Letterman is still making the Late Night world roll over and play dead. The Prez leading the pack, with Tina Fey in the middle, and Mumford And Sons and the Dave Matthews Band bringing up the rear, it is all just another reason to tear your eyes away from Fallon for the last two weeks of history. Meanwhile, though, following Blur (and puppy races) this week, look for Noel Gallagher next week. I wonder if Noel will play a gig?
Morrissey has had security patting down the paying guests at other shops he has played for contraband, like the Odd Couple where the roomies went to a fat farm. The though is just so funny: Roast beef smugglers will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law…
In the beginning of March, 2010, I sat down with Titus Andronicus leader Patrick Stickles for would be my only interview with the indie rock superstar. One more than I’ve had with Kurt Vile, of course, so there is that. I was never very happy with the resulting story, and yes, absolutely blame me.
it is 2015, if you’ve recorded a song, what earthly good is a press release? Release the damn song. Also, check out the art work above. Who but Prince would release a song in solidarity with Freddie Gray and the protesters (though, one assumes, not the looters) in Baltimore, and stick a picture of themselves on the record cover. The mind truly boggles at this half wit.
Old Rock N Roll – Young Fathers – The Scottish Nigerian trio suggest here something that is just about self-evident, “I’m tired of playing the good black, I’m trying to have to hold back”. Which makes sense but not as much as Young Fathers equating racism with money and power. Which is where the real stuff is.
Them Changes – Eric Clapton And Stevie Winwood – Buddy Miles monster riff is given an electric run through by Stevie on keyboards and soul slamming vocal and when there is a whole, Clapton throws in gorgeous blues licks so everything is covered at all time, and the horns handle the riff – A-
The writing credit for “Everything” goes to Buble, his pianist Alan Chang and Amy Foster-Giles, and it really is a terrific song. The album was a smash though “Everything” stalled. Still, it builds along American stadard faultlines and finds a middle ground between pop and easy listening rock. As full hearted declarations of love goes, this is pretty thorough:
“Woman (Oh Mama)”, Joy’s first song off her summer release is a soaring to heights proto-feminist melodic dirge with an African background of chants like Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It is a strange amalgam of sound; not just unlike early Civil Wars, unlike the latterday Civil Wars who were throwing up Portishead (not to mention Michael Jackson) cover versions.
Sufjan Stevens – Beacon Theatre – April 11th – With the album of the year under Sufjan’s belt, here he was performing it live on stage and you could have heard a pin drop, a magnificent performance of (mostly) an album that changes what the term “confessional” means
In which the songs catch up with the year, 63 songs, three from Brian Wilson alone, on an album that isn’t as good as its best moments and whose best moments are among the best of the year. And Young Fathers, who are as good as their best moments and who I still expect to crack the US in some form or the other.
Carrie And Lowell – Sufjan Stevens – His mother left Sufjan when he was three maybe four, and again, and again, and then she died, and left Stevens to deal with it by writing the most equisitely beautiful album of this or many years.
In Another World – Dwight Yoakam – A thriller where classic rock meets classic 80s fueled country rock, like Tom Petty if he was more county or maybe Bruce himself, a galloping beat and a powerful vocal – A
Singing with his pecs, the Flo Rida resident has recorded one great song, “Trumpets” and lotsa mediocre pop moves, while truly sucking bad on stage. “Want To Want Me” is ordinary but the proof is in the sales,w hich is kinda like bouncing a quarter off his stomach and seeing where he falls.
Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserable” is one of the greatest novels of all time, the first chapter, the story of Bishop Myriel, is worth Dr Zhivago movie and musical and Les Miz movie and musical combined to infinity. There is no comparing Hugo’s genius to three hacks and a great movie director (David Lean).
This is a little less volatile than usual, with only Alabama Shakes the shocker, and even AS only shifted 96K “equibalent units”. But this is a sort of quietly indiffrent week, backed by two soundtracks, and still, from 2015: Taylor, Sam, Ed and Meghan, plus Drake who will be holding up the new album now. Sam Hunt is unlistenable.
The Young Novelist have written a break up sound or maybe a breakup song for the ages, a killer track which leaves our hero seriously gutted by the curtain. Well worth your time, I promise. The Mariah is another goodie nobody will listen to. Frankie Knuckles is spectacular.
Where It’s At – Shit Robot – A long time favorite DJ of mine meets a human beat box Reggie Watts without a nice old fashioned meets new EDM vocal, it works for me very well: it has a roiling bluesiness and high intensity yield a polar opposite of Avicii – B+
Sure, songs remind you of times and places but does it remind you of some girls. For me I tend to let the girl dictate to me the song and I don’t mean our song, she might not even know it is our song, but somethings a song and a girl will come together…. Here is five such times.
Infinity – Mariah Carey – Wow, could this sound any more 1990s? This is not even full on hip hop flavor Mariah; this is Boys II Men flavorful with a little speed singing to give it a contemporary feel. The song ain’t bad and her range remains amazing. Mariah is having something of a great 2010s, not that anybody is noticing – B+
“What Time Do You Call This” sounds like a typical (but typical in a good way) swooning melancholy masterwork, like the National if the national were from the UK. It is prime Elbow, it isn’t “My Sad Captain”, but it is tasteful melodic gripper and yet another in their consistently awesome catalog of swooners.
Smoke Machine – Nick Catchdubs – The co-owner of Fool’s Gold Records (with the great A-Trak) is pretty great himself. This is hip-hop meets dance, but the sounds are really different and they are really different on every track. “Don’t let it drop” is more than an aesthetic it is a point of view, and every single track here gets through in the end. Nick’s debut album, and as good as this genre can possibly get. – ALBUM OF THE WEEK – B+
It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) – Bob Dylan – When people claim rock music has been going downhill since the mid 60s, they could easily show this as exhibit # 1. It is not that there is a line here and there which makes sense in the grand scheme of life, it is that some of these aphorisms are now cliches – A+
If “The Age Of Adaline” sounds exciting, it isn’t, a terrible narrator takes care of that, and though it is a beautiful looking movie, set in San Francisco, still it has little use for its basic premise, Adaline leaves the audience as distant as everybody else in the world, and the sheer joy you’d expect, a sort of past-future axis, is blown off completely.The best scene, Adaline giving a nervous apology, has nothing to do with aging.
So as far as I am concerned The Magic Whip is a return to form. Good, sometimes not good, never as clever as it thinks it is, but with some good Blur songs to add to the catalog. A lot better than I thought it would be.
Tepper wrote many many popular songs. Minor league pop numbers but in retrospect, Presley’s movie tracks with tuneful, playful, self-effacing and often very very good. If Tepper was borderline novelty tunes, the operative word was borderline, and many of them have been part of our pop vernacular since we first heard them.
Please note “The Who Band” doesn’t include Roger Daltrey which means, I guess, the stars will be performing the lead singing (Billy was the Ace Face at the Quadrophenia performance at MSG in July 1996) though it hits me as a major missed opportunity because, cmon, what a chance to roll out some great solo Townshend stuff.
The Rangers take the Penguins in five and now have a break before round two. The games were close but if ever a team seemed capable of winner the cup, this is that. Meanwhile, the Mets have an 11 game winning streak stopped by the Yanks, and then beat up on CC the very next day. The season (unlike the weather) is heating up nicely.
Rehab – Amy Winehouse – four years after her death, Amy is timeless on this great song which bypasses irony because it is so good,and so catchy, that its frothy good nature can’t be depressed by a nightmare and uncontrollable addiction – A
There is no getting around Mitch’s love for his daughter, it is a real tragedy, with enough blame to go around. The truth is always nice without being necessary, and whatever the truth is the makers of the movie should be ashamed of themselves for adding to his sorrow.
Perhaps it’s a form of snobbery, but is there anything worse than high-low culture pop music like Josh Groban: yes, he has a good voice but everything it touches melts into sugar cotton candy. It is all sticky and horrid. One exception: “Pure Imagination” isn’t bad… That’s why it is D+ and not D-. It’s like Christian MOR without the excuse of worship.
A slightly below average week with plenty of immensely shruggable music, majoring with Major Lazer, though even Clean Bandit, a band you’d think would always be a joy on the charts, dollop up more of the same. Disappointing without being a big shocker.
Come Pick Me Up – Ryan Adams – I offered up Ryan’s name as a musician as great as any in rocks golden age and got pooh poohed the othe day. He is too prolific not to be hit and miss. And this souvener from a two day stand late last year proves his problem is the same as Prince’s in the 1990s and maybe Steve Earle’s today… he doesn’t know when enough is enough. Still, a gorgeous version of a great song – B+
Doncker should be considered in the same breath as Kanye West in the 2010s. Simply: he is the best. Resolutely color blind, Doncker is a musical chameleon, a superb electric blues guitarists at home in any genre you throw at him. He is always working, always writing, always playing around town and always always always creating
Gimme All Your Love – Alabama Shakes – This isn’t a career maker, obviously, but it is a big big time soul song that should cement their position as simply one of the best young modernist soul bands in the business: it is where Talking Heads would have been heading if Al Green was the lead singer – A
Infinities is pop art by other means, a well choreographed blast by two youngsters with the spirit of rock inside em whether they know it or not. Their playfulness is just exactly what we want from our entertainment.
I’ve had the new Blur on heavy rotation all week and while it is certainly better than I expected, “There Are Too Many Of Us” was the worst of it, I am obviously not dying of expectation. Raekwon? Maybe. Odessa, the Weepies, Crocodiles, the Brian Jonestown Experience… all subjects of great interest, BUT MARTIN GORE SOLO???? This is actually his second solo album (anybody remember 2003’s Counterfeit?) and wins most anticipated with ease…
So Eric Clapton has been talking about retirement for a year now and these two nights celebrating his 70th birthday sure has the feel of a sirens call. Clapton is one of the blues greats and when I saw him maybe two years ago, he hadn’t lost anything. Indeed, he was better than the well dressed popstar of the 1990s. The only thing stopping me buying one of these shows, Friday and Saturday at MSG, is I am worried the Rangers, who just made it to the second round, are gonna force Eric to move the dates. So I am waiting. If they don’t, I’m there.
From an early “Be Still And Know” to a late “Softly And Tenderly” and a closing “Holy, Holy, Holy”, Grant maintains a calm, sweet quiet entry into faith: if we can’t join her in Jesus, we can join her in sound.
if I was Jimmy and Jimmy I’d go into reruns till May 20th, the Letterman level is amazingly high. Earloer this week, Jason and Amanda covered “Mutineer” (David was close to Warren of course), and Costello said his farewell. On Monday alone there is Todd Rundgren and John Mellencamp. And what does Fallon have? Glad you asked: the Zac Brown Band.
The Enemy – With Fat Joe sampled, I love everything about this song, and this guy, Big L was simply a master, what a ridiculous loss, “what would you do if a vicious enemy was coming at you…”- A
“Unfriended” taps into that horror, it is like the entire movie says, what happens when you can’t control your PC? And if you’ve ever had a wonky PC, or when somebody is attacking your PC and ruining your life, well “Unfriended” turns the concept into a horror movie. A good one.
Look at it this way: if Jesus was crucified, raised from the dead, got crucified and raised from the dead a second time, even the greatest believer might have his dates.
Even if they are playing Webster Hall when they should be at Madison Square Garden, even so, they are a powerful, articulate, smart band of brothers where one brother left too early. It was wonderful to see them, they are such close good friends with such strong and true political convictions. They remind you why you laugh at UK rock at your own risk
The Separation – Ceremony – I missed this single a coupla weeks ago and catching up now, it is a little quiet for this form of music: more goth than punk, or hardcore. The one time I saw em live, Pissed Jeans blew em off stage (plus they had this weird -Bthing where everybody surged on stage), any way: this isn’t bad but it is a bore – B
the reviews have been brutal. Pitchfork gave it a 1 out of 10. And Rolling Stone gave it three stars but that’s one star if they weren’t angling for the next Metallica front cover exclusive interview. I despise consensus opinion, it seems to be an affront to freedom (freedom is always the freedom to dissent). Nothing is that black and white.
” It is something that is powerful and strong. And it is something that can be used to fight ‘ people have injustices, and you can declare them and fight for it. I think rock & roll is a brash sort of medium, so you’re allowed to say what you want and what you mean”
Week in, week out, year in, year out, I have no problem finding ten very good new songs, which means by the end of any given year I have over 500 songs I really love MINIMUM. This week is no different: Sam Lewis is a complete revelation, if Alabama Shakes the album needs a little time, this song is an immediate winner, and if Tyler’s album isn’t very satisfying “OKAGA, CA” is a killer track: a little Frank Ocean-y. To underscore all of this, I had to turn it up to 11 if I wanated to shoehorn Jesse in.
Of those I am seeing, Ed is always a blast live and should have no problems rocking the joint. I do wonder if he has an actual band yet? James Taylor I had tickets at MSG last winter but found myself in Florida instead, and Alabama Shakes have a terrific new album, so, yeah, let it rock.
Either one could fill BB Kings, Paul could fill Beacon Theatre, and together… well, there’s the rub… together they could fill Radio City Music Hall easy. Why won’t they do it? If they really concentrated they could release a live album on top as well.
News of a new eight date tour why exciting in theory, I’ve never seen him live and would love to, in the UK, which includes hot room like the lLbert Hall in London, in support of a Peggy Lee in Latin mode tribute album Latin ala G (I agree, but not my call init?) his twenty third album!!!, he won’t make the trip to nyc.
