That Wonderful Year in Music... 2021

  

Remember what I said last December about how arts and culture frequently mirrors its time and surroundings? 2021 was a slog, only marginally better than 2020, but not without its slow-burn trauma and various frustrations. Bands finally started performing live again, and festivals returned in a smaller, wonkier fashion. The true output of 2020’s duress blossomed in ‘21, not only in music but most forms of media. This was the strongest year for pop music in a good while, but indie rock and rap also had some highlights. For all my personal stuff this year, however, Spotify remained a refuge, and I’m glad I paid to listen to all of this without commercial interruption.

BEST POP/ROCK ALBUMS:

1. Jubilee, Japanese Breakfast. Don’t let radio overplay of “Be Sweet” perturb you. This throwback to early 2000s chamber-pop is a delightful mix of melodically immediate songs and gorgeous songwriting, with surprises at every turn. Between this and her well-received memoir, Michelle Zauner had an incomparable 2021. 

2. For The First Time, Black Country, New Road. 2021’s most fascinating debut album uses punk as a base for this British septet’s uncanny musicianship and myriad experiments. The leadoff track “Instrumental” is celebratory klezmer, which segues into “Athens, France,” a track that evokes late 80s indie rock heroes Slint. A second album is already in post-production and set for a February 2022 release, and I can’t wait.

3. SOUR, Olivia Rodrigo. If my #2 album was the most fascinating debut, then SOUR was the most revelatory. Without delving into the “voice of Gen Z” cliché that critics overused, this is a pop record as self-aware as any in recent memory, devoid of filler and a solid sampler of Rodrigo’s varying musical tastes. “Drivers License” is a gorgeous ballad, and “Good 4 U” is a deliriously brutal emo-punk breakup song.

4. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, Little Simz

5. Any Shape You Take, Indigo De Souza

6. Collapsed in Sunbeams, Arlo Parks

7. Valentine, Snail Mail

8. Call Me If You Get Lost, Tyler the Creator

9. Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land, Marina

10. 30, Adele. After six years of relative silence –give or take an embarrassing Instagram post or left-field SNL hosting stint– the British singer’s fourth LP is her most intimate and unguarded work. Ms. Adkins is a divorced mom now, and she’s going through some stuff. “Easy on Me” breaks down the split, while “I Drink Wine” pairs well with early Elton John. 

Honorable Mentions: Conversation Peace, Damu The Fudgemunk; Cool Dry Place, Katy Kirby; Bless My Psyche, Sincere Engineer; Soursob [EP], Soursob; Ignorance, The Weather Station.

BEST JAZZ ALBUMS

1. Promises, Pharaoh Sanders & Floating Points. Even when an album is only jazz in the loosest sense –this could arguably be an electronica album, or classical, or as Yusef Lateef would call it, just music– this was an album about healing when we needed it most. The 80-something Sanders juts from one idea to another, with Floating Points (British composer Sam Shepherd) building a lush sonic playground that the sax great can bounce around on.

2. Sounds from the Ancestors, Kenny Garrett

3. Uneasy, Vijay Iyer/Linda May Han Oh/Tyshawn Sorey

4. Metamorphosis, John Moulder

5. Luna '68, The City Champs

Honorable Mention: Triangle (Formwela 1-3) [EP], Esperanza Spaulding.

BEST SONGS (outside of the albums previously mentioned)

"Girls & Boys," Viagra Boys

"Impostor," Miss Grit

"All You Ever Wanted," Rag n' Bone Man

"Fire for You," Cannons

"Pay Your Way In Pain," St. Vincent 

"Hey Michael," Wallice

"Remember That Night?" Sara Kays

"Rainforest," Noname

"Scratchcard Lanyard," Dry Cleaning

"Lilys," Warpaint

"City Wide," Sean Danger Smith

"Midnight Wine," Shannon & The Clams

"Folie a Deux," Mach-Hommy feat. Westside Gunn

"Freaks," Surf Curse

"Jeff Goldblum," Mattiel

"Telepath," Manchester Orchestra

"The Hardest Cut," Spoon

"Paranoia Party," Frances Forever 

"BFIOU," Birds of Maya

"Right on Time," Brandi Carlile

BEST VIDEOS

1. "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)," Lil Nas X. The devil made him do it.  

2. "If You Say The Word," Radiohead. You really can't expect any Radiohead clip to be happy-go-lucky. This satire of late-stage capitalism is somewhat ambiguous about who is the hunter, but there's little questioning who's the hunted.

3. "Delusions of Grandeur," Bad Waitress. Not *quite* a "Midsommar" pastiche, but damn, this Toronto quartet can hit the power chords.

4. "Arrows," Red Fang. Ooh, a sword! 

5. "Worry With You," Sleater-Kinney. The best video of 2021 clearly inspired by the early days of the 2020 pandemic.

Honorable Mentions: "Be Sweet," Japanese Breakfast (“Friday nights on UPN”) and "Chaise Lounge," Wet Leg (Is this considered cottage-core?)

Your thoughts?

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That Wonderful Year in Music... 2020

 Arts and culture frequently mirrors its time and surroundings, and this massive kidney stone we call 2020 demonstrated that in spades. (I know I said pretty much the same thing about brilliance under duress in 2016, but it still applies.) Even though most of us couldn't go to a movie theater or attend a music festival, there were artistic achievements to celebrate. A uniquely weird year certainly wasn't a bad one, and if visiting the record store wasn't an option, then we all knelt at the throne of Spotify in 2020.

BEST ALBUMS 

1. Fetch the Bolt Cutters, Fiona Apple. In a year where up was down, left and right, and nothing could be taken for granted, the most outstanding release of the year was a literal shaggy dog story. Apple recorded this album with a tight quartet, on and off for five years, in between her rescue pets barking at her home studio in Venice Beach. Neither prolific (her third album since 2000) nor predictable, Apple takes any assumptions you make about her work --sometimes radically shifting a song at mid-course-- and throws it out the window. Bolt Cutters is jarring, cathartic, disarming, but above all very human. Odds are, Apple will disappear for another six or seven years, assume everyone forgot about her, then release another album that's even more astounding than this one.

2. Saint Cloud, Waxahatchee. Trading the defiant alt-rock of her fourth solo album for a contemplative, country sound, Katie Crutchfield turned inward to fight off getting complacent. Newly sober and in a state of introspection, Crutchfield's Alabama twang sounds wry and effortless. She's in a new chapter in her life, she insists, but the story is still being written. 

3. RTJ4, Run The Jewels. In a word, searing. Always killer with minimal filler, RTJ's beefy revolution anthems were both a harbinger and soundtrack to a tense and violent summer. Police brutality, systemic racism, and class injustice are not new problems, as Killer Mike and El-P reminded us, and it's not going away anytime soon. It's a vicious cycle, and without any systemic change it will keep popping up in the news over and over again. 

4. Set My Heart On Fire Immediately, Perfume Genius 

5. Heaven to a Tortured Mind, Yves Tumor

6. Women In Music Pt. III, HAIM 

7. It Is What It Is, Thundercat

8. The New Abnormal, The Strokes 

9. The Slow Rush, Tame Impala 

10. Rough And Rowdy Ways, Bob Dylan. If 2020 was about expecting the unexpected, how about a nearly 80-year-old Nobel Prize winner putting out yet another outstanding album? Old Man Zimmerman was probably thrilled that he didn't have to tour for this latest release, where he locks horns with his legacy as well as his own mortality. As ever, Dylan speaks directly but remains elusive; he says he's weary, but has energy to spare. The last half-hour of this album (maybe his last, but who knows) has only two songs, both rambling in nature yet compelling to listen to and decipher. 

Honorable Mentions: Miss Anthropocene, Grimes; Letter to You, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band; All Thoughts Fly, Anna von Hausswolff.

BEST JAZZ ALBUMS:

1. Lianne La Havas, Lianne La Havas. Genre-bending (I debated putting on the above list) and overwhelmingly peaceful, La Havas' self-titled third album was written in the span of half a decade. Unlike Fiona Apple, however La Havas chose chill over catharsis. Detailing her split with her former creative and romantic partner, La Havas sings like a woman reborn, blending R&B, soul, and acid jazz while barely breaking a sweat.

2. Hero Trio, Rudresh Mahanthappa

3. All Rise, Gregory Porter

4. Canvas, Robert Glasper

5. Originations, Ryan Cohan

Honorable Mentions: Purple Dark Opal, Kuzu; Fearless, Sharel Cassity.

BEST SONGS: (in no order)

"All In My Head," Whethan & Grandson

"You Need Me," Nathanial Rateliff

"Blinding Lights," The Weeknd

"Hell and Back," Bakar

"Be Afraid," Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

"I Will Run," Dawes

"Shangri-La," EOB

"I'm Alive," Norah Jones

"What's The Matter," Twin Peaks

"Savage," Megan Thee Stallion

"Boss Bitch," Doja Cat

"Aries," Gorillaz feat. Peter Hook

"Sorceress," Jess Williamson

"My Game," Zella Day

"You're Not Alone," Semisonic

"Fake," Lauv feat. Conan Grey

"Together," beabadoobee

"Get Weird," North By North

"See Monkey," Elvis Perkins

"Pienso En Ti," Levitation Room

Outstanding Achievement by a Song That Was Preceded by a 13 Minute Dirge About The Titanic, and Soon to Be Followed By a 20 Minute Ballad About the Hindenburg Explosion: "Murder Most Foul," Bob Dylan 

Best Song From 2019 That I Discovered in 2020: "I'm Ready," Black Pumas

BEST VIDEOS

1. "WAP," Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion. Well great, the basement's flooded...

2. "Therefore I Am," Billie Eilish. The mall *looks* abandoned, but this clip was probably shot during regular business hours.

3. "Sickeningly Teeth," Melkbelly. A small army of Chicago-turned-NYC improvisers (including, ahem, some acquaintances of mine) remind you of the importance of flossing.

4. "3 Segundos," Melenas. A goofy green-screen pastiche of classic American TV shows, featuring Pamplona's modern-day riot grrls.

5. "Blind Youth Industrial Park," METZ. My annual heady, surreal, sci-fi/fantasy pick.

Honorable Mention: "Bad Decisions," The Strokes. Supplies are limited! Order now!

See you all in '21.

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That Wonderful Year in Music... 2017

Trying times often make for great art. For us right-brainers, 2017 was a time to flourish: a strong year for cinema, another year of "peak TV," and from my vantage point a strong year for music. It was perhaps the strongest year of the decade for hip-hop, female-identifying singer-songwriters, and pretty much any rock musician who wished they were alive in 1976. In short, there was a healthy heaping of essential music these last 12 months, enough to satisfy any discerning appetite:

BEST ALBUMS:
1. DAMN., Kendrick Lamar. Kung-Fu Kenny's third straight masterpiece is the rare album that builds up to its best track. It looks like a back-to-basics effort yet really isn't: Lamar is going from extrovert to introvert, commencing an intense journey into his own psyche as he embraces fame and the incessant scrutiny that comes with it. (The success of To Pimp a Butterfly weighs heavily.) He's exhausted from fighting for social justice; he's only one man. The winding origin story "DUCKWORTH" sums everything up, an allegory and a plot twist that brings this sojourn full circle.
2. Masseduction, St. Vincent. The queen of art-rock has put another jewel in her crown. The whole album is a candy-coated electro-rock fever dream, reiterating the inevitability of bad decisions in the pursuit of decadence. In a year of frustration, Annie Clark's protagonists uncover the peaks and valleys of escapism as a coping mechanism, the blurry gray line between pleasure and pain, and the acceptance of cold reality.
3. Turn Out The Lights, Julien Baker. For full disclosure, I'm late to the Julien Baker party. I didn't hear her 2015 debut, the sparse and mesmerizing Sprained Ankle, until this past October. Lucky for me, her sophomore effort was nipping at my heels. At first, Lights feels like an extension of Ankle; Baker's voice is cracked but steady, the themes of addiction, suicide, and religion are present, and the songs are fragile yet haunting. The difference is that she's a little older (she just turned 22), a lot wiser, and she's finally confronting the ghosts that followed her into adulthood and sobriety.
4. Pure Comedy, Father John Misty
5. CTRL, SZA
6. Big Fish Theory, Vince Staples
7. Process, Sampha
8. Melodrama, Lorde
9. A Deeper Understanding, The War on Drugs
10. American Dream, LCD Soundsystem.  I see why James Murphy named their (now premature) farewell concert movie "Shut Up and Play the Hits." We all knew LCD wasn't totally done, but the decision to reunite and reinvent the band was a risk that paid off. The sprawling, seven-minute "Call the Police" is a candidate for song of the year, while "Black Screen" is a moving homage to David Bowie. Murphy has become the oldhead that gripes about other oldheads, but he still obsesses over what's cool.

11. Drunk, Thundercat
12. Semper Femina, Laura Marling
13. A Hairshirt of Purpose, Pile
14. 4:44, Jay-Z
15. Guppy, Charly Bliss. The year's most "fun" record is a 1990s alternative/power-pop throwback. A charming debut, the chirpy vocals of Eva Hendricks blends well with her bandmates' distorted guitars, mixing the shambolic with the sugary. It is no coincidence that Charly Bliss opened for Veruca Salt during their reunion tour this past year; they are worthy proteges.
16. I Dare You, The xx
17. This Old Dog, Mac Demarco
18. Pleasure, Feist
19. Waiting on a Song, Dan Auerbach
20. Hang, Foxygen. My last two picks on this list are interchangable. Where Auerbach's solo record exchanges fuzzy blues-rock for a warm 1970s AOR sound, Foxygen's sound has morphed into something evoking Honky Chateau-era Elton John, Atlantic Crossing-era Rod Stewart, and (above all else) glam-rock. Where Waiting is a fully realized mellow-rock affair (one song was co-written by John Prine) Foxygen's theatrical and often bonkers fourth album is at 32 1/2 minutes too concise and left me wanting more.

BEST JAZZ ALBUMS:
1. Fly or Die, Jaimie Branch. Not to be confused with the mid-2000s N.E.R.D. album of the same name, Branch's first album is an impressive, to-hell-and-back artistic statement. Her trumpet playing is free and abstract, and her crackerjack band (cellist Tomeka Reid, bassist Jason Ajemian, and drummer Chad Taylor) doesn't ground her so much as enable her serendipity. Branch has been a known commodity since 2007 or so, a creative and singular talent with a heavy AACM influence. This long-awaited release is a portent of equally impressive recordings to come.
2. La Saboteuse, Yazz Ahmed
3. Loneliness Road, Jamie Saft with Iggy Pop (yes, really)
4. Harmony of Difference, Kamasi Washington
5. Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds, Nicole Mitchell
6. Far From Over, Vijay Iyer Sextet
7. Voices in the Void, Dr. Mint
8. This is Beautiful Because We Are Beautiful People, Toxic
9. Flowers - Beautiful Life Vol. 2, Jimmy Greene
10. Cherry/Sakura, David Murray/Aki Takase

Honorable Mention: Make Noise, Jeremy Pelt.

BEST METAL ALBUM: Nightmare Logic, Power Trip. Speaking of throwbacks, this was a breakout year for the 80s-obsessed Dallas quintet. Logic augments the formula of their 2013 debut album: all-meat, axe-swinging hardcore/thrash fusion that isn't annoyingly self-serious.
Honorable Mentions: Forever, Code Orange; Dead Cross, Dead Cross.

BEST SINGLES:

"Restart," BNQT
"Human," Rag n' Bone Man
"Pressed for Time (Cross My Mind)," Mick Jenkins feat. Goldlink
"In Cold Blood," Alt-J
"Feel It Still," Portugal, The Man
"Three Rings," Grizzly Bear
"Alaska," Maggie Rogers
"No Roots," Alice Merton
"Don't Delete the Kisses," Wolf Alice
"Run," Foo Fighters
"Gold," Manchester Orchestra
"Turning the Screw," Generationals
"This Is It," Lo Moon
"Astronaut (Something About Your Love)," Mansionair
"The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness," The National


BEST VIDEOS:
1. "The Gate," Bjork. Nearly thirty years into a bold and never-not-challenging career, the Icelandic goddess and her frequent collaborator Andrew Thomas Huang keep pushing the envelope. The painstaking precision (complete with fragmented digital fairies) of this ambitious clip is a possible preview of what to expect in music videos in 2027.
2. "Wyclef Jean," Young Thug. The director of the video explains how an elaborate clip idea, based on an ode to the ex-Fugee, went completely off the rails after Thug flaked out of the shoot.
3. "The Story of O.J." Jay-Z. "I'm not black, I'm O.J." Uh, okay.
4. "Them Changes," Thundercat. Tormented samurais!
5. "Green Light," Lorde. The song is banger in its own right, but even if the dancing-in-the-streets thing is beyond cliche, Lorde makes it look fun.
6. "Up All Night," Beck. A young woman goes into Joan of Arc mode at one helluva college party.
7. "Waiting on a Song," Dan Auerbach. A Dazed and Confused homage about four 70s-era teenagers, some strong weed, and the bonds of friendship.
8. "New Rules," Dua Lipa. The #1 video based on YouTube views on this list, this pop empowerment anthem is carefully choreographed to show dancers as a unilateral voice of reason.
9. "Swell Does the Skull," Aldous Harding. Evoking Joan Baez, the clip is just a minimalist as the song: a naturally lit room, a guitar, and a voice. The guilt and yearning are palpable.
10. "Saturnz Barz," Gorillaz. Interactive videos are almost a genre unto itself, but special credit goes to this haunted house clip, where you can adjust the mise en scene as a spirit (Popcaan) hurtles the band into orbit.

Honorable Mentions: "Los Ageless," St. Vincent; "HUMBLE," Kendrick Lamar.

Best Video of 2016 That Easily Applies to 2017: "Nobody Speak," DJ Shadow feat. Run the Jewels. This is Trump's America, so I guess this is our generation's "Dr. Strangelove."

Your thoughts?

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That Wonderful Year in Music... 1963

In many ways, 1963 was the last year of the '50s. The repressed social mores were still intact, pop culture was largely conservative and non-threatening, and the world we knew was mostly quiet and boring. Most people will argue the '60s --or at least what we consider to be the '60s-- didn't really began until after President Kennedy's sudden and tragic assassination that November. In fact, some of the seeds were planted in the year or two immediately before that fateful day in Dallas. Surf rock was king, the Brill Building was queen, folk blared from the coffee shops, and the British Invasion was in its planning stages.

Looking at the big picture, 1963 was mostly about jazz. This was a year that could almost rival 1956, 1959 or 1964 as one of the greatest 12-month spans ever for the distinctly American musical genre. '63 was also a banner year for the legendary Blue Note label, as evidenced by nine of the twelve jazz albums listed below. The giants of the era (Miles, Mingus, Monk) could be depended upon for masterpieces and career-defining works, while the young guns (Hancock, Hill, Green) were challenging the form and building formidable reputations.


BEST ALBUMS (JAZZ)
1. The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, Charles Mingus. As much a conceptual piece about love and struggle as it is Mingus' most personal work, this is probably the greatest achievement in orchestration by any jazz musician ever. Written as a ballet in six parts, Mingus and his eleven-piece band bounce between haunting blues and dancing vivacity with equal precision. Famously deemed "The Angry Man of Jazz," Mingus was in treatment for much of Black Saint's production and his psychotherapist famously wrote the album's liner notes.
2. Seven Steps to Heaven, Miles Davis. Going into '63, Miles was in flux. Health problems forced him to cancel several concert dates, and amidst the uncertainty his original quintet left for greener pastures. Landing on his feet Davis launched his second great quintet, including Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and a teenage Anthony Williams. The result is fresh, startling blend of new and old, with the instant classic title track tag-teaming with Louis Armstrong's "Basin Street Blues."
3. Back at the Chicken Shack, Jimmy Smith. The finest session by the man who "invented" the jazz organ contains probably his defining composition, a 10-minute jam that spotlighted then-unknown saxophonist Stanley Turrentine. Recorded in 1960, Chicken Shack inexplicably sat on a shelf for three years; it likely found daylight when Turrentine broke out as a leader and composer. Is this a strong soul-jazz effort, or a fore-bearer of funk?
4. Monk's Dream, Theolonius Monk
5. Black Fire, Andrew Hill
6. Idle Moments, Grant Green
7. The Sidewinder, Lee Morgan
8. One Step Beyond, Jackie McLean
9. Our Man in Paris, Dexter Gordon
10. My Point of View, Herbie Hancock. Speaking of Herbie, his second full-length as a leader was simultaneously daring (five original compositions), adventurous (two words: "King Cobra") and incredibly skillful. Featuring Grant Green and several past and present members of Miles Davis' quintet --drummer Tony Williams was so in-demand at 17 years old, its absurd-- Hancock's versatility and innate ability to arrange his supporting cast bode well for his later work.

Honorable Mention: Good Move!, Freddie Roach; Never Let Me Go, Stanley Turrentine.

BEST ALBUMS (POP)
1. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan. His second album (and first of mostly original music) and the one that defined who Dylan was, what he was doing, and where he was taking folk music. The protest songs steal the show, with "Blowin' in the Wind," "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," and the vicious "Masters of War" being the album highlights. Until Blonde on Blonde three years later, this was the folk album to beat.
2. Please Please Me, The Beatles. Much like the debut albums of their contemporaries Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones, the Fab Four's first full-length is a fine listening experience trumped only by their later, more essential works. The Beatles' template is already there, though there's a certain innocence and naïveté not heard in their other albums. Recorded in 24 hours, Please Please Me sounds effortless.
3. Live at the Apollo, James Brown. Give it up for Soul Brother Number One! Capturing a certain panache and swagger that his studio recordings could barely capture, JB drives through his early hits as an exuberant audience eats out of his hand. A candidate for the best live album of all time, in any genre, in any era.

Honorable Mention: In Dreams, Roy Orbison.


BEST SINGLES
"Louie Louie," The Kingsmen
"Walk Like a Man," The Four Seasons
"One Fine Day," The Chiffons
"It's My Party," Lesley Gore
"Pipeline," The Chantays
"Wipeout," The Surfaris
"Surf City," Jan & Dean

"Walk Right In," The Rooftop Singers

"Sally Go Round The Roses," The Jaynetts
"Rhythm of the Rain," The Cascades
"I Will Follow Him," Little Peggy March
"Be My Baby," The Ronettes

Your thoughts?

Poetry in Motian

Did anyone expect the bipartisan "supercommittee" to successfully lay out a budget plan? We already know DC is ridiculously polarized, but this was just the banana on the sundae, and it's clear that voters can't digest this for much longer. That is not to say, however that I personally wanted them to flounder; any sliver of progress would've been appreciated, and the supercommittee failed to accomplish even that. This is a crisis not only on the national level but globally; with Europe facing its own fiscal dilemma, our allies need the United States' investment more than ever. And yet, with the whole world watching no congressman or senator on either side of the fence could put aside their petty differences and compromise.

The problem with the federal budget crisis --and the toxic nature of Washington in general-- is that it cannot be pinpointed to one single person. The average conservative would blame President Obama or former Speaker Pelosi, but the seeds were planted long before either took their respective office. The common liberal would blame former President Bush if only because the economy tanked on his watch, but it's far more complicated than that. For drawing a divide between the left and right I would give a certain amount of credit to former Speaker Newt Gingrich, who infamously barred members of his party from associating with Democrats, even on a social level, with censure as punishment. Newt's successor Dennis Hastert didn't so much enforce the backdoor policy so much as let it pour over to both parties, and by the time Nancy Pelosi became speaker the damage was done.

For the economic stalemate, I have grown more exasperated with Grover Norquist with each passing day. If you'll excuse this HuffPo link, Andy Reinbach couldn't have said it better: Norquist has forced, bullied, and otherwise persuaded most of Republicans in Congress to swear they'll never raise taxes, hook, line or sinker. People tend to forget that the ongoing fiscal situation was brought upon by the defaults and bankruptcies of several major banks as well as irresponsible federal spending. Taxation was, if anything, a distant third in the blame game; lowering taxes is barely feasible at the moment, but eradicating them completely would only send us all further down the sinkhole. Norquist's theories on tax reform, while noble to a degree, are irrational and strident. If you want to cast stones, don't hurl them at the status quo so much as the people behind the status quo.

The 2012 election is less than a year away, and it's already sizing up to be the most important vote of our lifetimes. I would expect a greater purging of incumbents than in 2010; what is up for grabs is which party will suffer more casualties in Congress, and whether that will trickle up to the Oval Office. The Republican takeover last year was intended to clean up the Democrats; however, the GOP's chances in '12 have been hurt by their constant gridlock approach. At the moment I see no heroes, no knights in shining armor; just fools and puppets.

Other notes:

+ With minimal context, here is my seventh annual list of things I am thankful (and not quite as graceous) for:

Thanks: Groupon deals, Sudoku, my sudden turnaround in fantasy football (4-2 after an 0-5 start), the Chicago improv community, my patient roommate, and most importantly my friends and family.

No Thanks: Orly Taitz, "9-9-9," truly experiencing Chicago's infamous "lakefront effect" 2 1/2 miles west of Lake Michigan, the dearth of entry-level job postings online, corrupt college football programs, and forcing to budget myself to absurd extremes.

+ Finally, the jazz nerd in me has to acknowledge this. Earlier today the world lost drummer Paul Motian, the last surviving member of the "classic" Bill Evans Trio lineup of the late '50s/early '60s. Though he was a prolific leader and sideman for over half a century, he is best remembered for his percussion panache alongside Evans and bassist Scott LaFaro. Even more tragic is that he survived those bandmates by a solid three decades; LaFaro was killed in a car accident in 1961, Evans died of natural causes in 1980. Known for his work ethic, he was playing gigs at New York's Village Vanguard up to four weeks before his death. Motian painted colors on the drumset, and today the world feels a little more black and white without his presence.

Next week: the year in music, 1986. Happy Thanksgiving!

Live, from Chicago...

I typically don't use this blog for SNL-related jabber, but this is something special. Every year, Lorne Michaels and his cohorts fly around the country to audition and take note of talent. The Chicago cattle call is referred to the "SNL showcase" and held every late July at IO. As a current IO student, I thought maybe I had an inside track to see the auditions; as an added incentive, one of my former teachers was amongst the cherry-picked. Understandly, this is major annual event and draws a big crowd, so I had to prepare; I was informed that even though the show started at 8, doors opened at 7:15p. Lo and behold, when I arrived in Wrigleyville that night, the line outside of IO was well over a hundred strong. I thought this worked to my benefit, as the Del Close Theater sits 150. As it turned out, only the first hundred were let into the showcase. Though my rare opportunity to mingle with Lorne's minions didn't work out --apparently, Seth Meyers and Marci Klein were there, too-- at least I can take solace in the fact that Tara DeFrancisco (my former teacher) reportedly had a very strong outing.

Other notes:

+ If it weren't for David DeJesus' injury, I'm pretty sure the Royals would not have been sellers at the trade deadline. We'd been playing .500 ball since Yost replaced Hillman, and for once we were in a rare position of upward mobility. Alas, my dream outfield has been sliced and diced; with DeJesus out until 2011, Scott Podsednik was shipped for LA and Rick Ankiel was traded to Atlanta, receiving mostly minor leaguers in return. Recent heroics aside, there's nothing that can convince me that onetime hot corner prospect/current platoon left fielder Alex Gordon has not been a flop. Barring a miracle, the Royals' apparent goal for 2010 --right now, anyway-- is to avoid losing 95 games.

+ I regret to inform everyone that my stint as a life insurance agent didn't work out. Even though I was hired, there were several intangibles I couldn't quite get past, of which I can't elaborate upon at this time. With a heavy heart, the job search soldiers on...

+ This week's blog was a bit of a downer, but I'll leave you guys on a positive note. My ex-boss posted this on his Facebook wall yesterday, and I couldn't help but share this clip. Between this song and The Bad Plus' rendition of "Iron Man," it's funny how the Black Sabbath songbook is so friendly to jazz musicians.

That Wonderful Year in Music... 1965

As everyone knows by now, the House of Representatives passed Obamacare the other night. Problem is, I'd been working on this particular blog for well over a week and I didn't have the time to write something else. If the health care debate is still raging next week, I'll probably post my thoughts on the topic then. Thank you for your patience.

If 1964 was the year that audiophiles first took notice of the LP as an all-encompassing artistic statement, as compared to a collection of recent songs, than 1965 was the first great year for long-players. It was also a year of double vision, as nearly every major act of the time --most of them now recognized as all-time greats-- released at least two new albums that year. 1965 was more than just the halfway point of the decade; it drew a wedge between the straight-laced sounds of the Camelot era and the psychedelic free-for-alls that closed the '60s. The British Invasion, Motown, and the folk sounddominated the American music charts outright, while surf-rock and the Brill Building slowly faded from sight. Jazz had both feet planted in its modal period, and suddenly it was cool for white guys to play the blues. These are my favorite albums from '65:

1. Highway 61 Revisited, Bob Dylan. And just like that, the unwilling leader of the folk movement went full-blown electric. After dipping his toe into that rock n' roll sound on side A of Bringing It All Back Home, the second phase of Dylan's long and unparalled career was initiated. The playful folkie from Greenwich Village had transitioned into an angry young man with a knack for wordplay. The snare shot that kicks off "Like a Rolling Stone" is like a call to arms, and the six-plus minutes that follow could be described with an infinite number of adjectives; arguably, it's the nastiest, visceral, metaphor-laden, powerful, difficult, unexpected, and unrelenting song ever recorded.
2. Rubber Soul, The Beatles. Speaking of second acts, The Beatles' 6th long-player was also a portent of things to come. Bridging the simplicity and innocence of their early work and the lyrical and instrumental experimentation of future efforts like Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's, Rubber Soul is a transitional album in the most complimentary sense. The sitar that carries "Norwegian Wood" is discerning and lulling at the same time, while the piano solo on "In My Life," warped in post-production to mimic a harpsichord, is dainty and pretty without ever sounding effete or trite.
3. Maiden Voyage, Herbie Hancock. Building upon the themes of his 1964 breakthrough Empyrean Isles, the aquatically obsessed Hancock devised a concept album aimed at creating an oceanic atmosphere. Borrowing (so to speak) bassist Ron Carter and drummer Anthony Williams from Miles Davis' legendary second quintet, Maiden Voyage showcases a promising young jazz pianist at the high point of his creative powers. Sure, Voyage may not be as adventurous as Isles, though it certainly does a better job of balancing accessible, lyrical jazz with risk-taking hard bop.
4. Bringing It All Back Home, Bob Dylan
5. Help!, The Beatles
6. E.S.P., Miles Davis
7. Speak No Evil, Wayne Shorter
8. Mr. Tambourine Man, The Byrds
9. Ascension, John Coltrane
10. Out of Our Heads, The Rolling Stones. If the Stones' third LP (fourth in the States) was remembered solely for "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction)," it'd still be a great album. A rumination on sex and commercialism, "Satisfaction" was unlike anything on the radio at the time, much less on an album of mostly blues and R&B covers. The track listings for the US and UK versions vary wildly, but both versions are equally... satisfactory.

Honorable Mentions: The Cape Verdean Blues, Horace Silver; Soothsayer, Wayne Shorter; December's Children (And Everybody's), The Rolling Stones; Begin Here, The Zombies; Today!, The Beach Boys.

1965 was also an excellent year for singles. If you know any or all of these 20 songs, I'm sure you'd agree:

"A Well Respected Man," The Kinks
"We Gotta Get Out of This Place," The Animals
"You've Got To Hide Your Love Away," The Silkie
"Yesterday," The Beatles
"I Know a Place," Petula Clark
"Catch Us If You Can," Dave Clark Five
"For Your Love," The Yardbirds
"I Want Candy," The Strangeloves
"Concrete & Clay," Unit 4+2
"Go Now," The Moody Blues

"I Hear A Symphony," The Supremes
"Since I Lost My Baby," The Temptations
"It's The Same Old Song," The Four Tops
"In The Midnight Hour," Wilson Pickett
"The 'In' Crowd," Ramsey Lewis Trio
"Do You Believe in Magic," The Lovin' Spoonful
"Eve Of Destruction," Barry McGuire
"Treat Her Right," Roy Head and The Traits
"She's About a Mover," Sir Douglas Quintet
"Unchained Melody," The Righteous Brothers

NOTE: I confused the release date of John Coltrane's A Love Supreme (February 1965) with the recording date (December 1964), so it appears my 1964 list from several months ago. I humbly regret the error.
Your thoughts?

That Wonderful Year in Music... 1974

Ah, 1974. The year of Watergate, streaking, and... Symbionese Liberation, I guess. Glam-rock was king, punk and disco were in their nascent stages, jazz fusion and Kraut-rock kept the nerds entertained, and R&B was as silky-smooth as ever. Overall it was a decent year for Top 40 radio, though what actually got airplay that year was eventually overshadowed by career albums from lesser-known artists. It's a somewhat misunderstood and overlooked year, with most of the big dogs (Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd) either sitting the year out or working extensively on their next project, yet top-heavy in great music either way you shake the stick.

TOP TEN ALBUMS:

1. Court and Spark, Joni Mitchell. There's no question that this fair-haired Canadian songstress has earned her legendary status. Most of her albums have been very consistant in that they all seem to contain six or seven brilliant songs, accompanied by some agreeable filler near the end of the disc. Spark is her one album where every track clicks; everything from "Help Me" to "Raised on Robbery" is a luscious swirl of orchestral flair and tight melodies.
2. Rock Bottom, Robert Wyatt. Recorded in the wake of a freak accident that left Wyatt crippled from the waist down, it may shock some people that the former Soft Machine drummer's best solo effort was written before he fell from a third-story balcony. The sound of the album is melancholy, yet it bursts with life; beneath all the bizarre prog-jazz flailings and the disdain for conventional songcraft is a story of a man redeeming himself via music.
3. Radio City, Big Star. Neglected in their time, Big Star became a cult favorite long after the band (or more specifically, frontman Alex Chilton) fell apart, as well as a cautionary tale about the need to nurture a gifted artist. Their second album might be the best of their three "classic" albums. Reduced to a trio after the departure of Chris Bell, Radio City trades their debut's mild skepticism or something a tad more cynical and yearning. In a way, this album is the essence of pop imperfection.
4. Here Come The Warm Jets, Brian Eno
5. Pretzel Logic, Steely Dan
6. Too Much Too Soon, New York Dolls
7. Fulfillingness' First Finale, Stevie Wonder
8. Treasure Island, Keith Jarrett
9. Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), Brian Eno
10. I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight, Richard & Linda Thompson. Anyone who thinks The Swell Season's story of finding and expressing love through music is somehow original and unheard-of clearly hasn't done their homework. That's not to say the "Once" soundtrack is terrible or anything, it's just that the Thompsons beat them to the switch 35 years ago.

Honorable Mentions: Diamond Dogs, David Bowie; Autobahn, Kraftwerk; Meet The Residents, The Residents; Kimono My House, Sparks; Crime of the Century, Supertramp; Mysterious Traveler, Weather Report.

THE 15 BEST SINGLES:

"Waterloo," ABBA
"Beach Baby," The First Class
"Hooked on a Feeling," Blue Swede
"Sundown," Gordon Lightfoot
"Spiders and Snakes," Jim Stafford
"Bad Company," Bad Company
"Skating Away," Jethro Tull
"Radar Love," Golden Earring
"Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)," The Raspberries
"The Loco-Motion," Grand Funk Railroad*
"The Payback," James Brown
"Then Came You," Dianne Warwick and The Spinners
"Mockingbird," Carly Simon
"Oh My My," Ringo Starr
"Dancing Machine," The Jacksons

*For the record, that might actually be the only Grand Funk song I like. Music critics hated them in the '70s and I think their vitriol is in the right place. This spirited cover of the old Little Eva tune holds up quite well, though it's a shame that a then 12-year-old dance tune blew anything that Mark Farner and Don Brewer did write out of the water.

So Awful, It's Brilliant: "The Night Chicago Died," Paper Lace. I single out this particular song for its inane first verse: "Daddy was a cop/on the east side of Chicago/back in the U-S-A/back in the bad old days." I was not aware that my city's finest had a cop patrolling the middle of Lake Michigan, unless there's an underwater neighborhood that I'm not aware of.

Your thoughts?

That Wonderful Year in Music... 1964

For this month's musical best-of list, I'm taking a big leap in the wayback machine. 1964 may seem like ancient history for some of you, yet it was a tipping point in American pop culture whose impact can still be felt 45 years later. Right at the center of everything was The Beatles, who churned out not one but three great albums in '64, heretofore launching the British Invasion and proving that foreign acts can be viable, profitable, and have a long-term impact in the US. That's not to say that it was a bad year for domestic hitmakers, though; Motown was a force to be reckoned with, and out on the west coast the surf sounds of The Beach Boys, Jan & Dean et al. were still pretty happenin'. Plus, it was the first full year of the post-Kennedy era; the nation's priorities were changing, and the desire to try something different was baubling in nearly every direction, especially in regard to music.

Most importantly, 1964 was the year that the rock n' roll LP came to form. Granted, the average consumer more inclined to buy 45s and most full-players were compilations of previously released music (with some filler), but the albums mentioned below slowly altered that perception. Jazz music was best absorbed at 33 1/3 revolutions per minute --another big reason why '64 was a boon year-- though a lot of top 40 acts were slowly realizing the potential of recording in that format. Without further ado...

BEST ALBUMS

1. A Love Supreme, John Coltrane. To declare a piece of art --or anything you've created, for that matter-- as your gift to God is a bold statement, one that suggests ambition but also arrogance and delusion. Then again, there were very few jazz musicians quite like Trane. Seven years after kicking a near-deadly heroin habit, Coltrane became a born-again Christian and a well-to-do family man, and this thought-provoking suite emcompasses his rebirth and embrace in a higher being. Nearly half a century on, Supreme is probably far more transcendant (and important) than Coltrane ever intended.
2. A Hard Day's Night, The Beatles. Easily the Fab Four's best early-period album. Not only is Night the de facto soundtrack to an equally great movie, it shows the band coming into their own. The album is a testament to the collaborative powers of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who co-wrote all 14 songs. It's peppy and propulsive, yet to this day it remains oddly fresh.
3. Getz/Gilberto, Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto. One drawback in writing these monthly montages is coming up with something favorable to say without bordering into hyperbole. Luckily, my #3 pick is another artistic milestone in the annals of music; it may not be the purest Bossa Nova album ever recorded, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a better one. Simply put, Getz/Gilberto is a thing of beauty.
4. Out To Lunch!, Eric Dolphy
5. Meet The Beatles, The Beatles
6. Another Side of Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan
7. Song For My Father, Horace Silver
8. Beatles For Sale, The Beatles
9. The Times They Are A-Changin', Bob Dylan
10. 12x5, The Rolling Stones. This is not your father's Stones, though it could be your grandpa's. This sophomore effort from Mick, Keith et al. is a continuation of the dilligent blues covers that dominated their debut, though you begin to see flashes of the juggernaut they would eventually become.

Honorable Mentions: Juju, Wayne Shorter; Spiritual Unity, The Albert Ayler Trio.

As I alluded to before, the individual song carried more weight than a full record around this time, which made whitting my usual favorite singles list down to ten songs an impossible feat. The list that you're about to read is so disparate in genre, form, and style compared to my album picks --and in itself-- it's almost laughable. Here's my top 20 (in no particular order) from '64:

"I Feel Fine," The Beatles
"Bits and Pieces," The Dave Clark Five
"I'm Crying," The Animals
"You Really Got Me," The Kinks
"Oh, Pretty Woman," Roy Orbison
"Money (That's What I Want)," The Kingsmen
"Rag Doll," The Four Seasons
"Where Did Our Love Go," The Supremes
"The Way You Do The Things You Do," The Temptations
"Baby I Need Your Loving," The Four Tops

"Under The Broadwalk," The Drifters
"Remember (Walking In The Sand)," The Shangri-Las
"Be My Baby," The Ronettes
"A Summer Song," Chad & Jeremy
"Surfin' Bird," The Trashmen
"GTO," Ronny and the Daytonas
"Penetration," The Pyramids
"Boss," The Rumblers
"Hey Little Cobra," The Ripchords
"Philly Dog," Herbie Mann

Your thoughts?

That Wonderful Year in Music... 1969

With the 40th anniversary of Woodstock and the moon landing in the rear-view mirrors of our minds, this month's musical lovefest drops down on 1969. It's difficult to find fault with the waning days of the '60s --Altamont notwithstanding-- if only because so many major acts were running on all cylinders. It was the last great year for Motown and all things psychedelic, the first great year for hard rock and the singer-songwriter era, and AM radio bubblegum was at its apex. Alas, this year was jam-packed with so much good stuff that I couldn't squeeze it down to ten songs and ten albums, so this month I decided to double up.

BEST ALBUMS

1. Abbey Road, The Beatles. The Fab Four's last studio effort --and their penultimate release as a band-- is a case example of brilliance under duress. There was little questioning the fact that John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison were barely on speaking terms at this point, with Ringo Starr at the eye of the storm. The album itself is a continuation of the themes set by The White Album and strongly foreshadows the entire band's varying solo careers. Several ideas, including the "Sun King" medley on Side B, feel unfinished or half-hearted yet mesh well together. Harrison steals the show, however with two of the finest songs he ever wrote, "Something" and "Here Comes The Sun."
2. Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin. Where the first album was 45 minutes of compelling, hard-charging acid-blues, the sequel found Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Bonham and John Paul Jones moving towards a sound that would be distinctly their own. "Whole Lotta Love" sets the tone and it never lets up.
3. The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground. Of the Velvets' four proper albums this is arguably my favorite. They're all masterpieces in their own right, but there's something about their third full-player that I keep coming back to. Most rock historians judge this album as the one that single-handedly turned folk-rock upside down, an argument that's hard to dispute; it's a mostly acoustic affair flavored by the nihilistic weirdness of the Velvets' first two efforts. Purists often deride Doug Yule's presence on the disc (he replaced founding member John Cale) but he only factors on two tracks; Lou Reed is the undisputed star here.
4. Tommy, The Who
5. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Neil Young
6. The Band, The Band
7. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin
8. Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire), The Kinks
9. Let It Bleed, The Rolling Stones
10. Willy and the Poor Boys, Creedence Clearwater Revival. In this day and age, a band releasing two new studio albums in one calendar year is unheard of. In 1969, CCR released three LPs, and third of that bunch rivals Cosmo's Factory as one of their strongest efforts. The beautifully haunting "Effigy" notwithstanding it's also their breeziest album, 30+ minutes of country-blues-rockabilly fun.

11. In a Silent Way, Miles Davis. If there's an album in the legendary Davis oeurve that parallels The Beatles' Rubber Soul as a turning point in the artist's style and dynamic, this is probably it. Muted and ambient, In a Silent Way was a farewell of sorts to the bebop-tinged jazz that put Miles on the map and the beginning of a hard push into avant-garde and the fusion sound that dominated his early-70s work.
12. In The Court of the Crimson King, King Crimson
13. Nashville Skyline, Bob Dylan
14. Blind Faith, Blind Faith
15. Santana, Santana
16. Unhalfbricking, Fairport Convention
17. Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago
18. Karma, Pharoah Sanders
19. Volunteers, Jefferson Airplane
20. Trout Mask Replica, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band. Upon listening to this album for the first time, one could call this double-LP a bizarre, unlistenable mess; after all, it's five "musicians" that can barely play their instruments as a white Howlin' Wolf imitator recites stream-of-consciousness poetry. Then you peel away the layers; the sound was orchestrated to be abstract, the arrangements carefully scripted and manicured by Beefheart himself, Don Van Vliet, and his partner in crime Frank Zappa. A highly influential album in the punk/new wave era, not as a literal musical starting point but as a catalyst of do-it-yourself experimentation.

BEST SINGLES (AM RADIO/TOP 40)
"Dizzy," Tommy Roe
"Suspicious Minds," Elvis Presley
"Sweet Caroline," Neil Diamond
"In The Year 2525," Zager and Evans
"(Theme from) Hawaii Five-O," The Ventures
"Tracy," The Cuff Links
"One," Three Dog Night
"You've Made Me So Very Happy," Blood, Sweat & Tears
"Polk Salad Annie," Tony Joe White
"Get Together," The Youngbloods

BEST SINGLES (R&B/BLUES/PSYCHEDELIC)
"Get Ready," Rare Earth
"Baby It's You," Smith
"What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)," Jr. Walker & The All-Stars
"Compared to What," Les McCann and Eddie Harris
"Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In," The 5th Dimension
"With a Little Help From My Friends," Joe Cocker
"Spirit in the Sky," Norman Greenbaum
"Touch Me," The Doors
"Space Oddity," David Bowie
"Pictures of Matchstick Men," Status Quo

Finally, for next month's annual musical salute, I was thinking of doing a people's choice. I'd like to cover the year 1999, but I've only listened to five or six albums from that year (not counting the Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys CDs that my sister nearly played to death). Feel free to PM me your suggestions.

Don't Touch That Dial

Some peculiar news on the Chicago radio scene: a couple of weeks ago, WNUA 95.5 FM, one of the more preeminent "smooth jazz" stations in the country, dropped its format in a cost-cutting move by Clear Channel Communications and switched to syndicated Spanish news/talk. With this shrewd move, this leaves exactly one jazz station in the Chicago market, WDCB 90.9 FM. For those of you who aren't familiar with the station (click here to listen live), this is where I worked as a student aide and board operator for roughly 2 1/2 years.

WDCB is not purely a jazz station, but rather the predominant format; their weeknight programming is an eclectic mix of blues, folk, and world music. Outside of the occasional Keb' Mo' or Robert Randolph track on WXRT 93.1 FM (the local progressive-rock station), WDCB is the only haven for blues in Chicago radio on top of being the sole source for jazz. Considering the rich heritage of blues and jazz in Chicago, having to see those two musical genres reduced to sharing one station is pretty sad. I won't miss WNUA's blend of humdrum elevator music, but at least they had their hearts in the right place.

Other notes:

+ While I wasn't floored by President Obama's address in Egypt last week, I thought it was a dilligent attempt at pointing out the flaws of the modern Arab world. Outside of one minor inaccuracy (pardon the vitriol of this link, but he's right), Obama hit it home: the only way Islam can correct its course and eradicate the terrorist and extremist clusters that dominate the world's view of their faith is from within. Of course, Rich Lowry can say it a lot better than I ever could.

+ Nice going, chump.

+ Remember that lady who was killed by another woman who was driving and painting her nails at the same times? The traffic charges have just been dropped.

+ Finally, my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and families of those on board Air France Flight 447 when it crashed in the Atlantic Ocean late last week. While we should be blessed that plane crashes are fewer and far between than they used to be, the number of lives taken can still mount quickly.