Attention Span (album)

Attention Span
Attention Span
Studio album by Ostertag with Zorn with Frith
Released	1990
Recorded	September – December 1989
Studio	Various The Knitting Factory; (New York City, New York); Mills College; (Oakland, California); ;
Genre	experimental; sound collage;
Length	45:21
Label	RecRec
Bob Ostertag chronology
Fred Frith chronology
John Zorn chronology

Attention Span is a collaborative album by Bob Ostertag, Fred Frith and John Zorn, released in 1990 by RecRec Music.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[6]

Ted Mills of AllMusic said of Attention Span that it is "not as cohesive as some of his other, more conceptual works (sometimes you wonder if the whole thing is a favor to his fellow artists), but certainly not without worth."^[6]

Track listing

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Power"	Ostertag, Zorn	1:07
2.	"Paper Jam"	Ostertag, Zorn	0:16
3.	"Warning"	Ostertag, Zorn	0:25
4.	"And Gate"	Ostertag, Zorn	0:10
5.	"Necker Cube"	Ostertag, Zorn	0:56
6.	"Fold"	Ostertag, Zorn	1:06
7.	"Ebb Tide"	Ostertag, Zorn	0:51
8.	"Marketing Research"	Ostertag, Zorn	0:21
9.	"Fixed Resistor"	Ostertag, Zorn	0:17
10.	"Radiant Power"	Ostertag, Zorn	1:14
11.	"Depth Reversal"	Ostertag, Zorn	0:21
12.	"Dangerous Zone"	Ostertag, Zorn	0:37
13.	"Hit the Road"	Ostertag, Zorn	0:21
14.	"Smoking"	Ostertag, Zorn	1:55
15.	"Waiting"	Ostertag, Zorn	1:31
16.	"Electric Flux"	Ostertag, Zorn	0:36
17.	"Cocktail Lounge"	Ostertag, Zorn	0:35
18.	"Coat Check"	Ostertag, Zorn	1:05
19.	"Detour"	Ostertag, Zorn	0:24
20.	"Meter"	Ostertag, Zorn	0:59
21.	"Circuit Breaker"	Ostertag, Zorn	1:11
22.	"Surge Impendence"	Ostertag, Zorn	0:40
23.	"Vision"	Ostertag, Zorn	1:57
24.	"Black, To a Chimp"	Ostertag, Zorn	0:20
25.	"Neon"	Ostertag, Zorn	1:00
26.	"Emergency Shop"	Ostertag, Zorn	3:14
27.	"Flame"	Frith, Ostertag	1:54
28.	"Bone"	Frith, Ostertag	5:39
29.	"Jolt"	Frith, Ostertag	6:03
30.	"Bolt"	Frith, Ostertag	4:37
31.	"Loops"	Frith, Ostertag	0:56
32.	"Drowning Offshore"	Frith, Ostertag	2:43

Personnel

Adapted from the Attention Span liner notes.^[7]

Musicians

Production and design

Bob Appel – engineering
Douglas Kenny – cover art, design
Jonathan Nelson – engineering
Diego Zweifel – design

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
Switzerland	1990	RecRec	CD	ReCDec 33

References

^ Rusch, Bob (1995). "Bob Ostertag w/ John Zorn/Fred Frith: Attention Span". Cadence. David Haney: 7. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
^ Dean, R.T. (March 2003). Hyperimprovisation Computer-Interactive Sound Improvisation. A-R Editions. p. 122. ISBN 9780895795083. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
^ Ostertag, Bob (July 27, 2009). Creative Life: Music, Politics, People, and Machines. McFarland & Company. p. 188. ISBN 9780252076466. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
^ "Bob Ostertag: Attention Span". CD Review Digest. 6 (4). Peri Press: 410. 1992. ISBN 9781879796096. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
^ Caras, Tracy; Gagne, Cole (1992). "Interviews with American Composers". Soundpieces 2. 6 (4). Peri Press: 410. ISBN 9780810827103. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Mills, Ted. "Bob Ostertag: Attention Span > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
^ Attention Span (booklet). Bob Ostertag. Zürich, Switzerland: RecRec Music. 1993.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

External links

Attention Span at Discogs (list of releases)

[cadence-1] Rusch, Bob (1995). "Bob Ostertag w/ John Zorn/Fred Frith: Attention Span". Cadence. David Haney: 7. Retrieved August 14, 2020.

[2] Dean, R.T. (March 2003). Hyperimprovisation Computer-Interactive Sound Improvisation. A-R Editions. p. 122. ISBN 9780895795083. Retrieved August 14, 2020.

[3] Ostertag, Bob (July 27, 2009). Creative Life: Music, Politics, People, and Machines. McFarland & Company. p. 188. ISBN 9780252076466. Retrieved August 14, 2020.

[cdreview-4] "Bob Ostertag: Attention Span". CD Review Digest. 6 (4). Peri Press: 410. 1992. ISBN 9781879796096. Retrieved August 4, 2020.

[soundpieces2-5] Caras, Tracy; Gagne, Cole (1992). "Interviews with American Composers". Soundpieces 2. 6 (4). Peri Press: 410. ISBN 9780810827103. Retrieved August 4, 2020.

[allmusic-6] Mills, Ted. "Bob Ostertag: Attention Span > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved August 14, 2020.

[linearnotes-7] Attention Span (booklet). Bob Ostertag. Zürich, Switzerland: RecRec Music. 1993.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

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