Underworld – Pearl’s Girl: I first heard this single while I was driving to a gig in Trenton NJ. That night, I was playing alongside a sitar player, a drummer, a pianist, a trumpet player, and whoever else showed up. I was so floored by “Pearl’s Girl (14996 Version)” that I incorporated the bass melody throughout our three-hour set of… Read more »
Various Artists – Alterity: I wonder why I don’t listen to more experimental electronic dance music. This has most of the things I love about dance music, and it scratches my itch to challenge my ears and my brain with sounds I’ve never heard before. Ben Watt – Buzzin’ Fly, Vol. III: The beginning of the week was cold and… Read more »
Low – Hey What: This is a good balance of noisy chaos and accessible (maybe even pretty) indie songwriting. It’s not an easy album, but it’s not super difficult either, and it’s worth the effort. There are a lot of layers, both in sound and words, and it’s the kind of record that reveals itself slowly. Pharoah Sanders – Karma:… Read more »
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 »
Cover records are a tricky business at best and yet I find myself drawn to them. I’m never sure if it is for the train wreck or the diamond in the rough. In this case, it was mostly just nondescript rehashings. For the most part, what is good on this record is what was good in the original recordings. Where… Read more »
I’m getting old…but not as old as the Scorpions. Klaus Meine and Rudolph Schenker have been at it for over and 50 years and Mathias Jabs has been with them for over 40. With the core of the band from their prime intact, Rock Believer is their 19th studio album. If they put a question mark after the opening track,… Read more »