Alright, dudes-in-bands, listen up. Fucking school’s in session, and our instructor is Philip Glass. Yes, after more than four decades of making us all exclaim “Why didn’t I think of that!?!?” as we listened in awe to things like singers counting beats and singing sol feg syllables, arpeggios repeating for 13+ minutes, and electronic rock organs, flutes, and violins being used simultaneously on one record, minimalist/process music pioneer Philip Glass will finally be able to slap all casual musicians in the face at once with Glass Box, a 10-disc retrospective of his incredibly dynamic and prolific career.
Said guilt-box, which will include excerpts from Glass' largest and best-known works, such as Einstein on the Beach and Satyagraha, as well as selections from his ensemble pieces and highlights from scores to several films (including The Thin Blue Line, The Hours and The Fog Of War), will be released, with typical aplomb, via Nonesuch September 23.
In addition to making all other musicians feel like drains on society by comparison, Glass Box will also include a 191-page(!) booklet with notes from the composer, archival photos, libretti (uh... lyrics), texts, and appreciations from several colleagues and admirers with whom we’ll never even find ourselves in the same sentence. These include: Paul Simon, David Byrne, Chuck Close, and, oh yeah, Nonesuch Records President Bob Hurwitz. Even Billy Corgan doesn’t know all those people!
Oh, and one more thing... The CDs and booklet are ingeniously packaged in a fucking cube -- yeah that’s right -- that will be covered on five sides with classic images of Glass by Chuck Close, Robert Wilson, Francesco Clemente, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Annie Leibovitz. Oh, what’s that? Your band’s demo comes in a slim-line jewel case? Yeah... mine does too.
