I hope you have all had a fabulous holiday season.
Piccolo Angolo remains my favorite spot in NYC for Italian food.
In stolen moments been reading Kevin Avery's Everything is an Afterthought (Life and Writings of Paul Nelson) - highly recommended.
REVERBERATIONS: My life was saved by rock 'n' roll.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
The Countdown breaks until the Weekend (plus New York travel tidbits)
Eight to go. And by golly two of those selections will require new reviews. Since yours truly (the man behind REVERBERATIONS curtain) has been hanging in Jersey and day tripping to the city, and visiting friends, and doing the family thing ... and since I don't have the full credits and/or optimal listening conditions for creating those reviews, we're taking a break in the 'Twenty-Five Faves' for 2011 Countdown. The countdown will resume this weekend. To the world at large this is less than arresting news, but for the brave and astute crowd who follow REVERBERATIONS I feel it necessary to offer this update and explanation.
I hope you have all had a fabulous holiday season.
Attended this exhibit at the United Nations today. Hey, it's not only Rock 'n' Roll, but it's not just Rock 'n' Roll.
Piccolo Angolo remains my favorite spot in NYC for Italian food.
The DeKooning exhibit at MOMA was sweet ...
In stolen moments been reading Kevin Avery's Everything is an Afterthought (Life and Writings of Paul Nelson) - highly recommended.
Alternating that with the new Don DeLillo short story collection, The Angel Esmeralda. Also recommended.
I hope you have all had a fabulous holiday season.
Piccolo Angolo remains my favorite spot in NYC for Italian food.
In stolen moments been reading Kevin Avery's Everything is an Afterthought (Life and Writings of Paul Nelson) - highly recommended.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
The Countdown Continues with No. 9, Jack Oblivian
Continuing today, and culminating with REVERBERATIONS number one album of the year on December 31st (if my math is right)*, we’ll be counting down the top twenty-five records of 2011. I’m referring to this countdown as Twenty-five Faves because I have no pretenses about telling you what’s “best.” Sure, I think my taste is better than yours. But nobody died and made me Lester Bangs. And Lester could be arrogant, but I kind of think he would come down on the favorite side of the fave/best dichotomy. His criticism was nothing if not personal.
* Okay, it will take a little longer.
I've reviewed the majority of these selections. In the event that I have I'll simply recycle the original reviews, sometimes with a little new commentary. If it's a selection I haven't reviewed previously, I will dash off a new, brief, introductory review just for perspective.
Joining:
25. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for my Halo (Matador)
24. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
23. Bass Drum of Death - GB City (Fat Possum)
22. Coathangers - Larceny and Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
21. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
24. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
23. Bass Drum of Death - GB City (Fat Possum)
22. Coathangers - Larceny and Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
21. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
Saturday, December 31, 2011
The Countdown Continues with No. 10, the Vaccines
Continuing today, and culminating with REVERBERATIONS number one album of the year on December 31st (if my math is right)*, we’ll be counting down the top twenty-five records of 2011. I’m referring to this countdown as Twenty-five Faves because I have no pretenses about telling you what’s “best.” Sure, I think my taste is better than yours. But nobody died and made me Lester Bangs. And Lester could be arrogant, but I kind of think he would come down on the favorite side of the fave/best dichotomy. His criticism was nothing if not personal.
* Okay, maybe it will take a little longer.
I've reviewed the majority of these selections. In the event that I have I'll simply recycle the original reviews, sometimes with a little new commentary. If it's a selection I haven't reviewed previously, I will dash off a new, brief, introductory review just for perspective.
Joining:
25. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for my Halo (Matador)
24. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
23. Bass Drum of Death - GB City (Fat Possum)
22. Coathangers - Larceny and Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
21. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
24. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
23. Bass Drum of Death - GB City (Fat Possum)
22. Coathangers - Larceny and Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
21. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
http://stevemahoot.blogspot.com/2011/06/vaccines-what-did-you-expect-from.html
Stay tuned for No. 9 and the rest of the Countdown!
The Countdown Continues with No. 11, Wild Flag
Continuing today, and culminating with REVERBERATIONS number one album of the year on December 31st (if my math is right)*, we’ll be counting down the top twenty-five records of 2011. I’m referring to this countdown as Twenty-five Faves because I have no pretenses about telling you what’s “best.” Sure, I think my taste is better than yours. But nobody died and made me Lester Bangs. And Lester could be arrogant, but I kind of think he would come down on the favorite side of the fave/best dichotomy. His criticism was nothing if not personal.
* Okay, maybe it will take a little longer.
I've reviewed the majority of these selections. In the event that I have I'll simply recycle the original reviews, sometimes with a little new commentary. If it's a selection I haven't reviewed previously, I will dash off a new, brief, introductory review just for perspective.
Joining:
25. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for my Halo (Matador)
24. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
23. Bass Drum of Death - GB City (Fat Possum)
22. Coathangers - Larceny and Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
21. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
24. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
23. Bass Drum of Death - GB City (Fat Possum)
22. Coathangers - Larceny and Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
21. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
Thursday, December 29, 2011
The Countdown Continues with No. 12, Jolie Holland
Continuing today, and culminating with REVERBERATIONS number one album of the year on December 31st (if my math is right)*, we’ll be counting down the top twenty-five records of 2011. I’m referring to this countdown as Twenty-five Faves because I have no pretenses about telling you what’s “best.” Sure, I think my taste is better than yours. But nobody died and made me Lester Bangs. And Lester could be arrogant, but I kind of think he would come down on the favorite side of the fave/best dichotomy. His criticism was nothing if not personal.
* Okay, maybe it will take a little longer.
Joining:
25. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for my Halo (Matador)
24. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
23. Bass Drum of Death - GB City (Fat Possum)
22. Coathangers - Larceny and Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
21. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
24. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
23. Bass Drum of Death - GB City (Fat Possum)
22. Coathangers - Larceny and Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
21. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
http://stevemahoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/jolie-holland-pint-of-blood-anti.html
Monday, December 26, 2011
The Countdown Continues with No. 13., Pete and the Pirates
Continuing today, and culminating with REVERBERATIONS number one album of the year on December 31st (if my math is right)*, we’ll be counting down the top twenty-five records of 2011. I’m referring to this countdown as Twenty-five Faves because I have no pretenses about telling you what’s “best.” Sure, I think my taste is better than yours. But nobody died and made me Lester Bangs. And Lester could be arrogant, but I kind of think he would come down on the favorite side of the fave/best dichotomy. His criticism was nothing if not personal.
* Okay, maybe it will take a little longer.
Joining:
25. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for my Halo (Matador)
24. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
23. Bass Drum of Death - GB City (Fat Possum)
22. Coathangers - Larceny and Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
21. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
24. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
23. Bass Drum of Death - GB City (Fat Possum)
22. Coathangers - Larceny and Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
21. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
Here's a link to the REVERBERATIONS review from June ...
Sunday, December 25, 2011
The 2011 Countdown Continues with No. 14, Laura Marling
Continuing today, and culminating with REVERBERATIONS number one album of the year on December 31st (if my math is right)*, we’ll be counting down the top twenty-five records of 2011. I’m referring to this countdown as Twenty-five Faves because I have no pretenses about telling you what’s “best.” Sure, I think my taste is better than yours. But nobody died and made me Lester Bangs. And Lester could be arrogant, but I kind of think he would come down on the favorite side of the fave/best dichotomy. His criticism was nothing if not personal.
* Okay, maybe it will take a little longer.
Joining:
25. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for my Halo (Matador)
24. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
23. Bass Drum of Death - GB City (Fat Possum)
22. Coathangers - Larceny and Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
21. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
24. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
23. Bass Drum of Death - GB City (Fat Possum)
22. Coathangers - Larceny and Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
21. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
In 2011, at age 21, Laura Marling released her third album. Take note of that, you slackers. They’re all pretty damn good, too. And her most recent collection A Creature I Don’t Know is exceptionally so.
Now, this isn’t going to be one of my more expansive reviews. It’s Christmas, for … sake. And at 6:27 I’m full of wine. But darn it anyway, I listened to Creature a lot over the last several weeks, since its release in September, and with special scrutiny in the last two days. You know it’s a good sign when such scrutiny is only rewarded with continued, even enhanced pleasure.
Creature, at various points, reminds of the following:
Van Morrison – Astral Weeks
Nick Drake – Five Leaves Left
PJ Harvey – Dry
The Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues
And a whole bunch of shit by Joni Mitchell.
Well now, it’s that last that shocks and disturbs me. Sorta. I admire Ms. Mitchell’s talent, but I’m not a fan. But damn it anyway, Laura Marling is clearly touched by Joni; and Marling is great. Live and freakin’ learn. Some of the resemblance is in composition, some of it in their shared jazz affinity, but mostly it’s that break in a certain place in their range. Oh well, maybe I gotta go back and cut Mitchell some slack. Never the Eagles. That’s sacred territory, the Dude’s and mine.
Marling is associated with Brit-folk, but outside the prominent use of non-amplified instruments, there’s not a lot to it. Sure, she leans sensibly on the some of the Jansch/Renbourn sensitivity that pervades all of British nu-folk, but Marling has learned as much from Led Zeppelin as Bert, John and company. Think I’m kidding? You can hear it in the “Going to California” flow of “Sophia,” with its lyric that echoes Dylan’s “Fourth Time Around,” and on Marling’s Percy-esque phrasing on “Rest in the Bed,” a song also suffused with Jansch (and Paul Simon) guitar phrasings. The tune also features her flattest, most direct declaration of love, love that withstands challenge (“the sirens come, they always will).
Typically, in Marling’s world, love is more complicated thing. In “Night After Night,” it’s “driven by rage.” The most consistent theme/persona throughout Creature is that of the “beast.” Well, it’s not as heavy as the beast of Christian lore, but it’s a cousin. It makes its first appearance in the very first track. “The Muse” speaks of the singer’s “hunger for abuse.” The muse is love, the muse is artistic inspiration, the muse it everything that eats the soul. And Marling sings about it like some Alison Krauss of darkness as banjo plucks away against cello strains (part of the Drake connection). The beast and the banjo pop up again in “Salinas,” a John Steinbeck inspired song with a bluesy tinge and a lyric for fallen angels and heavenly aspirants.
Friday, December 23, 2011
The Countdown Staggers, but will continue.
Dear Friends:
The best laid plans of mice and men oft go ... whatever. My goal of ticking off the "Twenty-Five Faves" for 2011 on a clockwork, daily basis has been compromised. And boy, it's going to get more compromised. So be it. Life intervenes. Business, Art (others and my own),travel, family, all good ... all distracting from the task at hand. Plus, damn it, I found myself selecting plenty of records that I'd not reviewed previously, and feeling motivated/obligated to discuss them I found myself with w-o-r-k to do. Not complaining, mind. I love this stuff, but sometimes it gets pretty consuming. As does the life going on outside (and inside) all around me (to paraphrase his Bobness).
Some of the upcoming selections will require more, new reviews. Mostly though, once we hit the home stretch the selections will be things I've already covered. Easy.
Lists like this are silly. And I know it. Trying to create hierarchies of pleasure is fun sometimes, but if you think it means much, think again. What I enjoy about this is that crafting a list forces me to think about music I love and respect, music I want to share with my friends. The real difference between No. 8, say, and No. 23 may be jack-shit. So, it's all in fun, all intended primarily, if not solely, to stimulate curiosity and passion about music that moves me. If anything I write is provocative in that simple way I haven't wasted my time.
No. 14 will be posted on December 25th, because by end of Christmas day I will need a distraction from the joys and absurdities of family life in Mahwah, New Jersey.
Peace,
Steve W.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
The 2011 Countdown Continues with No. 15, Tom Waits
Continuing today, and culminating with REVERBERATIONS number one album of the year on December 31st (if my math is right)*, we’ll be counting down the top twenty-five records of 2011. I’m referring to this countdown as Twenty-five Faves because I have no pretenses about telling you what’s “best.” Sure, I think my taste is better than yours. But nobody died and made me Lester Bangs. And Lester could be arrogant, but I kind of think he would come down on the favorite side of the fave/best dichotomy. His criticism was nothing if not personal.
Joining:
25. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for my Halo (Matador)
24. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
23. Bass Drum of Death - GB City (Fat Possum)
22. Coathangers - Larceny and Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
21. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
24. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
23. Bass Drum of Death - GB City (Fat Possum)
22. Coathangers - Larceny and Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
21. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
Tom Waits. When he’s good, he’s very good. When he’s … well, he’s never really bad, but sometimes he relies on shtick. Let’s face it; when your vocal persona is distinctive enough that it’s imitated (ripped off) for a television commercial it’s either preternatural or affect. Okay, it’s a little of both, but nobody’s born with that voice. And sometimes it serves him brilliantly, other times it’s sui generis, but empty. On Bad as Me, Waits first studio album since 2004’s Real Gone, and the first entirely successful collection since the excellent Mule Variations in 1998, Waits engages the full range of his vocal personae, intuitively matching them to the individual songs.
Waits’ career has certainly gone through phases. In his early years he was a bedraggled, barfly balladeer, long on equal parts cynicism and sentiment. By the Eighties he’d engaged his inner Captain Beefheart and Howlin’ Wolf. Not a bad move, given that vocally he was never going to be Tim Buckley. With Swordfish Trombones he took cues from Harry Partsch’s school-of-the-home-made-instrument, and his lyrics dropped some sentimentality in favor of noir. Waits moved into territory that sounded like Lord Buckley narrating Jim Thompson. And it worked. Leavened with a dash of commercial sensibility for Rain Dogs, he made an album that combined the best of his worlds. The introduction of Marc Ribot on guitar was pivotal to this slight shift. Ribot has remained a consistent collaborator, who has helped shape Waits music since the early Eighties. He remains a vital contributor to Bad as Me.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
The 2011 Countdown Continues with No. 16, Sonny and the Sunsets
Continuing today, and culminating with REVERBERATIONS number one album of the year on December 31st (if my math is right)*, we’ll be counting down the top twenty-five records of 2011. I’m referring to this countdown as Twenty-five Faves because I have no pretenses about telling you what’s “best.” Sure, I think my taste is better than yours. But nobody died and made me Lester Bangs. And Lester could be arrogant, but I kind of think he would come down on the favorite side of the fave/best dichotomy. His criticism was nothing if not personal.
I've reviewed the majority of these selections. In the event that I have I'll simply recycle the original reviews, sometimes with a little new commentary. If it's a selection I haven't reviewed previously, I will dash off a new, brief, introductory review just for perspective.
Here's a brand spankin' new look at Hit after Hit from Sonny Smith and the Sunsets (Fat Possum Records):
Joining:
25. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for my Halo (Matador)
24. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
23. Bass Drum of Death - GB City (Fat Possum)
22. Coathangers - Larceny and Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
21. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
24. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc)
23. Bass Drum of Death - GB City (Fat Possum)
22. Coathangers - Larceny and Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
21. Meg Baird - Seasons on Earth (Drag City)
Sonny Smith writes songs. Lots of songs - by way of example, he wrote two-hundred for an art installation called 100 Records, all attributed to fictional artists, all deriving heavily from Fifties and Sixties pop, rock and rhythm ‘n’ blues sounds. His songs are flatly, frankly derivative, but with his retro-sensibility and easy, laconic vocal delivery he puts his own stamp on such idiomatic material. Nowhere is this exemplified better than on the new Sonny and the Sunsets release Hit after Hit.
Top 40-radio in the Sixties purveyed plenty of garbage, just as it does now. But not only was the overall quality of hit radio better in that halcyon era, but the sheer variety of styles and sounds was breathtaking. It’s hard for anyone younger than fifty-five to imagine a time when you might hear Count Five, the Who, Martha and the Vandellas and Buck Owens, all in one set, in between commercial breaks. Smith isn’t old enough to remember this himself. But he’s still nostalgic for it. Like many of his San Francisco garage-rock brethren he’s a rag picker, running a shop full of dusty treasures. Many of those peers assist on Hit after Hit, including John Dwyer from Thee Oh Sees and scene mainstay Kelley Stoltz, who plays drums on the album. It’s an insular, but cooperative crew, all of them somehow stuck on retro sounds, yet pushing the envelope of same.
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