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Last five albums purchased:
Of Montreal - "Aldhil's Arboretum"
Robert Wyatt - "Shleep"
Yohimbe Brothers - "Front End Lifter"
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - "Ooo Baby Baby: The Anthology"
V/A - "Harry Smith's Anthology: American Folk Music Vol. 4"
2002 current faves:
John Zorn - "IAO"
Fenn O'Berg - "The Return of Fenn O'Berg"
Bob Drake - "The Skull Mailbox"
Astrobotnia - "Pt. 1"
Sonic Youth - "Murray Street"
Blackalicious - "Blazing Arrow"
Rovo - "Tonic 2001"
Wilco - "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"
Of Montreal - "Aldhil's Arboretum"
Yohimbe Brothers - "Front End Lifter"
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Wednesday, October 30, 2002
Well, as you may have noticed if you keep careful tabs on my recent purchases list, there are three new CDs in my music collection of late. To wit: "Ooo Baby Baby: The Anthology", a 2-disc collection of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles; "Front End Lifter", the new (and, to date, only) release by the Yohimbe Brothers; and the posthumously released Volume 4 of Harry Smith's "Anthology of American Folk Music".
"Ooo Baby Baby" contains no fewer than 52 tracks by Smokey and the Miracles, and the hit-to-miss ratio is very high indeed. When I went to look for this album at J&R Music World, I looked first in the "Rock/Pop" section (which is the main section of the store), and was surprised to see that they only had Smokey's solo work there. I eventually tracked this set down in the "Oldies" section. It seemed strange to me that this would be filed under "Oldies" when most of the tracks date from the mid-60s, and some of them are even as late as the early 70s. Other popular groups from the same period, such as the Beatles, are found in "Rock/Pop". So why are the Miracles shelved in "Oldies"? I'm guessing it probably has to do with radio formats. Bands that are played on "classic rock" stations get filed under "Rock/Pop", whereas bands that get played on "oldies" radio get filed under "Oldies" - whether or not they are really any older. Anyway, I think the first really brilliant track on this collection is "Shop Around", which dropped in October 1960. There are 4 tracks pre-dating it, and they're very good on their own terms, but "Shop Around" feels like the breakthrough to me. Everything comes together - the lyrics, the music, the singing, the arrangement - in a way that is fresh and irresistible. From that point on, the collection is solid as a proverbial rock. I could wax rhapsodic about this set for a long time, but I still have two more CDs to describe, so I'll refer you to a typically excellent post by Marcello Carlin on his Church of Me blog about this same set. It can be found here.
The Yohimbe Brothers CD is one that seems to be flying under the radar. I haven't seen too many reviews of it, and there hasn't been any gab about it on ILM. All-Music Guide gives a pretty good summary of it here. It first came to my attention when I saw it on a WFMU playlist. After scouring the Net, I found a couple of sample tracks on the Rope-a-dope site, and soon decided that I should hear the record. As you may or may not know, Yohimbe Brothers is a project of DJ Logic (turntables) and Vernon Reid (guitar). Reid is still best known for his work with Living Colour about 10 years ago, but he's also done a lot of interesting work that's not as well known, and - there's no way to get around this - he can shred on the guitar. I had the opportunity of seeing him recently at Joe's Pub in a trio with the drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson (known for his work in Ornette Coleman's Prime Time, among many others) and bassist Melvin Gibbs, for a fine evening of post-Hendrix fusion. Due to the presence of DJ Logic, this CD has a very different feel from that concert - it's simultaneously wittier and more schizophrenic. You might think that turntable and guitar is an odd pairing - and you'd be right - but these are the guys to make it work. The music on this CD is hard to describe, because for the most part, it doesn't sound a lot like other stuff that's out there - or rather, it sounds like too many different things. I hear bits of old-school hip-hop, metal, Squarepusher-esque drill-n-bass, DJ Shadow-esque sampled spoken fragments, African singing, dub, trance, dance, and more. I mentioned Squarepusher and DJ Shadow, but this album succeeds where both of their releases this year disappointed. It's really very, very good stuff. I encourage you not to miss it.
Finally, Volume 4 of the Harry Smith anthology. To be honest, I've only listened to the first disc of this so far. I know that I'm going to like it, but I just haven't had the right opportunity to give it a spin yet. So I'll save my review for another time when I've given it a full listen.
- o. nate
Wednesday, October 16, 2002
Rob Mitchum sent me a thoughtful reply to the points that I raised in yesterday's post. So I'll take this opportunity to clarify a couple of things I may have overstated. First, Mitchum never wrote in so many words that this is the first non-concept-album from Of Montreal. As he replied to me yesterday, "I just comment on the oddity of the band looking to write singles at a time when some bands are thinking more along the lines of Albums." Well, I'm not so sure that it is unusual for bands to turn to more accessible, song-oriented work on the heels of more conceptual, album-oriented work. To take one well-known example, the Beatles followed up Sgt. Pepper's (the ur-concept album) with The Beatles (a.k.a. "The White Album") which was more song-oriented. Also, as I replied to Mitchum, I think that the "singles" aspect of Aldhil's Arboretum has been over-emphasized. In fact, it's probably more wishful thinking on the part of Barnes et al than it is a reflection of the album itself. As Mitchum noted in his original review, singles imply airplay, which is not a likely scenario in this case. So, again, I think the differences between Aldhil's and previous work have been overblown.
Second, Mitchum maintains that the songs on Aldhil's are "waaaaaay more straightforward" than on albums past, and he points to some of the more unusual moments on Coquelicot, such as songs being interrupted by faux-radio broadcasts and such. While it is true that Coquelicot had some unusual moments like that, it also had many songs of the "more straightforward" (relatively speaking) type found on Aldhil's, and those are the type of songs that Barnes has decided to work with on Aldhil's, but I wouldn't say that he is taking them in a "more straightforward" direction.
Thirdly, Mitchum maintains his assertion that the songs on Aldhil's are too "guitar-driven" for his taste. There's not much I can say to that. If you don't like guitar, you don't like it, right?
Fourth, Mitchum clarifies that he was only referring to similarities in the main riff of "I Feel Fine" to "Doing Nothing" - not similarities in the song as a whole. Fair enough, but I'm sure there are probably at least a hundred other pop/rock songs that also have a similar riff. Imitation and theft have long been a part of rock music, and some would say, even a treasured part. So I wouldn't knock them on that score. I think it's what they do with the riff that makes the song interesting.
Finally, Mitchum points out that he didn't pen the Strokes review on Pitchfork, but if he had, he would have deducted points from them for recycling as well. Okay, point taken.
So thanks again to Rob Mitchum for his thoughtful reply, and as always, feel free to e-mail me if you see something on this page that warrants comment.
- o. nate
Tuesday, October 15, 2002
So Pitchfork reviewer Rob Mitchum doesn't care for the new Of Montreal, Aldhil's Arboretum (review here). Allow me to take this opportunity to respond to his arguments. First, he claims that this is the first Of Montreal full-length which is not a concept album. Not true. Cherry Peel was, much like this release, simply a collection of great songs. Furthermore, although The Gay Parade and Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies were putatively concept albums, the only discernible concept was something along the lines of, Let's do some songs about characters with fanciful names performing fanciful activities (but there were always exceptions even to that). On Aldhil's Arboretum, the concept is more along the lines of, Let's do some songs about people with real-life names doing real-life activities. Now this would only be a problem if real-life = boring. However, in this case, happily, it doesn't. Whether taking aim at personality-deprived husbands or extolling the virtues of kissing in the grass, Barnes consistently finds the amusing side of his chosen subjects.
Secondly, Mitchum asserts that these songs are more straightforward than previous efforts. Again, not true. Although more compact in length, these songs have every bit of the melodic zigs and zags that have always distinguished Barnes's work. And perhaps I am not the only Of Montreal fan who is actually a bit relieved that Barnes chooses not to include a 20-minute piano epic on every outing.
Third, Mitchum claims that this album is excessively "guitar-driven", with noodling over every track. I simply don't hear this. If anything, the most prominent instrument is typically the bass. Aldhil's features the best pop bass-lines this side of Paul McCartney's peak. And there is nary a noodle in sight. The songs are too tightly conceived and executed to allow for any noodling. Even the solos, as short as they are, sound composed.
Fourth, Mitchum accuses the band of ripping off the Beatles and Queen among others. Now if there is any ripping off going on here, you won't find the evidence of it in Mitchum's review. The parallels he cites are distant at best. "Doing Nothing" doesn't sound much like "I Feel Fine", and the same thing goes for the other comparisons that Mitchum draws. Now no one, least of all me, is going to claim that Of Montreal are purveyors of avant-garde chin-stroking music that has no recognizable influences. In fact, the band often goes for a retro kind of sound, one which unabashedly invokes the pop masters of yore. But their songs are far from being rip-offs or retreads, and considering that Pitchfork gave The Strokes a 9.1, they would be hypocritical to condemn Of Montreal for excessive nostalgia. The fact is that Of Montreal, much like the Strokes in their better moments, are breathing new life into classic forms.
So, far from being a let-down, in my view, this is quite possibly the best Of Montreal release yet. I think Barnes has focussed on his strengths, namely penning great pop songs, and restrained his more self-indulgent tendencies, and the end result is perhaps the funnest album to listen to that I've heard this year - a CD that demands to be put on continuous repeat play. This stuff may not be good for you, but if you have a sweet tooth like mine, it certainly won't be gathering dust on your shelf.
- o. nate
Wednesday, October 2, 2002
Another lunch-time trip to J&R today, which yielded a couple of items: the new Of Montreal, "Aldhil's Arboretum", and Robert Wyatt's "Shleep" from 1997. Seems like a good opportunity to do some CAPSULE REVIEWS (try not to get too excited). First, let me back up and cover some other recent purchases which haven't yet been adequately described in this blog:
Bob Drake, "The Skull Mailbox": This was first brought to my attention when it appeared on Dominique Leone's mid-2002 best of list on ILM. (See his review here.) I'm not too familiar with Bob Drake's past work, but apparently he is (was?) a member of the Thinking Plague, which Dominique describes as an "indie-prog" outfit. This particular album is pretty much a solo affair, which Drake cobbled together in his home studio somewhere in rural France. Somehow the thought of a guy toiling away in a home studio on these odd little songs fits in well with the recurring themes of imprisonment and madness found in the lyrics. There is something undeniably campy about a concept album devoted to ghosts, hauntings, etc., but Drake seems to be aware of the humorous possibilities of his subject matter without ever lapsing into pure silliness, which is, I think, the right tone to strike. His voice does a good job of straddling the fence between idiosyncratically goofy and quite possibly deranged. The music itself is consistently fine. There are short classical guitar bits that remind me of Andrew York, some twisted country-folk shit-kickers, odd jump-cuts and other studio trickery mixed in with the obligatory minor-key organ flourishes. This would be fun to listen to late at night in a strange house.
Uncle Dave Macon, "Go Long Mule": Speaking of twisted country-folk shit-kickers, this is the motherlode right here. In the memorable words of Eugene Chadbourne (taken from this review): "There are a lot of genres and approaches to old-time music, from ultra-serious to ultra-corny, with a separate section for ridiculous loudmouths armed with banjos, of which Uncle Dave has got to be the looniest." Chadbourne, of course, is no slouch with a banjo, and he knows what he's talking about here. This stuff will get lodged in your skull for days, if you give it half a chance.
I also recently picked up the 5-CD Carter Family box set on JSP, but since I haven't had a chance to listen to it adequately, I'll save my review of it for another time. Well, that brings me up to today's purchases. After I've given them a few more listens, I'll do the C.R. treatment for them as well. But for now, I'll just say that I've listened to them each once, and both promise lots of happy listening ahead.
- o. nate
Tuesday, October 1, 2002
Today is going to be a non-music-related edition of A Face in the Crowd. My musical activities have been somewhat sparse in the past week or so, except for listening to some things on my headphones at work, so today will be dedicated to film and literature. First, I feel I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the truly awesome Japanese animated feature "Spirited Away" is now playing in theatres, and you should all go see it immediately. Please, don't wait for the video. I'm not an animation nut, but this has got to be the most visually enthralling animated feature that I've ever seen. And you need every inch of that big cinema screen to take in the dazzling visual cleverness. For once, I was actually glad to see that the movie had been dubbed rather than subtitled. Two reasons: there were no subtitles blocking any part of the screen, and I didn't have to worry about missing any of the visual action while trying to read the dialogue. So drop what you're doing and go see it now.
In other non-music-related news, I stopped by the downtown Strand bookstore today and picked up a couple of less-than-half-price books: Halldor Laxness's "The Fish Can Sing", and the Library of America paperback edition of Walt Whitman, which contains almost all of his poetry and prose. The Laxness purchase was inspired by a couple of recent magazine pieces. First, in last week's New Yorker, Jonathan Franzen takes William Gaddis to task for being overly difficult, but while he's at it, he takes a moment to praise Laxness. Second, a review of two of Laxness's novels which have been recently issued in paperback in the US (the one I bought was actually a UK edition) that was run in a recent New York Review of Books. I dug into the first chapter on my lunch break, and all I can say at this point is that I'm eagerly looking forward to the next. The Whitman purchase was inspired by the fact that my old copy of "Leaves of Grass" has very small type, and I was looking for a more readable replacement, something suitable for declaiming from at the top of my lungs while standing on a crowded Manhattan street corner (just kidding).
- o. nate
Tuesday, September 17, 2002
Thanks to Ernest P. over at ILM who pointed out this interview with John Zorn on the Bomb magazine website. As anyone who has followed Zorn's career knows, he is notoriously shy of journalists and the press. Apparently the opportunity to have a conversation with a fellow creative type - ie., the painter, Michael Goldberg - loosened him up. This is easily the most in-depth interview with him that I've read, and sheds some interesting light for any of you Zorn fans out there.
- o. nate
Wednesday, September 11, 2002
Tonic re-opened last weekend, and I'll be darned if I didn't go and see me some improv. Okay, that sounds silly, but what the heck, I'll leave it. I guess my Midwestern roots are showing, despite the fact that I was born and raised in California. Anyway, what did I see? Oh yes, a trio, and a fine trio it was: Ken Vandermark, Paul Lovens, and Paul Lytton. That's right, Vandermark and two British drummers named Paul. Who'd have thunk it? The main draw for me was Lovens, whom I'd never seen live before, but whose work I've long admired on the Alex Schlippenbach trio CD, "Elf Bagatellen". Imagine my joy when I saw him mount the stage wearing - I shit you not - the exact same outfit that he was wearing in the picture inside the "Elf Bagatellen" CD booklet! That's right: a white collared shirt with a thin dark tie, making him look for all the world like a moonlighting accountant! Maybe he wears it every time he performs - I don't know - but it added immensely to my enjoyment of the show. And the music? Well, it was free improv. You know that free improv stuff, don't ya? (If not, see Marcello Carlin's review of an AMM show today on Church of Me. A bunch of what he said for that show could go for this one as well.) They started quiet. They got loud. They stopped on a dime (ok, maybe a nickel). They started again. There were some nice moments. Lytton (whom I know mainly from his work in the fine trio with Evan Parker and Barry Guy) was able to eke some interesting noises out of a jerry-rigged contraption that he must have built himself from discarded electrical parts and what looked like an Erector Set. Vandermark got to use about a half dozen of his horns. Lovens had more fun than any respectable person should be able to have with a pair of cymbals. If I were to complain, I'd say that the playing seemed a wee bit too careful, and that Tonic needs better ventilation if people are going to continue lighting up cigars, ciggies, joints, etc. at the rate they were doing on Saturday. There were some good moments of interaction between Lovens and Vandermark, but it seemed they never quite arrived at a satisfactory way to integrate Lytton's electronic noises, although it was not for lack of trying. A lot of the set was fairly quiet and abstract, and they rarely worked up a full head of steam. Lovens did more tapping and rubbing than drumming, and when they finished the set, I had the feeling that they had held too much back. Anyway, it was still a nice show, and I'd see them again without hesitation.
- o. nate
Wednesday, September 4, 2002
We must be in the late-summer doldrums, because there haven't been very many appealing shows around town lately. Tonic has even closed temporarily "for renovations". There have been a few interesting events at the Village Vanguard, but not interesting enough to get me over the cover charge hurdle. So my musical experiences recently have been of the recorded variety. On Friday, I made a trip to Other Music and Downtown Music Gallery. The spoils: John Zorn's new release "IAO", Fenn O'Berg's "The Return of Fenn O'Berg", and the Circulatory System self-titled album from last year, which I've had on MP3 for a while.
"IAO" fits in with the genre-schizophrenia theme that runs through a good-sized swath of Zorn's work. Except instead of combining all the different styles in one 45 second track (a la Naked City), he now gives them each a full track of their own in which to develop. The first track on the CD opens with an electric organ sound that is in keeping with the Satanism/Anton LaVey theme (cf. LaVey's own disc of organ solos, "Satan Takes a Holiday"). The second track is a syncopating ethnic drum circle groove. Subsequent tracks are brief safaris through gibbering thrash-metal, multi-tracked female vocals reminiscent of Morton Feldman's "Three Voices for Joan LaBarbara", and other styles that resist categorization. Zorn displays his typical preternatural gift for inhabiting disparate styles organically and persuasively. Fine stuff.
I couldn't work up much enthusiasm for Fennesz's "Endless Summer" last year, which many people were raving about. I liked the textures but the harmonic content had a static, by-the-numbers feeling. But I'm pleased to report that I do like the new Fenn O'Berg. I think Fennesz's textures work better in a group context, where the other musicians force him out of his ruts and keep things moving along. I also like the light, playful feel of the Fenn O'Berg. It has the spontaneity and excitement that you find in the work of seasoned improvisers. Both this and the Zorn are two of the best things I've heard so far this year.
- o. nate
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
I started reading this essay called "The Rise and Sprawl of Horrible Noise" by Mark S., who is a regular on ILM. Apparently, it was published in a reduced form in an issue of Wire. I started reading it at work, but it became quickly apparent that it was too dense, and just plain too long, to be read at my worker-bee-substation, so I printed the darned thing out and took it home with me on the train. (If you're wondering, it comes to 16 double-sided pages.) The essay is a series of reflections on noise as music and music as noise. Certain reference points recur: Lester Bangs, "Xena: Warrior Princess", Jacques Attali's book "Noise: The Political Economy of Music". In essence, I think, the essay can be read as a critique of Attali (although there are lots of other things going on in there which I haven't even begun to figure out). Attali sees noise as a disruptive force that impinges on the established order and eventually remakes the order in its image. So you have this kind of cycle in which noise disrupts order, noise becomes order, order is once again disrupted by new noise, etc., etc. This is a nice picture, but it's also a simplistic picture, and a lot of Mark's essay is about reinstating the nuance that it leaves out. Despite these heavy-sounding theoretical aspirations, the essay incorporates a stew of quirky pop-culture references and vivid anecdotes that make it fun to read even if you don't follow every twist of the argument. The last phrase of the essay is "the changed-unchanged state of Tunisia" - and that's kind of how I felt after finishing it. Did my view of noise as music change? Ask Tunisia.
- o. nate
Wednesday, August 21, 2002
Tax-free shopping days + Sale at J&R Music World = The most wholesome fun that it's possible to have on a lunch break. Yes, it's true: I made a lunch-time trip over to J&R today and picked up a couple of items that folks were raving about on the Best of 2002 So Far thread over at ILM. The items that caught my fancy were: "The Skull Mailbox" by Bob Drake and Astrobotnia "Pt. 1".
The Astrobotnia has been frequently compared to Aphex Twin, and this time - for once - that much-abused reference point is apt. Of course any time someone hears the twitching of a hyper-active drum machine they are contractually obligated to reach for the Aphex comparison; however, the kinship runs deeper than that for Astrobotnia. There is a sense of playfulness that you get from good Aphex stuff - the sense of a bright kid exercising the imaginative possibilities of new toys - that flows from this record as well. I'm looking forward to giving it some more spins in the near future. The Bob Drake I haven't had a chance to listen to yet, but I have high hopes.
- o. nate
Tuesday, August 20, 2002
This weekend I went up to the Sam Ash sheet music store on 48th St. and picked up a collection of Carter Family songs. Alright, alright... I can see the faces of you music geeks already twisting into knowing smirks. Carter Family sheet music? you ask. What's the point, right? All their songs have the same three chords. Who needs sheet music? Well, yes and no. This particular songbook has Maybelle's recorded guitar parts transcribed note by note so that ambitious amateurs like myself can try their hand at the patented "Carter scratch", as Maybelle referred to her furious pick-and-strum method of playing the guitar. It's not as easy as she makes it sound, and I think it will be a while until my fingers cooperate. I'm not going to even trying singing the alto parts (as she did) while I'm strumming.
- o. nate
Friday, August 16, 2002
Last Sunday, Sonic Youth played a free show at Central Park's Summerstage. Apparently, the last time they played there, they had Sun Ra and his Arkestra opening for them, a fact which by itself lends a historic aura to that event, which I did not attend. (Alas, Ra left this planet shortly before I discovered his music, and I never had the chance to see him play, although I have seen the Arkestra a couple of times under Marshall Allen's direction, and they still put on a fine show). For Sunday's show, the openers were Wadada Smith and the Golden Quartet, who sounded at times like a stripped-down Arkestra circa "Nothing Is". Most of the other Smith projects that I've heard have involved some fusion of world musics, but the Golden Quartet kept it pretty squarely in the free jazz realm. There were some simmering vamp-y sections alternating with freer interludes. At times it was difficult to hear over the crowd, who for the most part kept talking through the set, but Jack DeJohnette kept the action moving along on the drums and the pianist was good.
Eventually SY came out, and kicked things off with "Cotton Crown" off of "Sister". It was fun to see Jim O'Rourke (the recently-joined official fifth Youth) on stage with the band. The sound could have been better, particularly on Lee Ranaldo's vocal parts, but it wasn't too bad, considering the fact that we were in an outdoor venue. They proceeded to play a choice assortment of chestnuts from the catalog, as well as all the songs off of their new album ("Murray Street"). One high point was their energetic rendition of "Rain on Tin", which Thurston dedicated to all the kids in the audience. A few tots could be seen gamboling at the back of the stage area, but I don't know if Thurston and Gordon's own youngster was among them. In celeb-spotting action, I saw John Zorn passing through the crowd with someone who might or might not have been Mike Patton. I saw them chatting up the security guard at the entrance to the VIP bleacher (the only area with remaining seats), but they were turned back and disappeared into the crowd. Meanwhile, SY turned out a good performance, although I was getting a bit light-headed after a long day of sun exposure, so I left a bit early.
- o. nate
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Links:
ILM
Freakytrigger
All-Music Guide
Pitchfork
Hipster Detritus
Radio Free Narnia
NYLPM
Church of Me
1-0
Neal Pollack
Fluxblog
The Minor Fall, The Major Lift
Bookslut
WFMU
Pitas.com
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