James Jackson Toth (better known by his nom de plume, Wooden Wand) and MAGNET go way back. We’ve been rabidly following his prolific, genre-eschewing career over the last decade: 100-plus records and counting, from short run seven-inches and handmade CD-Rs to major releases on some of the world’s most respected indie labels, including Kill Rock Stars, Ecstatic Peace and Young God, covering everything from the freakiest of folk to the most American rock ‘n’ roll money can buy. We’ve been lucky enough to have him as guest editor of magnetmagazine.com a couple of other times over the years, and he’s hooked us up with great mix tapes and been a constant source of great discussions about music. Toth will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new Q&A with him.
Toth: No matter how much of a trainspotting nerd you are, there is always something new to discover. Having been a big (if not slavish) fan of dark prog weirdos Van der Graaf Generator for several years, and having digested all of the agreed-upon “good” albums, I was finally ready and eager to discover some of Peter Hammill’s solo work. I consulted my friend Graham Lambkin, resident Hammill expert (and something of a musical genius himself; see his recent Amateur Doubles LP on his Kye imprint), who sent me a long annotated list of albums to check out. These solo albums quickly supplanted my favorite Van der Graaf Generator records, and I played them constantly for weeks on end (just ask my long-suffering wife, who’s not as big a fan). Favorites are his “divorce” record Over (devastating), his “rock opera” Nadir’s Big Chance (imagine Ziggy Stardust for people with subscriptions to The Wire) and the wildly experimental, staggering genius of A Black Box (a must for anyone for whom the last three or four Scott Walker albums have just been too darn “commercial”).
Video after the jump.
