Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers: This album continues to unfold as I enter my second week of listening. “Worldwide Steppers,” “Crown,” and “Auntie Diaries” jumped out this week. As usual, Kendrick challenges us to think about hard things: good and bad, innocent and criminal, dark and light. Also, I love the way he included his longtime… Read more »
I wasn’t impressed when I listened to Promises last year, so when I heard that Pharoah Sanders died, I decided to try again. The repeated motif is hypnotic, the strings border on inspired, and I love Sanders’ singing on “Movement 4,” but the sax is terrible. This is the kind of dodgy, ‘80s-inspired playing that led to my hatred of… Read more »
Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers: This is my first pass through Mr. Morale, and like all his records, listening is challenging. Not just deciphering the album’s meaning, but also reconciling it with my desire for Lamar to be the moral compass for modern music. But as he says on this album, “Kendrick is not your savior.”… Read more »
I’ve never heard Back to Back before now, so I decided to research the album. Google led me to what might be the most curmudgeonly review I’ve ever read on Amazon. But I get what the guy is saying. Hodges’ playing is so good that he makes me forget that saxophone is my second-least favorite instrument. The rhythm section is… Read more »
After a long break from both listening to and writing about music, I’m itching to do both. I want to try something different though, something that doesn’t feel like a chore and does encourage me to tackle my ever-growing stack of unheard music. I’m going to write a listening journal. I like the idea of combining music and journaling. For… Read more »