more favorites from the past year I sometimes feel as if I’m making my way, page by page, through a book titled The 10,000 Musical Performances You Must Hear Before You Die. Rarely does a week go by that I’m not astonished, at least once, by something I’ve never heard before. Yesterday it was this [...]
Archive for December 2011
Saturday, 12/31/11
12/31/2011Friday, 12/30/11
12/29/2011more favorites from the past year Only in a city where cooking, like music, is considered an art would music be considered, like food, a necessity. ******* Rainy? It doesn’t matter. Any day’s a perfect day for a parade. The Black Men of Labor 2009 Second Line Parade, New Orleans (Originally posted 11/18/11.) ******* Mardi [...]
Thursday, 12/29/11
12/28/2011more favorites from the past year Dub shows aren’t an everyday thing in Chicago, so last night, despite the weather (rain) and weariness (from traveling to see a client in prison), I ventured out to a club to catch this guy. A show like this isn’t just an aural experience: each beat of the bass [...]
Wednesday, 12/28/11
12/27/2011more favorites from the past year passings ***** Is any drummer more lyrical? Paul Motian, drummer, composer, collaborator, bandleader March 25, 1931-November 22, 2011 Paul Motian Trio (PM, drums; Joe Lovano, saxophone; Bill Frisell, guitar), “It Should’ve Happened a Long Time Ago” (P. Motian), live, New York (Village Vanguard), 2005 ********** lagniappe Sometimes he would [...]
Tuesday, 12/27/11
12/26/2011more favorites from the past year Wild Flag, live, SXSW (Austin, Texas), 3/11 “Romance” (Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop) *** “Future Crimes” (IFC Crossroads House) Someday an all-female band will seem no more remarkable than an all-male one. (Originally posted 10/24/11.) ***** She’s going to be a big star someday. Nneka, live (Originally posted 2/15/11.)
Monday, 12/26/11
12/26/2011This week we revisit a few favorites from the past year. ***** [D]ance first and think afterwards . . . . It’s the natural order. —Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot (1953, 1955 [English-language premiere]) Al Minns & Leon James, New York (Savoy Ballroom, Harlem), 1950s ********** lagniappe art beat Helen Levitt, New York, c. 1940 [...]
Sunday, 12/25/11
12/25/2011Let’s go to church. Solomon Burke, “Silent Night” (Savoy, 1982)
Saturday, 12/24/11
12/24/2011When I was little, I would go into Chicago to hear live music—Peter, Paul & Mary, Kingston Trio, Beach Boys—with my father. Then, as a teenager, I’d go into the city with my brother Don to hear the Velvet Underground and the MC5, the Who, Tim Hardin and Tim Buckley, Muddy Waters. Now I make these [...]
Friday, 12/23/11
12/22/2011where I’d like to be tonight Po’ Monkey’s, Merigold, Mississippi, 2010 ********** lagniappe reading table Charles Simic, “1938” ***** random thoughts Life’s often said to be too short. Too short for what?
Thursday, 12/22/11
12/22/2011John Coltrane, Dorothy Love Coates, this guy: the genre makes no difference; some folks play like (as Buddhists put it) their hair is on fire. Bach, Partita No. 4 in D Major, BMV 828 Glenn Gould, live, Canada, 1981 1: Ouverture *** 2: Allemande *** 3: Courante *** 4: Aria *** 5: Sarabande *** 6: [...]
