Wildflowers on CD

Wildflowers, the intriguing snap shot of the 1970s New York Loft Jazz scene, looks to be available on CD again ('though, it's been available as a download through eMusic for a while). This seminal compilation gives a look into one of the most interesting scenes in recent jazz history, and features tracks from Air, Anthony Braxton, David Murray, Sunny Murray, and Sam Rivers among others. Neither JazzLoft nor SquidCo look like they have it in stock, but I have seen it in stores. Try Douglas Records' homepage for info.

To whet your appetite, have a listen to the opening track, "Jays", by Kalaparusha (Maurice McIntyre) on tenor sax, feat. Chris White on bass and Jumma Santos on drums.

Music Crits too tolerant? What's Indie? Informed opinions? Target audiences?

A post by Mike Barthel on Idolator yesterday, which starts off asking why it is Metacritic's average scores for records is higher than they are for movies, then proceeds to guess it has something to do with a indie mentality: "The indie audience and the critics that spring from it have become so catholic in their tastes that they can see the good in almost anything that's not bad on a very basic technical level." (My highlights).

And the piece kind of sprawls from there, taking in questions of how one can write about music without knowing enough "to have an informed opinion" with an "audience for my review" that "would be people that are highly informed".

The comments are all over the place too, but I liked Matos' point: I'd rather read a critic who's actually made an effort to understand something and then dismissed it gleefully and with malice aforethought (...) than "are you kidding?" disdain for something the writer plainly isn't getting."

If I had more time, I'd join in on the debate, and there may be some points, either made by Mike or in the comments, that I'm missing here.

But if there was one thing I'd hope would come out of the poptimist/rockist debate, whichever side you were on, it was that people would stop having such hangups with genres. And they're back at it here. Broad taste is defined purely by genre, as one commenter says " But I see kids with everything from Modest Mouse to Jack Johnson to Ciara to Trace Adkins to Mastodon. There's a healthy mix (...)".

One who calls himself RaptorAvatar is on to something: "Even if you're like me and know that you're partial to a certain set of values that often crystallize most readily in indie rock, chances are that you have at least an ethos-level sense that you should maybe listen to "Year of The Gentleman (...)" (=Ne-Yo's latest, my comment).

Only I'd add to his "indie rock", jazz, rap, pop, r&b... See, what I've found over the years is that the values and expressions I seek and like - not only in music but in literature and films as well - are not confined to one genre specifically (though I may concur that some values, which RA touches on, are probably more likely to be found in one genre over another). Similarly, what I don't like in music can be found in alomost every genre as well. E.g. indie as a genre does not in and of itself express one coherent set of values, nor do indie bands and musicians express them equally well. The same goes for any other genre.

Before I'm labeled as a relativist here, let me just say in one respect, one can claim that my taste is actually very narrow in that I know exactly which kinds of values, expressions etc. I like and dislike - though music has a way of surprising you sometimes.

This, I maintain, is what gives me the right to have an opinion on almost anything I want to write about. What I take the time, and money, to write about is another matter all together.

(A belated and retro-influenced Songs of the Week will appear shortly).

Songs of the Week 45/08

• Mostly Other People Do the Killing: "Allentown" (Billy Joel-cover)(Hot Cup/CD Baby)
• Billy Joel: "Allentown" (Sony)
• Taylor Swift: "Fearless" (Big Machine)
• Britney Spears: "If You Seek Amy" (Jive Records)
• The Widow Babies: "Mike Watt Created the Universe With a Bass Solo" (Sounds Are Active)
  

Reagan, PATCO, and the Minutemen

A few weeks ago, I did a talk at my University about Ronald Reagan's handling of the Air Traffic Controllers' Strike in 1981. Talking about the aftermath and legacy of Reagan's firing of the strikers, I was able to weave in some music, more precisely the Minutemen. The following is an excerpt of that section.

The notion that Reagan's strict line towards the PATCO strikers weakened labor unions and made it easier for employers to fire dissenting employees in the ensuing years was reflected in other aspects of American culture as well. In 1984, the politically aware punk and folk inspired rock band Minutemen released a video for their song "This Ain't No Picnic", taken off the album Double Nickels On the Dime, which was released that same year. The song is one of the groups most striaght forward: it has what I would describe as a rampant or charging beat, and the chorus is shouted more than sung in a style that can be likened to protest calls at a rally. The lyrics describe the tension between a working man, his work and his employer. Below is the second verse of the song.

"Hey mister, don't look down on me
for what I believe
I got my bills and the rent
I should pitch a tent
but a man isn't free
for what he believes
so I'll work my life away
in place of a machine"

The video for "This Ain't No Picnic" takes into use black and white footage of a young Ronald Reagan in a World War II fighter plane, intercut with old footage of factory workers and footage of Minutemen outside of what appears to be a factory. The band lipsync the words of the song, shaking their fists in the air while singing the chorus, "This Ain't No Picnic", as if they were having a protest rally. As the video progresses, the fighter pilot in the guise of Ronald Reagan starts to fire the plane's guns. The footage shifts back to the band on the ground being fired at. There is an explosion, and we finally see the band, or the protesters, laying in the rubble. The image is quite striking: the protesters have effectively if violently been defeated at the hands of Ronald Reagan.

(Video for "This Ain't No Picninc" (SST Records, 1984))

Songs of the Week 44/08

• The Bronx: "Young Bloods" (Witchita)
• William Parker: "Freddie's Dead" (RAI Trade)
• The Muslims: "Parasites" (1928 Recordings)
• Los Campesinos! "We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed" (Witchita)
• Black Milk: "Bounce" (Fat Beats)

Fingers crossed

(Via Destination Out!)

Songs of the Week on hiatus, but I'm searching for Bernstein

More presicely Leonard Bernstein conducting The New York Philharmonic playing "Le Sacre du Printempes", a work that never ceases to amaze, recorded in 1958 and released on Columbia Records at the time. This is by many regarded as the recording of the piece. Stravinsky himself is said to have uttered just one word after hearing it: "Wow" (see this article from the NY Times).

Peter Gutmann of Classical Notes has this take on the importance of the recording:

"Nowadays The Rite presents a vexing performance problem – how to restore the original impact. The score was intended to assault audiences with startling freshness, yet listeners now take its innovations for granted and thanks to Fantasia remember the work more as a cartoon soundtrack for dancing dinosaurs than as the bold cornerstone of twentieth century music. In a stunning January 1958 record, Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra restored The Rite to its rightful place in musical history.

Bernstein's solution to the problem of historical perspective was brilliant and yet, as so often with artistic triumphs, disarmingly simple. He was well aware that what shocked audiences in 1913 would seem pretty mild stuff two generations later. He couldn't expect audiences to turn back the clock, forget what they knew and participate in an aesthetic masquerade. Nor would he falsify the score by adding more “modern” elements. There was only one way to jolt contemporary listeners while preserving the integrity of Stravinsky's original conception: to generate a level of energy so intense as to restore the disparity between what the audience expected and what they had to feel. Bernstein's performance explodes with huge crackling sparks of rough, untamed excitement." (Click here for the full original article).

Sounds intriguing indeed. The original cover looked like this:


The recording has since been re-released on CD in a Roayl Edition by Sony Classical (SMK 47629, with a recording of "Petrushka" as a bonus, recommended by Gutmann.


Apparently, this edition has been discontinued and is currently out of print. (There are other recordings of Bernstein conducting "Rite...", but they don't seem to have garnered as much praise).

As an avid music fan and record collector, I'm used to records being out of print, even highly praised and "important" works (I'm currently pushing Arista to release Air's Air Lore on CD. Altough I do own that record, you may not, and you deserve one). It's none the less a crying shame.

It seems the only way to get this particular recording is to fork out a whooping 99,99$ for a used copy on Amazon (ain't gonna happen buddy), or go for the The Original Jacket Collection-box set, but that too seems to be out of print and very expensive.

Am I missing something here?

EDIT: found a version of the original LP on eBay a month or so after this was posted. Moral of the story is: seek and you shall find.

I don't see no ring on this finger

Me and S/FJ don't always see eye-to-eye, but we just as often do. In his New Yorker blog today he has a nice little list of Beyoncé's many confusing love tips, ending with this gem dissecting her latest song "Single Ladies":

"If a man values your relationship, be prepared to demand a commitment. Suggest that he signal the value of his commitment by buying you an enormous piece of jewelry, something big enough to kill a hamster with one mild blow."

Sums it up nicely. The fast beat seems to imply that you're in a hurry, too: "Demand a ring, NOW, before it's too late". Don't take that advice. (Plus, that dance is just plain silly (and others have pointed out the obvious inspiration, so I won't)).

Songs of the Week bonanza 41+42/08

• Blitzen Trapper: "God & Suicide" (Sub Pop)
• The Knux: "Bang Bang" (Interscope)
• Mostly Other People Do the Killing: "Drainlick" (Moppa Music/CDBaby)
  
• Lucinda Williams "Little Rock Star" (Lost Highway)
• Fucked Up: "Black Albino Bones" (Matador)
• Dog & Sky: "Twilight" (Crispin Glover Rec.)
  
• Love is All: "New Beginnings" (What's Your Rupture)
• Oscar Brown Jr.: "But I Was Cool" (Sony)
• Annie: "My Love Is Better" (Island)
• Taylor Swift: "Change" (Big Machine)

A few thoughts on people wanting change and their critics

I’m always baffled as to how certain Amercains attack people who want to change certain aspects of their government and country with such comments as “if you hate the country so much, why don’t you leave” and calling them unpatriotic.

Don’t you see, it is exactly because people love their country that they want to change things, to make it even better for themselves and their fellow citizens (re: the Constitution: “to form a more perfect union” (my emphasis)).

A question for you: If someone you love becomes an alcoholic, do you help them get on the right track or do you leave them be?

CMJ 2008 Schedule

The schedule for this year's CMJ Marathon, one I cannot attend (damnit), has been announced. Full list of artists here, the panels here. Looking at the list of artists hurt my eyes, but from what quick glance I could muster, I did see David Banner, Dead Prez, Jay Retard, Love as Laughter, Lykke Li, and Roisin Murphy (purr) there, plus the hilariously named Ex Norwegian, who I know nothing about. These may or may not be the highlights.

Oh, and catchy hard core-faves The Bronx will be playing, and coincidently you can listen to their new song "Past Lives" here, courtesy of Blender. Their new album will be out on Nov. 11th.

Hilliard Greene and Sonic Openings Under Pressure - an overlooked gem from last year

Having become smitten with the talents of bassist Hilliard Greene lately - particulalry on last years Matt Lavelle-led Spiritual Power as well as Akhenaten Suite by the Roy Campbell Ensemble, which came out earlier this year - I was recently browsing the web for other projects he's been involved in. Turns out he has had quite a varied career.

He played on Charles Gayle's Repent from 1992, a record I own but haven't listened to in quite a while (there are some recent videos on YouTube of him playing with Gayle also). Since then he has played on records by such creative musicians as Dave Douglas (Sanctuary), Leroy Jenkins (Leroy Jenkins Live!), and notably Little Jimmy Scott, with whom he is still the bassist of choice, as far as I know.

As the above list would suggest, Mr. Greene's approach to bass is as varied as his collaborators, equally comfortable playing smooth, long notes, as well as speedier runs, while at the same time keeping strong and clear tones. One of the biggest joys of his playing, however, is his willingness to lock into grooves and plays powerful riff-like themes.



Wich brings me to Sonic Openings Under Pressure, which in addition to Greene is comprised of Patrick Brennan on saxophones and David Pleasant on drums (who replaced Newman Taylor Baker, as far as I can tell). Last year, the group released Muhheankuntuk on Clean Feed, a record I feel recieved unfairly little notice and was underappreciated. I, for one, am with Stef at Free Jazz in thinking that it's a great piece of modern imrpovisational jazz, intense and open ended at once, with the frenetic "Hardship" as some sort of centerpiece, a groovy spoken word/punky number that wouldn't have sounded too out of place on a Minutemen record. Great song, great record.

Preview/download at eMusic.
Buy the CD from Jazz Loft or directly from Clean Feed.

Songs of the Week 40/08...

...will be entirely dedicated to Robert Forster, who I went to see play at the lovely Passionskirche in Berlin last weekend. Picking a top 5 from that set-list seems unfair, however, though highlights certainly included "Surfing Magazines" ("Be the kind of people the authoroties can't reach"), "Spring Rain" (which apparently left members of the audience in tears), a theatrical/Presley-esque rendition of "Heart Cut to Tender", "He Lives My Life", and the closing "Caroline and I", of which I found a grainy and lo-fi 'tube video I've posted below.

Defective Modern Dance CDs in Norway

I recently discovered that there seem to be a batch of defective copies of Pere Ubu's The Modern Dance-reissue (Cook CD 141) on sale through the distributer of Cooking Vinyl in Norway, presumably from the same batch that was initially recalled in June 2008. I've notified David Thomas/Ubuprojex (who have put a note up on the web page with additional info). Hopefully, new faulty-free copies of the reissue should become available soon.

In additional Pere Ubu news, a 2008 remastered edition of Dub Housing will be available in November. Also, visit hearpen.com for downloadable Pere Ubu stuff.

Belated Songs of the Week 39/08 + Berlin and Robert Forster beckons

• Sonic Opening Under Pressure: "The Hardships" (Clean Feed (teasers at eMusic))
• Jesus H. Christ and the Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse: "Liz the Hot Receptionist"
• Report Suspicious Activity: "Lipstic on a Pig"
• Dr. Dooom: "RIP Dr. Octagon" (Threshold Recordings, LLC)
• Robert Forster: "It Ain't Easy" (Yep Roc)

I'm heading to Berlin for the weekend, among other reasons to see Robert Forster play at the Passionskirche. Songs of the Week 40/08 will prbably be delayed too. In the meantime, enjoy the video for Jesus H. Christ's "Liz the Hot Receptionist".

Lipstick on a Pig

Report Suspicious Activity, who released Destroy All Evidence earlier this fall - a great and dynamic album powerful enough to give any supporter of the current US administration an aural kick in the teeth and smart enough to tell them why they deserved it - are keeping up with current events and have just posted a song on their MySpace called, appropriatly, "Lipstick on a Pig". While I don't think it's their best moment, it's good for a laugh as well as a pretty decent fist pumper.

Lipstick on a Pig

Songs of the Week 38/08

• Raphael Saadiq: "Keep Marchin'" (Columbia)
• Jay-Z: "Jockin' Jay-Z/Dope Boy Fresh" (web/Rock-A-fella)
• Hypnotic Brass Ensemble: "War" (MySpace/YouTube)
• TV on the Radio: Halfway Home" (Interscope)
  
• The Mopes: "You Look Like a Gorilla" (Lookout! Records)

Clean Feed Fest NY III + No Songs of the Week 37/08?

This coming weekend, the Portugal-based jazz label Clean Feed will host a festival to showcase some of their artists at The Living Theatre in Manhattan, New York.

Clean Feed is fast becoming one of the most intersting jazz labels to my mind, releasing records by artists, both young and old, who explore the various posibilities in modern jazz. The company has released records by among others Anthony Braxton, Evan Parker, Steve Lehman, Tony Malaby w/William Parker, Joe Morris, Ken Vandermark, and notably Adam Lane, one of my favoite up-and-coming "young" jazz composers/artists. Full catalogue here (by year).

The festival runs from this Friday (Sept. 19th) through to the following Wednesday (Sept. 24th). The program can be found here. I would recommend the double bill of Adam Lane w/ Mark Whitecage and Lou Grassi, and Michael Dessen Trio (w/ the talented Tyshawn Sorey on drums) on Friday, as well as Tony Malaby's Tamarindo (w/ William Parker and Nasheet Waits) on Monday the 22nd. But I'm sure it will be worth seeing all gigs if you have the time and the money.

No Songs of the Week as for some reason I've only been listening to two records this past week; Jeffrey Lewis' quirky, politically charged and often spot-on 12 Crass Songs (Rough Trade), which I admittedly arrived at a bit later than others, and Beyond Quantum (Tzadic) by Anthony Braxton, Milford Graves and William Parker. Both are very good records, and I could easily have picked five songs off each (B.Y. has just five "songs") and presented them as SotW, but I'm not going to.

Songs of the Week 36/08

• Conor Oberst: "I Don't Want to Die (in a hospital) (Merge)
  
• Report Suspicious Activity: "Destroy All Evidence" (Alternative Tentacles)
• Opiyo Bilongo & Extra Golden: "When I Was in U.S." (Thrill Jockey)
• Carsten Byhring as Jens Hetland anno 1913: "Erru Idiot Du'a?"
  
• Charles Mingus: "Prayer for Passive Resistance" (Live at Antibe-version) (Atlantic)
  

Random Rules: Zoilus interviews a Silver Jew

Carl Wilson has posted an interview with David Berman of Silver Jews fame - whose work I respect more than enjoy, with notable exceptions - where he among other things discusses the poet/lyricist "problem" we've touched on earlier this summer. A good read.