I am just a few breaths away from being fully approved as a DJ at CHIRP, whereupon I'll be allowed to 1) regularly sub for other DJs and 2) apply for a new shift of my very own starting in July. Until then, I am reminded of this riddle joke:
Q: How do you keep an asshole in suspense?
A: I'll tell you tomorrow.Ha! Ahem. I'm not an asshole (some may differ), but you get the idea. Anyways, in spite of my state of suspended approval, I've been volunteering to write reviews for CHIRP's library (read: not for their site, but fine for my blog) and recently contributed several for the following albums:
Beatles / Love / Capitol / 2006
"Love" is the name of a Cirque du Soleil choreographed show, set entirely to the music of the Beatles. Love (the album) was curated as the soundtrack. The result is a reworking of their best-known material into a surprisingly satisfying mashup that is more than just a condensed overview of the Beatles catalog. Legendary producer (/fifth Beatle) George Martin and his son Giles Martin created Love using only original Beatles recordings as sources. Instead of seeming blasphemous, these reworkings give the original songs an enjoyable new life. Note: The tracks tend to flow together; fade in/out as necessary to avoid jarring starts and stops.
Bishop Allen / December [EP] / self-released / 2006
In 2006, this Brooklyn-based (and Cambridge-born) indie pop band ambitiously released a CDEP of brand-new songs each month. This is obviously the 12th and final installment of the endeavor. Remarkably, in spite of producing over 40 songs through the course of the year, none of the material feels like filler. Each track is strong and compelling, with a catchy bounce that belies an underlying melancholy. At the end of the project, Bishop Allen began recording their 2nd full-length, The Broken String, released July 2007. 9 of the 12 songs were rerecorded versions of material off the 12 EPs; none of the songs on the December EP made it, however.
Damien Jurado / Saint Bartlett / Secretly Canadian / 2010
The 10th full-length album of folky indie rock from the Seattle singer/songwriter finds him stretching his style on some songs to include further roots influences: country, soul, and blues. Recorded and created with his Secretly Canadian labelmate, Richard Swift -- the duo performed all the parts together -- the album features Jurado's trademark gentle picking/strumming and mournful, hushed vocals, juxtaposted (sometimes within a single track) with touches of radio static, distortion, fuzz, and booming drums. The whole thing is imbued with a wide, cavernous Spector-esque production technique. This is music for a long, lonely drive. (Oh and for the record, Jim James sounds like Jurado, not the other way around.)
Radiohead / I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings / Capitol / 2001
Recorded on tour in Europe and North America in the wake of Radiohead's stylistic renaissance with Kid A and Amnesiac; nearly all of these songs come from those two releases. This is that rare live album presenting familiar studio material in a way that keeps the songs interesting, different, compelling (truly an exceptional feat, considering most live albums are strictly for fans). The gorgeous, plaintive final track, "True Love Waits", is exclusive to this release, and features lead singer Thom Yorke solo with an acoustic guitar.
Meanwhile, in addition to the library reviews, as of today I helped rewrite/edit some for the web site. They were composed, or even assembled and shaped, by me with the help of the original reviews that were submitted to the CHIRP Music Director by other volunteers, as well as Wikipedia and Amazon. I have no shame about this, since it ain't being published, and it still required a keen eye and a steady hand to make them work. If you go there now you'll find these five brief profiles I helped make:
Amadou & Mariam / Welcome to Mali / Nonesuch / 2008
Amadou & Mariam are a blind, married couple from Bamako, Mali who produce "Afro-blues" music that mixes traditional Malian sound with rock guitars, European electronica, and instrumentation from the Middle East, India, and Cuba. Their latest album is another seamless presentation of the tribal with the modern, a further evolution for the pair who met at the Institute for the Young Blind, and have been married and making music together since 1980.
Deerhunter / Cryptograms / Kranky / 2007
Cryptograms is the artsy sophomore effort of Atlanta-based shoegaze punks Deerhunter, fronted by Atlas Sound’s Bradford Cox. The album’s first half pairs ambient instrumentals with more combative, punk-inspired noise rockers, while in contrast the second half is psychedelic and poppy. The effect is a messy, charming, dynamic record.
Future of the Left / Travels With Myself And Another / 4AD / 2009
Future of the Left, a Welsh post-punk band featuring two-thirds of the mighty Mclusky (including singer/guitarist Andrew Falkous), pick up where they left off and get heavier, catchier, and stranger on their second full-length album. Guitars grind, crunch and squeal, keyboard lines hum, the rhythm section pounds and throbs, while the lyrics, equal parts bilious and absurd, are delivered with a melodic throaty shriek; running through it all is a compelling power and charisma that few others can match.
J Dilla / Donuts / Stones Throw / 2006
J Dilla was a vaunted producer who collaborated with many of the most talented names in hip-hop, including De La Soul, Madlib, ?uestlove, Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, and Common. Released three days before Dilla's untimely death at age 31 from the blood disease TTP, Donuts is way more than the sum of its parts: a producer's reel of music and beats blending jazz, rock, and electro with classic hip-hop; it is an essential, soulful, and irrepressibly joyful album.
Parliament / Funkentelechy vs. The Placebo Syndrome / Casablanca / 1977
Parliament's sixth full-length is a concept album about the dangerously simplifying effects of disco music that is hailed today as a funk masterpiece and commercial apex for the storied band founded and led by George Clinton. The album's densely-layered grooves are somehow both loose and tight, with Cordell Masson's rubbery bass playing, the keyboard wizardry of Bernie Worrell, and the ultra sharp Horny Horns (featuring former James Brown sideman Maceo Parker). "Flash Light", Parliament's biggest U.S. hit, helped propel the album to double-platinum status.
More to come soon...
