Favorites lists on blogs: Wha'ppen?

A few years ago, when I started this blog, the blogosphere was littered with top/favorites lists. Lately, though, they are few and far between. Le Matos has none on his blog anymore, Tom Hull has lists from previous years, but has not started one for 2008 ('though I understand he has had family issues to deal with), and S/FJ, who removed his lists earlier this year but set up a new one for 2008, has added some strange rants at the end of his list, the final words being " some other album, fuck do i care".

Maybe there was a backlash somewhere. Perhaps a reaction to the "end-of-year-lists-are-stupid" comments that come up every year. Is it for fear of not being taken seriosly? Has somebody been calling them nerds? Sure, lists tells you fuck-all about the qualities (or lack of) of the things you like, or put it another way, why you like/dislike the album or song in the way a good review can do. But, c'mon, aren't they taking it a bit too seriously? Lists don't come in the way of longform reviews, they're just supplements.

To me, the blog lists were the equivalent of a buddy saying to you in a bar "have you heard the new SO-AND-SO? I think it's great", to which I'd might answer "no, I'll better give it a try", or "yes and I didn't like it but maybe I should give it another chance" or whatever and then have another drink. Point is, they are just tips or hints. We can have a conversation about it after I heard the song or album or seen the movie (or if I've heard/seen the thing and have a strong enough opinion about it I'll most likely discuss it then and there, but you see my point, no?). Where are the blog lists? I promise I'll read your reviews too.

Songs of the Week: 30/08

• Randy Newman: "Harps and Angels" (Nonsuch) ("Encore, Encore, You spoke French!" Gets me every time.)
• Wadada Leo Smith's Golden Quartet: "Rosa Parks" (Cuniform)
• Moondog: "Paris" (Roof Music)
• Minutemen: "Little Man With a Gun in His Hand" (SST)
• Iron Maiden: "Can I play With Madness" (EMI)
  

Johnny Griffin, R.I.P.

More from Ben Ratliff in the NY Times.

Songs of the Week: 29/08 + some thoughts on Murray and Coleman

• Original Silence: "Argument Left Hanging - Rubber Cement" (Smalltown Superjazz)
• Menya: "D.T.F." (Menya/TuneCore)
• Constantines: "Our Age" (Arts & Crafts)
• David Murray's Black Saint Quartet: live at Alexandrakjelleren, Molde, July 14., 2008
• Ornette Coleman Quartet: "Lonely Woman", live at Bjørnsonhuset, Molde, July 15., 2008

Ok, so the last two are live, and Murray's a whole set. Fact: Murray was far more exciting and adventurous live than on his last record (which I like just fine, btw). The set was mostly new compositions plus a terrific version of "Murray's Steps" and a Monk-tune (which name escapes me at the time of writing. A bit embarrasing considring how much I love Monk) on bass clarinett. Luckily, the turn-out was good too, especially considering that no-one has covered him in the Norwegian press lately, as far as I can remember. Great quartet, with the always brillant Hamid Drake on drums. Jaribu Shahid (who's now a member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago) added groovy basslines, and Lafayette Gilchrist, whom I spoke to briefly after the show (genuinely nice guy), had a distinct hip-hop attack on his piano to add to his otherwise Andrew Hill influenced style.
Patti Smith joined Mr. Coleman on stage, reciting a poem I only could hear bits and pieces of, but which sounded like a tribute to the main man ("a new grammar" and "joining the ancient with the new" or something to that effect). Last year's Kongsberg gig was better, but this set was good too. Standing ovations at the end, deservedly so.

Songs of the Week: 28/08

(I thought I'd introduce a "songs of the week"-feature here in order to try to instill some regularity on this blog. Good songs are easier to come by than good records, so I shouldn't have much trouble compiling a list for every week. I won't confine myself to strictly new material, 'though, but add any song I've been listening to and enjoying lately, old or new. I'll start with five, without comments, and see how it goes from there).

• Alejandro Escovedo: "Always a Friend" (Back Porch, 2008)
  
• Les McCann w/Eddie Harris: "Compared to What" (Atlantic/Rhino, 1969)
• Nas: "Untitled" (Def Jam, 2008)
• Bruce Springsteen: "Cover Me" (Columbia, 1984)
  
• Wire: "One of Us" (Pink Flag, 2008)
  

Speak, Brother, Speak: a mish-mash of thoughts on words and music

Stef at Free Jazz blog posted some gripes about poetry and spoken word in jazz a few days ago, and allthough I understand some of his points, especially point 2 in his list, I don't nescessarilly agree wholly. Although I prefer my jazz instrumental, I don't think putting poetry to music or vice versa is doing it with the breaks on.

But there may be some difference in what we understand as poetry here. I can't as I type this think of a single piece of music writen to accompany an existing poem that I like. But I can think of several lyrics written in a the style of a poem, or at least certainly in the style of spoken word, that I like or even love. The argument can be made though, that these texts aren't strictly poetry, but song lyrics with elements of poetry or spoken word.

Here I must re-itrate my stance that lyrics be made a separate literary category. Some commentators/critics/scholars have previously tried to elevate certain lyrics and lyricists to the annals of literature on the basis of theis supposed poetic qualities. To me this isn't necessary, since I think good lyrics can hold their own just fine. The way I see it, song lyrics may contain elemnts that are common in poetry, such as thythm, rhyme, and repetitive elements, but the language in lyrics, even most of the best ones, is more often in the vernacular especially compared to earler poetry. But even more important is the fact that lyrics are meant to be performed much like a play or a speech in such a way that the performance has impact on the meaning of the words. Stef proposes how reading poetry silently can do this too, but I have little qualms about having poetry read out loud.

Putting words to a pre-written piece of music is not necessarily the one route lyricists go about writing lyrics. As a songwriter in spe I distinctly remember having both words and skeletal pieces of music come to me at the same time (maybe because the rhythm, rhymes and the repetitiveness of the words and lyrics had musical elements, though I do not claim I was any good at either writing lyrics nor music). I have read and heard accounts of songwriters doing their work in a similar manner.

But I stray, especially if the point is talking about poetry and jazz. Like I said, I tend to prefer my jazz instrumental, but here are some examples of poetry and music that I like (though, considering what I've written above, we could just call them lyrics and leave it at that).

• Archie Shepp - "Malcolm, Malcolm - Semper Malcolm" (from Fire Music (Impulse, 1965)) May even be my favorite Archie Shepp composition, period.
  

• Charles Mingus - "The Clown" (from The Clown, 1957)

• I even like Mingus' "Original Fabous Fables" (from Charles Mingus Presents..., Candid, 1960)) with lyrics as much as it's non-word version "Fabous Fables" (from Mingus Ah Um, (Columbia, 1959))

• Though they aren't jazz as such, the Minutemen's chops and speed can easily be likend to be-bop (and X-gau said of Double Nickels... "poetry-with-jazz as it always should have been") plus they are some of my favorite lyricist of all time, so...

• and then there's this:

Wire's "One of Us"

I really, really like this, which wouldn't have sounded amiss on The A List, though I'm not to sure about the full album yet.

We're half way there, the jazz edition.

Since I'm currently out of any original ideas (though I plan on writing a few words on the new Ben Allison record) I thought I'd post my favorite jazz records (= records graded 7 or better) so far this year sans comments other than to note that there have been some very good but few great records so far, and that music from the Vision Festival (Campbell, Dixon) is represented on two records I like, 'tough I'm yet to hear the new William Parker, much praised by Tom Hull and Stef at Free Jazz, which was also recorded live at the Vision Fest. The stand-out album for me is Ben Allison's, with the Ali/Gayle/Parker record and Roy Campbell's close behind. Still waiting for the Parker record...

(alphabetically):

• Ben Allison & Man Size Safe: Little Things run the World (Palmetto Records)
• Atomic: Retrograde (Jazzland Rec.)
  
• Rob Brown Ensemble: Crown Trunk Root Funk (AUM Fidelity)
• By Any Means (Rashied Ali/Charles Gayle/William Parker): Live at Crescendo (Ayler Records)
• Roy Campbell: Akhenaten Suite (AUM Fidelity)
• Bill Dixon: 17 Musicians in Search of a Sound (Darfur) (AUM Fidelity)
• Empty Cage Quartet: Stratostrophic (Clean Feed)
  
• Fieldwork: Door (Pi Recordings)
• Wadada Leo Smith's Golden Quartet: Tabligh (Cuniform)
  
• Vandermark 5: Beat Reader (Atavistic)