The picture above gives an idea of what I had in mind for 2022. Laugh if you will, but the most unrealistic thing about it is the guy doesn't have a bald spot.
Then I noticed my Amazon gift card balance was kinda low.
The second omen was Mrs. Jaybee telling me she didn't want to hear BB King and Billie Holiday (Christmas gift box-sets!!) for the twelfth day in a row. (Who'd a thought?)
Then, yesterday, I put on a recent purchase.
"Who's this?", says Mrs. Jaybee. A long time ago, this might have indicated a degree of interest. Not so much lately.
"Dry Cleaning", says I.
"And who did you put on before that?"
"Oh, that was Weather Station"
"And before that?"
"Haim."
"Okay, now you're just making up names."
This is the point where having mere facts on my side meant nothing whatsoever.
So I've learned - yet again - there are LIMITS. Time, energy, money, other people's patience...
Time especially. First, because I'm running out of it. (Don't laugh. You are, too.) But also, the very limited amount of it on any given day when I can play "questionable" music (i.e., when normal people aren't around.)
So my efforts have been somewhat muted (see what I did there?).
But here are all the records I did pick up so far this year. Well, except for....oh, never mind.
Sonny Sharrock Band: Highlife (1990)
A free jazz electric guitarist decides to rock. And does so quite gracefully, if that's possible. Lovely, bordering on slick, noisy when he's lulled you. Sonny seems to know just when to rough things up.
But that slick part leads me to suspect it doesn't have staying power. So I'm hedging my bets. Let's see how it sounds at the end of the year.
B+
Ben Webster: King of the Tenors (1956)
Perfect mellow morning jazz, and not that easy-listening stuff, either. You'd swear this was a best-of, but no, just another LP. No pyrotechnics. No grand statements. Just playing for the song and nailing it every time.
Again, I'm hedging. For all I know, it'll end up on my all-time greatest jazz list.
A-
Spring Heel Jack: Busy, Thirsty, Curious (1997)
British Electronic Dance (you read that right) music from the 90s risks being impersonal but somehow avoids it. Essentially by not giving you a moment's rest. Damn near relentless.
In other words, nothing at all like our quaint old picture of the Brits. These are the youngins, who more than make up for their mum's and dad's good manners and bad teeth.
They also make up for all those awful 80s bands that covered old R&B songs. (I'm looking at you, Soft Cell.)
A-
Next time, I will attempt to prove the existence of Dry Cleaning, Weather Station, and Haim to Mrs. Jaybee, even if I have to create fake Facebook pages for them.
And then, I'll get to... never mind.
