Hello, everyone! I wanted to start a thread that’s similar in nature to the monthly ‘Whatcha readin’?’ threads by Khadaji. It doesn’t matter if it’s new, new to you, old favourites or things you first heard years ago that you never liked until just this month… I’m also interested regardless of whether it’s something you heard in passing, just bought, are working on playing yourself, heard on ‘shuffle’ and can’t identify. Composers, artists, recordings - I’d love to hear about them and talk about them.
I have a couple of things from the last two weeks. One that’s in nightly rotation is the Maria Joao Pires recordings of the complete Mozart piano sonatas. I don’t know how these compositions escaped my notice for so long - they are exquisite and have changed my world. I have each sonata set up as a separate play list, so that I can listen to just one all the way through, with silence on either side, if I like. These have been the last things I listen to before falling asleep. Fantastic!
I’ve also been listening to the Ron Sexsmith album ‘Long Player, Late Bloomer’. I love his quirky song-writing, which is why I’m sorry to say that I just don’t enjoy this album as much as the last three. Of course, bad Ron Sexsmith is still much better than average or excellent work by lots of other people, which is why I can take listening to it repeatedly in the hopes of finding something that sparks the album for me. So far, no go - I much prefer ‘Retriever’, ‘Time Being’ and ‘Exit Strategy of the Soul’.
So, that’s me at the moment - what music is tickling your eardrums these days?
I picked up a dozen or so old jazz LPs at a garage sale a few weeks ago and I’m working my way through them. Maybe my favorite so far is LaVern Baker Sings Bessie Smith, from 1958 – it’s just a joy to hear her tear into the songs of her idol. (The record is also a first issue, which would make it quite valuable if it were in better shape.) Two other good ones are The In Sound by Eddie Harris, 1965, and Basie at Birdland, 1961. One rather unusual one was It’s My Way by Dizzy Gillespie (1969) – it includes cover versions of four pop hits of the day (e.g., “Galveston”), on which you can practically hear Diz telling himself, “Don’t confuse people by playing too much jazz – pretend you’re Al Hirt.” Then on the actual jazz tracks he suddenly turns into Dizzy Gillespie again.
I just started The Hazards of Love by The Decemberists, which is quite possibly my most favorite album ever. I went to Bonnaroo this weekend, and they were there and played a couple songs off the album. I had an aurgasm when Won’t Want for Love’s opening hook played up, and about lost it when they played The Rake’s Song a few songs later.
Beyond that, I have been digging on Band of Skulls lately, as well as Alberta Cross. I’m also madly and deeply in love with Dessa.
Miles Davis: Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel. Evidently back in print after being unavailable for years. I pounced on this when I found out Amazon had it in stock again.
John Coltrane: Coltrane. Deluxe edition with a second disc of outtakes. Sublime.
Modern Jazz Quartet: The Complete Atlantic Studio Recordings 1956-64. Brand new from Mosaic. Great mastering, far superior to the Atlantic CDs. I got box #0052.
Roxy Music: Flesh + Blood. Their worst album, but still nice. Now playing.
Mike Keneally: Bakin’ @ the Potato. Brand new live CD/DVD combo. I’ve also been listening to Sluggo! a lot lately.
Dweezil Zappa: Return of the Son Of… Double CD live tribute to Zappa père. Very faithful renditions.
Laurent Thibault: Mais On Ne Peut Pas Rever Tout Les Temps. Brilliant 1979 zeuhl album by a Magma associate.
Ske: 1000 Autunni. Terrific new prog, dripping with vintage keys.
Isotope: Deep End. Very underrated album, a bit on the commercial/funky side of fusion, but still quite tasty.
Nerve Institute: Architects of Flesh Density. Great one-man avant-prog project.
Klaus Schulze: La Vie Electronique Vol. 9. Still more in the never-ending flood of Schulze releases!
Just got a buttload of albums from Moonjune’s awesome June sale: Elton Dean & the Wrong Object; Moraine, Slivovitz, and a couple each by D.F.A., Simak Dialog, and Soft Machine Legacy.
I’m no longer permitted to go to garage sales because I kept bringing home undiscovered gems; I think it was the album by ‘Gay Bikers on Acid’ that pushed my wife past the limit. “We don’t have any room left for the good albums!” was more or less the quotation. “Hmpf.” was what I had to say to that…
The TV Sound - Retro-New Romantic (and amazingly gets both the sound and spirit correctly instead of merely aping, which admittedly isn’t that hard in a genre whose medium is its message, but still.)
Airborne Toxic Event - I dislike the willy-nilly mixture of Garage Rock with Baroque indie, but it has some catchy songs.
Panic! at the Disco’s latest album. Every time I buy something by them I think it’s not that great, but the singing always wins me over in the end.
I’ve been revisiting the great Italian-American singers who weren’t Sinatra - my Pandora has been playing lots of Perry Como, Vic Damone, Al Martino, Tony Bennett and Dean Martin.
Lately at home I’ve been listening to a lot of Mozart piano concertos and sonatas, classic jazz (Coltrane, Mingus, Rollins), some Ethiopian acid jazz, and instrumental soul. Mainly whatever keeps the new baby mellow - he’s got a preference for horn-driven groove music, or at least that’s what puts him to sleep.
When I get in the car alone, it’s all Guitar Wolf, Len Price 3, Dead Kennedys, Sleater-Kinney, and other assorted music that sounds better the louder you crank it.
Having mentioned Lenny White in the ‘Greatest Drummer’ thread, I felt compelled to listen to Return to Forever’s ‘Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy’ on the subway ride home this afternoon. Yup, it’s as good as I remember it; not always the case with albums you’ve known for 35 years.
I just recently bought an analog-to-digital jack and software, so I’ve been pulling out my old vinyl and ripping tracks for the last couple of days. Just getting started, but so far I’ve enjoyed re-visiting Jason and the (Nashville) Scorchers, Rob Jungklas, and Barrence Whitfield and the Savages.
Man, I’d forgotten how much I loved some of this stuff!
I heard this in the car while I was running errands today - Harry Manx and David Lindley, live at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver. For those interested in Derek Trucks but who were disappointed in his most recent work with Susan Tedeschi, this is the real thing - the corner of the street where blues, gospel, bluegrass and Indian music all meet and influence each other. This is a link to a CBC Concert on Demand - it’ll probably go away in a month or so.
I hope you’ll forgive a cross-posting to the Ongoing Guitar Thread, but I figured there are a couple of Dopers there who needed to hear this.
You mentioned you were listening to Mozart and I thought I should mention that if any of you are classical fans in LA, the Hollywood Bowl has two great concerts coming up: Mozart & Strauss, both conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. Bring some friends/family, a picnic (and some wine!), and enjoy one of LA’s most amazing nights under the stars. I am working with the Bowl and can’t wait for the shows! More info here: http://www.Hbowl.com/Gustavo