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MUSIC WE LIKE - STAFF LIST
Listing 25-32 of 64

ALLEN LEONG
I'm happy to report that I'm learning to like ironing.

  • Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane - At Carnegie Hall (1957)
  • Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker - Town Hall, NYC, June 22, 1945
  • John Coltrane - One Down, One Up: Live At The Half Note (1965)
    Ben Ratliffe of the NY Times wrote an article a few weeks ago, outlining the circumstances under which these three terrific albums came about. In a nutshell, these groups honed their sound through extended engagements in clubs, exploring the possibilities over weeks and months in the same venues until the interplay was superlative and the results shone like diamonds. The Monk/Trane CD has been justifiably lauded in the press, both for its quality and its rarity (at last, the interplay of these two greats in evidence, after their famous six-month gig at the Five Spot), but I'm always amazed how modern and virtuosic Dizzy and Bird sound, even after sixty years; "Salt Peanuts" still feels like a huge jerk forward, even by bebop's revolutionary standards, when played by these two. And to hear Coltrane blowing, blowing, blowing in a small club with his classic quartet is a jarring reminder of that group's power and influence. Sadly, Ratliffe's main point was that the conditions these groups worked under no longer exist today. Jazz groups, when they can stay together at all, play short engagements in widespread cities across the country and the globe, leaving them no chance to center their approach around a set group of players, much less a regular audience. This doesn't totally explain why the age of jazz titans seems to have come and gone, but it might be a factor. Which brings me to a book I've just started: Is Jazz Dead? (Or Has It Moved To A New Address) by Stuart Nicholson. Of course, critics have asked this rhetorical question for decades, but Nicholson does some digging to explore the reasons the music has ossified: The Wynton Marsalis/Lincoln Center traditionalists, retro vocalists, schools that stress technique over creativity, and the growing influence of voices around the world, particularly from Scandinavia, which are shaking the music free of a strictly American viewpoint. By asking the right questions, he posits a possible way out of jazz's holding pattern.

Oh, yeah, and I liked these, too:

  • Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman - Song X: Twentieth Anniversary
    The bonus tracks - for once, placed before the remixed album, rather than after - broaden the scope of this ambitious project. It's a wild ride, but lyrical in its own rough way.
  • Kate Bush - Aerial
    How great to hear this long-absent voice, which seems to have been inspired and centered by domesticity.
RICK SWENSON
Roots music from Sunday morn at gospel services to Saturday night at the honky tonk and most points between.
  • John Fahey - On Air
    German Radio captures a fine Fahey gig from 1978. Interesting perspective from Henry Kaiser's liner notes.
  • Highwaymen - The Road Goes On Forever
    10th Anniversary Re-issue. Steve Earle's "Devil's Right Hand" and Robert Earl Keen's title track are among the highlights with Johnny Cash's "Live Forever." The DVD is worth the extra $ for the Special Edition.
  • Johnny Cash - Complete Sun Recordings
    One of the cornerstones of Americana music with numerous versions available. Luther's picking is an inspiration to aspiring guitarists everywhere.
  • John Prine - Fair And Square
    His best in decades. 12 solid new tracks with a couple of chuckles tacked on the end. "Some Humans Ain't Human" indeed.
  • Bob Dylan - No Direction Home
    Absolutely wonderful. The CD has numerous rarities that were never booted and the DVD is one of the best biographies ever made.
  • Willie Nelson - You Don't Know Me: The Songs Of Cindy Walker
    About once a decade the planets and stars align in a way that seem to allow Willie to focus and create a damn near flawless album.You can add this to the list of "Red Headed Stranger”, “Stardust" and "Across The Heartland" as one of Willie's best. A great celebration of Cindy Walker's songs and best heard while relaxing with beverages.
  • Rosanne Cash - Black Cadillac
    A somber reflection on loss that also looks at what survivors are confronted with.
    Some of her best songs ever.

Tip - joshhosler.biz - a site where you can find the # 1 song on any given date. Like your birthday, starting with the first one. In my case - "Music, Music, Music" by Teresa Brewer. Caveat - Other than a couple of Beatle tunes, every other song that was # 1 on my birthday was a horrid piece of pop schlock that was so wretched that I almost regretted looking them up.

MIKEBEE
Electronica buyer/sellout.

  • Lindstrom & Prins Thomas - Prima Norsk Vol. 3
    This Norwegian duo rocked my world this year: tripped-out disco that departs from its usual reputation as machine music with freeing live instrumentation and extended, always shifting jams that march right into Krautrock territory, often sounding like a funky, disco-fied Neu!. From a string of killer 12" singles on their own Feedelity label, to a slew of amazing remixes for folks the likes of LCD Soundsystem and Annie (quite a few of which are featured on the Prima Norsk 3 compilation), these guys have been burning up the underground all year. Their self-titled debut album is a slight departure from the sound they're known for, instead of dance floor-rocking cosmic beats you get a blissed-out album of chilled yet supremely funky melodies and head-nodding grooves that are perfect for a day drive up Mt.Tam. For getting horizontal on the couch. I'm more than willing to go wherever these guys want to take me.
  • Fat Freddy's Drop - Based On a True Story
    Quite possibly the best album of 2005 (at least Gilles Peterson thinks so), this New Zealand soul-electro-reggae band stuns with fantastic songs, the supremely soulful vocals of Joe Dukie, an energetic yet subdued horn section and sublime beats from DJ Mu. Friends are still thanking me for turning them on to this as the songs' universal lyrical content and raw emotion are immediately evident. See also the pre-album Hope For A Generation EP featuring languorous 11-minute dubs. Filed in the electronica section!
  • Kate Bush - Aerial
    An artist I didn't even know I missed so badly, only to find out upon her incredible return. So totally idiosyncratic, no Toris or Sarahs could ever take her place. This album isn't "perfect", but it's 200% Kate Bush: quirky, eccentric, emotional, epic, playful, biting, joyous. It's the kind of thing that sounds dangerously corny on paper; it must be experienced, or felt, to be understood. Pure soul food.
  • Dominik Eulberg - Kreucht & Fleucht
    Fantastic double-disc mix of current techno & house sub-forms mixed capably by one of the men of the moment. Intricate enough for headphones, propulsive enough for the dance floor, I find this mix makes the vacuuming go lickety-split!
  • Boards of Canada - The Campfire Headphase
    More of the same, yet no one does it quite like BoC. "Satellite Anthem Icarus" and "Dayvan Cowboy" were the soundtrack to my daydreams this Autumn. Epics like these
    are pure therapy for me, a nice warm winter coat to keep out the cold. And, y'know, I'm a sucker for stereo-panning ocean sounds.

Tip: Local music gets a shot in the arm from Black Fiction and Tussle. They are fricking fantastic, go see them!

ANDREW LUX
"Where the hell did all these people come from" I love the Bay Area, these are my favorite bands from the Bay Area.

  • Kelly Stoltz - Sun Comes Through EP
    My friend Alisha says "It sounds like Pavement meets the Beatles", Now I have never heard Pavement, so I don't know! What I do know is that I have had the entire album stuck in my head for the last 3 weeks, great catchy pop great!
  • So So Many White White Tigers - self-titled picture disk LP
    Liza, Ned, Gerald, You guys have the best sound I have ever heard. I have never moved my ass so much while being rocked so damn hard! This album is a testament to so many lost, drunken, absurd nights!
  • The Time Flys - Fly
    Imagine if the Stooges had grown up in Oakland, smoking dope, and writing graffiti. This album will kick you down and spit in your face while stealing you backpack,Yeah that's right, its high school again and your the dork who listens to Radiohead, wishing you could be these kids!
  • L.A.N.D - Jazz Me Blues III
    Have you ever been to an adult party? Wanna go to one? You can't, this record is not for sale and you will never hear it. Peace!
  • Bart Davenport - Maroon Cocoon
    Everything on this album is solid AM gold, and I don't care if songs about sunshine are lame. The songwriting is flawless, and Bart has the best voice in the Bay Area.

JOHN W. GARCIA:
>%-) §=-),
IMHO

  • Robert Wyatt & Friends-In Concert Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Sunday 8th September 1974 (Hannibal)
    (?) :\'-) (((RW)))
  • Zaar - self-titled (Cuneiform)
    ;^) {§O= ]:-)
  • Fred Frith/Stevie Wishart/Carla Kihlstedt - The Compass, Log, And Lead (Intakt)
    :-{} {§O= <(*-*)>
  • The String Trio Of New York/Oliver Lake - Frozen Ropes (Barking Hoop)
    d :-o ^5 *\o/*
  • Richard Manuel-Whispering Pines - Live At The Getaway 1985 (Other Peoples Music)
    :-{)} :\'-) ~=

Thank you and farewell: Derek Bailey, X-( :-((

  • Trio Continuo (Jan Willem Der van der Ham/Wiek Hijmans/Ernst Glerum) - Authentic Basics (WLJWC)
  • Craig Harris - Souls Within The Well (Aquastra)
  • Jack DeJohnette w/ Bill Frisell - The Elephant Sleeps But Still Remembers... (Golden Beams Productions)
  • L'Ham De Foc - Cor De Porc (Justin Time)
  • The Cortet (Cor Fuhler/Thomas Lehn/Rhodri Davies/John Butcher) - HHHH (unsounds)
  • Henry Kaiser - Domo Arigato Derek-Sensei! (Balance Point Acoustics)
  • Also, Elton Dean, Jackie McLean, Ivor Cutler, Raphe Malik & Dave Mahoney

MELISSA
"seasonal"

  • Robert Wyatt & Friends - Theater Royal Drury Lane
    Holy shit, Robert Wyatt sings rock bottom in its entirety. '& Friends' include John Peel, Nick Mason & Mike Oldfield. The rest of the performance includes songs from his Doft Machine & Matching Mole days & ends with the sweetest version of "I’m a Believer."
  • Dr. Dog - Easy Beat
    For those longing for new music that sounds comfortably familiar (say, if you like the Beatles) this album is as modest as its name. It’s good, sweet, pop music and distinctive enough to thoroughly enjoy.
  • Broadcast - Tender Buttons
    Pretty fantastic, naturally.
  • Comus - First Utterance
    With a name taken after a 17th century masque written by Milton and the ability to singsong pastoral - folk about such questionable subject matter (from sadistic eroticism to the bouts of Christian martyrdom), what's not to love?
  • Kevin Ayers - The BBC Sessions 1970-1976
    I want to make babies with this strange hobbit man.

KATHY
When I am not listening to music I am riding my bike!

  • Afro-Cuban All Stars - Step Forward - Next Generation
  • Amadou and Marian - Dimande A Bamoko
  • Johnny Cash - I Walk the Line
  • Monk/Coltrane - Live at Carnegie Hall
  • Madonna - Confessions on a Dance Floor

LEAH
It’s cool to be a dork.

  • Boris - Pink
  • Earth - Hex: or Printing in the Infernal Method
  • Lightning Bolt - Hypermagic Mountain
  • Jel - Soft Money
  • Oneida - Happy New Year
  • Coptic Light - self-titled
  • Om - Conference of the Birds
  • The Psychic Paramount - Gamelan into the Mink Supernatural
  • Wizardzz - self-titled
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