Sound Lounge for Friday 29 December 2017

9:00 Frank Zappa: The Radio is Broken

Frank Zappa Photo: supplied

James Gardner traces a personal path through the vast output and thirty-five year career of composer and guitarist Frank Zappa.

(2) The Central Scrutinizer

Throughout his career Zappa tirelessly and candidly documented in song the behaviour and "folklore" of his many bands as well as contemporary society, often in a highly contentious way. In this episode, James scrutinizes Zappa's gaze and sees how this "anthropological" viewpoint permeates more than just the songs. (RNZ)

10:00 Relevant Tones

Starting From Scratch

Steven Mackey Photo: Kah Poon 2016

This week’s Relevant Tones focuses on composers who have tried to step outside the box, redefine their definitions of music, and start over without limitations. Seth Boustead  examines the works of Alvin Lucier, Chris Preissing, James Tenney, Lou Harrison, and more.(WFMT)

11:00 Best of New Music Dreams

Mono no aware - PAN compilation album Photo: album cover art

The loose meaning of Mono no aware is "the pathos of things" or "an empathy towards things".  This compilation from Berlin experimental label PAN explores and stretches the concept of "ambient" music and posits it as a commentary of modern technology .