair to provide a list of some of the other rare publications that've lived up to this high standard of labor-intensive creativity & to include my own:

"Fantastic Architecture" - various, edited by Wolf Vostell & Dick Higgins, 1969, Something Else Press, some translucent pages

"Dream Weapon/Aspen No. 9" - Angus & Hetty MacLise, etc, 1970, looseleaf folder, many sized pages & colors, flexi-disc

"t he book / t he referent 4 wch consists of / t he non-materialized transparent punch-outs from a letter/whatever stencil" - tentatively, a convenience, 1977, baggie containing small pieces of paper w/ letters on them, page written on in invisible ink, taped on rectangle of flash-paper w/ hand-written text

"Mike Film Distribution Forms" - Mike Film (tentatively, a convenience), 1978->, individual frames of super-8mm film specially-shaped hand-cut page

"TESTES-3 Broadcast Tapes" - tentatively, a convenience, 1980, Widemouth Tapes, collaged covers & cassette bodies using stickers, newspaper comic fragments, marker, rubber-stamping, typing, ripped paper inserts, etc..

"Signatures: Baltimore Artists' Books Catalogue" - various, 1980, the Merzaum Collective's Desire Productions, assembling including page that can be read differently depending on how a cut-out section is folded, etc..

"Behavioral Drift II; Rugugmool" - Franz Kamin, 1980, Station Hill Press, record jacket w/ spinnable circular transparent wheel w/ images printed on it thread attached to small rectangle inserted into reflective silver cut-out shape

"I only have eyes for you" - Richard Hambleton, 1980, bound human-size fold-out rubber-stamped

"January 1981 : A Painting - a spanner special" - edited by allen fisher, 1981, "comprising 76 sheets thermostencilled onto 38 sheets of waste and scrap paper left over from printing Spanner, Strange Faeces, New London Pride Editions, Aloes Books, I B Held Books, bluff books, Turpin magazine, etc."

Sluggo! The Journal of Disturbing Clues" - various, 1981, textured cover, folded "Rocky VII - The Game of Industrial Collapse!!" gameboard w/ die in small plastic bag

"DDC#040.002 #1" - tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE, 1981, "plenial wer": text with hand-drawn straight lines underlining it cut along lines & wound into a tight coil by taping each section end-to-end - text can then be viewed by pushing on middle of coil to make a cone that shows fragments of text on its outside, etc..

"Neoist Passport" - Monty Cantsin, 1981, tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE, folded blueprint w/ multiple rubber-stampings

"Lightworks #14/15" - edited by Charlton Burch, 1982, "Total Art Matchbook" attached to front cover

"End Paper" - various, 1982, inserts, fold-outs, spectacular color printing

"Scribble Music Sampler" - Franz Kamin, 1982, Widemouth Tapes, cassette J-card w/ assemblage made w/ burns, watch parts, thread, etc..

"Spek 2 & 1/2" - assembling edited by Miekal And & Liz Waz, 1984, Xexoxial Editions, stenciled spray-paint on sandwich ziplock bag containing loose & cut papers w/ hand-drawing, etc..

"DDC#040.002 #3" - tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE, 1985, wrap-around brown leatherette National Geographic cover

"Hagaki Magazine - On Air" - assembling edited by Misao Kusumoto, 1985, small photo album w/ individualized contributions

"Transparent SMILE - Monty Cantsin Performing with White Colours" - Monty Cantsin, 1985, approximately 27 pp; multiple page sizes - no larger than 9 X 12" & no smaller than 1&1/4 X 8"; various colored inks & paints on various materials: mostly transparencies: blue, red, yellow; & clear; nail polish, tape, & cuttings; some white paper; seaweed; hair; rubber-stamping on condom, condom fit over cardboard 'phallus'; assembling magazine; magazine rolled inside 2 litre soda bottle with zippered opening; 2 mailing label stickers on bottle; shipped in shoe boxes

"Film Clips # 2 A Self-Destructing Compilation of Cultural Iconography and Mail Art or The iconoclast's Amanuensis Ingognito" - compiled by Ge(of Huth), 1991, an envelope full of miscellaneous objects including an old key, lunch passes, post-cards, a penny, unusual materials, etc..

"Usic - the square root of -1 = A Plethora of No Longer Neglected Audio/Conceptual Obstacle Courses" - tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE, 1995, Wafer Face Records, 2' X 3' poster printed on both sides in black & light blue ink w/ a pop-up cock, fake cum (hot glue) & rubber stamping

"Valantale" - Franz Kamin, 1999, Norkinshot Press, chapbk w/ small wreath glued to cover

"Air Drop Planes" - tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE, 1997 & 1998, black toner on 8&1/2 X 11" green paper folded into paper planes dropped from small plane

"Anonymous Family Reunion" - Anonymous, fall, 1997, 135 printed surfaces; 4 X 8&1/2"; black toner on multi-colored paper; 5 color photocopies; specially hand-cut edges, attached to the packaging of the vaudeo of the same name

"Street Rat #1" - The Street Rats, 1999, fake fur rat head w/ 'eyes' attached to front, fake fur rat tail attached to back

"Pandora's Box" - various, compiled by etta cetera, 1999, assembling in box w/ slides, elaborate folded object, stale bread in match-box, candy, etc..

"MandRagora" - various, compiled by Pete Coffin, 1999, assembling w/ cut-out & assembled paper, silk-screened fabric sewed to page, spray-painting, velcroed flap, etc..

"Street Rat #2" - The Street Rats, 1999, has envelope in back w/ stickers & CD-R

"Street Rat-Bag #5" - The Street Rats, 2001, car part glued to front from care taken apart & turned into musical instruments, CD of car part instruments being played article re same, rubber-stamping, silk-screening, etc..

"Street Ratbag #6" - The Street Rats, 2002, has cover made from circular graphs from monitoring large bldg complex, etc..

"Mechanically Repetitive / ReRecorded Records RECORD" - tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE, 2008, Dear Skull Records, silk-screened cover, insert cut to look like record falling out of jacket, record w/ 3 holes drilled near center

"HiTEC (Histrionic Thought Experiment Cooperative) "Systems Management"" - tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE & HiTEC, 2009, Encyclopedia Destructica, bk held by surrounding band w/ CD, DVD, & 15 feet of unfolding paper dolls

The above-listed selection of publications w/ major hand-done touches is only a smattering of what's out there. Just about all assemblings, almost all artist's bks, & almost everything published by Pittsburgh's remarkable Encyclopedia Destructica could be listed here. I just picked publications in my own personal library/archive, mostly by friends of mine. The point being that Source is an early example, for me, of a way of publishing that I have the utmost respect for. In my personal chronology of publications that I'm aware of, it earns a provisional "Primacy of idea" award:

""Primacy of idea" became a term we used and an editorial stance with all the Source issues. We wanted to publish new original work, and primacy of idea—who did it first—was important to us. That didn't mean that everything published in Source was the first time it had ever been done, but perhaps the style of the way it was presented suggested that notion. Also, it was in the air, with the development fo electronic instruments and using the computer to make music, plus improvisation with these same instruments and so forth. It implied experimentation and research. We had a dedication to anarchy and the whole notion of being free. In fact, that term was used a great deal. You had to be a free spirit, as it were, in order to be experimental and appreciate the value of the things you discover through these experiments." - Larry Austin, Introduction, p 3

PREFACE: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/399063-re-source?chapter=1

ISSUE NO. 1: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/399063-re-source?chapter=2

ISSUE NO. 2: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/399063-re-source?chapter=3

ISSUE NO. 3: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/399063-re-source?chapter=4

ISSUE NO. 4: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/399063-re-source?chapter=5

ISSUE NO. 5: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/399063-re-source?chapter=6

ISSUE NO. 6: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/399063-re-source?chapter=7

ISSUE NO. 7: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/399063-re-source?chapter=8

ISSUE NO. 8: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/399063-re-source?chapter=9

ISSUE NO. 9: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/399063-re-source?chapter=10

ISSUE NO. 10: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/399063-re-source?chapter=11

ISSUE NO. 11: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/399063-re-source?chapter=12

APPENDIX: https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/399063-re-source?chapter=13 ( )