Slow Burns, or How Not to Listen to Music

I always have a hard time getting started on the new year, since I’m still processing my records from last year.

Once I’ve done that, I’ll also try to catch up on records from the prior year that I missed.

The new year also tempts me to reset in some way - maybe re-assess some older records. And, since this is the last year of the decade, why not give another listen to all the music I heard since 2010?

Then there’s the whole World History Project, which will probably go on until I’m dead.

There’s rarely a time when I don’t have some kind of program going on. And right now I’ve got at least three.

So unlike normal people whose decision tree for listening to music may go something like this:

1. Do I want to hear this record?
1. Yes, then put on it on.
2. No, then find another one.

Mine is slightly different:

1. Is this record part of WHP and are we up to that year yet? 
1. Yes, then
1. Do I feel like hearing it? 
2. Yes, then put it on.
2. No, then
2. Is it part of my Decade review? 
1. Yes, then
1. Do I feel like hearing it? 
2. Yes, then put it on.
2. No, then
3. Did I buy it recently?
1. Am I really enjoying it, or do I need to get to know it better? 
1. Yes, then
1. Do I feel like hearing it? 
2. Yes, then put it on.
2. No, then
4. Do I JUST FEEL LIKE HEARING IT? 
1. Yes, then put it on.
2. No, then go back to the shelf and find another.

I’m not even going to go into whether or not the record would drive another family member nuts...

As embarrassing at this all sounds when written down, I still strangely proud - to the point I find it odd other people don’t do something like it.

So, dear reader, I ask you, do you simply slap on a disc (or play your mp3) a la example one above, or do you have a method?

No?

No all-night “night music” festival?

No stacking of all your live Grateful Dead (or Allman Brothers) albums to simulate an actual show?

No featuring one artist, playing one album after another - no matter how bad the later ones were - until you were done?

So I'll then assume you never have a hip hop weekend?

No blues summer?

No classical winter?

No jazz winter?

Don’t you realize there is layer upon layer of theme, duty, timing, segue, time of day, and time of year to consider??

Don’t you impose any rules on yourself, like: No drastic segues, or don’t play post-Beatle John Lennon on the same day as Post-Beatle George or Paul? (Ringo is fine. He doesn’t count.)

Or only Post Beatles?


All of this is to explain what's taking me so long to keep up. I’m awash in music while simultaneously navigating numerous musical agendas.

But at some point, I must come up for air and report back on what I’ve heard. And I’ve always found the ass-backward approach useful, so let’s deal with some of the new music I’ve just gotten, in descending order of how much Mrs. Jaybee hates it.  (What, you don’t think that matters?!)

These records all come from 2018, and all happen to be female artists, none of whom are disappointing:


Snail Mail: Lush (2018)

Mrs. Jaybee hates this record. I barely got to the second song when she said to please stop. When I protested, she put it on to make sure she hated it. And she did.

It’s the voice she said.

But I like it a lot - voice included - so I’m not sure what the problem is. There is a low key whiny-ness to it, and a sameness of tone, but I’ve always been a sucker for that. And the weird-chord droning is cool, too.

Sounds enticing, doesn’t it?

We caught her a few weeks ago when she opened for Interpol and Car Seat Headrest, and she didn’t disappoint. Not me, ‘cause I liked her and not Mrs. Jaybee, because she didn’t.

So I gave it another spin, and I was impressed that the overall sadness didn’t get me down, the guitar playing was agile and the voice committed to each and every song.

Sounds like she’s pretty good-hearted, too. That can help during the cold weather.

A-

“Pristine”




Cardi B: Invasion of Privacy (2018)

Being more involved in the actual world that I am, Mrs. Jaybee already heard - and liked - some of this.

Weirdly fun. Over the top, brassy, obscene as hell, but pretty honest in a real housewives kind of way.

This woman has personality to spare, but I can only take so much.

B+

"Went Through Your Phone Last Night"



Kacey Musgraves: Golden Hour (2018)

Grammy and Pazz and Jop winning and who am I to argue? (Hey, the Grammy’s haven’t been horrible lately. What, with The Suburbs, Morning Phase and Golden Hour winning during this decade. I’m used to them sucking ALL the time.)

This is a real pretty record, sometimes beautiful and snob that I am, it's really only that Grammy imprimatur that's keeping me from loving it.

And Mrs. Jaybee admits to liking it.  So it looks like I've bought myself more time.

A-

Eighth Annual Jaybee-bies: The Best of 2018

Well, the old bell curve was bit flatter this year.  

During 2017, I heard a lot of very good records but just a few that were great. 2018 had more great stuff but also more disappointments. (How can I be such a pessimist and still manage to get disappointed by things?)

But before getting into the music, let’s see how I did with my 2018 resolutions, broken down by category:

General Classiness:

• Cutting down on saying “Awesome”: A-, but 
• I still say “Let's get on the same page” way too much. B-

Health:

• 10,000 steps in a day: C+ (It’s more like 7500.)
• 1,000 words per day. D (It’s more like 75, unless you count talking.)
• More Exercise: B- (Hey, I like to walk but anything else requires too much...exercise.)
• More Vegetables: B- (Do eggplant parmigiana heroes count?)
• Fewer Sweets: B+ 
• Less Drinking: B+ (Yeah, I'm just a barrel of laughs now.)

Music:

• Fewer CDs, and more mp3s: A- (It’s going great, but I miss CDs! Vinyl, too.)
• Getting current year music: C  (Not so good, but then current year music wasn’t so good, either.)
• Guitar: A  I got a guitar!  And I practice, too! (C- for that, though.)

2019 Resolutions: 

• All of the above. 
• Oh, and impeachment.

Top Ten Albums:

1. Beach House: Bloom (2012) A lotta beauty here. Irridescent  
2. Superchunk: Majesty Shredding (2010) A lotta joy here. Irresistible 
3. Beach House: Teen Dream: (2012) Super dreamy, and healing. 
4. Max Richter: Infra (2010) A modern requiem. Heart wrenchingly sad, but never sappy 
5. Waxahatchee: Out From the Storm (2017) Tight and tuneful. 
6. Lori Mckenna: The Bird and the Rifle  (2016)  Simple, direct. A female, country Neil Young.
7. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit: The Nashville Sound (2017) Jason Isbell bares his soul, with a great band to watch his back. Keep going Jason! We’re all rooting for you.
8. Drive-By Truckers: Brighter Than Creation’s Dark (2008): So modest you could ignore it, so generous it just chips away at your resistance. They combine the sound of the Stones with genuine country, and excellent songwriting. 
9. Amadou and Mariam: Welcome to Mali (2008) African music but with rock n' roll guitar. 
10. Mount Eerie: A Crow Looked at Me (2017) Even more devestating than Intra.

Honorable Mentions: 

Wes Montgomery, Oneohtrix Point Never, The Wailers, Robyn 

Favorite Songs: can be found here.  

Most Work (But Worth it): Drive By Truckers 

Most Work (And Possibly Not Worth It): Speedy Ortiz  

Most Surprising: Beach House 

Most Disappointing: Superchunk 

Best Artist: Beach House

Best Books:

So if you think I missed out on 2018 music-wise, wait until you get a load of this, thanks mostly to the World History Project:

1. Hamilton by Ron Chernow: An amazing book. An amazing guy. He makes the biggest workaholic you know sound like a slacker. He should have written a book on productivity.
2. Burr by Gore Vidal: A delight, as always, and in the context of the WHP, Vidal clearly worked his ass off.
3. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen: It’s been a long time since I read a “good old novel” that kept me involved all the way through to the end. Brainy, but more importantly, lots of heart.
4. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon: Dark, and yet funny as hell.
5. Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar: Eloquent, beautifully written
6. Washington: Ron Chernow: Great history.
7. The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendahl:Funny, cynical, kind of nuts. Very refreshing.
8. Thomas Jefferson by Christopher Hitchens: Okay, Tom, Vidal and Chernow - not to mention Hamilton and Washington - think you’re an asshole. So who but Christopher Hitchens could rise to your defense?
9. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob Zoet by David Mitchell: History and love.
10. The Life of Johnson by Boswell: Even the smartest guys have their blind spots.

Observations:

Like I said, 2018 itself - at least what I heard of it, was less than great. But I’ll be working on the stuff I missed, because I suspect it was a much better year than my ears heard.

Up Next:

Ludvig Van and the 2010s.

Disappointing Women

It’s a specialty of mine. (See what I did there?)

Been doing it all my life: Moms, sisters, girlfriends, wives, daughters, nieces, etc.

So it’s only fair that they get me back occasionally. And the difference is that at least when I’m the disappoint-ee, it’s because I've got something to learn.

So here are three learning experiences for me.



Speedy Ortiz: Foil Deer (2015)

They’re a foursome led by singer-songwriter Sadie Dupuis.

Vocally, you could easily mistake DuPuis for Liz Phair. But Sadie’s got better production values.

She’s smart and kind of intimidating like Liz, too. Where Liz was overtly sexual, you’d never know where you stood with Sadie.

She’s also got a better guitar player. Her music and lyrics are dense, and the melodies are pretty complicated. And like a boa constrictor, she’s persistent, slowly asphyxiating me with all that detail.

So it’s all a bit too gnarly for me. Which is why I prefer Liz.

And I just wish more songs were as good as “My Dead Girl”.

Soooo glad I’m not single.

B+

"My Dead Girl”



The Sleigh Bells: Treats (2010)

Loud, awkward, annoying. But never quite obnoxious. This twosome is like the awful couple you mistakenly invite over for dinner, and end up talking about for the next six months.

She sings like a five-year-old, reciting nursery rhymes. Except of course she’s twenty. He plays guitar like he’s throwing out the garbage - with the can - from a fifth-floor walk up.

But they wear you down, too. They just want to have a good time, and what’s wrong with you that you don’t?

What I’d completely missed until now is that they were signed by M.I.A.'s label. The Sleigh Bells are a rock and roll version of M.I.A. Not sure that would be considered a recommendation for older folk but there it is

The bottom line is they’re more like the neighbors on Modern Family - much smarter and daring than you ever gave them credit for.

But you still only invite them over once in a while.

B+

“Rill Rill”



St. Vincent: St. Vincent (2014)

This lady is way too arty/slick for me. Not production-wise. Just “I’ll do whatever I like and expect you to like it-wise. (And look at her sitting on her throne like that. Who she thinks she is!)

And yet Mrs. Jaybee and even son Michael like it. Me? I’m not sold on it just yet but there are a couple of fine moments.

There is a Talking Heads-ish vibe here, which is nice, but if I want that I'll put on Talking Heads.

Things don’t really take off until the sixth song. And the big ending helps, so I thought I’d get into the first half of the record, too, and that this would end up an A-.  But it just isn’t happening.

Good, just not very compelling.

B+


Now that I've pissed off at least half the population, let me remind you how much I liked Beach House, Waxahatchee and Lori McKenna.

But in the meantime, is Salman Rushdie's old rental available?

In the City, Without a Voice

I found myself listening to several records with little to no vocals, and I asked myself, “Well, how did I get here?”.

And the short answer is luck, because sometimes words are superfluous. With the right folks, it’s enough to just hang out.

But where?


First, Brooklyn:



Oneohtrix Point Never: Replica (2016)

Electronica usually has a pulse, but not always a heart. And while this one’s a bit colder than, say, Jon Hopkins, he's got his own kind of warmth. He’s like the friend who, while not very gregarious, is always there for you.

And just when I thought it might have been a little too forbidding, Mrs. Jaybee said, “put on the one with that great horn melody and the woman’s voice”.  Okay, she was conflating two songs but I didn’t even know that until I put it on again.

There’s a definite city vibe to this. Maybe a city of the future, like in Blade Runner but more optimistic.

You might occasionally feel you’re being pushed away, but you’re really just being asked to stop and listen.

A-

“Explain”


Manhattan:



Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris
Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic, Columbia Symphony Orchestra

A re-buy after the Jaybee-Roommate Mike record collection was breached. We were young and smart and just came off the (then) high of seeing Manhattan.

There’s really nothing to say about this unless you’re familiar with more than one recording and have a preference.

This is essential music from the first half of the 20th century and if you don’t like it, I feel very, very sorry for you.

A

“Rhapsody in Blue”


London:


Max Richter: Infra (2010)

Max hit our radar after Mrs. Jaybee picked up the soundtrack to Shutter Island. Compiled by Robbie Robertson it is a tour de force of atmospherics that is mostly drowned out by the movie itself.

One of the two cuts supplied by Richter is used for the closing credits and it is stunning.

For unrelated reasons, I recently decided to watch The Leftovers, a show that Mrs. Jaybee sometimes hated. She loved the music though. And it was done by guess who?

So I ran across an ad for a concert by Max Richter, performing music from The Leftovers, so Mrs. Jaybee and I were all in.

And not leaving well enough alone (thank god) he also included this piece, commemorating the bombing of the London subway in 2005.

As Mrs. Jaybee stated, we’ve never been at a concert with such a well-behaved audience. Everyone was rapt, taking in every note.

Like the show, on this record, Max is accompanied by a small group of musicians. Three violins, two cellos, and himself on keyboards. It’s also sometimes overlaid with the sound of transmissions from the subway.

Max’s music (what we’ve heard at least) is pretty simple and it appeals - without shame - to your emotions. My recommendation is that you go with it.

A

“Infra 5”



The Big Country:

While a lot of friends of ours have gone to the suburbs, a long time ago, Mrs. Jaybee and I realized we were city people.

And while the city has its obvious bad points, it's who we are.

Message from the Country

“I didn’t know you liked country music so much,” says Mrs. Jaybee.

Which translates into “If I knew you liked country music so much…”

But I don’t. I really don’t.

I’m just another holdover from that time when rock 'n roll did Nashville one better by subtracting the glitz and making better country music. Yeah, I know that’s not fair or true, but we had Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, and the Flying Burrito Brothers, so we didn’t think we needed George Jones, Merle Haggard or Dolly Parton.

But these days, unless you’re into Alt-Country, you take your rock 'n roll, hold the country thank you very much.

So I don’t even try to get Son-and-guitar-player Michael into it. Forget about Daughter-and-Broadway-Baby Tess. (See above for Mrs. Jaybee.)

I was even beginning to think I didn’t like it either. When I dipped into it, I got very mixed results. I really liked Kacey Musgroves, I was left unimpressed by Miranda Lambert and Brad Paisley.

Or rather, their omnipresent pedal steel guitars put me off for years. They pour it on like ketchup (and I like ketchup). It’s only now when I play those records (at work, of course) that I enjoy their energy and smarts.

So I waited a good long while before dipping my toe back in the pool. But I finally did and it seems the water’s fine.



Jason Isbell: The Nashville Sound (2017)

Yet another singer-songwriter, I thought. When I’m just not feeling it, it’s because I’m mistaking my own tired and limited imagination for what I should be happy to encounter - someone else’s. So I waited a while.

But a singer-songwriter would be better than a country music singer, right? How about an ex-member of the Drive-by Truckers?  Now we’re talking.

Since leaving the Truckers, he’s put out a few solo records. And now he’s got a band - The 400 Unit - to help put his songs across. His voice isn’t particularly strong, but his emotional delivery and empathetic lyrics really hit the mark.

I grudgingly admitted that this was a (just another) good record, ho-hum. But when I actually put it on I find I’m impressed by every single song, every single time.

Isbell confronts the world and his own part in it and doesn’t always love what he sees. But he doesn’t whine about it. He’s mature enough to know he owes something to his fellow man and woman.  Imperfect as he is, he’s going to try.

And he likes to rock, too. So what if on “Anxiety” he tries to sound like the Beatles (I Want You) and fails? That’s forgivable. I’m anxious, too. On “Cumberland Gap” he tries to sound like Springsteen and succeeds.

A

“Cumberland Gap”



Lori McKenna: The Bird and the Rifle (2016)

Unlike Isbell, McKenna lands pretty squarely on country, but she leaves the pedal steel at the door.

Like Isbell, she doesn’t limit herself to the personal, but she does keep to her hometown and finds the universal there.

There’s maybe one song that isn’t slow to mid-tempo. And that’s okay because McKenna uses the time to nail her vocals, lyrics and melodies.

It’s a relief that her ripe quavering voice isn’t the incoming missile we’ve come to expect from country divas. It’s just perfectly built to put these songs across.

And what songs they are! She makes every word count, dissecting doomed relationships or guiding younger women away from her own mistakes.

The melodies aren’t innovative or spectacular but they never settle for the ordinary. They always find another turn, either down or up or sideways that gives you more than you expected.

And when you put all this together it’s even better than Kacey Musgraves, and maybe even Jason Isbell.

A

“Halfway Home”


I'm happy to report there is nothing on either of these records I have to try to like. They are unmistakably country, but not tied down by it.

Which is kind of what made the country music by Dylan, the Dead and the Burritos so great.

Jason and Lori, welcome to the club.

World History Project: Haydn In Plain Sight

As you may recall, the World History Project is my pathetic attempt to make sense of the world via history, literature, movies and even music.

It started out sometime in the 1980s as a way to better understand literature by reading it chronologically. Figuring that reading the “great novels” was the way to go, I started out with Don Quixote, which was written around 1600.

Over the next fifteen years or so I made it up to the late 1800s and was reading Samuel Butler’s The Way of all Flesh on  9/11, at which point I decided I needed to know more about the world - and what led us to that moment - than I did. 

So I decided to start over - this time including history - and started from around 3000 BC. I read the Bible and histories of Asia, Greece, the Middle East, Rome, and Europe. I threw in a few philosophy and art books for good measure.

Along with way, I got the idea that, since I’m enough of a music nerd to occasionally “recycle” my records, why not do it along with the WHP? It’s just like me to take an already unwieldy idea and make it more so.

Adding music would have absolutely no significance until I got to around 800 AD, when I played Chant, which is the earliest music I have.

It’s now seventeen years since “The Great Reset”. So where am I?

Well - as is usually the case with me - it’s complicated.

Don’t Know Much About History!:

Once I included history I had to figure out some practical things, like when different history books covered overlapping time periods, how should I read them? One at a time, from beginning to end, no matter how far into the future it goes, or switch from one to the other when I got to a year that is picked up by another book? I ended up going with a version of the latter.

An extreme version of this would mean jumping from one book to another as soon as I got up to a date that other book covers. Since some books are very general and others very specific (A People's History of the World vs. The Day Kennedy was Shot, say), this might mean stopping in mid-paragraph in the more general book, to move on to and read another book from start to finish before finishing that paragraph in the first book, maybe months later.

This can get really silly really fast and end up defeating the whole purpose of WHP, which was to let one book strengthen my understanding of another by adding context. So I’ve made some compromises.

I’ll start with the more general book, and then get gradually more specific. When I’m reading the general book and get to a point covered by a more specific book, I’ll at least read to the end of the chapter or section, before making the jump.

Another issue has to do with dealing with different branches of history, (i.e., American vs. European vs. Middle Eastern, etc). Sometimes they intersect and sometimes they don’t. When they don’t seem to, I’ll stick with one branch through the more hectic periods - say, the American Revolution - and then, once things calm down, move onto another branch, like the French Revolution. And yes, I know they do intersect but I had to draw the line somewhere.

Where does this leave me?

America:

I finished Robert Remini’s The Jackson Era which puts me at about 1837. 

I’m partly through Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, Alistair Cooke’s America, Alex Haley’s Roots and Lawrence Levine’s Black Culture and Consciousness.

I’m on pause, catching up with European history before I delve into the American Civil War.

The Middle East:

This is getting short shrift for now, with me only reading Albert Hourani’s A History of the Arab Peoples and Paul Johnston’s A History of the Jews, with me resting at the early 1800s.

Europe: 

I’ve been relying on several of my college textbooks to get the overview. 

I then doubled back to Europe and England and covered the French Revolution. I just finished the fantasy fiction (and slightly disappointing) Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke, and working on The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendahl, which is a lot better (i.e., funnier) than The Red and the Black. I'm more or less in 1820.

Ireland:

I was just getting some traction in Europe when - inspired by a trip to Ireland - I decided I had been neglecting my heritage. I decided to learn more about its history, when meant going all the way back to about 500BC. I’m up to when St Patrick arrives, which is around 432. And no, there wasn’t a parade.

My plan was to catch up to 1800 or so and then get back to Europe, when my neighbor threw out a book about the Catholic popes. Then I started hearing good things about The Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar, which is now my current read, circa 130 AD.

I appear to be going in the wrong direction.

Art:

I’ve been getting by with Janson’s History of Art and Michael Bird's 100 Ideas That Changed Art. I’m up to the early 1800s.

Music:

As ridiculous as this all sounds, my going backward in time has given me some breathing room to catch up on some classical music I’d previously missed.

The late 18th century was a pretty hectic time history-wise as evidenced above. On top of those convulsive events, there were several musical geniuses emerging. I’ve already covered Mozart in my singularly uninformative way, and will be getting to Beethoven soon.

At the moment I’m enjoying Joseph Haydn.

Haydn: The London Symphonies, Nos. 93,94,97, 99, 100, 101

Sir Colin Davis, The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Moe and Larry, I mean, Mozart and Beethoven called him the grand old man. And anyone who can crank out over a hundred symphonies deserves respect. 

But as much at Mozart and Beethoven liked him, he’s just not quite on their level. But that’s like saying Big Star wasn’t quite the Beatles. So what?

If Bach is, say Chuck Berry, and Mozart is the Beatles, then Haydn is probably Elton John, just on output alone. I mean, look at the Symphony numbers here!  Over a hundred?  That’s pretty impressive. Even if they sucked, who would go to all that trouble?

And let’s not get into whether or not anyone, including the musicians - and Haydn - can really tell Symphony number 63 from 36. Does the violinist sit there playing thinking hmmm, this sounds an awful lot like the last one to me...

And it doesn’t suck. It’s stately and grand. Not exciting grand, or beautiful grand, just well, grand-grand. Like Bach, it’s neither obnoxious nor forbidding. I can’t say I love it, but it’s hard to dislike it. Is that also an Elton John parallel?

So there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this music. I guarantee if you put it on, you’ll kind of like it. It’s almost fun-nish, but you will feel like you should be dressing a little better. (Not and EJ parallel.)

So put it on for company to show you’re classy.

B+

Once I’m done with Hadyn, I’ll be at about 1794, music-wise. Then I can jump to Beethoven, who I’m beginning to think, based on temperment, was the Phil Spector of his era.

So, on Hadrian! On Pope Pius! On St. Pat! I’ve got to catch up to be only 200 years behind!

Summer Great, Summer Not As Great

"Summer of ‘18" doesn’t quite have the ring of “Summer of 69” - nor does it match up musically - but let’s face it, that was a tough summer to beat.

The short story is that Beach House owned this summer. Certainly the first cool, cloudy half.

It’s a shame that nothing else I got could quite overcome the oppressively hot, humid second half. (Nothing quite on the order of last year’s Whiteout Conditions by the New Pornographers.) On the other hand, I don't remember 1969 being as hot as our summers are now. I don't know if the music can possibly keep up with the climate.

So, to sum up, no masterpieces. But pretty good.

Let’s try to go in order of increasing order of what I'll call Fun-ness:

Bikini Kill: The First Two Records (1993)

The two records in question are their shared EP with Huggy Bear and their first LP Bikini Kill.

This is the pre-Le Tigre Katherine Hanna. It may also be the start of the Riot-grrrls. So...Srkunch!!! 

There are words here, and lots of them are naughty. To sum them up, get the fuck out of my face. Understandable and appropriate - but not always fun - in the middle of August.

For now, I prefer the mellower, goofier Le Tigre.

But beneath the din of Kathleen Hanna’s ballsy (yes) yowl and lo-fi “production” there’s an earthy guitar tone that grows on you.

I'm grading tough now. Once the weather gets cooler - and now that we have a Justice Kavanaugh - I’ll be playing it a lot more.

B

“Suck My Left One”

Superchunk: What a Time to Be Alive (2018)

Simply not as catchy as Majesty Shredding, and with the subject matter being what it is, doubly disappointing.  However, their overall sound provides a rush no matter what.

B+

“What a Time to Be Alive”

Beck: Colors (2017)

After winning a Grammy, what does this edgy artist do? He goes pop.

Beck’s a real pro. He’s done hip-hop, folk, soul, electronica and now pop. He’s never bad, but sometimes it’s doubtful he’s got his heart in what he’s doing. And while it’s very catchy, he’s hiding behind a wall of pop. Well executed pop, but a wall nonetheless.

I’m a big fan of Mellow Gold (less so Odelay), Mutations/Sea Change/Morning Phase.

As Mrs. Jaybee says, he’s lost his edge.  

Not that Morning Phase had edge exactly, but it was fully committed to pretty, and he was willing to take the consequences.

We’re (and he’s) a long way from “Loser”.

B+

“Seventh Heaven”

David Bowie: Blackstar (2016)

Although he’s produced some of my favorite records, Bowie hasn’t interested me very much musically since 1980. 

He started out pop and rock-savvy and ended up being willfully harsh. Halfway through he hit a sweet spot of weirdness and joy - I’m going to say it was Low - but the inspiration slowly faded as the harshness set in. And his ned to be provocative - but without the requisite musical invention to back it up - that has him coming up short here.

The highlights are the opening and closing cuts, the latter especially affecting as he closes some of the distance he usually maintained with us.

It’s far from his best but I’ve got to hand it to him for going out his way.

B+

“I Can’t Give Everything Away”

Car Seat Headrest: Twin Fantasy (2018)

Two discs, each pretty long, and made up of the same album, just recorded at different times. So there’s a lot to slog through here.

The first is Will Toledo’s original 2011 lo-fi version of the album. The second is his 2018 re-recording, this time with a band and actual recording studio.

I was spoiled by Teens of Denial, which features Will Toledo the rocker who wrote consistently tuneful, rousing songs. Teens of Style - his earlier record - has the same level of inspiration tunewise, but whose thin sound accentuated Will’s nasally voice - and worse - his tendency/need to shout above the noise.

All the elements are here on both discs. The first one does have the limitation of so-so sound. And also in Car Seat Headrest fashion, too many songs end abruptly depriving one of a true climax.  The second disc smooths over some of these rough spots.

There’s no denying the several rousing moments, but he's asking for a lot of time, and I ain't got it.

B+

"Stop Smoking"

Fairport Convention: Unhalfbricking (1969)

Slower tempos than Liege and Lief, but with more humor, via several then-obscure Dylan covers. One in French!

The tragic “Percy’s Song” (although Arlo Guthrie’s passionate version is still my favorite) is followed by the hilarious “Million Dollar Bash”, and on the 2003-digital-remaster, a nice, soulful “Dear Landlord”. The peak is Sandy Denny’s very own masterpiece “Who Knows Where the Time Goes”.  And although I still love the majestic Judy Collins version, this one wins out on sheer wonder.

A-

“Who Knows Where the Time Goes”

Amadou and Mariam: Welcome to Mali (2008)

This duo is from - you guessed it! - Mali. Both of them blind, but doing fine, thank you very much. They probably would have been quite happy just making music in Africa, but managed to catch the attention of some well-meaning white people. I'd normally say RUN!, but it apparently got them exposed to a wider audience.

So this is definitely a crossover album, but still Malian enough. 

So what do they bring to the table? A growling electric guitar, for one, and excellent vocals. And some strong production.

And the momentum -bringing us through all fifteen songs - is undeniable.

A-

“Sabali”

Drive-By Truckers: Brighter Than Creation’s Dark (2008)

There are the records that try to hit you over the head on first listen, like Superchunk's Majesty Shredding.

And there are other records that are more patient. They lay out one excellent song after another, expecting you to notice after a while. 

Then there are those very good double albums that could have benefitted from a nip and a tuck here and there, to get it down to a great single.  

But in these confusing times, some such albums like this one actually fit on a single CD.  Hmmm. So let’s call them generously spirited. 

Creation comprises 19 songs. And while it’s definitely not in that first category, it is in the second and third.  

The Truckers are a southern rock band with a dose of country. This time out I only notice a slide guitar on one song. And their rock is more 1970s Rolling Stones than Allman Brothers.

But the country is still strong, with both Mike Cooley and Shonna Tucker contributing several songs. But the main songwriter here is Patterson Hood. Both Cooley and Hood add the rock and roll, but where Cooley goes country, Hood goes introspective.

This one is not as raw and aggressive as their very good Decoration Day, but it has the edge over that record due to that patient, consistent one excellent song after another consistency.

A-

“The Righteous Path”

So this summer was short on instant gratification, but long on wisdom. I suspect some of these records will rise in my estimation given more time.

And God knows, in times like these, I'll need that.

What a time to be alive!