The Ten Days (June 25th, 2018, Columbia, MO)

On Facebook these days, a kind of game’s going around where you tag people who are insane and will take the time to share their 10 favorites movies or albums, once a day for ten days. On the face of it, it’d seem anyone who’d participate would only be doing so to show off their fabulous taste, and who needs that? It’s already been shown that the ‘book’s great at making folks feel like they’re not measuring up, and I must confess complicity in that process. But I’d like to think there is also an aspect of gifts being paid forward: I can’t really imagine what I’d be like if people hadn’t recommended particular artwerx to me that deflected me into betterment.

I’m plagiarizing myself yet again, but one of the better students I’ve taught who is a passionate fan of music asked me to play, and (as usual) I tweaked the task so I was striving to share albums I loved that few people I know know much about, and albums that spanned genres, just to encourage folks to by God open up a little bit. I thought I’d put ’em all in one place because, upon looking back, I think I met the challenge.

Day 1: Jean Grae–Jeanius

I have been a big rap fan since I heard “Rapper’s Delight” in Carthage, Missouri, in ’79–I had a friend who’d moved there from NYC and brought the single with her–and that condition shows no signs of changing. One of my favorite MCs is Jean Grae, and my favorite Jean release is JEANIUS. Great beats, amazing bars, and hilarious album art. She’s still in the game, and a more underrated female rapper there is not. Enjoy!

Day 2: Willie King–Jukin’ at Bettie’s

I dig juke joint blues as frequently captured by the Fat Possum label, but this ain’t exactly that. First, King’s from Alabama; second, his kit bag’s a bit bigger than the average North Mississippian’s. Not saying he’s better — saying he’s different. He can lock you into a boogie trance, but the occasional keyboards and steadier beat take nothing away from a sweaty good time.

Day 3: Horace Tapscott–The Giant Has Awakened

Horace Tapscott was a great Houston-born, L.A.-based bandleader, composer, pianist, teacher and community activist. Besides being staggeringly effective in all those roles, he planted a tree the branches of which stretch to Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, and Kendrick Lamar. The album from which this, the title cut, comes should be in the jazz canon, and features a frighteningly talented and intense band.

Day 4: The Power of the Trinity–Great Moments in Reggae Harmony

Today’s choice is in the reggae field. Reggae’s produced some KILLER compilation albums: The Harder They Come, Rockers, Tougher Than Tough are just a few. This gem spotlights an era in the music’s development that in its way stands with the glory days of southern soul and the blossoming of doo wop. Great harmony singing, messages of inspiration (we need those now)…and the riddims! Informative notes from Randall Grass if you buy a physical.

Day 5: Johnny Gimble–Texas Dance Party

If you claim to be a country fan and you DON’T know the great fiddler Johnny Gimble (he played other instruments, too), I am sorry–you are not much of a country fan. Gimble played with everybody, from Bob Wills to George Jones to Merle Haggard to Guillermo Nelson. However, he also made his own LPs, and the one from which this track comes is a dandy that you will have no choice but to swing to. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find; I guess that’s what YouTube is for. Dedicated to all my Texas friends and family, and, as always, specifically, to Mr. Walter Daniels!

Day 6: Zeal & Ardor–Devil Is Fine

This act has a new album out, but for me the jury’s still out on it. THIS ONE, however, has rocked our house numerous times. Its combination of metal explosions, slave chant effects, and blues feeling speak to the times mighty well. Don’t be afraid of the devil.

Day 7: Dead Moon–Trash & Burn

It’s odd that it’s taken seven days for me to share my favorite record by Clackamas, Oregon’s greatest punk/garage/ROCK AND ROLL band! A stripped-down, three-piece, three-minutes-and-a-cloud-of-smoke attack that lives up to its title, once you sample this, you’ll want more. Also: to my mind, the most amazing husband and wife combo in American music history–hands down. This goes out to Weeden, Ingrid, Shane, Amanda, and Toody today–you continue to be an inspiration in our household!

Day 8: Bo Dollis Jr. and The Wild Magnolias–We Come to Rumble

New Orleans music is certainly in my wheelhouse. A great subgenre of the NOLA sound is Mardi Gras Indian funk–even when it is simply in chant form, it’s usually got the funk, and it can be argued that funk itself sprang from Indian ritual. Here, the son of a great chief, and now head of one of the most famous tribes, fuel-injects the tradition with a different kind of juice than it’s used to. The lead track, “We Come to Rumble,” serves notice. Mighty kootie fiyo, and get out the way!

Day 9: Lynn August–Sauce Piquante

When most folks think of zydeco, the infectious, accordion-driven dance music of Louisiana and Texas, they think of Clifton Chenier and Buckwheat Zydeco. Mr. Lynn August merits your attention for his love of articulating the r&b basics of the genre as well as reaching wayyyyyyyy back into its furthest past (here, to the juré). The resulting sauce IS piquant!

Day 10: Julius Eastman–Unjust Malaise

It is now in fashion to be singing the praises of classical composer, pianist, and singer Julius Eastman, and I just learned about him two years ago myself. But he worked largely out of the wider public view while he was alive, experienced a tragic and lonely final set of years on this turf, and those circumstances were certainly at least partly due to his being black, gay, and a challenging artistic creator. This collection of many of his best compositions is a powerful introduction. Think about giving it a shot.

Short-shrift Division:

Jon Hassell: Listening To Pictures (Pentimento, Vol. One)–Is anyone as effective in creating ambient music that is soothing yet disruptive, grooveful yet interruptive? I think not. Think for yourself:

The Beginning of the End: The Beginning of the End and Funky Nassau–Seventies fonk from the Bahamas, re-ished by Strut! Records, who still haven’t taken me off their exclusive subscription service, even though I ain’t paid. Vocals not the most inticing, but rhythms and guit might put a hook in yer ass.

Speedy Ortiz: Twerp Verse–No twerp.

The Carters: Everything is Love–Perhaps, but mountains of money helps maintain the illusion if it ain’t. In addition, this couple’s venture into trap soundz is extremely awkward, but they’re daring you not to say so. “No more kings,” saith Bob Dorough.

Unsteady as She Goes (June 18-24)

Well–I missed a day. I guess I should be excused, as we went on a day trip to Kansas City to attend a Buddhist service with local Tibetan monk and former member of the Dalai Lama’s circle, and rode to and from the city with one of our fondest friends who is also a driver of the Jordan Baker variety. When we returned home, we were drained from sheer fear and relief, and I barely had time to get in my required reading (50 pages plus of Attica Locke’s terrific and East-Texas-musical crime novel, Bluebird, Bluebird) and Marvel’s Luke Cage (Season Two) viewing. So I apologize, but suspect you may not have not have noticed.

Sunday’s customary Spotify Playlist wrap-up of my last week’s aural adventures (quite a bit different from June 23rd’s Apple Music playlist):

Aaaaaand…this week’s awards!

Plucked from History’s Dustbin (best recent purchase of an old record): Ricky Nelson’s Legendary Masters Series aka The Glory of James Burton–ripped from vinyl for me by my pal in New Orleans, Cliff.

Grower, Not a Shower (old record I already owned that’s risen in my esteem): This dude called the Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready to Die…

Encore, Encore! (album I played at least twice this week): Sarayah’s Feel the Vibe.

Through the Cracks (sweet record I forgot to write about): Wilko Johnson’s Blow Your Mind.

Sunday’s Children (this day’s listening that shall be addressed later): BLACKFIRE!

Oh, and a final, critical comment, buried (intentionally?) all the way down here, re: The Carters’ Everything is Love: The titular sentiment may well be true, and more power to them, but a) I’m just not in the mood to attend royalty of any kind, and b) the couple’s attempts to fit into the production zeitgeist of Atlanta sound forced and a little embarrassing to me. For what it’s worth. I kinda like the lead video for its in-your-faceness, but that initial objection still applies.

Head Down, Headphones On—One-liner Edition (June 23rd, 2018, Columbia, MO)

Frustrated at not tending to my vast responsibility to, um, someone, I donned the headphones and powered through some new slabs. Fortunately, they were all at least good.

Mdou Moctar Meets Elite Beat in a Budget Dancehall–The star of the Saharan Purple Rain ducks out of the desert and into a club, and things get looser than they tend to on the sands…not a bad idea at all.

Dave Holland: Uncharted Territories–Two septuagenarian vets of European improvised music join two American youngsters for a two-disc creation session, and the kids’ ideas win (as does the listener, in one of the best free records of 2018).

The Young Mothers: Morose–The latest work starring a product of Texas’ House of Gonzalez (one brainstormed by a Norwegian) melds free jazz, rap, punk, metal, and maybe other stuff in a furious attempt to change that mood–be it in us or the musicians themselves.

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever: Hope Downs–Seems like folks are struggling to describe this Australian act (they’re not a jam band to my ears), but they seem a more straightforward version of The Feelies to me, and that’s a good thing.

Nidia: Nídia É Má, Nídia É Fudida–Just as I’m wondering when JLin going to deliver another package of EDM even a Southwest Missouri boy can love, I find out a Portuguese wizard damn near matched Black Origami with this quirky jam (there may be hope for me yet).

Bonus Bounce:

An Apple Music playlist of some my recent wanderings in that streaming world.

Feelin’ the Vibe (June 22nd, 2018, Columbia, MO)

For the past week, Sarayah’s Feel the Vibe has been throbbing in the lab (aka my ’93 Ford Ranger’s cab). Nicole spotted the album in Louisiana Music Factory, NOLA’s stellar Frenchman Street store, checked it out at the listening station, and placed it on my already-towering stack. The young lady is a product of the Crescent City, with Caribbean roots that blend beautifully with that status, and while she doesn’t quite live up to Basin Street Records’ promotional claim that she weds Rihanna, Ariana Grande, and Kehlani (each of whom are backed by big bucks and state of the art writers and producers), I prefer her to all of the above except Ri, and even then I prefer her half the time. Why? I am no aficionado of club music or modern r&b, but I sense in the tracks and lyrics of Feel the Vibe that they might be a shade generic or corny. However, there is a sweetness and innocence to her commitment to the material, to her belief in herself, to the humility of her offering that’s irresistible. Trappings are few: her island-tinged delivery and exotic presentation on the album cover are about it. Otherwise, she’s naked, especially so without the bells and whistles of a zeitgeistian roll call of beat-finders and knob-twiddlers, and as a result I feel I’m getting a direct and sincere shot from the kid. I don’t club much at 56 in mid-Missouri, but I can easily picture Nicole and I getting the backs of our shirts wet to tracks like “Blaze It Up” and “Start to Finish”–and she can nail a slow one, too, as she proves on “Fire and Ice.” Late in the album, she takes New Orleans music back to its roots on “We Party,” perhaps the track that most suggests her potential. Saràyah: give her a shot. I hope we get to see her live one day.

Short-shrift Division:

A morning spent with the greatest country-soul singer of them all is a morning fully redeemed.

Sweet Birds of Youth (June 21st, 2018, Columbia, MO)

An industrious day of exercise, reading, trip-planning, pretending we were on Bourbon Street, and enjoying rain, breeze, and 70-degree weather (it’s been hot here in Misery). But I had enough time to check out two new live recordings from the vaults, capturing two great acts in their late-girlhood, early womanhood.

Nicole and I always wonder, “Why don’t we listen to Bonnie Raitt more?” A great singer and guitarist, a class act, pretty good quality control, a sense of humor–what’s not to love? To some extent, maybe, she’s so damn consistent she’s either a bit boring or taken too often for granted. The above set, recorded on my tenth birthday, finds her delivering a combo of blues and pop covers, most of which eventually found themselves on her early records, with astounding maturity and command. Her guitar playing is still a shade rough, but it’s passionate. All in all, it might be my favorite Raitt recording, because it’s more alive than her studio output.

I have to admit, I’m not a huge Bangles fan. Their terrific debut, All Over the Place, conveyed garage toughness, featured fetching harmonies and melodies, and exhibited neat rock-historic savvy. For me, though, aside from two great singles and one good-plus corny one, it was all downhill from there. I admire this ’86 live set because it puts all the good-to-great stuff in one place, on a decent night, with just a touch of the toughness gone.

Short-shrift Division:

Revisited two old YouTube playlists from our faux-NOLA frozen-drink cloud:

Funkadelic, Mayfield, Redding, and Gaye Day (June 20th, 2018, Columbia, MO)

One thing I’ve noticed about this listening diary project is it makes me feel too responsible. Specifically, responsible for playing new releases, and even new acquisitions (not the same thing anymore)–sometimes months will pass before I actually slap a mailman’s present on the turntable. The deal is–by this time in a normal year I’d have probably listened to Professor Longhair’s Crawfish Fiesta five times by now, or had a couple-three “Dylan Days” or “Wills Weeks.” I feel like I’ve neglected many time-tested goodies.

Not today. National news got to my ass yesterday, so I needed medicine today–proven medicine.

I thought listening to Marvin Gaye’s evolution might be healing, so I journeyed with him from “How Sweet It Is” through Here, My Dear. Speaking of which, a recent reissue tagged on an extra disc of alternate takes, extended versions, and disco mixes. That usually translates to crap, but in this case, the alternates, arrayed in the same running order as the official version, is superior–more grooveful, more funky, and better balanced against the subject matter (divorce). It was good to me!

Good to me? The way to keep that buzz going? O-T-I-S! Stacked up the fantastic Dictionary of Soul, the underrated duet album with Carla Thomas (they were never in the studio at the same time, BTW), and a cherry-picked Dock of the Bay, with this deep-cut fave:

They say two martinis are perfect, no need for a third. Not true with a soul record shakedown, but I needed a little mescaline in my grits, so I moved on to my three favorite Funkadelic albums, Let’s Take It To The Stage, the accurately-titled Hardcore Jollies, and, of course, One Nation Under a Groove. In some ways, the group’s extraterrestrial/subterrestrial (get me?) fusion was even more of a balm than Marvin’s yearning and Otis’ good cheer–I was reminded that, as Hunter Thompson wrote, “when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” Evidence?

(I used to skip this song; now, I never miss it)

(Even more righteous 40 years later!)

At present I’m rolling behind some Curtis Mayfield pickin’ and persuadin’, specifically We’re a Winner and The Fabulous Impressions, which features the incandescent “Isle of the Sirens,” simultaneously the greatest pop song ever written about The Odyssey and one of Mayfield’s greatest patented encouragements to The Movement:

It felt so good to be irresponsible today. I think I’ll make a week of it.

Literary Notes:

I finished Chris Weingarten’s 33 1/3 series venture upon PE’s Nation of Millions. 4.3 outta 5: consistently interesting, witty a bit more than intermittently, and, most important, informative. You’ll learn much about the construction, contents, and context of the record, including a bounty of detail about records sampled and simply influential. In case you decide to read it, here’s a completed musical companion–you’ll be delighted and surprised. Put ‘er on shuffle for best results!

Road Riffin’ (June 18th, 2018, Highways 62, 37, I-44, 5, 54, 63, 70)

On our way up Arkansas 62 to Missouri 37, trying to figure out what Carter Family tune purloined the melody from Dick Justice’s “Henry Lee”:

Answer?

Roaring up I-44, trying to keep Nicole awake, I sprung something on her that she’d gotten a few seconds’ earful of Saturday. I am not unerring in matching new stuff with her very refined taste:

Response: “My face hurts!”

Staying revved on MO-5, -54, -63, and I-70, with iced tea, Redmon’s candy, and selections from such illustrious releases as Wanna Buy A Bridge?, 1977 Roxy London Live, Dangerhouse Complete Singles, The Best Punk Rock Album in the World Ever, and Rhino’s D.I.Y. series–a yell-along, slap-yer-dashboard, punk-rock party:

Short-shrift Division:

Exit Through the (Crystal Bridges) Gift Shop…

“The Rhythm, The Rebel!” (June 17th, 2018, Monett, MO)

Since I’m on va-cay and out of pocket, I’m departing from my newly-established Sunday ritual of Spotifying the week’s listening and sharing another project I’m working on that might benefit and enlighten you and me.

I’m two chapters into Chris Weingarten’s so-far stellar 33 1/3 offering on Public Enemy’s Nation of Millions. I’ve read a passel of ’em; this is vying for my favorite, though it’s perhaps a shade too glib and overwritten. One neat thing Weingarten does is focus on the construction process behind a highly constructed album that, due to the profusion of samples the Bomb Squad layered in, couldn’t conceivably be made today, even by a moneybags like Jay Z.

What I decided to do was, chapter by chapter, include all the sample sources, influential tracks, and highlights in a YouTube playlist as a reading supplement. Needless to say, it’s under construction, but it’s already 29 tracks deep and is enjoyable independent of the book.

For our edification, enjoyment, or both:

Aaaaaand…this week’s awards!

Plucked from History’s Dustbin (best recent purchase of an old record): Everything But The Girl’s Amplified Heart.

Grower, Not a Shower (old record I already owned that’s risen in my esteem): Bettye LaVette’s relatively new Things Have Changed.

Encore, Encore! (album I played at least twice this week): Big Youth’s Screaming Target.

Through the Cracks (sweet record I forgot to write about): Busdriver’s Electricity is On Our Side.

Podcasts! We Had Podcasts!

A long time ago, before this blog existed (for the most part) and before Podcast World exploded, I often created podcasts for Hickman High School’s radio station. Before I knew it, I’d made 75! Here are a few of the later ones; they are not slick, but they are heartfelt, they should exhibit reasonable expertise, and I sure had fun doing them (listen for ice tinkling in a glass). Let me know if you like them.

Another Podcast from the “Rock Therapy” Archives:

A fun African music podcast I once made for my wife’s students, who were learning African geography!

King Sunny Ade, leading off…

“Dedicated to Columbia (MO) Hickman High School’s Academy of Rock: Let Them Do Their Thing!”

EPISODE THREE OF THE ROCK THERAPY REBOOT!

Playlist:

Intro–The Rock and Roll Trio: Segment from “Rock Therapy”

Mr. Quintron and Miss Pussycat: “Haterz”

Company Freak: “Theme from Company Freak”

Obnox: “How to Rob”

Wussy: “Teenage Wasteland”

Miranda Lambert: “Platinum”

Geeshie Wiley: “Last Kind Words”

Off!: “Jeffrey Lee Pierce”

The Gun Club: “The Fire of Love”

Raw Spitt: “Songs to Sing”

Bassekou Kouyate: “Jama Ko”

The Hot 8 Brass Band: “Let Me Do My Thing”

Latyryx: “Every Man for Himself”

Neneh Cherry (featuring Robyn): “Out of the Black”

Natural Child: “Don’t the Time Pass Quickly?”

Keith Frank (featuring Lil’ Boosie): “Haterz” (original version)

Outro–The Rock and Roll Trio: Segment from “Rock Therapy”

“Texas Me: Rib-Stickings from a 2,100-Mile Drive Into Texas”

EPISODE TWO OF THE ROCK THERAPY REBOOT!

Another Podcast from the “Rock Therapy” Archives: REGGAE TAKE OVER!

Folks, it’s getting hot, and I don’t know about you, but when the mercury’s about to explode out of the thermometer, I like to be comforted by some music from where that’s just natural. So, ladies and gentlemen, let “Reggae Take Over”….

NEW! “Cakewalk in No Man’s Land: The Return of ROCK THERAPY,” featuring the music of Allen Lowe, Wussy, Anita O’Day, Neneh Cherry, Ronnie Barron, and many more.

Allen Lowe in the lab (click on the image to visit his website)

Rock Therapy Podcasts from the Vaults

REMEMBERING THE POPE OF MEMPHIS MUSIC, JIM DICKINSON

Put this podcast together shortly after Dickinson passed on August 15, 2009. Though he’s better known as a producer (of Alex Chilton, The Replacements, Barrence Whitfield, and scads of others) and player (as a member of the Dixie Flyers and with the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan), he made some great rekkids under his own name and with his own bands. Many of those are highlighted here:

SMOKIN’ O.P.s, VOLUME I: THE ART OF THE COVER VERSION

(Unfortunately, the link above is to a download only and not to streaming–I’m working on it):

Explore the world of taking other folks’ masterpieces and making them one’s own. A banquet of recontextualizations and reimaginings!

Spring is here–and it’s time for some euphony courtesy of the jazz saxophone. Enjoy this podcast from the Rock Therapy archives!

Happy Mardi Gras, y’all! I offer a podcast from the vaults of Rock Therapy, dedicated to the special jubilation produced only in the Crescent City!

ROCK AND ROLL GUMBO! NEW ORLEANS ON FYAH!

For many years, as part of my duties as the sponsor of David H. Hickman High School’s Academy of Rock, I created not-exactly-hi-fi podcasts–sometimes thematic, sometimes a funhouse random play of my passions du jour–for the kiddies to use to get their learn on. A little over a year ago, our free server flitted back off into cyberspace, so I suspended my activities, but as I get this blog booted up, I think it might be appropriate to share some of the best of the batch. Here’s “Big Cheeseburgers and Good French Fries: The Return of Rock Therapy.”

“Big Cheeseburgers and Good French Fries: The Return of Rock Therapy”

Living To Listen

Compact music commentary about artifacts new and old: I enthuse, I don't accuse, but I do refuse–to review anything lukewarm or colder!

The Ten Days (June 25th, 2018, Columbia, MO)

Unsteady as She Goes (June 18-24)

Head Down, Headphones On—One-liner Edition (June 23rd, 2018, Columbia, MO)

Feelin’ the Vibe (June 22nd, 2018, Columbia, MO)

Sweet Birds of Youth (June 21st, 2018, Columbia, MO)

Funkadelic, Mayfield, Redding, and Gaye Day (June 20th, 2018, Columbia, MO)

Road Riffin’ (June 18th, 2018, Highways 62, 37, I-44, 5, 54, 63, 70)

“The Rhythm, The Rebel!” (June 17th, 2018, Monett, MO)

Podcasts! We Had Podcasts!

Another Podcast from the “Rock Therapy” Archives:

“Dedicated to Columbia (MO) Hickman High School’s Academy of Rock: Let Them Do Their Thing!”

“Texas Me: Rib-Stickings from a 2,100-Mile Drive Into Texas”

Another Podcast from the “Rock Therapy” Archives: REGGAE TAKE OVER!

NEW! “Cakewalk in No Man’s Land: The Return of ROCK THERAPY,” featuring the music of Allen Lowe, Wussy, Anita O’Day, Neneh Cherry, Ronnie Barron, and many more.

Rock Therapy Podcasts from the Vaults

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