Week of Dec 24, 2022

 Last post of the year. From a music standpoint, it has been one of the best I’ve had in a very long time. Not so much because the music was better than any other given year but rather because I’m in awe of the breadth and depth of the available artists. Remembering back in the days of limited labels putting out the music THEY thought you would want to hear or should hear, the record companies no longer control the gateway between artist and listener. Streaming music, a frightening progression by many artists, is not the threat they thought it would be. A fair formula of compensation based on times played is working and you can see it in how so many artists are able to thrive. 

I did attempt to put together a top 10 list of albums for 2022, but realized that it shouldn’t be attempted until April. My main mechanism for finding new artists is through Prog magazine. Right now, I’m a good four months behind, which means it will take another four months (probably more) to get the sizable sampling that makes a top list better represented. Plus, an extended road trip is going to slow my progress down even more. 

Best of the Week

Long Distance Calling - Eraser

2022  9 tracks  (57:16)

Another solid post-rock progressive rock from Europe. Favoring instrumentals, they are compared to The Ocean and Russian Circles, but I hear a little RPWL and The Pixies as well, sans vocals of course. The first cut is a misleading into of simple piano, but the gasoline is poured onto the fire in the succeeding tracks. Knowing these were going to sound good on my portable player, several were added to the list. A

Major Parkinson - A Night at the Library

2022   11 tracks  (1:00:06)

A sizzling album made under unusual circumstances, this Norwegian art-rock group is in wonderful form. This is a product of Covid, thus, this live album features no audience. Maybe because of it, every note, tap, and resonant sound is pure and leaps off the speakers. Plus, guitars and bass are practically not present, giving way to piano and strings. It’s a little weird hearing vocalist Jon Ivar Kollbotn say “thank you” at the end of the song and hear no response from the non-existent audience. His vocals are probably the weakest part of the band, but it’s a small caveat for this pleasant work. A-

Major Parkinson - Blackbox

2017  9 tracks  (47:45)

After listening to the eye-opening A Night at the Library, I wanted to get a taste of their studio work. Wow. This is simply some of the most intricate prog rock in recent memory. The song arrangements incorporate a dozen(?) or more different pieces and parts and yet it doesn’t become overburdened and collapse under its own weight. These aren’t just songs, they are pieces of artwork, bursting forth in a cacophony of color and tones. Some of these songs were  part of the live set in the Library set. What a performance. A+

Interesting Finds

Green Sky Accident - Daytime TV

2022  10 tracks (50:08)

This band from Bergen, Norway plays dense slow moody rock. If you are familiar with the group Rain Parade from the 90’s, it is reminiscent of their work with a little more growl to the tone. It is pleasant enough for music to relax, as I did nod off during some of its play. That isn’t all bad. B-

Kekal - Envisaged

2022  9 tracks  (51:45)

There are bands that are hard to pigeonhole and bands with eclectic backgrounds. Kekal may be the only band that meets both. The band originated in Indonesia more than twenty years ago starting as a metal thrash band. From there they became more avant-garde, throwing in more electronica and odd keying sequences. This is what King Crimson would have become if Robert Fripp created something from an altered state. There are some mind-boggling creations here, none of which is easy to listen to.  

Oiseaux-Tempete - What On Earth

2022  9 tracks  (1:09:08)

A good many people might ask exactly what the album title is - What On Earth is this music. There are times where I enjoy listening to industrial noise rock with atonal blasts and dark themes. But often as it is here, there is enough of a song structure underlayment, using a variety of rhythms, vocals, and instruments, to create a symbiotic creature that can only work with both parts in place. The 12-minute piece “A Man Alone” exhibits this duopoly perfectly. The album as a whole is mainly an instrumental production by two French artists making soundscapes of an extended period. Not for casual listening, it is capable of entrancing you into a different place. B+

Bing Satellites - Lo-fi Ambient Works

2022  6 tracks (1:17:43)

It is ambient music in the manner of the original master of ambient music, Brian Eno. Electronic music back to the Tangerine Dream 70’s version featured soft soothing sounds, but Eno found that denuding the sound further to a barely listenable level presented a different dimension in music. This is what Bing Satellites have crafted here. Active listening is not required or even desired. The sound engineering is compressed and even has what sounds like manufactured hiss similar to earlier tape cassette days. Play it at low volumes while concentrating on other activities can enhance the environment you are in. For that reason, approaching this album in that context is the only reasonable way to appreciate it. B-

Forgettable

Miira - Wellness

2022  4 tracks  (42:37)

Hooboy, this is dark. Dark, dark, dark. Apparently this duo from Germany live in a black hole of life and express it with stringing together ponderous lengthy guitar notes and occasional thunderous drumming. The four tracks are all named Wellness - I, II, III, and IV; they didn’t even warrant a distinctive name like Life Oozing From Your Body or The Dreary Bounds of Hell either which would have been appropriate. Can’t think of who could live through this dreck for very long, but apparently there is an audience for it. Not me. D-

Week of Dec. 4, 2022

 It is an odd week when there are more Forgetables than Best; in fact, I usually have no Forgetables. It was just one of those weeks. One of the Forgetables, Billy Joe Armstrong’s cover tunes, wasn't bad to listen to at all. 

Other than that, the world continues to turn while the political atmosphere tries to normalize after the elections but manages to still be a roaring caldron of molten puke. We now know Musk bought Twitter to become a right wing megaphone. Oh, well.

This week will be busied by converting tunes marked for addition to my player into files. Then the Christmas preparations will become dominant and the post season getting ready to travel in January and February. Content will be sporadic.

Best of the Week

Metric - Formentera

2022  9 tracks (47:47)

Above average synth pop band from Canada reminded me of the synth-punk bands of the 80’s, like Aimee Mann’s Til Tuesday. They come out firing off a 10:29 slobberknocker called “Doomscroller” that shows how a synth pop band can be so much more than a four-minute catchy tune. Building on the minimal prospects of the masses at the behest of the few, the band pounds synthesized keyboards while singer Emily Haines cries out for humanity. The remaining eight tracks don’t miss either.  

Interesting Finds

  

Laura Veirs - Found Light

2022  14 tracks (46:13)

With cold dreary days of winter upon us, Laura Veirs newest album is as welcome as a hot steaming cup of coffee. Her angelic little girl voice and simple but warm acoustic guitar spewing out folk based songs are perfect for a quiet day. There are a few accompaniments, an occasional woodwind, gentle bottom end bass notes, and the barest of percussion that gives some depth to what would otherwise be a little too dry sonically. All in all, it's nice to find a folk artist with a subtle knack at adding atmosphere to simpler music. B

Preoccupations - Arrangements

2022  7 tracks (38:09)

I had an immediate flashback to the 80's when the first track "Fix Bayonets" started playing, reminding me of a Minneapolis group called The Suburbs. The wall of thrashing guitars and alto vocals by Matt Flegel could have been a time warp version of them. Preoccupations (at one time called Viet Cong prior to the current name) might be described as industrial art rock, using twisted keyings and irregular melodies more associated with Brit Pop by the likes of Joy Division and other 4AD bands. The recording is intentionally compressed as a way to give it a colder feel, but I would have welcomed some more dynamics. Still, it's a captivating work. B-

 

Gaz Coombes - World’s Strongest Man

2018  11 tracks (42:18)

Coombes has made a very approachable album with a number of good songs featuring his easy vocals and a range of tempos from spirited rockers to softer melodic pieces. In many ways, he reminds me of Hayden Thorpe, another distinctive voice and multi-instrumentalist who pushes pop boundaries. The only problem with pushing boundaries is that sometimes you can go over the edge and that shows up on a few tracks.It’s definitely a mixed bag. C+

Jon Hopkins - Music For Psychedelic Therapy

2021  9 tracks (1:03:31)

More “environmental” music for this week (see Nils Frahm below). Again, this is good music to play while you are doing something else, like working with your taxes or ironing laundry. During the time I was playing it the first time, I dozed off and woke up wondering how much was played during dozing. Where Frahm is more from the Tangerine Dream vein, Hopkins would be better compared to Deuter. The song structures are dreamy with varying degrees of different interludes placed within each song. There is a time and a place for this kind of music, but it must be chosen wisely. C-

Paolo Nutini - Last Night in the Bittersweet

2022  16 tracks (1:12:13)

This one is a hard one to figure out. At times it seems like a retro rocker album, other times a straight up pop album. Check out “Petrified In Love” that is true to form with the retro feel complete with Hammond organ noodling. Follow that up with “Everywhere”, a blues based ballad. It’s all decently performed and recorded with a number of interesting songs. But as a whole, it comes up a little short. I really prefer the straight up rock tracks like “Children of the Stars” and put up with songs like “Abigail” so it’s a matter of picking and choosing. C

Secret Shine - There Is Only Now

2017  10 tracks (44:24)

Despite some of the sameness of the songs throughout the album, I found some of it interesting and enjoyable. The strumming guitars, washed-out echoed vocals, and keyboards with chordal patterns are a shoe-gazers delight. Their label, Saint Marie Records, offers a full line of dream pop for the fans of this style. Not bad, but sttill, average at best. C

Forgettable

Nils Frahm - Music For Animals

2022  10 tracks (3:06:40)

These long languishing tracks of simplistic electronic music spanning over three hours will put your patience to work. Only one track clocks in at less than ten minutes. You’d think there would be variety within each work, but typically it is one idea spread over the entire track. It could be called esoteric, ethereal, and austere, or you could call it boring. I listened to the first four tracks while doing something else and it isn’t that great for background music. Two generations prior to this German was the groundbreaking Tangerine Dream album which had a similar vision but executed much better. Phaedra was an outstanding work that was equally austere and plain, but it did flow much better and didn’t last as long. It’s not that it isn’t listenable, just devoid of life. I didn’t test this on any animals, just myself. D 

Billie Joe Armstrong - No Fun Mondays

2020  14 tracks (40:44)

I picked this album without realizing these are just a bunch of cover tunes by other artists. Several of these are familiar enough which means we all know what the original sounds like and BJA doesn’t add a damn thing to them, just rocking out Green Day style. Look, I get it, 2020 was tough on performing artists and they found ways to keep busy. But, if you redo known tunes, bring something to the table that respects the original without copying it. This is nothing a competent local bar band can’t do. F (for Fucking Waste of Time)

Week of Nov 27, 2022

 The breadth and depth of music available now with online music streaming is remarkable and this week’s selections embrace it. As a long time listener beginning with the days where the 33 ⅓ album was practically the only way to obtain music to own, the fact that so much music is created without having the need to be in a recording studio that cost thousands of dollars a day to use, without having to physically press and distribute billions of pounds of a carbon based material, and without needing to spend tremendous amounts of funds to get the word out clearly has benefited us. In fact, there are so many offerings, it feels like only a fraction is discovered. It truly is wondrous. None of the downside possibilities, such as limited selection and lack of compensation for artists, have materialized.

In the same vein, I need to comment about Twitter and the new era brought on the social media scene by the Elon Musk takeover of the platform. With Musk opening up the platform to the more unsavory side and removing many of the software developers responsible for the content and security, it’s future is in question. For me, it hasn’t been as trematic because I’ve used Lists that selects whom I see in tweets and can easily remove any offending posts or people that are toxic. Plus, it keeps the ads at bay. 

That said, I did decide to set up a Mastodon account that has certain advantages over Twitter in terms of having a real dialogue with other people that aren’t into a flame throwing contest. As more and more attempt to move to a platform away from the Twitter dumpster fire, It will become my go-to site. It isn’t yet because Twitter had been my favorite to find out topical immediate news that hasn’t had a chance to be written on another media web posting. Plus, the sports people are still using Twitter as if nothing has changed.

We’ve had a good ten years of reasonably good interactions on Twitter that only started to degrade with the Trump invasion that decided to throw respect out the window. In Internet terms, that’s practically a lifetime. Many bemoan the fact that the golden era of Twitter is collapsing and that many respected users are fleeing the sinking ship for other places. That’s not a bad thing because change is always eminent, especially with the Internet. I’m prepared to embrace it even with the disruption it causes. If Musk wants to turn it into Truth Social and allow a certain mindset to dominate the landscape, it’s his money and he is free to do so. I’m hoping that given a few months down the road, all the contacts I had before are happily somewhere else and thriving. 

Best of the Week

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The Finn Brothers - Everyone Is Here

2004  12 tracks (45:48)

I forgot how good the Finn brothers were at crafting smart tuneful 4-minute masterpieces. Right away with the first track, the lovely “Won’t Give In” it’s like they never left the realm created during the 80’s Crowded House days. They may not have an overarching statement to give that brings world peace, but with songs this strong, who cares? And it’s not like each song is a chart topper but every song is worthy to listen to again. The engaging short song is a hard thing to create and only a handful of people have been able to do it over time, that is something that needs to be given respect and reverence. All hail the Finns’.

Blue Man Group - Audio

1999  14 tracks  (57:39)

On an absolute whim, I looked up Blue Man Group on the web and there are a few videos on YouTube with the troup doing their act. If you don’t know what it is, it’s three people with faces and hands in some kind of blue material pounding out rhythms (for the most part) using a variety of odd self-made devices. Their act is primarily visual, but with the aid of a partial band - guitar, drums, and bass players - they weave their sounds in a highly energetic light and dance show. The thing is, the music is good, even though it gets a little lost in the presentation. As it turns out, there are some album releases, which obviously removes the visuals. This was the first album and I find the heavily laden polyrhythmic music highly infectious and can indeed stand on its own. One of the tracks, “Drumbone” uses a special plastic tube that attenuates the tone of the rhythms as the Blue people slide the pieces back and forth. As you can see if you look it up on YouTube, it looks like a lab experiment in physics class. The album is filled with other gizmos, I’m sure. It’s a lot of fun and highly enjoyable.  

Interesting Finds

Muse - Will of the People

2022  10 tracks (37:40)

Muse has always had a variety of ways to play their sound, whether it’s spiraling chorus’, screeching howls, sweeping melodic chants, and hard metal punches. Want Queen like vocals? Try “Compliance”. Medieval chants like “Knights of Cydonia”?  “Won’t Stand Down is for you. All the songs are about some form of oppression, societal angst, political intrigue, and personal failures. Still, it’s a strong performance worthy of a listen or two. Just don’t let the last song “We Are Fucking Fucked” get you down.

Ludovico Einaudi - Divenire

2006  13 tracks (1:22:00)

Einaudi is an Italian legend in music with a range that spans many genres. This album is one of the well-regarded issues, but it is not pop or rock. He plays nice easy listening songs using a piano, often with symphonic accompaniment. The closest comparison would be George Winston, the new age piano artist with Windham Hill Records of the 80’s and 90’s. It’s fine, suitable for a cold gray day holding a steaming cup of coffee in your hands, eyes closed, practically lulling you asleep. For more energy, I’d advise Einaudi’s most recent EP issue “Reimagined, Vol 2”. 

Editors - EBM

2022  9 tracks (53:00)

High energy electronic dance music (EBM stands for Electronic Body Movement, I guess) from long time and highly successful group Editors. Like much of the music from this genre, it features synthesized keyboards and drumming equipment with harmonized vocals seemingly all moving at the speed of light. Luckily, most of the tunes are catchy, bouncy, and infectious enough to raise the dead (or just the inebriated). It’s okay throwing it in a mix of somber morose metal music just to caffeinate the tracklist a little bit. A continuous dose can be problematic, even from one of the best groups to deliver it. 

The Chemical Brothers - No Geography

2019  10 tracks (46:50)

If electronic sampling is your jive, this will be too. A number of electronic based music suggestions popped up after playing the Blue Man Group album listed at the top. But, this is far removed from them thematically and sonically. Each track runs into each other, creating a stream of conscious environment that you’d expect from a rave party. Less than a series of songs, they are a series of tempos that are quite similar. It reminded me of the days of old during the disco phase of pop music. Originality didn’t matter, only a consistent dance beat. For that reason, none of the tracks provided a lasting impression. 

  

 

Forgettable

Jeff Beck, Johnny Depp - 18

2022  13 tracks (55:18)

This started out with promise before turning rather odd. With the involvement of the mercurial Johnny Depp, who da thunk? “Midnight Walker” is the first tune with a classic exhibition of Jeff Beck’s fine soaring guitar mastery. Even the next song, “The Death and Resurrection Show” is an interesting mix of Oingo Boingo style production, Jeff Beck’s killer riffs, and Depp’s mechanized vocals. By the time it gets to the arcane “Sad Motherfuckin’ Parade”, the wheels start to fall off. Oddly, Depp has an interesting style and plays a variety of instruments, but can’t choose and stick with a style. Beck should have been asking what the hell got him into this project and stopped it.