Final thoughts on Oya 2006

An enjoyable weekend, which ended on a high despite occasional rain and headaches. Still feeling a bit tired, but here goes.

Highlights:

Like I said, it ended on a high. Love is All played for and charmed the few that had made their way from the festival camp down to John Dee on Saturday. Their live versions of the songs from "Nine Times that Same Song" were even better than on the record. They seemed surprised at the positive reaction from the audience, who danced throughout the set, as did Tim Harrongton from Les Savy Fav.

The Wrens were even better. Such energy. Such passion. As far as I can remember, they played the whole of the excellent "Meadowland", and even got a bunch of kids (including the seemingly omnipresent guy from Les Savy Fav) to provide extra ...erm...percussion. If you didn't get there, you missed out. Best gig of the weekend.

But earlier in the week...

...I saw the Brakes, who rocked despite some technical problems, and the charming but clichèd Shit City on the club gigs on Wednesday.

!!! (pronounce it how you will) played a groovy set, but I wish they'd have more songs of the same calibere as "Me and Giuliani Down By the Schoolyard", which they performed to excellence at Oya.

Mark E. Smith, Mr. Grumpy himself, was highly enjoyable. His umpteenth edition of the Fall provided more than enough umph to complement the songs, mostly from Fall Heads Roll plus a classic in the form of "Mr. Pharmacist". Mr. Smith himself stumbled around turning the amps up, and on one occasion turned off the guitarist's. Plus he kicked out at a camera man.

Les Savy Fav gave an inspired performance, even if Tim Harrington's on-and-off-stage antics initially meant he was too short of breath to sing. But the band had a solid groove and Harrington calmed down enough to augment them with his singing.

Marit Larsen is the best song writer in Norway right now, and her show was terrific. She played a blue-grassish version of the M2M classic "Don't Say You Love Me", and a charming cover of the Angels' "My Boyfriend's Back". Her topic of choice is falling in-and-out of love, and she treats it better than most.

What they lack in originality, the School more than makes up for with energy, humor and a few potential hits.

Morrissey was Morrissey, for better or worse. No banana this time, though.

Beck's puppets.

Disappointments:

The lack of quality urban (for lack of a better collective term) music. Last year they had Saul Williams and Roots Manuva on the bill. This year... Spank Rock doesn't rock me. And for all their admirable wishes to promote local artists, Norwegian rap has never been any good. Too hung up on Hip Hop's clichès, and no Norwegian rapper I've heard has the vocal skills nor writing skills to be of any interest to me.

Amadou & Maraim had to cancel their appearance due to sickness. Hope all is well, but a big disappointment. Could have been a highlight.

I didn't get in to see the Pipettes due to chaos in front of the venue.

Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid's set. Not bad, mostly uninterestingng. Could have been better.

The Knife. Had hopes, but they failed to be met. Ok-ish, nothing more.

Band of Horses. Their Ok songs drowned in the sunshine, and their not so ok songs barely
reached the front row.

The Cramps were a cartoon-version of their cartoon self. "TV Set" one of very few highlights of
their set.

Hot Chip. Not what their cracked up to be. Not on stage, not on record. Ok, nothing more.

Beck's puppets.

The Liars, Midlake, and Black Mountain. Yawn.

Enough already...

Ornette's grammar

Yes, the waiting period is almost over. On September 12 Ornette Coleman will release Sound Grammar on his own label, also called Sound Grammar. The record was recorded live in Germany in 2005 with his current band whom he has been touring and gigging with for quite some time. I saw them at Kongsberg Jazz in 2004 and thought they were excellent. The band was and is Ornette Coleman on saxophone, trumpet & violin, his son Denardo Coleman on drums, and acoustic bassists Tony Falanga and Greg Cohen. Cohen in particular impressed me at Kongsberg. I'd only heard him on Tom Waits recordings prior to that, where his role had been more restrained.

The title, Sound Grammar, suggests to be yet another one of Ornette's theories on music. Remember, this was the guy who released jazz from a more constricted state in the late 50's, thus creating the rather mis-used term "free jazz" (which was an imperative sentence in 1960). Ornette says about Sound Grammar: "Sound grammar is to music what letters are to language. Music is a language of sounds that transforms all human languages." (Quote taken from Big Hassle) Classic Ornette. The record is also rumored to be one of his most melodic and accessible to date, but that makes me think when has an Ornette Coleman record not been melodic? Melody is what the guy is about. Oh, well. September 12 it is.

Meat Loaf and Marion: Like a Raven out of Hell

What an utterly charming trio. Desmond Child on Marion: "We had been looking for a duet partner, and there was something about Marion...she's mystical, she's dark...eh...she's icy but she's warm. She's fun but she's also really deep. It seemed like a natural fit, it just...everything fell into place. She was meant to do it".

If you say so, Desmond. You should see his eyebrows lift when he says "icy" aprox 5.39 into this short documentary. He gets the chills, I tell ya.

Someone said that the new Killers song "When You Were Young" sounds a bit like old Meat Loaf. Not completely off the mark, especially the bridge and the lift-up towards the end. Could this be the old Loaf's year?

(Photo nicked from S-FJ's site. Hope you don't mind)

Arthur Lee: R.I.P.

Arthur Lee has passed away having suffered from illness for quite some time. There's a lot to be said about the man, but I'm not in the mood for that now. Pitchfork has a little piece on him here.

...One year older

I usually don't link to Robert Christgau, but I'll make an exception for this brilliant piece, in which he chronicles a 30 day journey in search of good live music in New York. It's a hilarious and engaging read. Say what you will about the old grump, but the fact that a man of 65 still holds rock'n'roll so dearly that he is willing to go out on a month's search for the live kick is admirable by any standards. And just so that I've said it, it wasn't on the blogosphere that I discovered Toronto's Tokyo Police Club (TPC), this week's "most played" on my iPod, but through Christgau's monthly Consumer Guide. The old man still has good ears on him.

TPC play wonderful, woozy punk. The drums are assertive yet playful, the bass firmly states the riffs, while the guitars swirl around only occasionally joining in to produce more riffing power. The vocals remind me of Clem Snide, but lyrically they're more non-specific but still apt, even if my fave line so far may not read (as opposed to sound) like poetry: "You, you're so young, I don't care what you've done wrong". The Ep's called A Lesson in Crime. Sells for $9.99 at InSound.

Why, oh why hadn't I heard Rich Halley Trio's Mountains and Plains until just recently. I've got a thing for trios, especially jazz trios, and this is one of the best trio recordings I've heard in a long time, topped only by the two brilliant Adam Lane Trio albums (more on those later). Mountains... was released last year, but I don't know if I can be bothered to fit it into my 2005-list. But in case you're wondering, it may have cracked top 20.

Peace

You bore me to death

This is one shitty list, and it gets a deserved bashing by Woebot. And why, oh why must they feel the need to have Miles Davis' Kind of Blue in every single top-whaterver list they produce? I's mostly the Brits who do this. It's as if they feel the need to atone for something, like "oh, we must recognize Jazz too", and seeing as Miles is (most likely) the best known Jazz artist, they put him in. And because Kind... is his best seller, they choose that one. What an utterly uninspiring choice. It's not even Miles' best album!

If you know me or have read my blog, you'll know that I love Jazz. I'd have plenty of Jazz records in my top-whatever list, and not because I feel guilty or obliged to recognize the genre either. But you wouldn't see Kind... anywhere near the top of that list. It's a nice album. Occasionally beautiful, even. But not that great. Broaden your horizons, please.

F*cking-money-grabbing-p*ssy-ass-advertisers!!!

Jeff Chang quoted Davey D in yesterday's blog:

"According to Black radio programmers they avoided playing rap, because it was affecting their advertising".

And advertisers have always had a hand in hampering the exposure of African-American culture in the American media, from radio to movies and through to television. They've been afraid to alienate certain groups in America, in the early days, racist and biased Southerners for the most part. "No balls, mo' money" must've been their motto. They never learn, though, the f*ckers.

The Crazy Diamond

Syd Barrett passed away this weekend. I've never been a fan, but he's meant a lot to several people I admire, and it's interesting to note that Pink Floyd really became shit only after he left the band, as well as that the only album worth while post-Barrett was by and large a tribute to him. Shine on!

I bet you rock good on the dancefloor

I was wondering if Erase Errata could step it up after two promising records. It seems they can. Their new record Night Life (to be released on July 25 on Kill Rock Stars) has enjoyed heavy rotation on my iPod lately, and right now I can think of few bands that have rocked with as much conviction so far this year. They are incredibly precise, yet maintain just the right amount of bouncy looseness (for lack of a better phrase) and experimental glee. They emphasize instrumental interplay over lead-plus-comp; The guitars switch between chk-chk and melody, the bass between boom-boom and melody, and they do so without creating any mess. This kind of politics-in-instrumentation sets them neatly together with free jazz and post-punk, both of which influences can be heard in Erase's music. Still, they also churn out danceable grooves, as on the cowbell-ridden (!!!) and current fave track "Tax Dollar" (mp3 courtesy of Kill Rock Stars). I've danced to politics before, I can do it again. (Picture copied from their Myspace-site).

No stupid answers, only stupid questions

An acquaintance of mine, who writes for the Norwegian daily Dagbladet is covering this years Quart festival in Kristiansand. Yesterday, she wrote a short commentary after a pre-show press conference with the White/Benson colab the Raconteurs. You see, the Raconteurs had been rumored to have made a music video in Oslo before they headed down south. This had of course alerted the journalists, who were eager to ask the boys whether or not this was true. You see, Norwegians are very patriotic. Any form of flattery thrown our way is wholly swallowed, blown out of proportions in the press, and we can nod and pat ourselves on the back and say "I knew it! We're the best". So, if the Raconteurs had in fact recorded a video in Oslo, that would mean we rule.

Ok, back to the conference, which apparently started with the band confirming the rumors to be true before any of the press corps had been able to ask the question. "No sweat", you'd think, "there are plenty other questions we could ask". But that was the only question the journos had jotted down. The above-mentioned writer seems to be at a loss as to what to ask these visiting artist now, and so may resort to stupidities such as "How do you like Norway" and "What do you think of the Norwegian girls".

I must say, although Dagladet is a tabloid, it is also one of Norway's biggest newspapers and therefore one of Norway's most important conveyor of news about culture. But if the writers really have such difficulties finding good questions to ask bands and artists, we really have to consider whether or not it's worth sending them to cover these events in the first place. A press conference might not be an ideal place for in-depth questions and exchange of ideas about readings of their music, but puh-lease!!!

History Lesson pt.1/...Then we take Berlin

I got my copy of We Jam Econo last week. It is low-key, warm, heartfelt, made econo. Many, many people, fellow musicians, writers, fans, show their respects. But we're mainly being guided by Mike Watt, who comes across as an utterly nice, contemplative guy. I had the luxury of speaking with him for about half an hour back in 2001 when he was visiting Oslo with J. Mascis. Back then he was almost childishly eager to discuss Ibsen, of which topic I could contribute, and Japanese punk rock, of which he did most of the talking. He seems calmer on camera. Maybe it's just that he has D. Boon at the back of his mind throughout the interviews.

The film may be most interesting to those who are already familiar with the Minutemen and their fabulous music. But if it has one thing to offer others as well, it's the story of how this group of people fought the established codes and biases of a counter culture they believed, and hoped, to be without such evils. Plus, the live shows on the bonus disk are amazing, even if the sound could be a whole lot better.

Off to Berlin for a short week. It will be würst and weissbier. Or perhaps coke and ...er coke. It will definitely be fussball. Vive le France.

It's not the band I hate, it's their fans

What the fuck was Tom Breihan on about in his review of the new Dr. Octagon album? He's entitled to not like the album, but the reasons he gives for not doing so have little to do with criticism:

• Kool Keith's main audience is white - Come on! Does his audience dictate the quality of his records?
• It is not a rap album - Slating music because it doesn't belong in a genre is as narrow minded as it gets. An album should be evaluated for its music (and words/lyrics), not whether the music belongs in a genre or not. You won't hear me crack down on, say, Ziggy Stardust for the reason that it's not a jazz album.
• It is not a Kool Keith album - Why does that matter? Only in so far as Kool Keith should be given credit for the album, but your task is to review the music, not to hand out credit points.

At least I have an ally in my liking of the album, and he's got a bone to pick with the "review" as well.

The End of You? Say it ain't so

Jeez! I go away for a few days, and get home to the news that Sleater-Kinney has decided to call it quits!!! The thought of never having a chance to hear another new 'Kinney record is too much to bear right now. If you really want it this way, then thanks for all the great music and the memories.

Briefly Noted

A quick round-up of recent records. Grades may change.




Dr. Octagon: The Return of Dr. Octagon (OCD)

Read my review: 7/10

Mario Pavone Sextet: Deez to Blues (Playscape Recordings)

Veteran bassist plays New York loft-like swing: 7/10

Zu & Geoff Farina: Ardecore (Il Manifesto)

Roman "murder ballads", apparently. One reason to cheer for the Italians this year: 7/10

Benardo Sassetti Trio: Ascent (Clean Feed, 2005)

Piano trio. Quietude: 6/10

Mission of Burma: The Obliterati (Matador)

On Off On: 6/10

Burial: Burial (Hyperdub)

Producer with secret identity. Big Dissensus hype. Dubstep? A 2006 take on Timeless: 6/10

Nelly Furtado: Loose (Geffen)

Timbaaa! Promiscuous maneater: 6/10

Six Organs of Admittance: The Sun Awakens (Drag City)

And I fall asleep. Instrumental nu-folk, schmolk: 4/10

I Love this Game

In between watching the World Championship of the best sport in the world (sorry NBA), I have tons of new records to listen too. One of the best so far: Sonic Youth's Rather Ripped; a sharp, concise, rocking record. Guitars ablaze, bass thudding firmly, and Shelley keeps pounding the drums with the now familiar authority. Current fave: "Sleeping Around":

"Sleeping around / Sleeping Around / What will the neighbors say (...) / What you did was wrong (...) / Always ends up in a fight"

Somehow I suspect it's not about just any old love.

I'm not just a doctor, I AM A MAN

"Don't worry Mz. Pop music, your son's going to be alright"

So says Kool Keith in the guise of Dr. Octagon on his new album The Return of Dr. Octagon. Kool Keith may not be best known for his willingness to play the pop game. Whether spitting rhymes with The Ultramagnetic MC's or putting on one of his many personas, he has always preferred a dark and eerie soundtrack to his warped, dense, and crazy lyrical universe. Nor is he known for consistency, but when he's been good, as on the now classic Dr. Octagonecologyst and as Dr. Dooom in First Come, First Served, I've found his musical and lyrical humor highly entertaining, no matter how disturbing. But this time, he's funky too.

I'm not sure whether it's a sign of a more sensitive Kool Keith, but titles like "Trees" and "Perfect World" from The Return does have a different ring to them than does "I'm Destructive" and "Halfsharkalligatorhalfman". Musically this is probably his strongest album; plenty of funky electro beasts, with synth riffs, Latin trumpets ("Aliens") and elements of Eastern music ("Ants") for added spice. His darker sides are shown on the bass-heavy "A Gorilla Driving a Pick-Up Truck", which has Kool Keith doing Buck 65. But more startlingly, tracks like "Perfect World" and the highly infectious "Al Green", with it's sampled guitar riff, should get even the stiffest booty shaking. And if there's one thing that Kool Keith still knows, it's booty.

The Return of Dr. Octagon is due out on June 27.

Over there

I used to get asked, mostly by English mates, if I had a theory as to why quality (they meant "alternative", which by no means equals quality) music charts in Britain, but barely makes a splash in the American charts. Their aim was often to point out how they thought Americans were "stoopid", and couldn't tell a good piece of music from their what-you-call-it. They're still a bit jealous, aren't they.

There are many stupid Americans, but there are plenty of stupid Brits, too. Still, my answers tended to point to the fact that the American market is much more varied than the British; The country is after all a mixture of people and cultures that differ in several respects. American culture is not a mono-culture, but rather a heterogeneous culture. Furthermore, the market is much bigger than in Britain, and I also think the British music press is better (or worse) at hyping new artists than they are in America.

Why this? Well, there is a mildly interesting article and Q & A by/with Sasha Frere-Jones in the latest edition of The New Yorker, in which he takes up the issue of why certain British and overseas artists simply don't make it in the United States. In the Q & A-bit in particular, he has some good points.

His final words cracked me up, though. Asked if he thinks Lordi will ever make it in the States, he says:

"Do not speak of Lordi. Lordi rules us all."

Desmond Dekker, 1941 - 2006

Desmond Dekker R.I.P. A handsome man with an even more beautiful voice. When he hits the high note on "be" in the line "so that every mouth can be fed" in "The Israelites", Man!, it gets to me every time. Anybody who complains, unjustly, that Jamaican music is all about rasta and ganja should at least give a listen to that song a couple of times. An extended tribute by Tom Breihan here.

Sex with the Au Pairs

It can perhaps be argued that punk's "anything is possible"-attitude really didn't come to life 'til after punk was dead. Most punk bands were getting increasingly reactionary in terms of their music and image, not to speak of lyrics, as 1977 drew towards 1978. But soon a good few bands came through, inspired by the movement but eager to take things further. Granted, many of these bands started with the original punkers, but it wasn't just the music that was fast in '77. Movements happened fast too. Post-punk it is, then.

I'm not going to write yet another history of punk. During the past few years, Mojo, Uncut, and countless other, mostly British, publications have been churning out one punk special issue after another. Much of this has been made relevant due to the rise of several punk and post punk-inspired bands recently. This has also resulted in a host compilations of music from the post punk era, plus re-issues of more or less classic albums. For which I am glad, of course. Among other things, I was finally able to get Television's fabulous "Little Johnny Jewel" on CD. I also discovered Medium Medium, whose "Hungry So Angry" always makes me want to shake the booty. Then there's been Liquid Liquid, DNA, ESG, Delta 5... the list goes on.

Strangely, though, there has been no sign of any re-issues by the Au Pairs. That is until now. Castle Music has released Stepping Out Of Line: The Anthology which collects their two albums Playing with a Different Sex and Sense and Sensuality, plus plus. As the titles of the two albums suggest, one of their main topics was sex: the lure of it, the danger of it, the guilt, the pressure, how to live up to expectations, how to perform. Their two girls + two guys line-up meant that their topic could be presented from both of the sex' view, and indeed many of their songs are built around the interchanging vocals of Lesley Woods and Paul Foad performing the lyrics almost like a conversation. The staccato guitars signal the anxiety while Jane Munro's bass and Pete Hammond's drums pump out danceable rhythms that take the role of temptation. "Come Again" from Playing... is their shining moment, a view into a relationship strained by the expectations of sex.

Yes thank you, I got one
Yes it was nice, yes we should go to sleep now
Yes, yes it was fine
We must, we must do it again sometime
We must - yes, but I'm tired
Cum again, wot, I need to
shit, I forgot to put my cap in...

(Mp3 courtesy of Rockin Rina'sWomen of 1970's Punk ).

True

"Christ but that guitar breakdown in "Floating Boy" is sweet."

And so is the new Dixie Chicks.

Is you is or is you ain't a racist/rockist

I'm very busy these days, so I don't have time to pitch in with my view on whether Stephen Merrit is a racist or not for not liking rap. (But I may have a say soon).

Nor do I have any time to comment on the ever-returning theme of rockism v. popism, other than to say that this article by Jody Rosen is one of the more insightful views on the topic I've read.

And speaking of rockism, Scott Walker is a rockist hero, his new album receiving praise from all over the place. Except for Mike Powell here. Thing is, Scott Walker looks cool, he wears sunglasses, sings in a deep voice, and surrounds himself with an aura of mystique. As well as he writes (most of) his own songs. For some critics, this seems to be enogh to signify that he is more eh...valuable than, say, Frank Sinatra. Old Blue Eyes rarely shunned the limelight, nor did he write his own songs, but I'll play "Strangers in the Night" over most of Scott Walker's output anytime.

Tired of Being Sexy

Had they arrived a year or two ago, Brazilian seven-piece Cansei de Ser Sexy would probably have been labeled as dance-punk, but they're only "punk" in-so-far as their music is jumpy. Their myspace-site maintains that they sound like "a band". But, yes, they are dance in their use of synthesizers for beats, melody and texture, and also because their music is, you know, danceable. The other elements are closer to guitar-pop (or 90's"indie"). At any rate they are FUN. And although their English occasionally leaves something to be desired, it's more than efficient enough to have a dig at pretentious artists ("lick lick lick my art-tit, suck suck suck my art hole"), as well as nailing Paris Hilton's lingo ("do you like the beach, bitch?"). And when they ask me "do you wanna drink some alcohol?", my answer is most certainly "YES". They may be tired of being sexy, but they're not tired of having fun.

(The album, Cansei de Ser Sexy, is to be released on July 12 by Sub Pop Records).

Grant McLennan, 1958-2006

This is just too sad. Grant McLennan, co-founder of that utterly terrific group the Go-Betweens, sadly passed away in his sleep on Saturday 6th of May, 2006. There is a nice obituary on the band's official web site. The Go-Betweens have been one of the most astonishingly consistent purveyors of sophisticated and intelligent pop since the early eighties. Grant will be greatly missed.

Let the Product Sell Itself...

Eirik asked me last week if I've seen the Minutemen documentary We Jam Econo, and I haven't, because it hasn't been screened anywhere near here yet. But at least I may get to see it soon; Earlier this week, an announcement on the film's official website says that the DVD-version is ready and will be released on June 27th, but you can pre-order it from them and maybe get it before the official release date. The DVD will have extensive bonus material, including 62 songs live and four promotional videos. Oh joy! Did I mention I just had my birthday?

EMP Pop Conference

The fifth - I guess you can call it annual by now - Experience Music Project Pop Conference kicks off tomorrow. If you are unfamiliar with it, the goal is, in their own words "to bring academics, writers, artists, fans, and other participants into an all-too-rare common discussion".

Discussion about pop music, that is. I think it's a brilliant idea, and something we'd benefit from having here in Norway as well (though, I guess they've made attempts at a some of the by:Larm-events). But you see, Norwegian music journos don't like to think too seriously about music, let alone pop music. Their idea of a discussion elevates to whether or not Idol is good or bad for pop. And that's about it. (Swedes are a bit better. Note, for example, the superior quality of SVT's Musikbyrån over it's Norwegian version Lydverket).

One of the sub-themes to be discussed at this year's EMP Conference, has to do with the awkward notion of "guilty pleasures", as if such a thing really exists. Christgau puts it well in his introduction:

"It's a pain that the idea of guilty pleasure has entered rock-critical discourse at all, much less taken a prominent role. The concept reeks of the notion that rock-versus-pop is some sort of paradox--the dim-bulbed theory that meaningful longforms with a rhythm section preclude three-minute trifles with a hook, and vice versa. In fact, as all good critics should understand, the satisfactions of these polar caricatures (most beat-based popular music, of course, falls somewhere in between) often bleed into each other, and figuring out how they interact is a continuing challenge."

But their aim is broader than merely discussing "guilty pleasures". One of the more interesting aspects of "liking something you're not "supposed" to" is when you end up enjoying a piece of music despite its politics, i.e. you don't agree with it's politics, as is the case regarding my relationship with Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man" (if you don't understand why, listen to it once more). Looks like the Dean is going to talk about something similar to that.

Drew Daniel's paper, excellently titled "How to Sing Along with "Sweet Home Alabama"", looks like it will tackle the issue of invoked versus taken meaning, which may be especially significant in the case of that Skynyrd classic. Rob Wallace's paper "Angels and Demons at Play: Some Case Studies in Free Jazz and Race" should be very interesting. And the title of Tim Lawrence's alone is intriguing: "Go Bang: Some Queer Songs About Masturbation and Orgasm".

I'm not invited, of course, and wouldn't have been able to go if I was, but Zoilus has promised daily blogging from the conference.

Phoenix 'n' Eddy

I went to see Phoenix play a closed gig this Thursday. With me in the audience were mostly hairdressers, jeans shop clerks, bartenders and scenesters. Well, ok, there were a few musicians, who'd only come for the free drinks, and some music "journos", who seem to be under the misconception that Phoenix is the best thing since burnt toast. They do have a certain je ne sais qua (!) which goes down well over here. But while their music is often clever with its 70's soft rock reference, it's seldom very good. Since they begun to up the tempo on the few new songs I've heard, though, they may be on to something. That something may be Spoon-like, only Spoon write better songs. And I'm still pretty sure no English speaking person on Earth would say "everythin'" without the g-sound twice in succession.

The Village Voice are in the midst of a major overhaul, which among other things has resulted in music editor Chuck Eddy getting the can. Says Robert Christgau: "There have been many good music editors, but Chuck Eddy was the most efficient, most professional I worked with". I've personally always enjoyed his Eddytor's Dozen-column, in which he has often championed music deemed "uncool" (or just plain bad. Take your pick) by the consensus. Just have a look at his Top Ten-list from the SPIN Alternative Record Guide:

1. Guns N' Roses, Appetite for Destruction
2. Various Artists, Electric Salsa: Hot Latin Dance Hits
3. Sex Pistols, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols
4. Various Artists, The Great Rap Hits
5. Quarterflash, Quarterflash
6. Boney M, The Best of Boney M Volume 2
7. Rose Tattoo, Assault and Battery
8. Skatt Bros., Strange Spirits
9. Loverboy, Loverboy
10. Stacey Q, Hard Medicine

Norwegian Jazz, for a change

Just so you know, in my opinion ECM Records have produced some of the most overrated, self important jazz ever. But they have a few gems too. Still, I'm positively surprised after the first few listens to The Source's new record The Source released on said label. Trygve Seim has failed to leave a good impression on me before, coming across as a second rate Jan Garbarek, which is far from good. This time, he has conjured up melodies that remind me of latter day Air, which is very good. But where Air upped the tempo frequently, both for juxtaposition, thrill and effect, The Source prefer the slow tempos tytpical of much ECM output. They do have a playfulness that is rare in those parts though, and Mats Eilertsen, who replaced Ingebrigt Haaker Flaten on bass, impresses. A promising effort.

Also, Thelonious Monk was honored with a posthumous Pulitzer Prize recently. More here and here.

Bob the Builder

I enjoyed this. Stylus has a feature this week where writer Dom Passantino has taken the task to listen to and review every British number one single of the new millennium. Judging from his ratings so far, he seems to have a penchant for Handbag House and soft Dance-tracks; both Fragma and Spiller receive good ratings. I'm not sure any track deserves a 0 out of 10, though, no matter how bad, stupid or mean spirited it is.

An unsung favorite if mine popped up on the list too. I never did know that Bob the Builder's "Can We Fix It" spent three weeks as Britain's number one single. But it's a great track. A solid stomper that preaches the idea that nothing is impossible:

"Bob the Builder, CAN WE FIX IT?, Bob the Builder, YES, WE CAN!"

Exactly what I would like to teach the kids. And a good few adults too. That's the spirit.

Busy Bee

Tom Verlaine is about to release two albums on Thrill Jockey in short succession. The aptly titled Songs and Other Things will be out on the 25th of April. It will contain songs, obviously, and other things (?!?). You can stream "Orbit" and "The Day of You" from that album courtesy of the Thrill Jockey web site. Both are songs, and probably other things (ok, stop it!). Couldn't find the release date for Around, which will be his second of the year. Rumor has it Around will be an instrumental record. Mr. Verlaine is also the main feature in the latest WIRE. They also have an exclusive mp3 on their web site, which you can find here.

Also, Slate had a beautiful picture special of Jazz musicians yesterday.

Will you Please be Quiet, Please!

In my humble opinion, Kenny Drew has never made a good album. Not truly good, anyway. Of course that doesn't exclude him from the right to have an opinion. After all, I've yet to make my mark musically (or in any other way, to be honest), yet here I am spewing my guts left and right for your (dis-) pleasure. But his recent column for All About Jazz, titled "What the F**k Happened to Black Popular Music?", just plain smacks of jealousy and ignorance, and his arguments are not far from what Classical musicians said of Jazz in its early days. Arguments that were bollocks then, and are bollocks now. Learn your history, mate!

In the article, he attacks current Afro-Am. Pop music, meaning Rap, for the "the stupidity and negativity in the lyrics and the video images that accompany this so-called 'music'". Well honestly, dumb lyrics have existed for a long long time, and I'm not sure Earth, Wind & Fire is the best example of the contrary. Secondly, the style of rap you attack has existed since the 80's, and if your taste in music was really that varied you'd have known that your arguments fall some ten years short of being relevant. Also, not all rap is gangsta rap.

Now I want to argue that although I for various reasons have problems with much of what is labeled "gangsta" myself, is the imagery and style really all that different from movies such as Scarface and The Godfather, both of which are considered classics? I think people have to start to realize that music can be, and often is, fiction too.

Another argument Mr. Drew drops, is that rap can not be called music at all, 'cause when he started playing he learned that music should consist of such-n-such. I myself am sick and tired of hearing arguments about what music should be. I'm not saying he's not entitled to say this and that is bad music, but to say it's not music for the reasons he lists, is close to saying that unless you have a plate of fruit in a painting, its not art. Grow up!

The last thing he argues, is the lack of instrumental skill of today's pop musicians. It's a common argument from older musicians, and it's been around for as long as potatoes. My view is that as long as a musician is able to use their instrument sufficiently in order to get a given song to work, they've done their job. Sometimes they don't have enough of what it takes, sometimes they do. Skill as such does not equal a good musician to me. Yngwie Malmsten has got skills in buckets, but he's a terrible musician.

Stop being a jealous old twat, Drew. Unless you have some valid arguments the next time, I suggest you play your music instead. It's much more admirable than the sobbing you've produced here.

More Jackie

A great tribute by Tom Hull to Jackie McClean, where he goes through some of his highlights on record.

(Note: It took a while for me to open the page. It may have just been my connection, though.)

Jackie McClean

I missed this over the weekend: Jackie McClean passed away last Friday. Jackie grew up in Harlem and was lucky enough to jam with his idol, Charlie Parker, while still at a tender age. He had stints with Miles Davis and Art Blakey, but really found his style after meeting and playing with Charles Mingus, and listening to Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy. He recorded for Prestige in the mid to late 50's, and then made several strong albums for Blue Note in the 60's, among them Let Freedom Ring!, One Step Beyond, and Destination Out!. R.I.P.

Rolling Crispies

I'm not going to make a habit out of posting YouTube-videos here, but this one was too good to pass up. A song for a Rice Crispies commercial recorded by the Rolling Stones ca. 1964. Pretty good.

She's not Dead

When I first read the tracklisting for Pink's new album I'm not Dead, I thought "Ur Hand" (short sample) would be a tribute to some great lover. You know, kind of like Shakira's "Underneath Your Clothes". I underestimated her, of course. Sonically, the refrain sounds almost exactly like the Veronicas' great "4ever", but this is no "hey! c'mon! let's make out!". No, sir-ee. Pink wants nothing to do with you, you creepy bastard. Which is why you'll end up all by yourself tonight. Just you and...

Will and Tortoise are on Your Side, while Boots is on Mine

I've talked about this before, but this recent review of Will Oldham/BPB and Tortoise's The Brave and the Bold in Pop Matters, which rewards it an 8 out of 10, makes me want to reiterate a few things. I find it so infuriating that a man so intent on portraing, even celebrating self-pity and shows no willingness to live and fight is continously being hailed as one of the best "alternative" artists of today. The reviewer of The Brave... says "The strategy for these cover versions tends to be to take each song in precisely the opposite direction of its original conceptualization", citing their version of Springsteen's "Thunder Road" as a prime example of how this works, in his opinion, perfectly. But why would you want to turn songs of hope on its head?!? The notion of self-pity is the worst sickness of the people in Western countries, especially in countries like Norway, where the biggest concern for most of us is how to make dinner now that minced meat might be poisonous. I'm not saying we should be content with the status que of the world, we shouldn't, but giving up is another matter.

Thank f**k, then, for people like Pam the Funkstress and Boots Riley of the Coup. In "LaughLoveFuck" from their forthcoming album Pick a Bigger Weapon, Boots insists that not only is he here to "laugh, love, fuck, and drink liquor", but also to "help the revolution come along quicker". That's more like it.

Nikki Sudden

Zoilus brought me the news that Nikki Sudden passed away this weekend. I'm not too familiar with his recent work, but I do know his work with Swell Maps, and I had a lot of fun listening to their first two records, Trip to Marineville and Jane from Occupied Europe, back in my late teens. I still find great moments there, too, especially on Trip... The final lines of "H.S. art" from that album seem to fit the occasion:

"If you can see right through the chance / And never take the fun away / Keep on walking to the end / Then you'll see what we can do"

My Name is Albert Ayler vol.2

I went to see the Albert Ayler documentary on Friday. The director was a no-show due to family problems, and the stand-in revealed a lack of knowledge into the subject, which may be because she was a last minute "reserve". I don't know. The documentary was hardly very original stylistically; we get 8 mm film with voice-overs, both in the form of old interviews with Ayler and comments from the director, coupled with interviews and concert clips. But it did turn out to be a warm tribute to Albert Ayler (AA). My biggest fear with such documentaries is that they'll portray the musicians as "troubled geniuses". Luckily, no such intention seem to have been on the directors mind, as AA comes across as a soft-spoken albeit headstrong man with an almost childish eagerness for his music to be heard. Only in the latter part of the film do we get hints of a man in distress, which I will return to.

The film is pretty much chronological; it starts with his childhood in Cleveland, and continues through his stint in the army and to his trip to Sweden. Here he recorded his first album, and later met Sunny Murray, who was playing with Cecil Taylor at the time. He is invited to join Cecil Taylor in Denmark, and they convince him to join them back to New York. This is when he got his recording deal with ESP-disks, and started his famous trio with Sunny Murray and Gary Peacock, which recorded Spiritual Unity (said record is given some consideration, as it has been acknowledged by many as Ayler's masterpiece). The trio was later joined by AA's younger brother, Donald. In New York, AA met John Coltrane, who turned out to be one of his biggest fans and played a part in getting him signed to Impulse!. From then on the film takes us through tours of Europe, one of which ended with Donald Ayler having a nervous breakdown, back to New York, and ends with the mysterious death of AA in 1970.

There are interviews with his family, friends and musicians, among them Sunny Murray (drummer), Gary Peacock (bassist), ESP-founder Fred Berkhout, Michel Sampson (violinist), and Mary Parks, Albert's last wife. I was especially taken by his father, who seemed like a really humble and kind old man. A nice touch by the director is that he plays Ayler's music to several of the interviewees. In this way he gets to focus on the music, but at the same time the tunes he plays seem to bring back old memories. Gary Peacock in particular appeared to be moved as he recognizes the first few notes of "Ghost: First Variation" from Spiritual Unity.

Much has been made of the relationship between Albert Ayler and religion, but it is made clear that he didn't become very religious until after his first time in New York, a time marked by long stints of hunger and lack of money as well as glorious music. Mary Parks, Ayler's last wife, is said to have had a lot to do with turning him into an old Egyptian religion which includes so-called "sun-watching", and several of AA's friends blame her for secluding him from them in the latter part of his life.

The film ends with the death of AA, and although there are many theories on what actually happened before he was found floating in the Hudson River, the director focuses on the theory that AA took his own life because of having severe guilt from first leaving his beloved mother, who was partially paralyzed, and later for kicking his brother out of the band when he was diagnosed with mental disorder. However, his father does not seem to place much credit to this theory.

Overall though, a nice portrait of Albert Ayler, and a recommended piece of Jazz history.

PS: Several of the interviews with AA himself can be found on the Revenant box set Holy Ghost (Revenant 213)

My Name is Albert Ayler

A bit short notice, and in fact I wasn't aware of it myself until today, but Cinemateket in Oslo is showing a Swedish documentary on Albert Ayler today at 19.15 called My Name is Albert Ayler. It was made by one Kasper Collin, who will be present at the event. Should be interesting.

I might add that ESP-Disk are considering taking legal actions against Koch and Runt Distribution over the recently released The Complete ESP-disk' Recordings of Albert Ayler for breach of proprietary rights (read more on ESP's website on the link above). Instead, I recommend that you purchase the magnificent Spiritual Unity, which was re-released by ESP themselves late last year.

The kids are alright

The feisty one you see here is Jemina Pearl. She is the singer of Be Your Own PET, four 16 to 17 year olds that make one hell of a racket. After hearing their joyful, exhilarating new album yesterday, she is currently my new favorite singer. I had just played the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs when Jemina and pals decided to shake me up. Her vocal performance is so commanding and strong on that record that she outshone Karen O for me. That is saying a lot.

It helps, of course, that BYOP's songs are two minute bursts of utter joy, and that their drummer is one of the most forceful and assertive I've heard since I don't know when. But Jemina is the star. She takes total control of each song, and some of the lyrics seem to play on similar strengths:

Lean on my shoulder, lean on my shoulder / I want another year older / Lean on my shoulder, lean on my shoulder / And share a bed with me

she demands in "Stairway to Heaven", while she warns us in "Bunk, Trunk, Skunk":

I am an independent mother fucker / And I'm here to take your money / I'm waking round and I'm here / To steal away your virginity

Plus, she takes on the role of a wildcat in, well, "Wildcat". While this no doubt can be interpreted in terms of sex, there is no question who's in control. Still, my favorite line is probably

We all have holes in our socks / And Bad Brains totally rocks.

The album is released on XL Records on March 27th. Fasten your seat belts.

For soundbits, go here.

PS: Special thanks to Steinar for the recommendation.

M vs. M: War, what is it good for

I probably shouldn't do this. There is no real reason for comparing the two, but I'm doing it anyway.

It's M vs. M:

M2M is probably Norway's best pop-export ever. For my money, A-HA never wrote a tune as catchy, let alone true, as "Don't Say You Love Me". Teenage love? I don't know. People seem to throw around "Love You"'s like pennies in order to, well, get their way, if you know what I mean.

And now, after a lengthy hiatus, Marit Larsen released Under the Surface just over a week ago. Stylus magazine are impressed, awarding the album an A-, and even going as far as calling it "the best sort of pop music being made outside of the US/UK". This comes just a week or so after Kelefa Sanneh praised Marion Raven's debut (released late last year in Norway).

Contrary to what I always thought (I never did bother to read the album credits), Marion seems to have been the main architect behind many of M2M's best songs. And although I think Larsen's "Don't Save Me" is a lovely tune, it doesn't grab me the way "Break You" did. Marion is more engaged in (most of) her songs, more willing to act out the words than Marit is.

That said, both albums have their strong and weak points, and I'm not sure either of them are as good as the articles above claim. But good luck to them anyway.

Young Blood

Out on March 21, 2006. That's this coming Monday, friends. The fella claims his songs are no longer about sex!!!

Lolita / you're sweeta / but you'll never make a cheata / out of me

Like the man said. No sex!

Mofungo

If you have heard Soul Jazz' New York Noise Vol.2 you may have noticed "Hunter Gatherer" by Mofungo, a New York four-piece once described by Robert Christgau as having a "stubbornly untrendy belief that you play music for love, with some well-aimed hate thrown in". Although NY Noise Vol.2 is more erratic than its predecessor, I recommend you consider checking out more of Mofungo. Their jagged folk/punk/jazz may be a tough listen, but I find their blend of noise and tune engaging, and most of their lyrical kicks both smart and funny.

Unfortunately, all of their records are out of print (search Gemm for used copies), but on a website called "Lost Records" you'll be able to get mp3's of what would have been their final album. My current faves are the danceable drug-war tune "Tobacco Road" (mp3) and an equally funky one about the immigrant/homeless "Boll Weevil" ("snutebille" in Norwegian) (mp3).

Albums of note: Frederick Douglass (Twin/Tone/Coyote, 1985), named after the famous black abolitionist, and Bugged (1988) and Work (1989), both released on SST.

Sumth'n smells fishy

I apologize for the infrequent blogging these days. I'll try to step it up. I've been listening to Ghostface's Fishscale a lot lately. He is by far the most consistent rapper of the Wu-collective, and there are several gems on Fishscale as well. One of the current faves is "Barber Shop", which contains this not-all-that-smart-but-still-pretty-funny-rhyme:

"One minute you're hot/next minute you're not/remind me of the New York Knicks with their jump shots/ah, whack!".

More later...

(Btw: I love the Knicks, but it's true).

Raffmataff?

Nick Sylvester's been caught with his pants down.

Arceophone

Archeophone, the company that released the three brilliant Bert Williams collections recently, has got more up their sleves. Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1891-1922 captures basically what it says in the title, much of it from the minstrel scene in New York. This is where George W. Johnson became a star. Among his biggest hits were "The Laughing Song" and "The Laughing Coon", and the latter in particular is a prime example of how African American performers often had to adopt the stereotypes the white "black-face" performers had created of them in order to become successful. Several, but not all of the songs on Lost Sounds follow that pattern. The sound on some of the recordings may be a bit too "tin can" for the more sensitive ears, but there is no denying the musical quality of many of the artists collected here.


As you may have noticed, there have been some changes in the appearance of this blog. An overwhelming majotiry of some 67 % called for a change, so who am I not to listen to the masses. I'm not a computer-wiz, so I don't think there will be any further modifications. Thanks to all...erm...9 of you who voted.

The rumour mill

Now that the capture of the Wrens for Oya has been announced on their web-site, fresh rumours claim that the Hold Steady along with their label mates Les Savvy Fav are also in line to play at Oya this year. This promises to be quite an interesting line-up.

By popular demand, I give you a link to the video for Prince's "Black Sweat", which is just as minimalist and sexy as the song itself:

Prince: "Black Sweat" (video)

This Boy is...Excited!

This just in: The absolutely fantastic Wrens are confirmed to play at
Oya-festival here in Oslo. Now, it is yet to be posted on the respective web sites, but a newsletter from said festival have been mailed to subscribers with the news. This year's line-up also includes Amadou & Meriam, which means there are currently two good reasons to buy tickets.

US Popular Culture - on one disc!?!

I don't think I've mentioned this before, but by my own suggestion I have been given the go-ahead to compile a CD to accompany the American Popular Culture-course at my University. I found that very few of the students knew much about the artists that were presented in the various texts of the course, and that because they were unable to tell the difference between various developments in American music, they also had problems understanding the motives behind such developments. This was most notable when discussing the article"Things to Come: Swing Bands, Bebop and the Rise of a PostwarJazz Scene" (from Recasting America: Culture and Politics in the Age of the Cold War, Lary May (ed.) (University of Chicago Press, 1989) by Lewis A. Erenberg. Many had never heard the artists and songs in question, and most were not able to tell Benny Goodman apart from Charlie Parker, which may have made it difficult for them to grasp why the shift from Swing to Bebop in form and style was so important to the musicians, especially the African American musicians.

Now, while compiling this music is undoubtedly an interesting challenge, I am by and large obliged to limit my choices to the examples granted in the source texts. Erenberg's article, for example, explains the transition from Hot to Sweet, and further from Swing to Bop. Writing about the Swing movement, he puts a lot of emphasis on the importance of the steady and powerful drummer as a driving force, and how many song titles from that era had images of trains, which coincided with the sense of moving into a modern era with all the velocity and excitement this implied. This will almost certainly limit my choices to adhere with this view, while I might have wished to find another track to juxtapose with Bebop. The challenge is also to find the most representative track(or tracks - I may, or most certainly will include more than one) from the Bebop movement. I need to consider the its creators, but also how its transition from Swing is best exemplified. Erenberg explains many different reasons for the transition, all of which I agree with. Among the examples are: the wish to be at the center-stage - your own master as opposed to drowning in a whole run by a (white) leader; The complexity in rhythm and melody, both to showcase their talents, but also to move away from the notion of being an entertainer and gain respect as an artist; And also, how all this was a reaction to the society as a whole, especially for the black musicians in question, as witnessed by the more aggressive compositions of the era.

Much of this ties in with Kevern Verney's African Americans and US Popular Culture (2003. New York: Routledge) (my article/review of that book here), which discusses African Americans role in US Popular culture, both as creators and entrepreneurs, and as victims. Verney is not as specific about songs, which will present me with a bigger challenge in that respect. Which Bert Williams song do I chose to best represent this early hero of African American music? Which recording of Amos and Andy best demonstrate how terrible Minstrel representations of African American culture could be. Which songs best illustrate gospel both as a religious music and as a part of the civil rights movement. The same for 60's Jazz (free!, "free", or not) and so on.

I will also include other genres, such as various white roots music. Still, there is a limit as to what I can fit onto one recordable CD but its an interesting selection process, and with a little help from some mates, the end result will hopefully be handed over to the department within a fortnight. I will probably post the track listing on here as well for you to comment on.

Double double

Beeaaaaaaooooooooh...beeeeeaaaaaaooooooooh...
...bippbrwappbipp...chwapchwipchckchck...chktck...
brwaappbwappchkcktrpbrwappbuahwrapp

This was pretty much how Mats Gustafsson sounded during his duo improv-session with guitarist David Stackenæs at Blaa on Friday. They opened in a double-duo gig which also included a set by Ken Vandermark and drum-wiz Paal Nilsson-Love. While Gustafsson's on-stage antics and cracks-and-pops may be fascinating, I find it musically uninterestingng. His power playing fits better in the no-holds-barred power (sorry for using this word twice in a sentence) -trio The Thing. In this duo setting though, I found him and his partner too thin on themes to be intriguing.

Vandermark and Nilssen-Love are musically richer, thematically stronger, and basically more engaging compared to the opening duo. Vandermark's sound may not be all that distinct, but what he lacks in that department he more than makes up for in having an impeccable sense of melody and theme. His playing fits perfectly with the pulsating playing of Nilsson-Love, who might just be the best jazz drummer around (Sorry, Hamid Drake). The two of them create enough "hooks" to grab your attention, while never being afraid to let things rip.

Let me at the same time recommend FME's Cuts , which teams Nilssen-Love and Vandermark with bassist Nate McBride. Its five lengthy pieces remind me, structurally, of Charles Gayle's classic Touchin' on Trane. Vandermark and Nilssen-Love has a perfect companion in McBride, who has a full and funky sound. The album has enjoyed a lot of playing time on my iPod during the past few weeks. A late entry on my year-end list of 2005, it may also enjoy some critical success this year given that it was just released at the tail-end of last year.

Double trouble

There is two of them, they're very cute in a suicidegirls/Avril/early Ashlee kind of way, and blink-and-you'll-miss-it one of them appears to be taking off her undies about mid way through their video for "4Ever"(video link). But all of this is beside the point, because a good deal of The Secret Life of... is pretty darn good. Adolelescent love themes, either it's "Hey! Lets get in that car and run away" or "I'm so moving on", seem to work well in a spiky pop-rock setting nowadays, and although none of the songs on the Veronicas' debut quite match Kelly Clarkson's magnificent one-off from last year, a good few come pretty darn close. Especially the first half, where "4Ever", "When it Falls Apart" and "Revolution" are stand-out tracks. It falters towards the end, with mid-heavy balladery and a pointless (it sounds exactly like the original) cover of Tracy Bonham's "Mother Mother". But at its best, I revel in its wooziness. A-? Probably.

Bootylicious

Finally, a music discussion with some substance! I did get a good chuckle reading Woebot's discussion on the Black-Eyed Peas. He says about "My Humps":

I've done a little research on this and it seems people really do use the word "humps" and it's loathsome, but "lady lumps", jesus what a completely revolting phrase. I mean, "Booty" has a lovely full-some ring to it, "Booty" is about glorious in-your-face nudity, about hourglass buttocks busting the seams of tight jeans. It's akin to a Fugs-ian, counter- cultural call for hot, sweaty, *natural* sex. But "Humps" and (worse, I mean gravy has lumps...) "Lumps" are all about the body being uncomfortably fettered. OK, I can appreciate the "perv" angle, as much as the next red-blooded individual, but I just don't think it can be celebrated in the same way. Just like "Shorty" there is a gormless infantilism to the phrase "Lovely lady lumps" which really pisses me off as well. Grr.

"Glorious in-your-face nudity"! A knee-slapper. "Lumps" does sound pretty awful, even if said lumps look pretty good on Fergie. She can't sing for sh*t, though. The song in question ended up on Christgau's Pazz & Jop singles list, but I'm not convinced. I find it too sparse to be danceable, and too dumb to be sexy.

Bad sneakers and a...

I've had quite a few of these during the previous week. Coupled with some sun, they sure help to lift the spirit.

Zoilus on the concept of guilty pleasures. More links there. Now, I actually created a playlist on my iPod once that I ended up calling "gulity pleasures", but to me it doesn't signify anything other than being a collection of songs I like by artists I don't like, or can't stand even. Now, what's your pleasure?

Talking all that Pazz

This year's Pazz & Jop was published just as I was putting the finishing touches on my own 2005-list. Though there may still be some additions, this is as close to the finished article as I have come, especially the top 15-20. Whereas before, the P&J has inspired me to check out dozens of albums I had missed in the previous year, it seems like this year I've been better prepared, so to speak. Largely, this is due to file sharing and iPod'ing and blogging, which has given me more music to listen to, and better opportunities to do it. But I do not feel I've been more inclined to follow hype, as Mr. Christgau suggests has become a bi-product of blogging/file sharing. (I know he didn't have me in mind).

Le Matos and Simon Reynolds are at it again, with M.I.A. at the centre of it all. Reynolds is arguing rockism, and although I agree on some of his points, e.g. that "having something to say" is not necessarily a token of quality, at least not until one explains what is actually said. It's the same with politics in music; saying someone or other has "politically charged lyrics" is just a description and not an evaluation. Deciding whether those political lyrics are any good, on the other hand... Anyway, I don't think he explains his points well enough: it's almost as if the opposite of having (the akward term) "substance" is what we should look for. And the fact that Kanye is now approved by the rock-crit crowd does not hide the fact that his album(s) is(are) damn good.

Right, off to the Canaries for a week or so. Hardly the most cultural of places, you'd say, but a good mix of a chuck-full iPod, Margaret Atwood , and Don DeLillo will do the trick.

33 1/3

I don't know who Mike Fournier is (or I may have forgotten), but he is about to write a book on the Minutemen's Double Nickles on the Dime for the interresting (but as of yet unread by me) 33 1/3-series. For more info check out their web site/blog.

Big F**king Shit / Right Now, Man!

I had originally conceived of a long piece about Jazz vs. Classical / written vs. improvised music, but since I heard The Brave And The Bold by Tortoise & Bonnie "Prince" Billy yesterday, I changed my mind and will say a few things about this instead.

Now, friends and foes alike may know that some of the values I most treasure in music are a willingness to fight and overcome, as opposed to e.g. wallowing in sorrow and self pity. Will Oldham, a.k.a Bonnie "Twat" Billy has never made it a secret that he prefers the melancholy and the sad. This sad sucker once claimed, you know, that he was sad because he "was born". Giving up before you even start. That's the spirit.

Now, to above mentioned record. It is comprised of cover versions of songs by artists as seemingly diverse as Milton Nascimento and Devo. But to me, the two most striking covers are Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road" and The Minutemen's "It's Expected I'm Gone", and both attempts fail greatly.

Let us just quickly establish that the meaning of a given song is not merely its lyric, but the way this lyric is performed. It can be related to Roland Barthes' description of "The Grain of the Voice". By this he meant that the voice and its grain embodies everything real of which it spoke. If it spoke of pain, the voice was pain. If it spoke of hope, it was hope.

Now, "Thunder Road", like many of Springsteen's songs, is a song of hope and forward motion. One of it's most striking couplets is "Have a little faith / there's magic in the night". In Oldham's detached voice, there is no such hope to be found. Tortoise's playing slows down the tune immensely, and it loses momentum. "Thunder Mud" more than "Road".

One of the most striking lines in the Minutemen song is "No hope / see, that's what gives me guts", but there is no guts in either Oldham's voice nor the slow core of Tortoise.

Not only is there in my opinion a lack of concord between the lyrics of these songs and the "grain" of Oldham's voice which not really alters their respective meaning so much as distorts it. It's a pointless artifact, and if not pointless it definitely offers a completely different (and in my opinion wrong) impression of the songs and artists it covers.

Big Pimpin'

The coolest MF around. Not too sure about his pimp hat, though.




Also, RIP to Wilson Picket.

He really IS suffering, you know...

Ok, since I stopped reading Modern Drummer even before I started I didn't know that the video of Tony Royster Jr. from the previous post was some years old, and that he in fact didn't turn out to be the new Tony Williams after all, but more like the new Dave Weckl, and I know which one I prefer. (He's still young, though. Maybe in time...). Favirotie current Jazz drummer? Hamid Drake! And maybe Paal Nilssen-Love.

Caryn Rose at Jukeboxgraduate had an interesting post recently. I like her Greil Marcus quote. Too many critics and regular readers and listeners/fans are too concerned with the factuality of art. They seem to measure a given artistic work on whether it's based on real life experiences or not, which I find irrelevant. Any good writer/artist/musician should be and is able to create stories that are good in their own right regardless of whether it actually happened or not. Nor must we take for granted or even expect that a writer's persona is in fact the author him-/herself. I remember Robert Christgau's review of The Magnetic Fields' wonderful 69 Love Songs, where he correctly states that had Stephen Merritt "lived all 69 songs himself he'd be dead already". But the songs are great anyway, don't you agree?

Skillz

I've always been sceptical of prodigies and perhaps even more so of lenghty drum solos, but MAAAN can this twelve year old kid kick the shit out of a drum kit. The next Tony Williams maybe?

Picking up the Pieces/Happy New Year

A few bits and pieces from the festive period.

Derek Bailey died on Christmas Day. He is regarded as the major guitarist in the improv game, but he remains a guy I've read more about rather than I've actually heard his music. One reason why is that many of his records have been out of print for quite a while. Another is that whenever I was going to get any recommendations, the various sources I used recommended totally different albums. Allmusic rates two live albums, Derek Bailey & Han Bennink from 1972 and Outcome from 1983, as well as his recording of Aida from 1980. The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, on the other hand, rate Domestic and Public Pieces and his duet album with Barre Phillips from 1980, Figuring. Allmusic are not too keen on the latter. Other sources rate yet other recordings. The only record I have of him is the charming Karyobin he made as a part of the 1968-version of The Spontanious Music Ensamble, which also included Dave Holland and Evan Parker. I've read several interviews with Bailey over the years, and he has always seemed as a reflective and smart guy, but I realize that I don't know enough about him to write a piece myself, so I'll let other do the work for me here, here and here.

I'm always excited when I read people I respect writing about their love for The Minutemen, like Sasha Frere-Jones and David Reese did just recently. We are still waiting for that documentary to appear on DVD!

When trying to find the various links used in this post I came across an interview with Albert Ayler done with Down Beat back in 1966.

I will try to finalize my 2005-list soon, but note this: As far as I'm concerned, The Arcade Fire's Funeral and The Go! Team's Thunder, Lightning, Strike were released in 2004. In this day and age, what whit increased opportunities for on-line shopping and the availability of imported records, these records and others were available to many when they were released, and I can't be bothered to find a spot for the among my list of records from 2005. Also, I have found it a bit difficult to update my list of reissues. Among other things, I can't decide whether to include reissues of albums that have been available for some time, or not. An example; The top spot is handed to Albert Ayler's Spiritual Unity which was added because I found out it had been listed as a reissue this year, although it is actually just a re-pressing of the same reissue that has been available for some years now. Nevertheless, It is one of my all time favorite jazz records, so if I'm to include it it needs to have the top spot. I might have to rethink this before I close the list.

The Nick La Rocca legacy

When Freddie Keppard passed on the opportunity to record his music for fears that musicians would copy his style, the Original Dixieland Jazzband became the first to put jazz on record in 1917. Their leader was one Nick LaRocca, and according to him the fact that this white group was the first to record jazz was inevitable. You see, good ol' Nick believed that this new and exciting form of music was wholly a white invention. Nicky boy, you see, claimed that a music as complex as jazz could never have been invented by another race, let alone black people, whom he believed to be inferior to his white complexion. As if Buddy Bolden, Scott Joplin, Freddie Keppard, and a host of African American musicians in New Orleans never even existed.

Picking up copies of the Norwegian dailies to get a glimpse of what they regarded as the best Jazz records of 2005, it seemed horribly clear to me that current Norwegian Jazz writers must concur with Nick La Rocca's sentiments made some 90 years ago. Carl Petter Opsahl, jazz critic for VG, has produced a top five list which apart from its number one spot is completed by white or non-black performers. Not only that, four out of his top five have either Norwegian musicians as leaders or as an important part of their line-ups. That a live recording by John Coltrane tops his list says to me that he seems unable to follow much of the new releases in modern jazz outside his (and mine, don't forget) own country.

Roald Helgheim, who writes about jazz in the Sunday editions of Dagsavisen, received a price some time ago for his contributions to jazz in the form of his writing. Ironically, that price is called the Buddy-price, named after one Buddy Bolden, a figure the aforementioned Nick LaRocca pretended never existed, and looking at Helgheim's 2005 list it seems likely to conclude that he is only too happy to agree with Mr. LaRocca. Apart from Sonny Simmons' The Traveler on third place, every single record on his goddamn list is by white, Scandinavian performers! Simmons is augmented by Norwegian musicians on his record, so no wonder he got on the list.

Arild R. Andersen writes for Aftenposten, and used to shop at my record store. If I'm not mistaken, he once ordered a copy of Frank Lowe's Black Beings, but he seems to have forgotten such excesses, as his top five list gives us more Scandinavia, except for his number five spot, which is handed to Bill Frisell, who is...you guessed it, WHITE. His colleague I do not know much about, but he seems as incapable as the others to look beyond Europe except to acknowledge that old masters are still great (see his number one spot).

I failed to find Terje Mosnes' list from Dagbladet and I should therefore probably not say this without evidence, but I fear he would come up with a similar list to those above.

I have long argued that music to African Americans have probably been the most important art form than that of any other group of people throughout history. A bold statement, I know. But through their culture and music, the oppressed black population of America have used music as a tool to express themselves and comment on their situations in ever more innovative and meaningful ways. They have used music as a tool to break free from stereotypes and oppression, and in the early 1900's that music was mostly Jazz and Blues.

It seems odd to me that when so many of the prominent Jazz writers in Norway compile their thoughts on the Year-in-Jazz through a Year-end-list, they fail horribly in looking to other parts of the world. Because the African Americans, who are the originators of the genre, are not the only ones who've been neglected; The writers have been so intent on showing how vibrant their own national Jazz-scene is, that they have failed to look outside of the Norwegian border, and when they do, they pick established performers over young talents. I would argue that these writers are not doing their job in trying to find and discover new, exciting, and good Jazz and then try to bring it to a wider audience through their writing. Either that, or they just have terrible bad tastes. Or both. It's a crying shame.