ARCHIVED MUSINGS
| 2012 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
2012
The 2010 and 2011 Almost-Best Lists
SATURDAY, 29 DECEMBER 2012
After an inexcusable and lengthy delay, I have finally posted the almost-best lists for the previous two years. The criteria for inclusion (as the post indicates) are the same as they’ve always been. That means, among other things, that being on these lists is still a good thing—just not as good as being on the other ones…
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But What About This?!: Remembering Von Freeman
MONDAY, 13 AUGUST 2012
A brief remembrance of the legendary Chicago saxophonist Von Freeman, who died on Saturday, 11 August 2012, in Chicago, IL. Included are a link to an obituary in the Chicago Tribune and a remembrance broadcast on Chicago Public Radio two days later.
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2010
Sonic Snapshots: Anniversary Features at The Quietus
MONDAY, 8 NOVEMBER 2010
The British music web magazine The Quietus has recently been posting idiosyncratic, retrospective looks at albums 25-, 30- and 35 years after their initial releases. More than a trip down memory lane, these essays are attempts to recover something of the pop musical past. Even when they miss their marks, they’re still worth reading.
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It Is Not What It Is Not: Martina Topley Bird’s The Blue God
THURSDAY, 15 JULY 2010
A trip to London, a stop in a legendary record store, a schedule thrown off, a sublimely odd recording by Martina Topley Bird, and another mini-rant against critical laziness. What more could you want in a midsummer musing?
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Down Another Rabbit Hole: Making Sense of The Happy Family’s The Man on Your Street
TUESDAY, 11 MAY 2010
In the midst of all of my research for a book on post-punk music and graphic design, I almost literally stumbled on this, the only album by The Happy Family. Click through to find out a bit about who they are, how their first and only album came to be, and why you should care about it and the other releases connected to it…
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Perfect Pop Songs #4: Ron Sexsmith’s “Right About Now” (1999)
WEDNESDAY, 5 MAY 2010
At long last, here’s the fourth entry in the Perfect Pop Songs series: a track by the little-known but nonetheless celebrated Toronto songwriter/singer/guitarist/pianist Ron Sexsmith.
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When at First You Succeed...: Remembering Malcolm McLaren
THURSDAY, 8 APRIL 2010
A hastily composed remembrance of impresario Malcolm McLaren, who died 8 April 2010. Where most of the postmortems will, perhaps fittingly, focus on McLaren’s significance in popular music history and especially his role in creating and destroying The Sex Pistols, almost all will overpraise him if they look only to that part of his career. This post also functions, thus, a pre-emptive correction…
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Why Should I Care?: Alternative (Male, White) Southernness and Mortality
THURSDAY, 18 MARCH 2010
Some of my superstitious friends are fond of reminding me that some things come in threes. While the impetus for the message reached three long ago, the focus here might sustain the conceit that threes are important. Here, I reflect upon and connect the deaths of three perhaps iconoclastic southern musicians since late December: Vic Chesnutt, Mark Linkous and Alex Chilton...
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The 2009 Runners-Up
TUESDAY, 9 MARCH 2010
After a delay that I’m sure had some readers wondering about the present and future of this site, I have finally posted some new items for your perusal. This here is the list of albums that almost made the best-of list for 2009. Click through for more information.
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2009
He’s Out of My Life: Off the Wall and Michael Jackson’s Legacy
THURSDAY, 25 JUNE 2009
When I uploaded my Purple Rain commemorative post, there was no way I could have known how the day would end: with the sudden and shocking death of Michael Jackson. Several hours after the fact, here’s the post where I start by musing on the purported rivalry between Jackson and Prince, but then move into an exploration of why Off the Wall is perhaps the most shining example of what Jackson could do, especially given the right collaborators. Read on for more…
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Let the Rain Come Down: 25th Anniversary Reflections on Prince and the Revolution’s Purple Rain
THURSDAY, 25 JUNE 2009
If you asked most US residents of a certain age to name a Prince album, the first one most people would mention would likely be Purple Rain. Hailed as a briiliant masterstroke in 1984, the album hasn’t aged so well. In this post, timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the LP release, I present my personal history with Prince’s music leading up and following the album under review and offer some reasons why—despite its historic significance and moments of brilliance—the collection isn’t his best or most inventive work.
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Where Is Your Masterpiece? Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s Eponymous Release
MONDAY, 23 FEBRUARY 2009
For a number of reasons laid out in the full post, I’ve been looking forward to this disc for some time. When I bought it over the weekend, from an independent record store, mind you, I was not disappointed. Read on to find out why you might dig it as well…
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Perfect Pop Songs #3: Neil Finn’s “Souvenir” (1998)
THURSDAY, 12 FEBRUARY 2009
Here’s the third entry in the PPS series, a song from Neil Finn’s first solo album, Try Whistling This. Like many of the other artists who will be featured here, he is a songwriter’s songwriter, someone who well understands his craft and, perhaps, its position in a long tradition of great pop songcraft. Click through to read and hear why I, along with many others, think so…
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Perfect Pop Songs #2: Prince’s “Another Lonely Christmas” (1984)
FRIDAY, 6 FEBRUARY 2009
The second entry in this series is “Another Lonely Christmas” by Prince. It’s something of an anomaly in his output, but it is no less satisfying. Click through to find out why…
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Oh, How the Mighty Have (Almost) Risen…
SATURDAY, 31 JANUARY 2009
Just before the end of January, here, finally, is the list of releases that almost made it onto the 2008 compilation. Click through to see them as well as to find a link for those that I thought were the absolute best…
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Perfect Pop Songs #1: Felt’s “A Wave Crashed on Rocks” (1986)
SUNDAY, 18 JANUARY 2009
This is the first post in a series devoted to some of the pop songs I adore. This time out, the subject is the sadly overlooked British band Felt and one of its lesser-known tracks, “A Wave Crashed on Rocks”
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2008
Early Birthday Gifts to Myself: Steve Jansen’s Slope and Thomas Feiner’s The Opiates (Revised)
TUESDAY, 28 OCTOBER 2008
Some of you know that I just had the last birthday before I reach the big 4-0. Partially by way of celebration, I ordered two discs that have taken up almost all of my listening time since then: releases by Steve Jansen and Thomas Feiner. They are two of the most cinematic releases I’ve heard in ages. Read on to find exactly why they are so brilliant and why you should add them to your sonic arsenal…
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What Two Merchants’ Children Have to Do with Two Topical Songs (Or, What Paul Weller and Dr. Robert Taught Me about Economics and Society)
SUNDAY, 19 OCTOBER 2008
Regardless of political affiliation, economic status or level of education, the last several weeks have been a trying time for people in US as well as the wider world. As doubts spread about the world economy and a pivotal election approaches, there are two songs that keep popping back into my head and giving me a bit of perspective: one from the Style Council and the other from the Blow Monkeys. Read on to find out what they work that way, and why they’ve meant so much to me…
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And Then Transcendence: My Bloody Valentine’s Sensory Assault
SUNDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER 2008
Last night, I finally had the opportunity to do something I've been waiting 16 years to do: experience a live show by My Bloody Valentine. The group is touring the U.S. for the first time since 1992 and has sold out every show on the tour. Click through to read about last night’s Chicago show as well as see a few grainy images from it…
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“Things Evolve Out of Nothing”: Daniel Lanois’s Here Is What Is
THURSDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2008
In the past, I’ve lamented the romantic distortions that pervade most films about musicians. After having seen Daniel Lanois’s sumptuous documentary Here It What Is, I can finally say that I’ve seen a film that gets it right … beautifully, brilliantly right. Use the link to get the rest of the story…
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Lizz Wright and Her Beautiful Orchard
SATURDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2008
After not quite getting things to gel on the first two albums, Lizz Wright's latest, The Orchard, finally hits the sweet spot. She’s using the same strategy she always has, working with a huge stable of collaborators and hands-on producers. Read on to learn why things are different this time…
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Robinlike, or the Anxiety of Influence
WEDNESDAY, 3 SEPTEMBER 2008
After years of hemming and hawing, I’ve finally, though reluctantly, decided to share one of the gems that I’ve recorded. Read on to find out what it is, why I’ve been loathe to let it circulate, and why I'm setting it free…
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High Contrast: The Challenges and Pleasures of Portishead’s Third
TUESDAY, 12 AUGUST 2008
At long last, I’ve gotten around to posting my thoughts on Portishead’s latest release, Third. In some ways, the disc is a deliberate attempt by the band to defy the expectations of those focused on their sound. It’s also a satisfying reminder of how much they care about those fans who base their expectations on the group’s approach. Click through for the full story…
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Coldplay, My Morning Jacket and the Perils of Success...
WEDNESDAY, 25 JUNE 2008
This is a tale of two bands: one trying to recapture success (Coldplay) and the other seemingly poised for it (My Morning Jacket) with their new releases. In this post, after sifting through a thicket of press coverage and listening to the albums, I write about why their new releases have me doubting that success is a good thing…
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Dreamy (and Tense?): Mark Kozelek at the Highline Ballroom, NYC
TUESDAY, 17 JUNE 2008
This post is a review of a rewardingly beautiful and somewhat strange performance by Mark Kozelek at the Highline Ballroom in New York City, 13 June 2008. While the music was by turns delicate and deceptively abrasive, conflicts with fans and seeming conflicts with band members threatened to derail the evening. In the end, though, they only threatened. Read on for the full story…
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The Albums That Almost Made the Cut…
FRIDAY, 8 FEBRUARY 2008
After a lengthy work-induced delay, I am finally posting the 2007 almost best-of list. The process of making decisions was more difficult than it has ever been. Click through to find out what the list contains, and start submitting your bets for what made the best-of list…
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Wit, Passion and Precision: Joe Henry at the Old Town School of Folk Music
WEDNESDAY, 6 FEBRUARY 2008
After years of waiting, I finally got the opportunity to see Joe Henry perform live—in this case at the Old Town School of Folk Music here in Chicago. The show, featuring a stripped-down ensemble, went far beyond my already high expectations. Read on to find out why and how…
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2007
Control Is Shaky, at Best
SUNDAY, 11 NOVEMBER 2007
This seems to be the year of the bad music biopic. In an earlier post, I discussed what was wrong with El Cantante, a film focused on the salsero Hector Lavoe. A few days ago, I saw Control, Anton Corbijn’s new, brilliantly shot film about Ian Curtis of Joy Division. Despite some very positive advance press—as was the case last summer—I left the theatre feeling more disappointed than inspired. Click through to find out why…
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Interpol, or Releasing the Weight of Expectations
TUESDAY, 9 OCTOBER 2007
With Interpol’s latest show in Chicago a mere two days away (and Radiohead’s album release mere hours distant), I contemplate here the crushing weight of expectations and how they prevented me, initially, from loving Interpol’s latest, Our Love to Admire. Read on to find out why I’m changing my mind…
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Still Waiting for El Cantante to Sing
SATURDAY, 6 OCTOBER 2007
Several weeks ago, accompanied by my new friend Nicole (not to be confused with the Nicole who saw Cassandra Wilson and Olu Dara with me in June), I went with trepidation to see the biopic El Cantante. While I started writing this post immediately after returning home, the first draft proved too vitriolic to post. Click through for the more sober review…
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Niecy Illustrates the Bittersweetness of Freedom
THURSDAY, 4 OCTOBER 2007
Following a tangled, near unrecoverable chain of associations, I found myself listening to Deniece Williams’s This Is Niecy earlier. What I heard for the first time in ages prompted me to write about the music and about love. Perhaps curiosity will prompt you to read...
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In Radiohead v. the Recording Industry, Radiohead Leads (For Now)
TUESDAY, 2 OCTOBER 2007
A few days ago Radiohead shocked and pleased its fans by announcing the almost immediate availability of its new album, In Rainbows. In the media, however, more attention has been focused on how they're releasing the album. Read on for a brief discussion of why the hype about their strategy is equally justified and overblown…
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Joe Henry and the Complex, Varied Worlds of Civilians
FRIDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 2007
After a four-year hiatus, in which he devoted his time to work as a producer, Joe Henry has released a new album, Civilians. Though the wait was long, the album is both different from Henry’s previous work and worth the wait. Click through to find out more about him and read a capsule review…
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Bowie? Sylvian? Jobriath? Mackenzie? A Mystery Solved
TUESDAY, 28 AUGUST 2007
Early in 2005, in the midst of late-night web-crawling, I came across a song that called “Jobriath” that was a mystery. It couldn’t have been produced by the artist listed in the file name. After over two years, I have finally solved the mystery. Click through to hear the song and the tale of my discovering the truth about it…
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Second Thoughts: Rufus Wainwright, Feist and Wilco
FRIDAY, 6 JULY 2007
There’s nothing better for me having a few days away to catch up on my listening. On a lazy afternoon in San Francisco, I discovered how much I really dig the latest releases by Rufus Wainwright, Feist and Wilco. Read on to find out what two of them good, and one potentially great…
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A Porch in the Park: Cassandra Wilson & Olu Dara
SATURDAY, 16 JUNE 2007
Recently, Cassandra Wilson and Olu Dara, two Mississippi-born artists with backgrounds in jazz put on a difficult-to-categorize show at Central Park's SummerStage. It was a breathtaking show that capped a lovely day. And it was all about being in the moment. Click through to get the rest of the story.
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Has Panda Bear Produced the Best Release of 2007?
MONDAY, 11 JUNE 2007
Hype can be a dangerous thing. For me, it almost always arouses suspicion, raises expectations and promises disappointment. The new release by Panda Bear (of Animal Collective), however, is one CD that deserves all of the accolades it has received. Read on to find out why…
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A Cold and Broken Hallelujah
SATURDAY, 9 JUNE 2007
If you’ve read many of the posts here, you know that I rarely say good things about music critics—even though some of them are among my best friends. Here’s a post wherein I temporarily back away from criticizing critics to sing the praises of one. It helps that he’s discussing one of my favorite songs.
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SNL, Gil Scott-Heron and the Persistence of Memory
MONDAY, 16 APRIL 2007
You know how it is. You walk into a store with limited time and solid ideas about what you will and will not purchase. And, then, as you stand at the counter handing over your money, something catches your eye, something that you must have. For me, it was boxed set containing the first season of Saturday Night Live. Read on to find out how it led me (back) to Gil Scott-Heron’s underappreciated pieces…
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What’s Public About Public Radio?
FRIDAY, 23 MARCH 2007
For more than a decade now, public radio stations have been abandoning music programming in favor a steady diet of news and talk programs. In some ways, it’s a strategy that will keep listeners tuned in and donating. Read on to find out why I think their logic is misguided.
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Win Butler, Paul Banks and Lazy Comparisons
SUNDAY, 11 MARCH 2007
The Arcade Fire now seem poised for a commercial breakthrough with their new album Neon Bible, but the critics heralding them all keep repeating the same, lazy bit of insight. If I didn’t regularly shave my head, the coverage would have me pulling out my hair. Read on to find out why.
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Terence Trent D’Arby and Black Eclecticism
SATURDAY, 13 JANUARY 2007
Why is it that the work of black musicians is so often understood and criticized only in terms of genre categories, and a limited set at that? This post attempts to answer that question through looking at yet another underappreciated recording, this one by Terence Trent D’Arby.
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The Almost Best of 2006
TUESDAY, 2 JANUARY 2007
As a prelude to the mailing of my lovingly compiled 2006 best-of compiliation, this post presents the list of items that almost made the cut. Included as well are explanations for the curious about the time-intensive process that I employ to select the items for the compilation
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2006
Cat Power Channels Dusty Springfield: The Greatest
TUESDAY, 18 APRIL 2006
It sounded crazy to me when I learned that Cat Power was recording in Memphis with a number of musicians who worked on Al Green’s recordings in the 1970s. But that I’m finally listening to the resultant release, The Greatest, the choice makes perfect, beautiful sense…
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The Sound of Vidro Azul
SUNDAY, 2 APRIL 2006
Along with many of my friends, I find myself increasingly disappointed by the fare on my local radio stations. And like many of them, I’ve recently turned to the Internet to find terrestrial shows and podcasts to fill the gap. Recently, my friend Pedro started telling everyone about a great show from Portugal called Vidro Azul. If you’re looking for a great radio show, you could do yourself a favor by checking it out. As always, read on for the details…
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2005
Reports of Its Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated/2005’s Also-Rans
THURSDAY, 29 DECEMBER 2005
It currently seems to be common sense that declining album sales in the U.S. are a result of consumers choosing download rather than purchase material. Here I argue that common sense is more received wisdom and link to some articles that provide background. And, finally, I publish the list of albums that almost made the 2005 best-of list.
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Earticklers, Me’shell Ndegéocello and Morning Becomes Eclectic
TUESDAY, 28 JUNE 2005
This post is a hodgepodge—as the title above might indicate. In it, you’ll find a list of the discs currently in heavy rotation in my home CD player, especially by Me’shell Ndegéocello. Also on offer are some notes on Nic Harcourt, spurred by a feature on him in a recent issue of the New York Times Magazine.
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Apostle of Hustle’s Modern-Day Folkloric Feel
SUNDAY, 27 MARCH 2005
Since I was first turned on to Toronto’s Broken Social Scene last year, I have found myself loving everything recorded on their label, Arts and Crafts. Apostle of Hustle is a spin-off from BSS, and its debut album Folkloric Feel is an absolute gem. Details in the full post…
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Catching Up with Eric Matthews
WEDNESDAY, 9 MARCH 2005
After years of silence, multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter, Eric Matthews has re-emerged with a mini-album, Six Kinds of Passion Looking for an Exit, and promises of a full-length release. Read on to find out why both bits of news are good things, and what Matthews has done in the time since we last heard from him…
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Night Music and Allen Toussaint’s Sublimely Beautiful Southern Nights
THURSDAY, 3 MARCH 2005
In this post, I sound a lament for Night Music, one of the most eclectic late-night music shows ever broadcast on U.S. network television. I also heap praise on singer, pianist and composer Allen Toussaint, one of the artists I (re)discovered through watching the show.
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Music for a Darkened Room: (Leslie) Feist’s Let It Die
MONDAY, 21 FEBRUARY 2005
(Leslie) Feist’s Let It Die has to be one of the most beautiful and brilliant albums ever released. The sound of her voice, the inventiveness of the arrangements, and the wide range of styles she explores all make the album worth experiencing. Read on to get the full story…
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2004
Jeff Buckley’s Grace ... Ten Years Later
MONDAY, 6 SEPTEMBER 2004
It’s been almost a decade since Jeff Buckley’s Grace was first released, and to celebrate, Sony/Columbia has released a tenth-anniversary deluxe edition of the album—with obligatory bonus tracks. Read on to learn more about what’s inside the package as well as to hear the sad tale of the profiteering of Buckley’s mother.
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Concept Albums, Marvin Gaye and What’s Going On
WEDNESDAY, 4 AUGUST 2004
I’ve been thinking a lot about concept albums lately, partly because they will be the subject of my fall seminar. Planning the seminar is turning out to be more difficult than I thought, since I'm trying to narrow down a large list to ten items. One of them is clear, though: Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. Read the rest of the post to find out what the other recordings are, and why I think the Gaye album is musically brilliant.
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The Durutti Column and the Art of Simplicity
TUESDAY, 3 AUGUST 2004
This is another semi-nostalgic post about a song I heard only once in the mid-1980s. The song is “Tomorrow”, and the group is the Durutti Column. Despite my brief encounter, the track made such an impression that nearly 20 years on I had to track down the disc from which it was taken. Click through to find out why the rest of the album is just as good…
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Want One? The Latest from Rufus Wainwright, That Is
WEDNESDAY, 28 JULY 2004
Rufus Wainwright is one of those artists I have long overlooked, and I'm not sure why. After hearing his two earliest albums during a road trip, I went searching for them in the Berkeley Amoeba. Neither of them were in stock, but his latest release Want One was on sale. So I snapped it up and had my ears blown. Read on to get full story…
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(George Michael’s) Patience Has Its Own Rewards
SATURDAY, 29 MAY 2004
Is the title a reference to what fans had to display as they waited years to hear new material from George Michael? Even if it isn’t, this release rewards all those who were clamoring for something, anything that could match Michael’s last great album, 2006’s Older. Find out why by reading the rest…
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Teena Marie’s “Portuguese Love”
TUESDAY, 25 MAY 2004
Rather than wax exegetical on a single album or a group of albums, I decided this time out to write about only one song. “Portuguese Love” is another unsung gem from the late 1970s. You might not even hear this one on a dusties show, but you’ll enjoy it if you do. As always, read on to find out why…
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Lloyd Cole’s Literate Cynicism
MONDAY, 24 MAY 2004
Lloyd Cole has fascinated me since I first heard tracks from his debut album Rattlesnakes back in 1984. This post is a series of reflections on the subtleties of Cole’s music and the witty, world-weariness of his lyrics since the mid-1980s…
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The Comfortable Elegance of Roxy Music’s Avalon
MONDAY, 17 MAY 2004
After discussing the merits and careers of Paul Weller and Bryan Ferry with some friends recently, I realized it was time to give Roxy Music’s final studio album, Avalon, another spin. Along with a flood of memories, here’s what came out of the experience…
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This Tattooed Bride is Beautifully Complicated
THURSDAY, 29 APRIL 2004
Today was Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington’s birthday and a reissue of Masterpieces by Ellington got me thinking about what a wonderful, sadly overlooked piece this is. In it one hears pre-echoes of things that Charles Mingus, among others, would adapt in his arranging years later. Read the rest of the story using the link below.
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Digging Goldfrapp, Lamb and Ron Sexsmith
THURSDAY, 8 APRIL 2004
I recently acquired some remarkable, mostly new releases, spurred in one case by listening online to a radio show in Detroit. Read on to find out more about how I “discovered” Goldfrapp and got reacquainted with Lamb and Ron Sexsmith.
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A Fine Hour with The Sundays
TUESDAY, 30 MARCH 2004
A long drive to Ann Arbor helped me to rediscover how amazing the Sundays’ debut album, Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic is. It was an obsession during my last year of college, and hearing it with fresh ears has me putting it back into heavy rotation. Click through to the post for the full story…
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Returning to Battle with the Art of Noise
THURSDAY, 18 MARCH 2004
The recent reissue of the Art of Noise’s debut EP gets me talking technology and influence as well as singing the praises of producer Trevor Horn.
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Why I Love Christopher Tracy’s Parade
SATURDAY, 6 MARCH 2004
This has to be one of the most consistently inventive albums that Prince ever produced. (Too bad the movie it accompanied was a dud). In this post, I explain why I love “Christopher Tracy’s Parade” as well as everything else on this recording.
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Outkast, Pedro, Peace Orchestra, Mice Parade and Múm
FRIDAY, 20 FEBRUARY 2004
This inaugural post features observations on some of the recordings I’ve been digging, many recommended by my friend Pedro. Included among them are releases by the artists listed in the title, all of whom have produced some challenging and eartickling music…