Tuesday, June 4th
alone
Cecil Taylor, piano, live, Germany (Nürnberg), 1984
music clip of the day
jazz/blues/rock/classical/gospel/more
2013
Monday, June 3rd
alone
Matthew Shipp, piano, “Greensleeves,” “Symbol Systems,” 2012
2013
Sunday, June 2nd
sounds of Chicago
“Chicago gospel—a musical snapshot,” Chicago Tribune, 2007
*****
Happy Birthday to my oldest musical companion, my brother Don, with whom I’ve shared more musical experiences, live and on record, than I could possibly remember—the Beatles (Comiskey Park, 1965), the Velvet Underground (Kinetic Playground, 1968 [followed by our arrests, while walking back to the car, for, uh, curfew]), the MC5 (Lincoln Park, 1968 [Democratic Convention]) . . .
2013
Saturday, June 1st
the other day
I heard this ensemble play this piece, along with works by Smetana* and Janacek,** at the University of Chicago’s Logan Arts Center. As I said a while back, if one morning I were to learn that my life would be over at midnight, I would be happy to spend the afternoon as I did the other day—listening, with loved ones, to a string quartet.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), String Quartet No. 16 in F major, op. 135, excerpt (2nd movement); Pacifica Quartet, live, 2012
*String Quartet No. 1 (“From My Life”).
**String Quartet No. 2 (“Intimate Letters”).
2013
Friday, May 31st
Some voices wrap themselves around you and hold you. And you don’t want them to let go.
Ted Hawkins (1936-1995), singer, songwriter, street performer
“Happy Hour” (T. Hawkins)
***
“Long As I Can See The Light” (J. Fogerty)
**********
lagniappe
musical thoughts
For some of us, music isn’t life or death, it’s much more important than that.
2013
Saturday, May 25th
sounds of Chicago
The Chosen Few Picnic, Jackson Park, 7/12
**********
lagniappe
radio
Beginning at 3 p.m. and going ’til midnight (EST), WFMU-FM will be featuring sounds from this weekend’s Primavera Sound Festival (Barcelona):
3:00 Swans
4:20 Orchestra Poly Rhythmo de Cotonou
4:50 Guardian Alien
5:30 Goat
6:00 Tinariwen
6:20 Mulatu Astatke
6:45 Death Grips
7:10 Thee Oh Sees
7:40 Meat Puppets
8:15 Dan Deacon
9:00 Jesus and Mary Chain
9:30 Dead Can Dance
10:00 Nurse With Wound
11:00 Omar Souleyman
11:30 Wu-Tang Clan
*****
taking a break
I’m taking some time off—back in a while.
2013
Friday, May 24th
what’s new
Dirty Beaches, “Casino Lisboa,” 5/13
**********
lagniappe
found words
trap-music phenomenon
***
the moombahton sound
***
prolific chiptune band
***
technical death metal
—Chicago Reader, 5/23/13, music listings
2013
Thursday, May 23rd
Some singers are so distinctive that when you’re in the mood for them no one else will do.
Blossom Dearie (1924-2009), “They Say It’s Spring,” 1958*
**********
lagniappe
reading table: Albion Beatnik Bookstore, Oxford, England
*****
*BD, vocals, piano; Herb Ellis, guitar; Ray Brown, bass; Jo Jones, drums.
2013
Wednesday, May 22nd
sounds of Chicago
Want to hear a great solo? You’ve come to the wrong place. This isn’t about solos; it’s about interplay.
The Rempis Percussion Quartet,* live, Chicago (Hideout), 2010
#1
#2
*Dave Rempis, saxophones; Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, bass; Tim Daisy, drums; Frank Rosaly, drums.
2013
Tuesday, May 21st
only rock ’n’ roll
Rolling Stones (with Katy Perry), “Beast of Burden,” live, Las Vegas, 5/13
Seeing Mick perform these days makes me queasy. When Muddy was nearing seventy, he seemed, onstage, entirely at home in himself. Mick seems like an old guy—he turns seventy in July—who wishes he were still twenty.
