Music Notes
By 
Let’s start with this interview with the great Sonny Rollins, still alive and active at the age of 89, even though he can’t play anymore. But he’s still politically aware and his mind very sharp. This covers everything from jazz history to George Floyd.
I’ve always found the whole genre of “indie folk” kind of odd because I don’t know what it is even supposed to mean. Not to be overly literal, but folk music is definitional from the folk and while I’m certainly willing to expand that to people writing music inspired by the folk, it is used to cover whatever, including things that have nothing to do with folk music. It doesn’t really matter of course. But if this list is any indication, what indie folk really means is that anything singer-songwritery that does not sound like country music except for Neko Case. It’s really not a bad list, though the love for Neutral Milk Hotel is not something I ever quite understood.
Do you need a plastic face shield to feel safe during this COVID-era? If so, how about a DEVO energy dome face shield?
On the awesomeness of the pedal steel and some of the artists who are taking it to new heights, and not only in country music.
Hanging out with David Byrne during the pandemic.
There’s been so many great streaming shows around, as many have known. In the last week or so, I’ve watched Wussy, Patterson Hood, and James McMurtry, all excellent. This is also happening in jazz. Check out the great shows that Arts for Art is putting out, which includes the Gerald Cleaver Quintet tonight and Ingrid Laubrock on Wednesday. Highly recommended.
Maybe someday there will be live music again. Sigh.
Album Reviews:
Waco Brothers, Resist!
I’m not really in the business of reviewing compilations. But the Waco Brothers collecting their best political songs from their long career is a pretty nice little thing to listen to right now. Not every one is really necessary–I don’t think all that much of their cover of “I Fought the Law” but their country-punk sound and leftist lyrics are a nice balm to these horrible times.
A-
Kristjan Randalu, Absence
This 2017 ECM release by the Estonian pianist is really a great set. It definitely has that classic ECM sound jazz/classical boundary sound, but the sometimes over-subtleties of that label aren’t a problem here. The music often runs at the edge of a glorious chaos that grabs the ear, with Ben Monder’s guitar key to the proceedings. Very cool album.
A
Richard Thompson, Live at Rock City, Nottingham 1986
For a long time, Richard Thompson was loath to release live recordings. A perfectionist, he saw every missed chord as something to forget. But about 15-20 years ago, he realized there was a huge market for his live shows and his fans would pay for them. He’s such an awesome guitarist with so many great songs that one can see why. That’s especially true of his work in the 80s, which was consistently excellent and also more electric than before or since. He could rip off great live show after great live show. This is one of his latest live releases, from an excellent 1986 show. Excellent versions of “When the Spell is Broken,” “Calvary Cross,” and “Wall of Death” are highlights.
A-
Janelle Monae, Dirty Computer
I can’t believe I didn’t get around to hearing this when it first came out. But you know how it goes. There’s a lot of albums and only so much time. Anyway, this is as great as advertised. I’ve loved Monae’s first two albums but found each just slightly frustrating. The first was burdened with 15 minutes of filler at the end. The second was really outstanding but the whole android sexuality thing was getting pretty tiresome, particularly the three DJ spoken word bits on it. Obviously though, when your two biggest promoters are Big Boi and Prince, you are awesome. Here, Monae just embraces her queerness and her politics and the music is all the better for it. So many great lines in this album: “If you try and grab my pussy cat, this pussy grab you back,” or even better, You fucked the world up now / We’ll fuck it all back down” on the outstanding “Screwed.” Great album, as everyone already knew.
A
Conor Oberst, Salutations
I’ve never been particularly moved by Oberst or many of the indie folk-rock guild like him. This, a 2017 album that takes his slightly earlier acoustic album Ruminations and works it up with a full band led by rock legend Jim Keltner works about as well as any album of his I’ve heard.
B
Abjects, Never Give Up
This I enjoyed quite a bit. Abjects is a London-based punk band but the guitarist is from Spain, the bassist from Japan, and the drummer from Italy. Their work represents the spirit of global resistance we all need in the age of a resurgent nationalism they obviously abhor. Good sounds and good lyrics. And while this isn’t their very best song, it gets the message across quite effectively.
A-
White Denim, Side Effects
A fun, solid collection of garage rock from this veteran Austin band. Sure, there’s some odds and sods that don’t work in a collection that touches the band’s past and future and which changes genre all the time. But it’s a pleasant listen, moving from punk to Stax to prog from song to song in a way that works as a collection.
B+
Gregoire Maret/Romain Collin/Bill Frisell, Americana
This is an interesting album about which I have some mixed feelings. Maret, a French harmonica player based out of New York is the real highlight here. He works in the jazz and jazz-classical genres that rarely feature a mouth harpist. Collin is a Swiss pianist and Frisell is the legendary American guitarist. They sound very good together. But it also works the same, well, Americana sound that Frisell has been tracking in for a very long time now and there’s not that much new ground covered here other than the fascinating harmonica work. It’s somewhat ironic perhaps that an album with this title begins with a cover of Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms, but then I’m not sure how compelling it is either. There’s some highlights here for sure, but for me isn’t the most successful project.
B
Wussy, Ghosts
Wussy has been doing some great Friday night live shows on Facebook, even as they recover from the death of their great steel guitarist John Erhardt a month ago. In response to the love the band has been getting, they released an odds and sods collection for free on Bandcamp. Ghosts is mostly pretty interesting–one totally unreleased song, a few rarities, some very early versions of songs, and really only one misstep, which is a weird remix of “Jonah” by a DJ. The alternative version of “Fly Fly Fly” works well, the back side of the Ceremony cover single they did a few years ago, “Days and Hours” is a nice addition and “The Night We Missed the Horror Show” is great. Fun stuff.
A-
As always, this is an open thread for all things music or art and absolutely no things politics or disease.