A Coney Island of The Mind

A manifesto, essay, and discourse on the value of poetic thought in the modern age.

This live album documents the meeting of two avant-garde legends, but it is not exactly a "super duo." The curious chemistry these two share is subtler and possibly more rewarding than that. John Cage was a quotable artist. On the subject of albums, he once remarked that “records ruin the landscape.” Elsewhere, in a treatise collected in his 1961 book Silence, the composer offered some opinions about jazz. The genre “derives from serious music,” he wrote, “and when serious music derives from it, the situation becomes rather silly.” Given those harsh judgments, it makes sense to venture an opening question about Cage’s one-off appearance alongside swing-and-improv icon Sun Ra. If Cage himself thought jazz unsuited for “serious” contexts and recordings lame, why should this document of their 1986 shared bill be anything other than a curiosity?

Barry Manilow's "This Is My Town: Songs Of New York" is a musical montage with all the sights and sounds of a great city. It's filled with different styles of music: Pop, Easy Jazz, Broadway type songs, early Rock n Roll, a little R&B and a little Funk. The album paying tribute to his hometown of New York City featuring original songs & classics. Includes 'Coney Island, 'NYC Medley'. 'On The Roof' & more, plus a 'virtual' duet with Mel Tormé.