Ornette Coleman at Kongsberg Jazz June 6th, 2007

Man, that was a good gig. You wouldn't believe Mr. Coleman had collapsed on-stage just a few weeks beforehand, because on this evening he was on top form, even joking to the adience in between a few of the numbers and once asking if somebody wanted to come onstage and sing a song! His band was great too, three bassists plus Denardo Coleman behind the drums. No site of Greg Cohen from the previos tour, but his shoes were more than filled by Charnett Moffett who boomed up and down the neck of his bass and throwing in some wha-wha effects as well. The set list was filled with both material from Sound Grammar as well as some of his greatest hits, and when he finnished off with "Lonely Woman", my evening was complete. I've seen him three times now, this gig was the best of them.

I should have written more about this, but I leave for a lenghty trip tomorrow and I have to pack. If I can get ahold of a laptop, I may blog from Molde International Jazz Festival, which starts in a weeks' time.

Oh, Rats!

Now, THIS I wanna see:

Eddie Gale @ Vision Fest!

If anybody reading this is planning to attend the Vision Fest in New York this week, may I recommend that you go and check out the Eddie Gale All Star Band, which includes William Parker on bass and Kidd Jordan on tenor among others. The band are to play at the festival venue, The Angel Orensanz Foundtion, on Saturday at 8:30 and it should be a hoot. If you do get to go, please drop me line on how the gig turned out as I would have loved to have been there myself. Visit the Vision Festival website for more information (it's flash site, so I couldn't retrieve any direct links to the schedule).

In case you don't know Eddie Gale or his music, let me give you a short bio. He was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1941, and grew up on gospel and blues. He started out playing trumpet with several prominent hard boppers, before he was drafted in to play on records by Sun Ra, Lester Young, and Cecil Taylor, Most notably the latter's Unit Structures. Gale has recorded sporadically as a leader, but two of those occasions have spawned the records Ghetto Music (Blue Note, 1968) and Black Rhythm Happening (Blue Note, 1969), both of which I admire deeply. The music on these records feels like an extension of Max Roach's experimentation with protest music with vocals in a hard bop setting, but at the same time the music is clearly inspired by the avant-garde and it also has a distinctive funkiness to it. His last recording as a leader was, to my knowledge, Afro Fire from 2004. Finally, I've uploaded a tune from Black... so you can get a taste of his music.

• Eddie Gale: "Song of Will" mp3 (from Black Rhythm Happening, Blue Note/Water, 1969)

Check out Gale's informative website for more, including video clips and sound bites.

Art Brut ist nicht Tot!

I love the title, It's a Bit Complicated, as if to say that things are not always as straightforward Bang Bang Rock 'n' Roll. But much of this is bang bang, in sound as well as themes, which is a good thing: It's a "Direct Hit", as singer Eddie Argos puts it. Complications include learning your German from a 7" record ("St. Pauli"), and choosing between kissing and the urge to turn up a pop song you love ("Pump up the Volume"). Argos is as witty as ever, even providing answers to important questions that have been asked for decades:

"What becomes of the broken hearted / they get drunk for a few weeks / and then they're right back where they started".

True, their sound may not have evolved much since last time around, but there are hooks aplenty and it's a terrific setting for Argos' jokes. (A side note: Some of their riffs even remind me of early nineties Amerindies such as Superchunk. 90's revival, anyone?). Punk rock ist nicht tot! I like this.

Get Yer Ga Ga's Out!

Spoon's lovely new record Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, due out on July 10th, is now streaming around the clock @ http://www.gagagagaga.net/.

Two Candles: relevant now as it was back then

(Gerard Richter, Two Candles)

This (apologies for the S-FJ pastiche).

Is...

...M.I.A the new Neneh Cherry? Compare:

• colorful video - check
• big a** earrings - check
• catchy as f**k - check

Well, that's about it, I suppose, but it gives me an excuse to post a link to this video, plus embed the one below:

Sound and Vision: Hope for Men?

I can't help but question some of Kevin J. Elliott's argumentation in his review Pissed Jeans' Hope for Men. While I won't disregard the fact that pop music is heavily associated with image -- some artists than others, of course -- basing your critique of a record almost solely on its relationship with the artist's image seems odd to me. This is what Elliott has to say about Hope for Men:

"The first thing you’ll notice when cracking open Hope for Men is that Pissed Jeans are pretty ordinary looking guys. By being photographed in artistic light, sitting in their bedrooms with lap dogs and half-eaten doughnuts, it sort of sucks out the danger that once coursed through the veins of their music."

Which would be ok if it was felt that the imagery on the record sleeve was a symptom of the music on the record itself. But Elliott admits to liking some of the music:

"Were Hope for Men packaged in a brown paper bag, things would be different. Even as elaborate farce (in visual presentation anyways), many of the album’s pieces are still extremely brutal, nihilistic, and confrontational, with riffs tossed around like a shot put aiming to break bones."

Even if I was to buy into his line of thought, I'd argue that the fact that Pissed Jeans are pictured as ordinary looking guys makes the band appear even more deranged -- juxtaposition of image and sound. But I still feel the music itself is enough to merit a response on its own terms, which I feel Elliott only gives to a lesser extent in his review.

And in case you were wondering, I happen to enjoy Hope for Men.

90s Jazz - a question of vibrancy

Carl Wilson digs Destination: Out's 90s Jazz poll, but questions whether such a poll is the right way to go if the object is to show how or indeed if jazz remains a vibrant, living, and evolving art form. Agreed, the selections won't really offer much insight into that question, but rather, they are just examples of what the contributors think are great jazz recordings from that decade.

Unless, of course, they are accompanied by comments of some sort. I myself tried to give a bit of insight into some of the selections I made in my (messy and uneditied, my apologies) comments below, notably Vandermark. But I could for example have written a bit more about what I think William Parker brings to jazz composition that I feel is new or "fresh" too - e.g. the almost narrative structure coupled with free jazz improvisations - although I think it may have just as much to do with his personal approach as it is an evolution of the genre.

Also, not all of my selections are good examples of an art form in evolution. The Pharoah Sanders record, for example, is a standards record, albeit a terrific one.

He poses an interesting question, though, and it deserves a closer look. Maybe when the final results are up they will spur a series of discussions on the topic in the blogosphere? Here's hoping they will.

My 90s Jazz List, with comments and some honorable mentions

My contribution to Destination: Out's 90s Jazz Poll was in today's post, so I figured I'd just get these comments out ASAP.




As previously mentioned, I was asked by the excellent Destination: Out crew to contribute a list to a 90s jazz poll they were compiling, inspired by a similar poll on 80s jazz which had been done by the Village Voice in the early 90s. I was honored, of course, and set about sifting through my records. Say what you will about lists, but for me at least they make for a good short hand way to recommend records, and writng them forces you to take a stand about the records, however arbitrary that stand may be. Also, as was the case for me this time, having to do this list meant I got to pull out some records I hadn't listened to for a while and check if they still moved me the way they once did. Moreover, the several contributions as well as the final list may inspire me to check out records I didn't know about before, or just skipped for whatever reason.

Anyway, after much agonizing, this is the list I contributed:

1. Charles Gayle, William Parker, Rashied Ali: Touchin' on Trane (FMP, 1991)
2. Sonny Sharrock: Ask the Ages (Axiom, 1991)
3. William Parker: The Peach Orchard (Aum Fidelity, 1998)
4. James Carter: Conversin' With the Elders (Atlantic, 1996)
5. David S. Ware: Flight of I (Columbia/DIW, 1994)
6. Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy: The Fire This Time (In & Out, 1992)
7. David Murray: Shakill's Warrior (Columbia, 1992)
8. Ken Vandermark: Barrage Double Trio: Utility Hitter (Quinnah, 1996)
9. Pharoah Sanders: Welcome to Love (Timeless, 1991)
10. David Murray: Special Quartet (Columbia, 1992)

A list can never tell the whole story, of course, so I figured I'd add a few comments as well. But first, a bit of background.

Although music was a big part of my life throughout the 90s, jazz didn't enter into it in a big way until the latter part of the decade. There were several reasons for this. One was the fact that coverage of jazz, old or new, was and still is severely lacking in the Norwegian press. In addition, foreign publications were hard to come by in sub-urban Norway, apart from Guitar Player and the likes, which didn't really talk about music in the way I wanted to read about it. Also, the records stores didn't offer much help; if they stocked jazz records at all, they uncritically had ECM records because of the Norwegian connections, stocked Blue Notes 'cause they were Blue Notes, Verve records ditto, and a few Impulse! titles 'cause Coltrane had made records there.

Moving to the city helped, of course. Not only because of better record stores, but also because I was now able to get a hold of foreign magazines such as The Wire and Down Beat. Additionally, better book stores meant I discovered resources such as the Penguin Guides and, perhaps surprisingly, Spin's Alternative Guide to Music, which played a big part in turning me on to jazz musicians beyond Coltrane and Coleman. But perhaps most important was the fact that I now had daily access to the Internet where I could more easily stay up to date with current jazz through the likes of Village Voice and the Allmusic database, and access to online shopping meant I could buy those records without having to search through the shops in town (before I started to work in a record shop myself, that is). What all of this means is that, apart from the latter part of the decade, discovering 90s jazz records has been every bit the archival job as discovering records from the previous decade had been.

The music I discovered, either by digging in the past or "being there", is reflected in the list. For me, David Murray continued his excellent form from the 70s and 80s. Although I don't think Shakill's Warrior, with it's organ driven funkiness, or Special Quartet is quite up to par with, say, Ming, both are tremendous records. SQ is the most straight forward of the two, but the playing is impeccable, and it has quite a line-up: Murray, Fred Hopkins, McCoy Tyner, and Rashied Ali. Special indeed.

Another player who had already established himself but continued to grow throughout the decade, was William Parker. His powerful playing style and inventiveness had featured on many records under the leadership of others, among them my number 5 pick, David S. Ware's Flight of I. Now, though, he was beginning to apply his inventiveness and originality to his own work. Parker is one of my favorite contemporary composers, and if I was asked to compile a 00s list right now, I wouldn't hesitate to put Mayor of Punkville somewhere near the top. The Peach Orchard is a terrific record and thoroughly deserves its number 3 slot.

Speaking of David S. Ware, the opener on Flight of I, "Aquarian Sound", is probably my favorite jazz composition of the decade. Majestic, is what I would call it.

Of all the new talent to emerge in the 90s, James Carter was one of the few to capture my interest. The guy can seemingly play anything - and literally has - and make it sound interesting. The Real Quitestorm is a lovely record, but Conversin' displays his versatility as well as tipping the hat to the old guys who contribute on the record. One of them , Hamiett Bluiett, made a similar sentiment of recognizing both the old and new generation with his excellent Young Warrior, Old Warrior, which stayed in the race, so to speak, right up to the end.

As for the trends of jazz in the 90s, M-Base and similar styles never really sounded interesting to me. In Norway, musicians had started to mix elements of electronic dance music and jazz. Most of it sounded pretty uninspired in my opinion, but trumpet player Nils Petter Molvær made a couple of great records in which he seemed to further the ideas of John Hassel. He nevertheless did it in a his very own distinct way, not least through his chilling but equally compelling trumpet sound and the dense rhythms. Solid Ether from 1999 dropped just outside the top ten for me.

Still, what struck me as fresh about some of the 90s jazz I came to love, was that it seemed to have a distinct punk influence that set it apart from similarly energetic jazz of the previous decades. This may in part be imagined, but Matthew Shipp once stated his love for Black Flag's Damaged, and some of the new players, most notably Ken Vandermark, had obviously grown up on that kind of music as much as jazz. Whether I imagine this influence or not, the truth remains that some of the new jazz was able to convey the much of the same energy of the punk music I loved. Vandermark in particular made a huge impact on me when I heard him for the first time ca. 1998. Both Single Piece Flow and especially Target or Flag are powerful records - the latter is probably the one record I most regret not having found a place for inside the top ten. Still, Utility Hitter with the Barrage Double trio does the trick in spades. Highly energetic, and with Hamid Drake behind one of the two drum sets you can't go wrong. The name of the band, Barrage, does a good job of describing what you get here. Sadly, the distribution of the record has been poor, meaning not many people have been able to hear it. You may be able to find copies through Amazon or Gemm.com, or you can try Quinnah's website.

Speaking of rock influences: Sonny Sharrock's Ask the Ages was one of the records I initially discovered through the Spin book. The record seems to divide critical opinion into "great" and "average", but I belong among those who champion it. The opener, "Promises Kept", is a close contender for composition of the decade. Sharrock has a knack of sounding both powerful and vulnerable at the same time, a rare thing among guitar players, who often seem to paint themselves into one of those two corners. Sadly, like so much of his material, this record is out of print for the moment.

Lester Bowie didn't show any signs of "rocking out", at least in a punk influenced way, but The Fire This Time is still a fabulous record. The live record is made up of highly original takes on both jazz classics by the likes of Rahsan Roland Kirk, and pop classics by Michael Jackson, and every tune is treated with passion, "fire", and respect. The cuts never sound corny, and the end result is still highly enjoyable. Probably the most out-and-out fun jazz record of the 90's, and that, thankfully, without a trace of feeling guilty about it.

Pharoah Sanders welcomed us to love. I accepted, and was treated to one of the most beautiful ballad albums ever recorded in jazz.

Which leaves us with the top spot, Charles Gayle's Touchin' on Trane. Gayle may have a somewhat mixed discography, but this amazing record should save his reputation for some time. Perhaps it's with the same humility as displayed in recent interviews that he has named the album, as if to imply that he can never be as great as 'Trane himself. But this record does more than merely touch on 'Trane, it takes one of Coltrane's many strengths, the improvised solo, and forces it through the horn of a guy who has practiced in the subways of New York. The result is a sound that can be specifically associated with the city, much like a careening subway car, but it doesn't need to be. It does sound like someone trying to control something which has gone slightly astray, and if I was to bring reception studies into this, that is exactly what life in the nineties felt like too. With the help of William Parker on bass and Rashied Ali on drums - his best sidemen in my opinion - this push and pull is achieved to great success.

I noticed after I wrote the comments above that several contributors to the poll had more than ten records on their list. I almost wished I had done that too, but I think my top ten is a nice distillation of what I consider the most important jazz of the decade. Still, several records deserve an honorable mention of some sort, and so these are some of the records that went in-and-out of the list before the final result was handed in (a few of them are mentioned above):

• Muhal Richard Abrams: Blu Blu Blu (Black Saint, 1991)
• Big Satan: I Think They Liked it, Honey (Winter & Winter, 1997) - added points for best group name of the decade
• Hamiet Bluiett: Young Warrior, Old Warrior (Mapleshade, 1995)
• Peter Brötzmann, Fred Hopkins & Rashied Ali: Songlines (FMP, 1994)
• James Carter: The Real Quietstorm (Atlantis, 1995)
• Marilyn Crispell & Eddie Prévost: Band on the Wall (Matchless, 1994)
• 8 Bold Souls: Sideshow (Arabesque, 1992)
• Kahil El'Zabar Ritual Trio: Renaissance of the Resistance (Delmark, 1994)
• Kahil El'Zabar w/David Murray, Fred Hopkins: Love Outside of Dreams (Delmark, 1997)
• Joe Lovano: From the Soul (Blue Note, 1992)
• Nils Petter Molvær: Solid Ether (ECM, 1999)
• David Murray: South of the Border (DIW), Jazzosaurus Rex (Red Baron)
• Other Dimensions in Music: Now (AUM Fidelity, 1998)
• Matthew Shipp: The Multiplication Table (Hatology, 1998)
• Cecil Taylor: Celebrated Blazons (FMP, 1993)
• Vandermark 5: Target or Flag (Atavistic, 1998)
• Reggie Workman: Summit Conference (Postcards, 1994)

In the long run, contributing to this poll will help beef up my Jazz section too, but it's been a busy month and I haven't come that far yet.

NB: I'm adding this note in 2011. There is a chance my ballot would have been slightly different had it been submitted today, both because of reassessments of the above as well as the fact that since then I've come across several great records I hadn't heard at the time (most likely to get a bump: 8 Bold Souls. Most likely to get relegated: James Carter). I won't alter the list here, and stand by my choices at the time. All of my top 10 choices are great records, and the top three would remain as it is here even today. I'll point you to my jazz lists if you are curious about which other 90's releases I enjoy.

Go nineties!

The first part of Destination: Out's 90s Jazz poll was posted earlier today, with contributions from Gary Giddins among others. They write that they will post more lists during the week in addition to the final summary, so watch out for that.

I have some comments written for my contribution, but that will have wait untill later - maybe tomorrow, maybe Wednesday. Please stop by.

Sam Rivers on WKCR

This post just to let you know that WKCR are currently running a Sam Rivers special all day-all week untill Friday the 25th. Probably worth listening in. Live internet stream can be found here.

Do You Miss Flipper?

Of course you miss Flipper. Good thing, then, that Pissed Jeans are around to give us fuzz fueled tales about being caught licking leather and the joys of ice cream, all played with gay abandon.

• Pissed Jeans: "I Still Got You (Ice Cream)" mp3 (from the album Hope For Men, due out in June, 2007. Mp3 courtesy of SubPop.com).

Powerhouse live, 'cause I've got no time to write blogs

Don't have time to write much at the moment, but I wanted to share this live clip of (((Powerhouse Sound))) caught on film yesterday. Enjoy! (Thanks to wojszyca).

Powerhouse Sound: Ken Vandermark, John Herndon, Nate McBride and Jeff Parker: "Coxsonne", live in Alchemia, Cracow, Poland on May 8th, 2007.

Jazz lists + more to come

Tom Hull has posted his contribution to the Destination: Out 90's Jazz poll, including extended lists/comparisons with the 70's and 80's. I also contributed a list to the D: O poll, but I figured I'd post mine with comments when they publish the results on their site.

Besides, I'm busy writing about feminist perspectives in cultural studies, so I don't have time to write lengthy blogs at the moment.

An artistic hooker with a heart of gold: "Hallelujah" pt.2

Michale Barthel's EMP paper on "Hallelujah" - which I've written about before - is now up at clapclap.org in an extended version (including, no less, a quote by yours truly). A very interesting and good read.

The bolgosphere has been fairly quiet about the EMP thus far, but I suppose some things will pop up over the weekend. Matos has written a "quick-and-dirty" roundup, though.

Speaking of covers/changes in meaning: I'm currently expanding on this piece*, which started as an in-the-heat-of-the-moment rant but is about to turn into a ten page essay on commercials and sex roles. More on that later.

*(the video doesn't work any more, but you can find it at You Tube)

Protest! Wynton's anger not perfectly articulated

Tom Hull hits the nail on the head with his review of Wynton Marsalis' From The Plantation To The Penitentiary (scroll down, it's the second to last review). While other reviewers have seemed impressed with Marsalis' "protest" record for the simple reason that it is political, as if that is a positive in and of itself, I protest: politics in music, like ALL themes, can be both bad or good (and everything in between). In my oppinion, Marsalis' attempt here falls short of good. Although a sentiment like "I ain't your bitch and I ain't your ho" is easy to agree with, it sounds unconvincing and, as Mr. Hull says, akward here.

I disagree with Matthew Rogers opinion that "Marsalis’ traditionalism here seems apt and entirely the right medium for the message". Although the music ain't half bad, for the most part it lacks the grit to convice me that Marsalis is as upset as the title and the flawed lyrics suggests. The only thing he does convince me of, is that he still feels that the music was better back in the day. We've heard that statement from Marsalis before.

(I've written a piece on a Norwegian review here).

Andrew Hill R.I.P.

I just heard the sad news that Andrew Hill passed away yesterday, April 20th 2007, after having lost his battle with lung cancer. Hill is one of my favorite post-Monk pianist/composers, and has been creating and playing great music right up to his death. Tom Hull has a few words here, to which I will only add that I think I hold Point of Departure in higher esteem than mr. Hull does, and that in addition to the albums he lists, Lift Every Voice from 1969 is also worth seeking out. WKCR will have special broadcasts in memory of Andrew Hill this coming Monday and Tuesday.

• Andrew Hill - "Dedication" (mp3) from Point of Departure (Blue Note, 1964)*

* In case you're wondering, the line-up on that track is Hill (piano), Kenny Dorham (trumpet), Eric Dolphy (bass clarinet), Joe Henderson (tenor saxophone), Richard Davis (bass), and Tony Williams (drums).

EMP 2007: Hallelujah!

The annual greatness that is the EMP Pop Conference opens today. This year's theme is "Waking Up From History: Music, Time, and Place", and the various abstracts can be found here. I've only read a few, but one in particular has caught my attention: Michael Barthel, who also runs the Clap Clap blog, will do a presentation on Leonards Cohen's "Hallelujah" and the many cover versions of said song. As he writes in his abstract, "I will offer a close reading of the changes in form and meaning "Hallelujah" has undergone, from Cohen's own revisions to its interpreters' cherry-picking of verses, and the way that these changes reflect the cultural moments that spawned them".

As some of you may know, two recordings of "Hallelujah" has certainly made impacts here in Norway. First, it was Jeff Buckley's pained version making its way to many a dorm room cd-player, as well as touching the parent generation. And last year, Norwegian record buyers made Lind / Nilsen / Fuentes / Holm's Hallelujah Live one of the biggest selling records of 2006, in no small part because of their version of "Hallelujah", which was based on Buckley's interpretation rather than the original.

Barthel has said he will most likely post a written version of his presentation on the web, so for those of us not going to Seattle this weekend, we'll have to wait for what will surely be an interesting read.

Forgot to mention...

...that Michael T. Fournier's book on Double Nickles on the Dime has just been published as a part of the 33 1/3-series. Another must-read, then.

Congrats, Ornette!

Ornette Coleman has been announced as the winner the 2007 Pulitzer prize in music.

Egon Bondy R.I.P.

Left to right: The Plastic's Milan Hlavsa and Egon Bondy

Thought I'd post a short tribute to Prague underground legend, philosopher, writer, and poet Egon Bondy, who passed away on April 9. In addition to his influential writing, Bondy also contributed lyrics to The Plastic People of the Universe, a Czechoslovakian non-conformist band who was forced to go underground under the hard-line communist rule of the 70's and 80's, only to experience the fromation of an entire cultural movement around them. The Plastic's debut was titled Egon Bondy's Happy Hearts Club Banned as a tribute to Bondy.

Robert Christgau has championed the record, and Woebot wrote in a record guide on his blog in October 2003:

"The recording (is) wonderfully barbaric and raw, brutally metronomic and pulsating with a vicious energy."

Rock matters. Indeed.

Update (April 18th 2007): Two obituaries (thanks to an anonymous reader) here and here.

Brilliant 4 Corners: Lane, Vandermark, Broo, & Nilssen-Love make a beautiful racket

When some of my favorite "young" guns teamed up for a record, the result was always going to be interesting.

4 Corners is the four-headed monster that is Adam Lane (bass), Ken Vandermark (reeds), Magnus Broo (trumpet), and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums), who recently teamed up for some live dates and a subsequent recording thereof for the Portuguese label Clean Feed.

Adam Lane impressed me with three very good records last year - his two playful trio outings with Vinny Golia and Vijay Anderson, but especially his powerful Full Throttle Orchestra release New Magical Kingdom, which ended up being one of my fave records of 2006. Lane is a talented composer and bandleader with plenty of fresh ideas, but I'm equally impressed with his skills as a bass player. His approach to the bass mirrors that of his compositions; one foot in the harder post-bop/free-bop tradition, the other in fields such as noise rock. On 4 Corners, he shifts between rapid and bouncy walks across the bass' register - as on "Spin with the EARth", something of a Lane standard - but he just as often sink into low-end riffs, at times playing through a distortion pedal, which may seem like a novelty act to purists but the result is heavy and groovy.

With Vandermark and Nilssen-Love by Lane's side, 4 Corners was bound to have a tougher edge than his trio dates with Golia and Anderson. Vandermark's tone is gruffer than Golia's, and he also plays heavier horns here, and Nilssen-Love is no stranger to the punkier side of jazz through his projects with noise makers such as Mats Gustafson and Thurston Moore.

The fourth man is Magnus Broo on trumpet, a colleague of Nilssen-Love in Atomic. I've often felt that trumpet players have sounded out of place - too clean and light - in similar power-jazz / post-bop settings, which for my tastes have been better suited for reed instruments. But Broo asserts himself well here; his tone is powerful and gritty - more Booker Little than Miles.

Vandermark and Lane split the writing credits 3 to 4 between them. Through much of the well over 7o minutes of music here, this group proves my two notions that speed thrills - as on "Tomorrow Now (for Lester Bowie)" - and that at a slower pace, a deep swining groove rocks (check e.g. "Alfama (for Georges Braque)", which nods to both Funkadelic and Black Sabbath, and the closing of "Spin...").

But it's not all gung-ho. They're smart and dynamic enough to balance not just between speed and groove, but they also let things calm down at times. The lovely ballad (!!!) "Lucia" is a welcome breather midway through the set, as the group start grooving again on "Ashcan Rantings" (a tribute to the Ash Can School, per chance?).

4 Corners is an exciting project and record displaying a dynamic, fresh, and powerful approach to jazz that is most welcome. I sincerely hope to hear more from this group in the future. Any festivals interested in a show stopper?

Clean Feed's records may be difficult to find in record shops, but 4 Corners is available at these online shops:

• Clean Feed.com (ships from Portugal, Europe)
• ejazzlines.com
• Squid Co.com (ships from the U.S.)
• eMusic (mp3 downloads) - offers sound bits/tasters through this link.

Luscious lips

While I may tend to write about music in the outer fringes of pop, or music that some may (rightly or wrongly) label "alternative" or "semi-pop", this is by no means all I listen to, as you may know if you check out my lists. I'm of the conviction that, at least in theory, what I enjoy and look for in music cannot simply be explained by pointing to genres. Therefore, I frequently find myself jumping headlong into the pop-tastic. And because I love hand claps and a good beat, no matter how sparse it may seem, I'm currently enjoying Lil' Mama's "Lip Gloss".

Oh, and Perfect Sounds turned two the other day (March 31.). Happy b-day.

The Mountain Goats visit Oslo tonight. I'm looking forward to it.

A Spoonful of new songs + Marit Larsen talks

I for one am eagerly anticipating the new Spoon record, due sometime in June. The live mp3's and 'tube video of new material posted by You Ain't No Picasso today were therefore very much appreciated.

Also, an interview with the precious Marit Larsen today at Stylus Magazine.

I reminisce with bliss of when we was closer

I just found out that Main Source's legendary and long lost Golden Age gem Breaking Atoms is available as a Japanese import, albeit not cheap. The best deal I've seen so far is at HipHopSite for a whooping 30$. Instead of me telling you why you should buy it, I'll give you a taste of what these cats were up to.

• Main Source - "Lookin' at the Front Door" (mp3) from Breaking Atoms

They have concerns

Matana Roberts

Interesting post, links included, on be.jazz concerning the apparent shortage of a younger black audience for avant garde/modern/free jazz music. Reminds me of an article in the Village Voice a few years back about Black-conscious Hip-Hop's mostly white audience.

Though I believe greatness in music transcends color/ethnicity/sex/whatever, no doubt the experience of being part any group will most likely influence the music. I also understand the need/urge to communicate that experience with someone who shares it (as opposed to e.g. telling/making people understand). Hence, if there were to be a shortage of black American voices in jazz in the future - regardless of which experience they chose to express - it would be a crying shame.

Life's knocking right at your door

Currently enjoying - nay - jumping around to the incredible punch of this:

The West Wing: Bite My Wire

I honestly cannot remember how it happened, and I don't know why it matters, but in trying to explain my affinity for the West Wing, I cocked up on the terminology (tho' I blame the alchohol).

Still, the reason why I hold The West Wing, seasons 1-4 in particular, in such high esteem is that in addition to the snappy dialogue, nudges at current events, intriguing story lines, and quite possibly the best casting in TV-history, it maintained a willingness to include details in the processes of policy making (which is what I meant by "realistic". Bad choise of words, I know). Of course the Bartlet administration itself is too good to be true - too positive or naive, even - but that's why at the end of a legislative victory you end up punching the air along with them. I don't think we would have if they circumvented too much of these processes and had them waving around a magic wand instead (even if nay-sayers may say they do that too), or if the Bartlets were dull a**holes.

I am Man: how a feminist anthem became a cry for meaty food

When Helen Reddy released a re-recording of "I am Woman" back in 1972, it soon became an anthem for feminists and tired housewives across America. Now, I'm not a big fan of the track, but I can understand how it worked: in a style similar to the protest songs of the late '60s, the track has a simple verse with an easy-to-follow tune and lyrics that invite you to sing along, building up to a big chorus. The song rejects common notions of the female sex, and lays a claim to strength both as individuals ("I am woman, hear me roar") and as a group ("In numbers too big to ignore"). For the many women sick of being labled as the weak sex and frustrated by being second to the male in society, one can understand how the ideas of the song were appealing.

Last year, a Burger King commercial which takes a spin on "I am Woman" began to roll across American TV screens, and it has recenently come to Europe.

The commercial starts with a camera shot from within a posh restaurant, where a guy is being served a small plate of vegetables/finger food ("Chick food") and he's not happy about it. Instead of "I am Woman", we get "I am Man", and as a MAN he wants meat. He strides out of the restaurant in search of the nearest burger joint, and is joined by more MEN in his call for meaty food.

Where Helen Reddy's song tried to prove notions of the female sex wrong, the BK commercial tries to reaffirm outdated notions of the male sex as "honest", uncomplicated beings instead. And that real men need meat. It has a certain "Me Tarzan, You Jane" feel to it, and while I find some of it funny (the burning of underpants as a parallel to burning bras), more than anything it is quite dumb. I don't know whether the European audience will get the spin on the feminist anthem, 'cause I don't know if the original had any impact over here, but hopefully they'll think their take on the male sex is as silly as I think it is.

Leroy Jenkins, RIP

Fine tribute to the great man at Destination: Out.

EMP 2007

The panels are up for this years EMP Pop Conference. (Anybody willing to sponsor a plane ticket? No? Oh, well, I don't have time anyway). Haven't read all the abstracts yet, but Matos' looks interesting. Surely, the phenomenon of cultural artifacts changing meaning/relevance isn't restricted to Marley posters in dorm rooms (Che Guevara on boxer shorts. The Misfits on H&M T's), but fair game to him for picking up on that. What would be the equivalent here in Norway?

Randy Matters

PopMatters is one of my first stops on the net each day, and will continue to be so as long as they write good articles like this one on Randy Newman. If you know your Newman, you'll probably nod at what Zeth Lundy writes here, but it's a disturbing fact that so many still don't "get him", e.g thinking "Short People" is a song picking on, well, short people. As Lundy writes: "The way to avoid misinterpreting Newman is to doubt the narrator"

Because of several misconceptions about pop lyrics that many people have, they're bound to misinterpret someone like Randy Newman (or more recently, Pere Ubu, who do not necessarily hate women even if the album title may lead you to think so). One of the most common misconceptions about pop lyrics is that the persona of the song is (and must be) the singer and that the persona expresses the singer's opinions; there is a direct link between the writer/singer and what the lyrics express. This ignores the possibility of fiction in song. It's a rockist view, and to be fair, people think that way because so many singers yap on about how personal the lyrics on their new so-and-so are. Like good authors, good lyricist know how to use any literary trick at their disposal. And Randy Newman is a damn good lyricist.

Randy Newman - “A Few Words in Defense of Our Country”

Dude! Where's my hard drive + Murray on MySpace

My laptop's hard drive went "ka-boom" or something to that effect yesterday. MP3's, videos, work, essays, plus a pair of lengthy drafts for the blog and dog-knows-what-else are completely gone. I can use the computers at the university, of course, but they're less than ideal for blogging, which requires of me to be in a certain kind of mood, preferably playing records. Don't know when I can get the f*cker fixed.

Did you know David Murray had a MySpace?

They Have the Technology

Great news. I just learned, via Zoilus, that Pere Ubu's excellent and long-lost late 80's records on Fontana are to be rereleased in March this year. I'm particularly fond of Cloudland and The Tenement Year, both of which I consider among their best records. For a taster of what you can look forward to, I give you a track from each of the two aforementioned albums.

• Pere Ubu - "Breath" (MP3) from Cloudland
• Pere Ubu - "We Have the Technology" (MP3) from The Tenement Year

I also recommend Carl "Zoilus" Wilson's post on "We Have the Technology", and remind those of you in Norway that the latest incarnation of Pere Ubu will be playing at John Dee in Olso on April 30th.

Passionate Kisses?

Passion is like a slow, slow waltz. I'm not sure I like it at that tempo.

Pazz & Jop '06

No suprises here, but I don't agree with Simon Reynolds that '06 was such a bad year for music. Then again, he's starting to become a grumpy old fart.

I was wrong & putting 2006 to rest

I was wrong: much as I love the intriguing and flexible interplay of his trio on Zero Degree Music, Adam Lane's New Magical Kingdom with his Full Throttle Orchestra is better. I've mentioned Mingus and rock, but I also hear David Murray's Ming in the mini-big band's monstrous riffs, and even some traces of Ellington ca. the underrated Afro-Eurasian Eclipse.

Don't know how much more I will add to and edit the 2006-lists. Sure, if for some reason I missed a top 10 record I might, but I don't think I'll bother with lower entries.

Best live shows of 2006? Off the top of my head: The Wrens at Øya, Girl Talk at the Mercury Lounge, the Thermals at Rockefeller. I may have forgotten some.

Best night out: The eve before Halloween at the Annex. Marie Antoinette was there, I swear.

The Penguin Guide to Jazz

When I started to really get into jazz some 10-12 years ago, I wanted to find a resource to help me in my search for great records. Now, this was before I had easy and daily access to the web, so I was by and large looking for books. I shifted through a good few, but eventually ended up using The Penguin Guide to Jazz (abbr. PGJ) as my main point of reference. The reason? Well, a few: the sheer amount of records covered, and I also thought the writing by Richard Cook and Brian Morton was crisp and funny. But more than anything it was because some of the records I already liked (e.g. The Shape of Jazz to Come and Out to Lunch) were given thumbs-up, so there was a common base to work from, and also because of their use of the "Crown" in their rating system, which was reserved for a very few records. This appealed to me because it was a sober overview of their favorite records, and because their choices did not lean too heavily on the superstars of jazz. There were, and still are, enough resources out there telling you how great and essential every Miles Davis record is. Not that I don't like Miles, but I had no need for that. Thanks to Cook and Morton, I discovered such favorites as Charles Gayle's Touchin' on Trane, Papa Celestin & Sam Morgan, Mingus' The Black Saint & the Sinner Lady, Sun Ra's Jazz in Silhouette, and many more.

As my knowledge about jazz and the confidence in my own ears grew over the years, my liking and use for the PGJ lessened. I took issue with their occasional nit-picking over packaging - while I understand it from a purely consumer point of view, my main interest is the music itself even if the record comes in a brown paper sleeve with just the name printed on the front (though I agree it is important and helpful with extensive and well written booklets and sessionography when it comes to career overviews such as collections and box sets). The fact that they only cover records that are in print was also starting to bug me, and I began to notice that my taste often differed quite a lot from theirs (as is to be expected, and that in itself is not a reason why it should not remain a good resource).

In the last few editions of the PGJ, Cook and Morton have added to their "Crowns" a Core Collection, which I guess is supposed to be a more objective collection of records to balance with their subjective "Crowns". If you're looking for a quick view into these, Tom Hull (who I nowadays trust much more in terms of taste) has a list of them here. I own and love many of the records in the Core Collection, but some of their choices seem to me to have been picked - because of their "in print only"-policy - to cover for records that are no longer in print. I mean, you want an Air record in your collection (you actually want more than one Air record in your collection), but would you really pick Air Time over Air Lore?

Reading, not writing

Apologies for the lack of updates on the blog. I've been caught up in reading, primarily Allen Lowe's That Devilin Tune (included as part of the CD-set), and I've been lacking the inspiration and motivation to comment on both mix-tapes and the fact that people elsewhere have discovered something most Norwegians have not, that Margaret Berger makes good pop music.

I have some things in the pipeline, though.

Also thanks to LeDrew of Destination: Out and Mwanji Ezana of be.jazz for linking back to my blog, more specifically my Jazz faves of 2006. (A side note: the Jazz record section has been only sporadically updated lately, but I'll try to do some work on it soon).

Finally, an interesting piece from PopMatters regarding Anthony Barxton.

This Moment in Black History

It isn't fair to try and cram the album I've been enjoying the most during the first few weeks of 2007 into my 2006 list just because that is when it came out (although it was realeased late in the year). Therefore, this terrific whirlwind of human anger and energy - as oppsed to male brutality, which took the fun out of hardcore a long time ago - sharp guitars, bashing rhythms, and smart but barely decipherable political slogans it is easy to agree with, will currently hold the top spot for favorite album of 2007.

And I'm gutted I missed them at CMJ.

Favorite Jazz Albums of 2006

I had initially planned this to be posted on the Norwegian blog as a response to the increasingly narrow scope of Norwegian Jazz critics - this year exemplified by Dagsavisens Roald Helgheim choosing to flag an all Norwegian top 10 (enough of the self-congratulations already). I guess the lack of space afforded to Jazz in the dailies, plus the few records that companies do send, limit what the critics can write about. But I would hope that love and appetite for music would make them search for new music as well, and not just sit back and take whatever is handed to them. Maybe they do search, but if so that doesn't show in their columns, reviews, or top ten lists. They are usually filled with familiar faces, not to speak of the same record labels (most notably ECM). There is nothing new about this situation, though. I had qualms last year too. Anyway, Zoilus's call for more Jazz top lists prompted me to post mine on the regular page, so here goes:

1. Ornette Coleman - Sound Grammar (Sound Grammar)

Ornette's tone and sense of melody is as strong and beautiful as ever. Coleman's themes, which sound fresh and new yet oddly familiar at the same time, are given added color by the use of two basses; Tony Falanga playing melodies with his bow, Greg Cohen providing as steady a pulse as Charlie Haden once did. Ornette's kid Denardo bangs the drums. Not only my fave jazz record, but my overall favorite of 2006.

2. Adam Lane Trio - Zero Degree Music (CIMP)

Punkish Jazz. Bassist and band leader Adam Lane has many projects going, but this trio recording is my favorite. Lane's bass lines are assertive and prodding, and he is augmented by the excellent saxophone of Vinny Golia, who goes from a whisper to a scream at the drop of a hat. Vijay Anderson is just as solid behind the drum kit (originally released in 2005).

3. Adam Lane's Full Throttle Orchestra - New Magical Kingdom (Clean Feed)

Swings like a motherfucker. It is easy to hear Lane's debt to Charles Mingus, but where Mingus used politics to fuel the energy of his music, Lane uses his love for avant rock, hence the guitars. Powerful stuff.

4. The World Saxophone Quartet - Political Blues (Justin Time)

The Quartet is augmented by James Blood Ulmer and a backing band to help them bring the outrage, blues style-e, as they pick a fight with the current administration . But they also bring the funk, much thanks to Jamaladeen Tacuma's bass. Inspirational verse: "I've got the political blues, now we're stuck with Bush, Cheney and Rice / I've got the political blues, the Republican Party is not very nice"

5. Ben Allison - Cowboy Justice (Palmetto)

Another young bassist and leader, and yet another small big-band with guitar for added chops - and it works. Allison is Haden to Lane's Mingus, which helps explain his somewhat mellower approach both as a bassist and as a songwriter. This doesn't mean they don't "rock out" when it's called for, and Allison's not too fond of "Tricky Dick" Cheney either.

6. Odyssey the Band - Back in Time (Pi Recordings)

7. Kidd Jordan, Hamid Drake, William Parker - Palm of Soul (AUM Fidelity)

8. Bobby Previte - Coalition of the Willing (Ropeadope Music Entertainment)

9. Mario Pavone - Deez to Blues (Playscape)

10. Atomic - Happy New Ears (Jazzland)

Honorable mention:

• Adam Lane Trio - Music Degree Zero (CIMP)
• Nels Cline - New Monestary: A Journey Into the Music of Andrew Hill (Cryptogramophon)
• Jon Faddis - Terranga (Koch)
• Erik Friedlander - Prowl (Cryptogramophon)
• Sonny Rollins: Sonny Please
• Trio 3 (Lake, Workman, Cyrille) - Time Being (Intakt)
• David S. Ware: Balladware (AUM Fidelity)

For all my gripes about the Norwegian press, you'll probably be able to find patterns in my choices, too: Four of the records were led by bassist; three records were explicitly political in titles and imagery or even words; James Blood Ulmer was involved in two of the records in the top 10; nine - 9! - of the records were by American artists. Well, there you go.

For other lists of Jazz records from the year that went by, head over to Jazzhouse's list section here.

Jackin' Pop 2006 results

Wow that was fast, especially since the votes were due just before Christmas. But I guess they had to get it out as quickly as possible if they were to compete in any way with Village Voice's Pazz & Jop.

I'm still a bit surprised by the consensus over TV on the Radio's latest as the best album of 2006. It seems to have grown on a lot of people during the year, but I hasn't grown on mean me. I like it somewhat, but for all it's supposed smartness, I think it sounds more intelligent than it is. But we can't agree on everything.

Happy to see Ornette Coleman's Sound Grammar finish quite strongly, for a new jazz album, at no. 45. Also glad to see The Thermals' record at 27, another one that has seemingly been attracting more interest during the last few months, no doubt helped by their excellent live shows. Their record is proof, to me at least, that a seemingly direct approach can easily be combined with intelligence, even in 2006.

Special mention to Marit Larsen, whose Under the Surface clocked in at no. 113 above the likes of Guillemots, who received much love by the Norwegian press, and Bonnie "Prince" Billie, whose self-pity seemed to have lessened somewhat last year. Still don't like his yelps, tho'.

"Excuse me-but are you saying "meow"?"

Drums and guitars? Hmm, haven't I heard that before? Oh yeah, Local H! Michelle, baby.

F*cking iTunes

Ever since I downloaded the latest version of iTunes (iTunes 7), my laptop has refused to play any audiofile let alone letting me transfer them to my iPod. This means I haven't been able to listen to any new music for almost two weeks!!! Scandalous, I know. I've heard others have experienced similar problems with iTunes 7, so if you have any clue as to what I can do to fix it, please tell me.

Christmas cheers and so on

I'm off to the in-laws for Christmas. I have a few few things I want to say about the rockism vs. poptimism-quarrel which has re-surfaced yet again in the wake of Slate's year-end exchange, and continued on Zoilus' comment section. Rockism (or whatever you wanna call it; pop-bias?) was apparent in the Norwegian press' year-end lists too. It always has. So, much to be said and no time to say it, but watch this space during the next week and I may jot down a few thoughts on the subject.

Instead, let's have a few football (or soccer if you're state side) related laughs with Arseblog's truly excellent christmas tune sung by none other than Arsene Wenger Hawkins. Here you go, and merry X-mas.

PS: Maybe you'll enjoy this too - TBC Soundsystem's "Losing My Sledge"

Double Dee & Steinski

Girl Talk was responsible for one of the best live-performances of the year with his appearance at CMJ. Well, it was more like a great dj-set which acted like a gig. Anyway , his album, Night Rippper, was also quite fun to listen to, with its umpteen differnet tracks mixed into one big soup. But it suffered somewhat from not always relying upon a sustained beat, which made it difficult to shake your booty to.

No such problems with Double Dee & Steinski's 23 year-old "Lesson One" from 1983. They do share with Girl Talk having infringed numerous copyrights in order to make fun art. For a more in depth story on these pioneers click here or here, or just listen to the tracks that made them (in-)famous.

• "Lesson One - The Payoff Mix" mp3
• "Lesson Two - The James Brown Mix" mp3

Ornette Coleman - Of Human Feelings

In celebration of what may claim the top spot for my 2006-list, Ornette Coleman's Sound Grammar, the mp3 for today is "Sleep Talk" from Ornette's Of Human Feelings (Antilles, 1982).

Of Human Feelings is Ornette's harmolodic funk at its very best. Warm, bouncy, catchy, highly melodic. That last bit tend to escape many critics of Ornette's music, his attention to and skill in creating melodies. Of... was recorded in 1979 with then up-and-coming musicians such as bassist Jamaladeen Tacuma (seek out his album Show Stoppper from 1983, but beware of the cover art), and Ornette's son Denardo Coleman on the drums.

I've chosen "Sleep Talk" today for two reasons. One, like I said above, it relates to this year's Sound Grammar. It seemed to skip the attention of most critics - much due to a faulty fact sheet from Ornette's record company - but there is a beautiful reworking of "Sleep Talk", retitled "Sleep Talking", on Sound Grammar.

The second reason is to note the web-based effort to establish a post-70's jazz canon as mentioned in the New York Times. It culminated last week with the opening of behearer.com, where you can log on and enter your own suggestions to the list. Many of my favorite jazz albums were released during this "lost" era of jazz history (all three of the mp3's I've posted here so far have been lifted off records released in the 70's and 80's), and it is nice to see that other people are giving post-70's jazz some much needed attention. Read more about it here and here.

• "Sleep Talk" mp3

* I have finished my exams now, and I will devote much of my newly acquired spare time to revisit the records on my 2006-list, which hasn't seen much action since early November.

Don't Sweat the Technique!

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this:

'Ardecore

Acknowledgement of American 80's hardcore seems to be on the up of late, what with that movie and all. But hardcore, like its punk older brother, had both highs and lows. A few bands were smarter and better than most others, just like this article is smarter than most other things written about hardcore lately.

Singles

Frank Kogan has a good ear for the poptastic, as always.

You have my vote

Well, I guess someone was bound to take on the task, and I'm glad it's Matos. Wonder if I qualify?

David Murray

The Air-mp3 was a minor success, and since I still don't have much time to write longer pieces (will I ever again?), I'll give you another.

We'll keep it on the Jazz tip. Today, "B.T." from David Murray's debut as a leader, Low Class Conspiracy (Adelphi, 1976). Murray was 21 when he recorded this album, and while you can hear a bit of youthful audacity in his tone and approach, there are enough dynamics in the tunes to suggest an older sensibility. The album starts and closes with solo pieces - the first, "Extremininity", is a sax solo; the last, "Dedication To Jimmy Garrison" is a bass solo by Fred Hopkins (of Air-fame). In the three tracks in between, Murray and Hopkins are joined by drummer Phillip Wilson.

The music on Low Class... can be described as outer fringe post-bop. Murray's tone is reminiscent of Albert Ayler's at this stage, and Fred Hopkins' bouncy but solid bass keeps things moving along. Wilson's drumming is effective, and he never over elaborates. "B.T." is the shortest of the trio pieces. It is also the speediest, hence my affection for it, and should serve as a good introduction to the album.

Low Class Conspiracy is long out of print, but there are currently three copies available on vinyl through Gemm.com, prices starting at 11$.

• "B.T." mp3

If you experience any problems, please leave a comment. I may have to update the link. The track is lifted off a vinyl copy, so you may hear a hiss in the background. It will be up for a short time only. The Air-track is still available for a few days, so feel free to download.

Air Lore!

I'm extremely busy these days, so I figured I'd let the music do the talking today.

Here's "King Porter Stomp" from the absolutely fabulous Air Lore (Bluebird/RCA, 1979) by Air (no, not the French group). The album is a collection of improvisations over old-time standards by the likes of Jelly Roll Morton and Scott Joplin. Air (Fred Hopkins (bass), Steve McCall (drums), and Henry Threadgill (reeds)) were masters of small group improvisation, and their glorious interplay is almost unrivaled. Their joyful approach to the tunes on Air Lore, their dynamism, hard swing and willingness to let things rip, makes the old favorites sparkle like new even today. 80's revivalists, eat your hearts out. (The mp3 is up for a limited time only. Check out Gemm for used copied of Air Lore).

• "King Porter Stomp"mp3

(There may be more mp3s available here in the future).

Robert Altman R.I.P

Truly saddened by this.

Watt and Kelly

You probably read Pitchfork more than you read me, but I just had to post a link to this extraordinary piece of news. "History Lesson pt. 3" perhaps?

"We'd go drink and pogo to "Since U been Gone"".

Story of my life, that.

Forster on Dylan

This is a month old now, but I just came across it: Robert Forster (Yes, that one) reviews Dylan's Modern Times, and he's less enthusiastic than many have been. A good read, but I don't wholly agree with his conclusion.

Crappy lists!

Needless to say, most of the choices here are as unoriginal as they are uninspired and utterly crap. And guess what, they have Kind of Blue in there too. Suckers!

We love you back, Buck

Buck 65 calls his fans lovers and gives them presents such as this:

(Edit 24.11.2006: Link to free download removed. Try http://myspace.com/buck65)

Only heard one track yet. Sounds good. Be back to better blogging soon.

Oh, and thanks for the "hello", Mike.

CMJ 06, sort of

Came back this weekend, but I'm not in the shape nor mood to write anything about it yet. I think I may have overdosed on these:

Blogging

"I also plan to blog more often, though lots of plans go haywire and this one might too. We shall see."

Sez Matos, along with quite a few other things. I could just as well apply it to myself, that quote, but will I be able to emulate this guy's run?

I sat down the other day and flicked through a couple of my earliest posts here. Some of them are pretty embarrassing, I must admit. But my writing has improved since, I think, so in that respect I'm pleased with the progress of the blog.

But I do regret not having enough time to write more and longer pieces. There's surely enough material and news out there to offer my view upon, but somehow finding the time to write something intelligent has become more difficult. Partly it's because I'm simply not content with just throwing down a few words anymore - one reason why my writing has improved is because I've become better at editing myself.

While some plan to write more, others are taking an hiatus, Woebot being the latest to announce one. I've recently been asked to contribute on other projects, so we'll see how that will influence Perfect Sounds in the future, but hopefully I'll be able to blog on a frequent basis. We shall see.