Viggo Mortensen's Spoken Word & Music CDs (original) (raw)

CDs (MUSIC & SPOKEN WORD) (any opinions expressed are those of the site owner or the person credited)

TITLE

CONTENTS

1991 Audiotape (1991)

Out of Print

Summary: Long before he released any of his great spoken word CDs, Viggo spent an afternoon at the old Iguana Cafe in North Hollywood, reciting his poetry into a tape recorder, while being nagged by friend Duke McVinnie. Viggo then took his 'master' recording home and ran off copies onto cassettes, which he sold and gave away at his poetry readings. He and his then wife, Exene Cervenka, created the j-cards for these TDK cassettes. There were never more than a couple dozen of these made. (notes taken from an eBay sales blurb, please report any inaccuracies from our Contact Page). Thank you!

Total running time: 40 min. Tape is one-side only and contains 26 poems. (thanks to mrdxcld for providing the contents)

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Don't Tell Me What To Do (1993/4)

Out of Print

Summary: The collaborative effort of writer/performer Viggo Mortensen and the Duke McVinnie Band. A three-ring circus of poetry, music and mayhem recorded and mixed by Theo Mondle during a live broadcast of Liza Richardson's MAN IN THE MOON on KCRW.

originally available at mp3.com, new version of this page has a VM section but no downloads or CDs yet

T-shirts were available until recently at www.actionbox.com/viggo.html but this site has not been reachable for some time

ONE : Extinct/"The Boy who cried wolf..."/"Swaddled in stitched ten spots..."/"The moon rises..."/"She turns against her beauty..."/"The friction that takes away a little bit of sound..."/"She wanted a place..."/"After the flower bath..."/"Your terms are dressed..."/"Don't be bitter..."/"His & Hers" (7:01)

TWO: Post-mortem/Return/Just Coffee/"Angeleno"/Halloween (6:55)

THREE: Otro/Letter From Nebraska (2:27)

FOUR : "You are sure of yourself..."/"They are good tears..." w/Home/"You are sweating in your sleep..."/"You are retaining your placenta..." w/"They roll over on the swells..."/Second Opinion/"Hummingbirds dart, sip..."/Tulip/"At the Dark End of the Street" (8:10)

FIVE: Don't Tell Me What To Do/Kaerlighed/"One Morning"/Ontario/Remain/"Grey Eyes"/El Desconocido/Git Along Ruthie/Pissed Off Mailbox (17:32)

SIX: Business over/"Vista Blues"/Nine/Show/Chucko (7:10)

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Myth:Dreams of the World (1996)

Out of Print

Tape available at bn.com, search "books" under Janet Reinstra, the producer

One Less Thing To Worry About (1997)

Out of Print

ONE LESS THING TO WORRY ABOUT spoken word, songs and music with X's Exene and D.J.Bonebrakeand Buckethead on bass and guitar (from TDRS)

1997 - Lightning Creek, Inc. 1999 - TDRS Music (CD) out of print & hard to find

Spoken word poetry, songs, and music featuring X's Exene Cervenkova, Dj Bonebrake, and Buckethead on guitar and bass.

Players: Ahmed Abdullah, Andy Armer, D.J. Bonebrake, Brigit, Buckethead, Exene Cervenkova, Margaret Comer, Travis Dickerson, Danny Krieger, Luck, Duke McVinnie, Henry Mortensen, Viggo Mortensen, Sara P. Smith.

Produced by: Soundwaves. Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered by: Travis Dickerson. Designed by: Viggo and Travis. Cover Photo by: Pieter Lessing. All Other Photos and Artwork by: Viggo Mortensen.

Instruments: Air, airplanes, bass guitar, bells, birds, Buckethead guitars, cardboard boxes, ceilings, ceiling fan, clarinet, coffee machine, cups, dog, dog collar, doors, drums, floors, glasses, handsaw, harp, knuckles, lectern, motorcycle muffler, organ, papers, pencils, phlegm, phones, piano, pillows, sea, sheetmetal, Spanish guitar, spoons, sprinklers, tapwater, trombone, vibes, violins, walls, wheelchair, windows, wind, and improper use of any and all recording equipment, personnel, and technology.

Recent Forgeries (1997/8)

(CD with book)

New Yorker Out Loud Volume 2 (1998)

Out of Print

[Spoken Word] Various Artists - Miscellaneous Audio CD (December 8, 1998); Original Release Date: December 8, 1998; Polygram Records

Disk One

Disk Two

The Other Parade (1998, 2003)

Out of Print

The Other Parade The Other Parade is a collection of mood altering sound experiments. With Buckethead, Exene, D.J.Bonebrake, and others. CD $10 (Perceval Press blurb)

1999 - TDRS Music

Reprinted 2003- Perceval Press [liner notes in Japanese!]

Recording Studios: Tracks 1,2, 4-8 recorded live at Viggo's, Venice, CA. Tracks 3 and 9 recorded live at Travis', Chatsworth, CA.

Production: Edited, mixed and mastered at Travis Dickerson Recording Studios by Travis, Viggo and Buckethead. Produced by Viggo Mortensen.

  1. Death of a Dentist (2:30)

  2. Massage School (4:31)

  3. Trouble at the Launchpad (4:12)

  4. Strike at the Wig Factory (5:05)

  5. The Other Parade (8:15)

  6. Room for Nine (2:47)

  7. Dream of the See-Saw Repairman (3:30)

  8. Night in an Animal Hospital (3:52)

  9. ... 3, 4 ...(5:03)

The Players: Buckethead: guitar, bass, robot, weeping, shuffling; DJ Bonebrake: drums, chorus, vibes, ropes, telephone, marimba, vocals; Exene Cervenka: guitar, chorus, flags, dog chorus; Brigit: vocals; Sarah P. Smith: trombone, chorus, plastic flute, vocals; Hank C. Mortensen: piano, drums, thread, chorus; Travis Dickerson: hammond organ, woodpile; Zak Marmalefski: guitar, chorus; Viggo Mortensen: motorcycle muffler, drill, chorus, percussion, keyboard, wheelchair, vocals, drums, xylophone

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One Man's Meat (1999)

Out of Print

(November) 1999 - TDRS Music (CD)

An exploration of meat and meat by products conceived and performed by carnivores and vegetarians, for consumption by all. A collaboration of music, poetry, noise, and silence by D. J. Bonebrake, Buckethead, Exene, Travis Dickerson, Adrian Esparza, Lysa Flores, Zak Marmalesfsky, Hank Mortensen, Viggo Mortensen, Pilar Perez, and Donita Sparks. (TDRS)

The Players: Brigit (his dog!), Buckethead (also plays guitar on track 10), D. J. Bonebrake, Exene Cervenka, Travis Dickerson, Adrian Esparza, Lysa Flores, Zak Marmalefsky, Hank Mortensen, Viggo Mortenson, Pilar Perez, Donita Sparks

Recording Studios: Recorded live at Track 16 Gallery in Santa Monica and at TDRS Dec. '98 and Jan. '99 Track 10 recorded at Viggo's in Venice, California, and tracks 15 and 17 recorded at Travis Dickerson Recording Studios

Production: Mixed and mastered by Travis and Viggo at Travis Dickerson Recording Studios. Produced by Travis Dickerson

  1. Birth (1:13)

  2. Barbecue Kingdom (3:21)

  3. Counting Calories (1:16)

  4. Inner Beauty (6:19)

  5. Go Bad (:54)

  6. One Man's Meat (2:09)

  7. Holy Communion (2:26)

  8. Koughka (1:06)

  9. Products (:29)

  10. Chicken Surgery (2:04)

  11. To Market (:16)

  12. Africa (:37)

  13. Carne De Nino (1:01)

  14. Joe (:19)

  15. Jack's Box (:38)

  16. Bette Davis, 1962 (:45)

  17. Fortune Cookies (8:18)

Artwork: Artwork and photography by Viggo Mortenson, Design by Ellen Wakayama, Artwork photographed by Bill Short

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Live At Beyond Baroque (1999)

Out of Print

Published: 10/99; Co-published with: Beyond Baroque Books; Distributed by: SmartArtPress.

Recorded live at Beyond Baroque literary space in Venice, California, on March 4th, 1999, this lively CD features readings by Viggo Mortensen, Exene Cervenka, Tom Patchett, Karen Finley and Jerry Stahl.

Poems / Music

Bedtime Story for Henry Chaco Clear Edit For Sandy Dennis Hillside Home Isadore Demsky Keepsake Matinee

Available through Smart Art Press http://www.smartartpress.com

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Spoken Word Revolution (2003)

Published: 2003

Summary: slam, hip hop & the poetry of a new generation; edited by Mark Eleveld with introduction by Billy Collins (a U.S. poet laureate)

Viggo's Work:

Pandemoniumfromamerica (2003)

Pandemoniumfromamerica Buckethead & Viggo Dedicated to Noam Chomsky and using William Blake, Jonathan Swift, and Rumi's prescient wordplay as its point of departure, Pandemoniumfromamerica is a sonic snapshot of 21st century disorientation and dissent. Featuring the nuanced wizardry of guitarist Buckethead and compelling turns from Viggo, Henry, Elijah, Dom, Travis and Billy, Perceval's latest music release is a collection of spoken word exercises and aural collage that wanders mournfully through high lonesome minimalism and dense atmospheres in search of redemption. 14 tracks, total running time 44:22. $10 (PP)

November 2003 - Perceval Press/Viggo Mortensen (also released through TDRS) You can pick up a copy either at Perceval Press or TDRS Music

Dedicated to Noam Chomsky

1. den gang jeg drog afsted (3:37)

2. back to babylon (3:43)

3. pandemoniumfromamerica (2:58)

4. gone (3:53)

5. they ate your family (1:23)

6. i want mami (3:36)

7. red river valley (4:52)

8. leave it (2:27)

9. holyhead (3:33)

10.fall of troy (1:17)

11.shadow (4:44)

12.cuba on paper (3:29)

13.maybe (2:57)

14.half fling (1:40) billy, buckethead, dom, elijah, henry, travis, viggo

Viggo plays: organ, piano, keyboards, percussion, harmonica, wheelchair, lesliemonica (?), rhodes, drums and does vocals; Buckethead is on guitars, of course.

Lyrics mainly by Viggo

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Live At Beyond Baroque II (2004)

The evening honored the important indie driven Midnight Special Bookstore and the release of the contemporary anthology of poetry, The Spoken Word Revolution.

The two-CD compilation is co-produced by Perceval Press and EM Press. ISBN 0-9747078-6-4, 33 tracks, total running time 85:18. $15

September 2004 (from a November 2003 recording at Beyond Baroque in Venice, CA)

Performers (all spoken word):

Mark Eleveld

Marvin Bell

Mike McGee

Patricia Smith

Luis J. Rodriguez

Viggo Mortensen

Georgeanne Deen

Saul Williams

Regie Gibson

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Please Tomorrow (2004)

The fruit of another Buckethead/Viggo collaboration, this is a story of a single "long night's journey into day," an eight-part instrumental exploration of dusk to dawn in late autumn. Please Tomorrow is a series of haunting but ultimately hopeful soundscapes, rooted in and longing for dreamtime. All fauna and flora, present though nameless, dead or alive, on this CD are real. Also featured are Travis and Henry, veterans of such Buckethead/Viggo recordings as The Other Parade and Pandemoniumfromamerica. 8 tracks, total running time 40:37. $10

September 2004 - Perceval Press/Viggo Mortensen (also released through TDRS, where it was recorded, mixed & mastered) You can pick up a copy either at Perceval Press or TDRS Music

September 2004, Viggo Mortensen/Perceval Press

"for brigit"

1. swallows to bats

2. nocturne

3. dream one

4. dream two

5. dream three

6. frost

7. moonset

8. sunrise

Viggo plays piano, organ, keyboards, percussion/drums, guitar, rhodes.

All except track 8 composed by Viggo. Track 8 by Buckethead.

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This That and The Other (2004)

Buckethead, Henry, Travis, Viggo

In response to countless requests to re-issue earlier Buckethead/Viggo material, much of which is no longer available, Perceval Press offers this nearly 44-minute compilation of re-mastered selections from 5 different CDs, along with three new unreleased tracks. Included are selections from One Less Thing To Worry About (1997), The Other Parade (1998), One Man's Meat (1999), Pandemoniumfromamerica (2003), and Please Tomorrow (2004). The 3 new tracks are called This, That, and The Other. This CD is dedicated to any and all trees, living or dead, inhabited or not.

November 2004, Perceval Press

1. This

2. Edit

3. Massage School

4. Cuttings

5. Necessity of Lorca

6. Moonset

7. Laureles

8. Eleonora

9. Leave It

10. Parker

11. The Show

12. Clear

13. Trouble at the Launchpad

14. Oto�o Catalan

15. Cursive

16. Chicken Surgery

17. That

18. To Sleep

19. Independence

20. Week Ends

21. Jack's Box

22. Ganas

23. Wading

24. Matinee

25. Den Gang Jeg Drog Afsted

26. The New Year

27. Prepare

28. They Ate Your Family

29. Blow

30. The Other

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The Best American Nonrequired Reading (2004)

Houghton Mifflin Audio (2004)

Collection of short works by a variety of authors, edited by Dave Eggers.

Viggo wrote and reads the Introduction.

Widely available, both as an audiobook and in hardcover & softcover editions.

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Intelligence Failure (2005)

September 2005 - Perceval Press/Viggo Mortensen (also released through TDRS, where it was recorded, mixed & mastered) You can pick up a copy either at Perceval Press or TDRS Music

Players:

Brigit, Buckethead, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Travis Dickerson, Henry Mortensen, Viggo Mortensen, Walter Mortensen, C. Ray Nagin, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, Cindy Sheehan, Howard Zinn

by Buckethead & Viggo

This seventh full-length musical collaboration between Buckethead and Viggo Mortensen also includes contributions from Travis Dickerson, Henry Mortensen, Walter Mortensen, and Brigit. INTELLIGENCE FAILURE is a musical ode to the dream of preserving loving, civilized society in trying, often cruel times. Rising above the deceit and greed that have plagued and eventually conquered all the world's empires, there have always been brave individuals and isolated groups that have stubbornly refused to surrender their belief in humanity. This collection is dedicated to them. Combining variations on traditional melodies with original compositions and improvisation, as on previous Buckethead/Viggo recordings, this C.D. also draws from freely available statements by public figures to tell a part of the story of our time. Sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking, INTELLIGENCE FAILURE is never anything less than fully-committed to an honest examination of where we are, and to expressing hope for where we might go.

Tracks:

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3 FOOLS 4 APRIL (2006)

ISBN 0-9774869-6-6, $20

A two-disc CD/DVD that documents the reading given by Scott Wannberg, Hank Mortensen, and Viggo Mortensen on April Fool's Day 2006 at the Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center, in Venice, California. Part of proceeds from sales will benefit Beyond Baroque.

December 2006 - Perceval Press/Viggo Mortensen (also released through TDRS, where it was mixed & mastered) You can pick up a copy either at Perceval Press or TDRS Music.

Credits on audio tracks:

1 shaeryn smith, wild game cook book II, gateway publishing, winnipeg
2 lawrence ferlinghetti
3 spike milligan
4 pablo neruda
5 exene cervenka
6 charles bukowski
7 muriel nelson
8 exene cervenka
9 yu ch'i-hwan
10 anonymous
11 chuang tse

Credits on DVD tracks:

1 lawrence ferlinghetti
2 shaeryn smith, wild game cookbook II
3 charles bukowski
4 exene cervenka
5 chuang tse

CD Tracks:

DVD Tracks:

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Time Waits for Everyone (2007)

$10 from percevalpress.com

There are pianos everywhere, there for the playing, there for the sound of places, to turn the soil, to uncover the roots of things, as roadmaps to our true motives, instructing, retelling, drawing from us -- with a patience and sincerity we may not always manage on our own -- what is essential about breathing and dreaming, what may really be happening as we run blood through ourselves, share or take it from others, passing into Autumn, only just aware of the trees.

-piano improvisations found in Hungary, Germany, Poland, Russia, and in rememberance of things past.

Played by Viggo Mortensen, recorded by Travis Dickerson.

Tracks:

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At All (2008)

Nearly 50 minutes of mostly instrumental music $10

Perceval Press or TDRS Music

One track with Buckethead and Travis Dickerson playing, but otherwise instruments and vocals by Viggo Mortensen. With titles like "Blacksburg", "Sorrow Acre". "Bomb This" , and "Fear's Echo", these soundscapes are not an invitation to drift off to sleep, but neither do they prohibit dreaming. As Poe put it, "Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night". Recorded in 2007, shortly before the recently-released piano CD "Time Waits for Everyone".

Tracks: