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Never heard one thing from him that truly grabbed me, despite his involvement in many things that I enjoy. My latest attempt is his laptop record "I'm Happy, and I'm Singing", which Pitchfork claims is one of the "top 50 IDM records of all time". Instead I'm hearing a middling avant-garde pastiche, which has nothing to do with IDM in any shape or form, making me angry at both Conde Nast and Jim.

The late '90s pop records, Gastr, and stuff where he channels Fahey are enough to make him NC. Glitchy/serialist/tape music doesn't really hold my attention but it ain't hurting anyone either.

Fan of Gastr del Sol, don't mind the albums he recorded/played on/etc. with Sonic Youth, and love the two albums he produced for U.S. Maple.

NC

NC. I really like many of the records that've emerged under his name, and I admire a great deal of his recording & support work with other musicians.

I'm not a big fan of Happy, Singing, though, and its placement in a list supposedly about the most air-quotes genre of all time doesn't make a bit of sense, but that was Pitchfork for you.

I've never really been troubled by the preconception that someone who turns their effort to a broad span of styles of music must be inherently inauthentic, although I can appreciate how it might appear in a wider context of many guys who put out 17 iffy albums a year. I've never felt that overptodyction schtick is his thing.

Joshua Minsoo Kim's interview with Jim in Tone Glow is really interesting if you're even slightly curious about him.

For someone I've been listening to intently for about 25 years, I'm not sure what I'd introduce someone with. I think probably Sleep Like It's Winter or The Visitor, or the Brise-Glace LP.

Gastr stuff is always interesting.

I also love: Bad Timing (very Fahey), Insignificant, and Eureka albums. His collaboration with Jeff Tweedy, Loose Fur has some excellent songs. He's a very funny lyricist. I think he saved SY from late career stagnation.

Not crap. To me he's always been an artist rather than a musician, if that makes sense, in the same way Wire has always said they were artists whose medium was music. Some of his stuff is good, some not to so good. I saw him open for Nobukazu Takemura in the 90s, and it was a good set. He's done some great remixes and his work with SY and Stereolab are first rate.

Love Gastr and the Keiji Haino/Jim O'Rourke/Oren Ambarchi albums. Really like Xylophonen Virtuosen with Mats Gustafsson, his soundtrack work like United Red Army, and his work with Eiko Ishibashi. Some of the Drag City solo albums are fine. I pay attention to what David Grubbs is doing more, but O'Rourke is not crap.

Insignificance is a masterpiece. Just based off that, you have a NC but then you add Gast’r and other solo work.

Also love that he just basically said “i’m done” and walked away. sold all of his instruments. gonna go be a hermit.

he’s always one step ahead of us.

I'm only familar with some of hiis recording/producing work, which I like. NC for that I guess.

akosinski wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2025 8:30 pmAlso love that he just basically said “i’m done” and walked away. sold all of his instruments. gonna go be a hermit.

Unless I missed something (haven't heard an interview from him since 2020.. some lockdown series with Ken Vandermark) he stays active in Japan. It's not guitar stuff though.

To a greater point yeah he probably could have stuck around producing Interpol records or something but he went in a different direction.