Think of Auron as a cocktail party serving Bud Lite and musical hors d'oeuvres, and you'll be better able to digest this one. For the most part, this recently-birthed, bimonthly CD/Magazine is a buffet of Chex Mix and macaroni and cheese casseroles, with the occasional canape that's truly pleasing to the aural palate.
Auron's mailer consists of a smartly packaged compact disc, a mini-size, glossy booklet (here called a magazine), a survey and subscription card. The CD offers about an hour's worth of fairly straight-ahead melodies (with only a few exceptions) - one from each featured artist. In concert, the magazine presents photos, and brief articles on each act that read more like a fluffy combo of cribbed bio information and interviews as abbreviated as the magazine.
Serving platters on the buffet are for the most part smaller, less commercial labels, such as Heyday, Green Linnet, and Shanachie: Selections represent flavors of jazz, Brazilian, Classical and even Latvian music. Yet Auron's debut mix left me a bit flat.
Auron's accompanying press information flaunts phrases and adjectives such as "new music beyond the mainstream," "subverting pop conventions," "post punk," and "dazzling." But it's all pop to me. If you're into hangin' in this neighborhood, drop by for some snacks.
Auron: Musical Tomorrows. (800) 622 6874. US$10 (each), US$49 (six issues). PO Box 42-2248, San Francisco, CA 94142-2248.
STREET CRED
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Ada, the Enchantress of Numbers
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Tumbling into the Paperless Office
