Jim O'Rourke (musician)
Encyclopedia
Jim O'Rourke is an Irish-American musician
and record producer
. He was long associated with the Chicago experimental
and improv
scene. Around 2000 he relocated to New York
before moving on to Tokyo
, Japan
where he currently resides.
.
He has released albums of jazz
, noise
, electronica
and rock music
. O'Rourke has collaborated with Thurston Moore
, Derek Bailey, Mats Gustafsson
, Mayo Thompson
, Loren Mazzacane Connors
, Merzbow
, Nurse with Wound
, Phill Niblock
, Fennesz, Organum
, Henry Kaiser
, Flying Saucer Attack
, and in 2006 mixed
Joanna Newsom
's album Ys
. In 2009 he also mixed several tracks on Newsom's follow up Have One On Me
.
He has produced albums by artists such as Sonic Youth
, Wilco
, Stereolab
, Superchunk
, Kahimi Karie
, Quruli
, John Fahey
, Smog, Faust
, Tony Conrad
, The Red Krayola, Bobby Conn
, Beth Orton
, Joanna Newsom
and U.S. Maple
. He mixed Wilco
's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
album and produced their 2004 album, A Ghost Is Born
, for which he won a Grammy Award
for "Best Alternative Album". During the recording of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, O'Rourke collaborated with Wilco member Jeff Tweedy
and pre-Wilco Glenn Kotche
under the name Loose Fur
. Their self-titled debut
was released in 2003 with a follow-up in 2006 entitled Born Again in the USA
. He also mixed the unfinished recordings that made up a planned third album by the late American singer-songwriter Judee Sill
, recorded in 1974 and mixed by O'Rourke for a 2005 release.
O'Rourke was once a member of Illusion of Safety, Gastr Del Sol
(with David Grubbs
) and Sonic Youth
. Beginning in 1999 he played bass guitar
, guitar
and synthesizer
with Sonic Youth
, in addition to recording
and mixing duties with the group. He withdrew as a full member in late 2005, but continues to play with them in some of their side projects.
In the early 1993, O'Rourke formed an avant-rock group with Darin Gray
and Dylan Posa called Brise-Glace
. The band released one studio album, When in Vanitas..., in 1994. They also released a 7" in the same year titled In Sisters All and Felony/Angels on Installment Plan.
O'Rourke has also released many albums under his own name on a variety of labels exploring a range of electronic and avant-garde styles. His most well-known works may be his series of releases on Drag City
, which focus on more traditional songcraft: Bad Timing (1997), Eureka
(1999), Insignificance
(2001), and The Visitor
(2009). The titles of these albums all refer to films by the British director Nicolas Roeg
; the first three by direct reference to film titles, the last being titled after a fictional album within Roeg's film The Man Who Fell To Earth
.
With music director Takehisa Kosugi
, he played for the Merce Cunningham
dance company for four years.
In 2001, he was awarded a grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Grants to Artists Award.
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. He was long associated with the Chicago experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
and improv
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
scene. Around 2000 he relocated to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
before moving on to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
where he currently resides.
Biography
O'Rourke is an alumnus of DePaul UniversityDePaul University
DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
.
He has released albums of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, noise
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
, electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
and rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
. O'Rourke has collaborated with Thurston Moore
Thurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label...
, Derek Bailey, Mats Gustafsson
Mats Gustafsson
Mats Olof Gustafsson is a Swedish saxophone player and a stalwart on the Scandinavian free jazz scene. He is known for his tonal belligerence and intensity when improvising....
, Mayo Thompson
Mayo Thompson
Mayo Thompson is an American musician and visual artist best known as the leader of the avant-garde rock band Red Crayola .-1960s:...
, Loren Mazzacane Connors
Loren Mazzacane Connors
Loren MazzaCane Connors is an American experimental musician who has recorded and performed under several different names: Guitar Roberts, Loren Mazzacane, Loren Mattei, and currently Loren Connors...
, Merzbow
Merzbow
is the main recording name of the Japanese noise musician , born in 1956. Since 1979 he has released in excess of 350 recordings.The name "Merzbow" comes from German artist Kurt Schwitters' artwork, "Merzbau”. This was chosen to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk art aesthetic...
, Nurse with Wound
Nurse with Wound
Nurse with Wound is the main recording name for British musician Steven Stapleton. Nurse with Wound was originally a band, formed in 1978 by Stapleton, John Fothergill and Heman Pathak...
, Phill Niblock
Phill Niblock
Phill Niblock is a composer, filmmaker, videographer, and director of Experimental Intermedia, a foundation for avant-garde music based in New York with a parallel branch in Ghent, Belgium.-Biography:...
, Fennesz, Organum
David Jackman
David Jackman is a British musician and visual artist with an extensive catalogue of drone works, mostly as the principal — and often sole — member of Organum....
, Henry Kaiser
Henry Kaiser (musician)
Henry Kaiser is an American guitarist and composer.Recording and performing prolifically in many styles of music, Kaiser is a fixture on the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. He is considered a member of the "first generation" of American free improvisers.-Biography:His grandfather was the...
, Flying Saucer Attack
Flying Saucer Attack
Flying Saucer Attack was an experimental space rock band that formed in Bristol, England in 1992. David Pearce was the core member of the group, and Rachel Brook was a member for most of the band's lifetime....
, and in 2006 mixed
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
Joanna Newsom
Joanna Newsom
Joanna Newsom is an American harpist, pianist and singer-songwriter from Nevada City, California.- Early life :Newsom grew up in the small town of Nevada City, California...
's album Ys
Ys (album)
Ys is the second album by Joanna Newsom. It was released by Drag City on November 14, 2006 to widespread critical acclaim. The album was named after the city of Ys, which according to myth was built on the coast of Brittany and later swallowed by the ocean...
. In 2009 he also mixed several tracks on Newsom's follow up Have One On Me
Have One on Me
Have One On Me is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Joanna Newsom, released on February 23, 2010 via Drag City as the official follow up to the harpist's highly acclaimed second studio release, 2006's Ys...
.
He has produced albums by artists such as Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
, Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
, Stereolab
Stereolab
Stereolab are an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting team Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes...
, Superchunk
Superchunk
Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, consisting of singer/guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Jon Wurster. Formed in 1989, they were one of the bands that helped define the Chapel Hill music scene of the 1990s...
, Kahimi Karie
Kahimi Karie
Kahimi sings in English, French, and Japanese with whisper-like vocals.-Albums:* 1997 - Larme de crocodile * July 15, 1998 - K.K.K.K.K. * May 24, 2000 - Tilt...
, Quruli
Quruli
is a popular Japanese music group formed in 1996. As of March 2007, the lineup consists of Masashi Satoh and Shigeru Kishida. Their music is produced and distributed by Victor Entertainment.- Career :...
, John Fahey
John Fahey (musician)
John Fahey was an American fingerstyle guitarist and composer who pioneered the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument. His style has been greatly influential and has been described as the foundation of American Primitivism, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the...
, Smog, Faust
Faust (band)
Faust are a German krautrock band. Formed in 1971 in Wümme, the group was originally composed of Werner "Zappi" Diermaier, Hans Joachim Irmler, Arnulf Meifert, Jean-Hervé Péron, Rudolf Sosna and Gunther Wüsthoff, working with record producer Uwe Nettelbeck and engineer Kurt Graupner.-History:Faust...
, Tony Conrad
Tony Conrad
Tony Conrad is an American avant-garde video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician/composer, sound artist, teacher and writer...
, The Red Krayola, Bobby Conn
Bobby Conn
Bobby Conn is an American musician based in Chicago, Illinois, known for his pop-rock. He often collaborates with other artists such as musicians Colby Starck and Jim O'Rourke, and film-maker Usama Alshaibi. In 2003, Conn produced a session for UK punk band The Cribs, whom he met when they were a...
, Beth Orton
Beth Orton
Beth Orton is a BRIT Award–winning English singer-songwriter, known for her 'folktronica' sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit and the Chemical Brothers in the mid 1990s. However, these were not Orton's first...
, Joanna Newsom
Joanna Newsom
Joanna Newsom is an American harpist, pianist and singer-songwriter from Nevada City, California.- Early life :Newsom grew up in the small town of Nevada City, California...
and U.S. Maple
U.S. Maple
U.S. Maple was an American noise rock band. The group formed in Chicago in 1995. The band consists of Al Johnson , Mark Shippy , Pat Samson , and Todd Rittmann — who banded together with the intent of becoming the deconstructionists of rock and roll.-Formation and first single:U.S...
. He mixed Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is the fourth album by Chicago-based rock band Wilco. The album was completed in 2001, but Reprise Records, a Warner Music Group label, refused to release it. Wilco acquired the rights to the album when they left the label. In September 2001, Wilco streamed the entire album...
album and produced their 2004 album, A Ghost Is Born
A Ghost Is Born
A Ghost Is Born is the fifth studio album by Chicago-based alternative rock band Wilco. Released on June 22, 2004, it features singer Jeff Tweedy on lead guitar more than any previous Wilco album...
, for which he won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for "Best Alternative Album". During the recording of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, O'Rourke collaborated with Wilco member Jeff Tweedy
Jeff Tweedy
Jeffrey Scot "Jeff" Tweedy is an American songwriter, musician and leader of the band Wilco. Tweedy joined rockabilly band The Plebes with high school friend Jay Farrar in the early 1980s, but Tweedy's musical interests caused one of Farrar's brothers to quit...
and pre-Wilco Glenn Kotche
Glenn Kotche
Glenn Kotche is an American drummer and composer, best known for his involvement in the band Wilco. He was named the 41st greatest drummer of all time by Gigwise in 2008.Prior to working with Wilco, Kotche released a four-track album...
under the name Loose Fur
Loose Fur
Loose Fur is an American rock band comprising Wilco members Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche, and Wilco collaborator Jim O'Rourke. The trio first convened in May 2000 in preparation for a Tweedy performance at a festival in Chicago. Tweedy was offered the opportunity to collaborate with an artist of...
. Their self-titled debut
Loose Fur (album)
Loose Fur is Loose Fur's first album, released on January 28, 2003.-Track listing:All music by Loose Fur.# "Laminated Cat" – 7:18# "Elegant Transaction" – 6:15# "So Long" – 8:59...
was released in 2003 with a follow-up in 2006 entitled Born Again in the USA
Born Again in the USA
Born Again in the USA is Loose Fur's second album, released on March 21, 2006.-Track listing:# "Hey Chicken" – 3:02# "The Ruling Class" – 3:35# "Answers to Your Questions" – 4:58# "Apostolic" – 2:48# "Stupid as the Sun" – 2:33...
. He also mixed the unfinished recordings that made up a planned third album by the late American singer-songwriter Judee Sill
Judee Sill
Judee Sill was an American singer and songwriter. The first artist signed to David Geffen's Asylum label, she released two albums, then worked briefly as a cartoonist before dying of drug abuse in 1979.Her eponymous debut album was released in late 1971 and was followed around eighteen months...
, recorded in 1974 and mixed by O'Rourke for a 2005 release.
O'Rourke was once a member of Illusion of Safety, Gastr Del Sol
Gastr del Sol
Gastr del Sol was a Chicago band consisting, for most of their career, of David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke. Between 1993 and 1998 they put out seven albums ranging in genre from post-rock to musique concrète....
(with David Grubbs
David Grubbs
David Grubbs , guitarist, pianist, and vocalist, was a founding member of Squirrel Bait, Bastro, and Gastr del Sol. He has also played in Codeine, The Red Krayola, Bitch Magnet and The Wingdale Community Singers....
) and Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
. Beginning in 1999 he played bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
with Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
, in addition to recording
Recording
Recording is the process of capturing data or translating information to a recording format stored on some storage medium, which is often referred to as a record or, if an auditory medium, a recording....
and mixing duties with the group. He withdrew as a full member in late 2005, but continues to play with them in some of their side projects.
In the early 1993, O'Rourke formed an avant-rock group with Darin Gray
Darin Gray
Darin Gray is an American musician and composer based in Edwardsville, Illinois. He is best known for playing bass in St. Louis' Dazzling Killmen, and with Jim O'Rourke in Brise-Glace and on O'Rourke's solo albums....
and Dylan Posa called Brise-Glace
Brise-Glace
Brise-Glace was a 1990s instrumental avant-rock "supergroup" composed of Jim O'Rourke , Darin Gray , Dylan Posa , and Thymme Jones ....
. The band released one studio album, When in Vanitas..., in 1994. They also released a 7" in the same year titled In Sisters All and Felony/Angels on Installment Plan.
O'Rourke has also released many albums under his own name on a variety of labels exploring a range of electronic and avant-garde styles. His most well-known works may be his series of releases on Drag City
Drag City (record label)
Drag City is a Chicago-based independent record label. It was established with a Royal Trux release in 1990 in Chicago, Illinois by Dan Koretzky and Dan Osborn.Drag City specializes in experimental indie rock acts...
, which focus on more traditional songcraft: Bad Timing (1997), Eureka
Eureka (Jim O'Rourke album)
Eureka is an album by American musician Jim O'Rourke. It was released on Drag City in 1999. It is named after the 1984 Nicolas Roeg film of the same name. It is one of three albums recorded by O'Rourke that are named after Roeg films....
(1999), Insignificance
Insignificance (Jim O'Rourke album)
Insignificance is an album by American musician Jim O'Rourke. It was released on Drag City in 2001. It is the third of three albums recorded by O'Rourke to be named after films by Nicolas Roeg, and features Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche of Wilco .-Reception:The online music magazine Pitchfork Media...
(2001), and The Visitor
The Visitor (album)
The Visitor is the third studio album by the British progressive band Arena, released in 1998. It is a concept album.-Track listing:# "A Crack in the Ice" – 7:25# "Pins and Needles" – 2:46# "Double Vision" – 4:25# "Elea" – 2:36...
(2009). The titles of these albums all refer to films by the British director Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Jack Roeg, CBE, BSC is an English film director and cinematographer.-Life and career:Roeg was born in London, the son of Mabel Gertrude and Jack Nicolas Roeg...
; the first three by direct reference to film titles, the last being titled after a fictional album within Roeg's film The Man Who Fell To Earth
The Man Who Fell to Earth (film)
The Man Who Fell to Earth is a 1976 British science fiction film directed by Nicolas Roeg.The film is based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, about an extraterrestrial who crash lands on Earth seeking a way to ship water to his planet, which is suffering from a severe drought...
.
With music director Takehisa Kosugi
Takehisa Kosugi
is a Japanese composer and violinist associated with the Fluxus movement.Kosugi studied musicology at the Tokyo University of the Arts and graduated in 1962....
, he played for the Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
dance company for four years.
In 2001, he was awarded a grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Foundation for Contemporary Arts
Foundation for Contemporary Arts , originally known as Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, is a nonprofit based foundation in New York City founded by artists Jasper Johns , John Cage, Elaine de Kooning and others in 1963. FCA offers financial support and recognition to contemporary...
Grants to Artists Award.
Work in films
- He worked as a music consultant for the 2003 film, School of RockSchool of RockSchool of Rock, also called The School of Rock, is a 2003 American musical comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, written by Mike White, and starring Jack Black...
. - The song "Happy Days" was featured in the Harmony KorineHarmony KorineThe story is told from the perspective of a young man suffering from untreated schizophrenia, played by Ewen Bremner, as he tries to understand his deteriorating world. Julien's abusive father is played by Werner Herzog...
film, Julien Donkey-BoyJulien Donkey-BoyJulien Donkey-Boy is a 1999 independent drama film written and directed by Harmony Korine. The screenplay concentrates on the schizophrenic Julien, played by Scottish actor Ewen Bremner, and his dysfunctional family. The film also stars Chloe Sevigny as Julien's sister, Pearl, and Werner Herzog as...
. - He scored the 2002 film Love LizaLove LizaLove Liza is a 2002 tragicomedy film directed by Todd Louiso and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Jack Kehler, Wayne Duvall, Sarah Koskoff and Stephen Tobolowsky. The film inspired the song "Benzin" by Rammstein.-Plot summary:...
, directed by Todd LouisoTodd LouisoTodd Louiso is an American film actor and film director best known for his role as timid record store clerk Dick in High Fidelity, opposite Jack Black and John Cusack. Other supporting roles include School For Scoundrels. Louiso directed his first film in 2002, the acclaimed Love Liza with Philip...
. - He has also scored films by Werner HerzogWerner HerzogWerner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner...
, Olivier AssayasOlivier AssayasOlivier Assayas is a French film director and screenwriter.He made his debut in 1986, after directing some short films and writing for the influential film magazine Cahiers du cinéma.-Career:...
, Shinji AoyamaShinji Aoyamais a Japanese film director, screenwriter, composer, and novelist. He graduated from Rikkyo University. He won two awards at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for his film Eureka.-Biography:...
, Koji WakamatsuKoji Wakamatsuis a Japanese film director who directed such pinku eiga films as and . He also produced Nagisa Ōshima's controversial film In the Realm of the Senses...
and others. - His own short films have been part of the 2004 and 2006 Whitney BiennialWhitney BiennialThe Whitney Biennial is a biennale exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973...
and the 2005 Rotterdam Film Festival. - His first three full-length albums for Drag CityDrag City (record label)Drag City is a Chicago-based independent record label. It was established with a Royal Trux release in 1990 in Chicago, Illinois by Dan Koretzky and Dan Osborn.Drag City specializes in experimental indie rock acts...
are named after three successive films by director Nicolas RoegNicolas RoegNicolas Jack Roeg, CBE, BSC is an English film director and cinematographer.-Life and career:Roeg was born in London, the son of Mabel Gertrude and Jack Nicolas Roeg...
: Bad Timing: A Sensual ObsessionBad TimingBad Timing is a 1980 British film directed by Nicolas Roeg, produced by Jeremy Thomas.-Plot:In Vienna, a young American woman in her twenties is rushed to the emergency room after apparently overdosing. With her is Alex Linden, an American psychiatrist teaching in Vienna...
, EurekaEureka (1984 film)Eureka is a 1983 film, directed by Nicolas Roeg. It is the story of a Klondike prospector, Jack McCann who strikes it rich, yet ends up fearing that his daughter Tracy and his son-in-law are scheming to take his wealth and his soul; moreover, greedy investors are also hunting McCann's...
, and InsignificanceInsignificance (film)Insignificance is a 1985 motion picture drama/comedy directed by Nicolas Roeg, produced by Jeremy Thomas and Alexander Stuart, and adapted by Terry Johnson from his play of the same name. The film is set in 1954, with most of the action taking place in a hotel room in New York City...
. His fourth Drag City album, The Visitor, is named for an album that appears within Roeg's The Man Who Fell to EarthThe Man Who Fell to Earth (film)The Man Who Fell to Earth is a 1976 British science fiction film directed by Nicolas Roeg.The film is based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, about an extraterrestrial who crash lands on Earth seeking a way to ship water to his planet, which is suffering from a severe drought...
, recorded by the film's protagonist Thomas Jerome Newton. - He scored Kōji WakamatsuKoji Wakamatsuis a Japanese film director who directed such pinku eiga films as and . He also produced Nagisa Ōshima's controversial film In the Realm of the Senses...
's 3-hour long film United Red ArmyUnited Red Army (film)is an award-winning 2007 film written, directed and produced by Kōji Wakamatsu. It stars Akie Namiki as Hiroko Nagata and Go Jibiki as Tsuneo Mori, the leaders of Japan's leftist paramilitary group the United Red Army...
in 2007.
Partial solo discography
- The Visitor (Drag CityDrag City (record label)Drag City is a Chicago-based independent record label. It was established with a Royal Trux release in 1990 in Chicago, Illinois by Dan Koretzky and Dan Osborn.Drag City specializes in experimental indie rock acts...
2009) Dedicated to Derek Bailey. - Corona / Tokyo Realization (Columbia Music EntertainmentColumbia Music Entertainmentis a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as . It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK Columbia trademarks in 1931. The company changed its name to Nippon Columbia Co., Ltd. in 1946. It used the Nippon Columbia name until...
2006) Japan only release. Dedicated to Tōru TakemitsuToru Takemitsuwas a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu possessed consummate skill in the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre... - Mizu No Nai Umi (vector7/ HEADZ54 2005)
- I'm Happy and I'm Singing and a 1, 2, 3, 4I'm Happy and I'm Singing and a 1, 2, 3, 4I’m Happy, and I’m Singing, and a 1, 2, 3, 4 is an album by American musician Jim O'Rourke. It was first released on Mego in 2001.-Track listing:#"I'm Happy" #"And I'm Singing" #"And a 1, 2, 3, 4"...
(Mego 2001) - InsignificanceInsignificance (Jim O'Rourke album)Insignificance is an album by American musician Jim O'Rourke. It was released on Drag City in 2001. It is the third of three albums recorded by O'Rourke to be named after films by Nicolas Roeg, and features Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche of Wilco .-Reception:The online music magazine Pitchfork Media...
(Drag City 2001) - Halfway to a Threeway EPHalfway to a ThreewayHalfway to a Threeway is an EP by American musician Jim O'Rourke. It was released on Domino Records in 1999 and Drag City in 2000.-Track listing:#"Fuzzy Sun" – 2:34#"Not Sport, Marital Art" – 6:51#"The Workplace" – 7:42#"Halfway to a Threeway" – 4:14...
(Drag City 1999) - EurekaEureka (Jim O'Rourke album)Eureka is an album by American musician Jim O'Rourke. It was released on Drag City in 1999. It is named after the 1984 Nicolas Roeg film of the same name. It is one of three albums recorded by O'Rourke that are named after Roeg films....
(Drag City 1999) - Bad Timing (Drag City 1997)
- Happy Days (Revenant RecordsRevenant RecordsRevenant Records is a record label based in Austin, Texas, which concentrates on folk and blues. Revenant was formed in 1996 by John Fahey and Dean Blackwood...
1997) - Terminal Pharmacy (Tzadik RecordsTzadik RecordsTzadik Records is a record label based in New York City specialising in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by the eclectic composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995; Zorn is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases...
1995) - When in Vanitas... (Skin Graft 1994)
- Rules of Reduction (Metamkine 1993)
- Remove the Need (Extreme RecordsExtreme RecordsExtreme Records is an Australian based record label.The label was founded by Ulex Xane, and initially specialised in underground experimental and industrial cassettes...
1993) - Scend (Divided Records 1992)
- Disengage (StaalplaatStaalplaatStaalplaat is an independent record label that is located in Amsterdam with a separate store in Berlin. Created in 1982, the company's mission was created as a sound forum for sound artists, who write and perform new and experimental music...
1992) - Tamper (Extreme Records 1991)
- The Ground Below Above Our Heads (Entenpfuhl 1991)
- Secure on the Loose Rim (Sound of PigSound of PigA significant cassette culture label started in the early 1980s by Al Margolis in New York City. Featuring his projects If, Bwana and Sombrero Galaxy plus a wealth of international artists Sound of Pig released hundreds of original cassettes throughout the 1980s. Also the sound one hears....
1991) - Some Kind of Pagan (Sound of Pig 1989)