duf davis + the book club
"Shut Up and Detune Your Guitar"(OE015)
People kept asking me, "Duf, when are you going to put out your weird fucked up stuff?" and I said, "When I become
desperate for attention." Actually, no one ever asks me about my music, but I really am desperate for attention.
1. Joan Crawford --click for MP3
2. Another Day of Living
3. Subotnick
4. Breetworld
5. I'm Not Obsessed --click for MP3
6. Timing Problem
7. Banjo Tune
8. My Balls Hurt So I'm Going To Off Myself
9. California California
10. Slowly I Turned On The Way To Glory
11. The Sophist
12. Meryl Streep
13. Off Color Remark
the players:
duf davis
chris breetveld
tim korzun
ben
now how about some reviews!
DUF DAVIS & THE BOOK CLUB - SHUT UP & DETUNE YOUR GUITAR
A US based band coming out of New Jersey, consisting of 4 players, who have
ceated something extremely unusual. When you read the title, you don't
normally assume that the band in question would mean they will literally
tune their guitars off kilter on purpose, but in fact that's exactly where
we're headed.
The album works for the most part, surprisingly well, throwing in the
occasionally, properly tuned melody such as the highlight here, "I'm Not
Obsessed". Additionally, there are other tracks which come across with some
strangely addictive melodies, perhaps drawing you in because of the unusual
structure of the sound.
It's a difficult description to make, but the general style revolves around
an off key note, which is run along the various keys & played in the
general acoustiv style. It may sound a little weird, but it mostly works a
treat, pick of these being "Another Day Of Living". If you're curious,
check this rather unusual & experimental approach to music out.
Bye for now, Terry Allen
hEARd Magazine
c/o 128 The Entrance Rd
The Entrance
NSW 2261
Australia
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~hmag
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hmag@ozemail.com.au
DUF DAVIS + THE BOOK CLUB
Shut Up And Detune Your Guitar [CD]
Princeton’s awfully legendary Duf Davis has purportedly had a lot of people
ask him lately, "Hey Duf, when are you going to put out your weird fucked-up
stuff?" The answer is this totally, near-instrumentally marvelous "Shut Up
And Detune Your Guitar" disc. Like some subterranean half-hour "Wild Honey
Pie" medley (which reminds me: Where’s that "Duf Davis Sings The Fireman"
or vice-versa!! -- album??), this collection of self-described "weird
dissonant acoustic guitar" music runs the gamut from severely alt-country
("Banjo Tune") with, I duff you not, a dash of bluegrass, Raymond
Scott-style ("Off Color Remark") to folk ("California California" is no
less than a sequel to John Hartford’s good ole "California Earthquake")
and even p-o-p, dammit ("Breetworld" is as much Lindsey Buckingham as it
is veteran Book Clubber Chris Breetveld). Only the tres-silly "Slowly
I Turned On The Way To Glory" limps dangerously towards uber-pretentious
King Crimsonery but luckily there’s just enough wholly-Jandek-worthy
corkers nearby ("Timing Problem" and "The Sophist," most notably) to
keep things rooted on some sort of deliciously uneven keel. Maybe
THAT’S why all the people at the record store Duf works in have responded
to "Shut Up" as they haven’t to not a single one of the man’s previous
releases. Hmmm. Is there something in the water up Princeton way then?
No. I just bet people are getting tired of hearing bunches of guitars
that are IN tune. Finally.
[The Galactic Recording Co., 51Grover Avenue, Suite 13-A, Princeton, NJ
08540] [duf@orangeentropy.com]
(Gary Pig Gold)
Duf Davis & The Book Club - Shut Up And Detune Your Guitar
Princeton’s Duf Davis has made an area reputation with sharp, edgy folk-punk songs, but here he offers a program of instrumentals
played on a 12-string guitar, detuned for maximum dissonance.
Davis is able to get a remarkable variety of colors, rhythms and harmonics form his instrument. Each of these 13 tracks stands
distinct from the others and none is so long that it wears out its welcome.
Sure, this may not be the album to give to your grandmother to help her understand today’s disaffected young people. But it might a
cool thing for your purple-haired nephew, just to let him know punk isn’t as simple as it looks sometimes.—-Peter Spencer(NJ Star
Ledger)
Duf Davis & The Book Club - Shut Up & Detune Your Guitar———A mixture of instrumentals and slightly folky pop songs. A bit off
kilter at times and rather homemade sounding, but nowhere near as weird as I thought it might be judging by the other Orange Entropy
releases I've heard. Sometimes the instrumental stuff gets a little repetitive but overall it's not bad.—Kim Harten (Aquamarine)
DUF DAVIS "Shut Up And Detune Your Guitar" (CD), "I Hate People...No Exceptions" (CD) Two different approaches on these discs.
The first features weird guitar tunings beaten into oddball songs and instrumentals.Very nice,out of tune sounding pieces.Imagine Harry
Partch as a modern day folk singer with a pleasing voice.The other disc runs out on the field with some rocky moments of sarcasm
combined with grabby hooks.Going,going,gone. (Don Campau)
Duf Davis & The Book Club(Shut Up & Detune Your Guitar) There is not a bad thing I can say about Duf Davis' Shut Up and Detune
Your Guitar. Mostly an intrumental album, keeping his singing to tasteful minimalism, Duf Davis some how creates melodic Elliot
Smith like hamonies on a detuned acoustic. The key here is detuned. He totally throws away the concept of A440 standard pitch and
the world of alternate tunings, in favor of more random off the hook and straight outta the pawn shop tunings. Beautiful every step of
the way, the album was over before I knew it. Duf can do no wrong.---Jason Sprague
Duf Davis and the Book Club, Shut up and detune your guitar (Orange Entropy) CD
As anyone who's ever thrashed aimlessly around on their flatmate's battered old
acoustic guitar knows, it's possible to make some beautiful sounds without ever
tuning a guitar. Unfortunately, it's also possible to make a lot of horrible
noise, the kind of horrible noise that makes the squeals of a sensitive cat
being sodomised by a randy donkey appear positively serene. Sadly, the latter
is more common than the former. What Duf Davis manages to do here is extract
the unchords that work together in some strange way and abort most of the
unlistenable clangings. The result is like a gentle, folkish Jad Fair wandering
around the hypnotic ripple and pulse diasporas created by Pram.
r/+eb
Duf Davis + the Book Club
Shut Up and Detune Your Guitar
(Orange Entropy)
The title does have some bearing on the sound of the album. The guitars
are acoustic, and they're not always immaculately tuned. In fact, they're
often used to a jangly ukelele effect. It works. I mean, I can't really
believe it, but this sometimes utterly bizarro strumming thing really
works. Vocals or no, the songs manage to convey some truly intense messages.
In fact, the non-lyric-bearing songs are rather more intense. Alright,
this isn't Jim O'Rourke picking, but actually, the disorienting effect
is in the same ballpark. The sometimes less-than-tuned guitars can get
spooky, and certainly, the sound can get violent. Really, I mean that.
There's some heavy stuff here. It just keeps burbling out. Davis says he
only releases this stuff to satisfy his need for attention. Well, the
songs deserve it. This is wacked stuff, sure, but vital in its rage.
Betcha never heard acoustic guitars sound so menacing.
Jon Worley
Aiding and Abetting
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