hello again
JoAnn Whetsell
August. I moved across the country, started grad school (any UNC Chapel
Hill people or neighbors, please send a shout out; there are some great
concerts coming to the area soon), finally got home internet access again
(yay!) but still have no speakers (boo). Anyway, I've been catching up on
music, new and not-so-new.
So, what I've been listening to lately:
Ani DiFranco - Canon
16 years of music, 16 albums of original music distilled into a 36-song,
2-disc set. I might have made some different choices about which tracks to
include, but I can't complain about what's here. It all flows really well,
and while it doesn't cover the full range of her styles, it provides an
enjoyable trip through her career. The 5 new recordings (of previously
recorded and released songs) are all good too. The set is also
well-packaged, and it's nice to have lyrics for all the songs. I'm also
glad she didn't include one of those "this is an important artist" essays
that seem ubiquitous in retrospectives these days. It would have been nice
to hear her thoughts on her career though.
(There's also a book, Verses, which collects some of her song lyrics
(including, I think, some unrecorded songs), sketches, and a conversation
with spoken word artist Sekou Sundiata. I don't have this but flipped
through it in a bookstore, and it seems like a nice coffee table book,
something to peruse once in a while rather than read straight through.)
Clare Burson - Thieves
Another in-store, intrigued-by-the-cover find. Thank goodness for listening
booths. I was immediately captivated by Clara Burson's voice. This is
solid melancholy folk. Not terribly different from others in the genre
(like Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter), but not at all derivative either.
A Fine Frenzy - One Cell in the Sea
This album popped up as a recommendation when I was looking at something
else on Amazon (though I don't remember what). I checked it out because the
artist and album titles were so intriguing. And so is the album.
Piano-based not-quite-pop.
Jesca Hoop - Kismet
More quirky hard-to-place music, though more pop and more accessible than
Silver Screen Demos. My favorites continue to be the three re-recorded
songs from that album (Seed of Wonder, Silverscreen, and Havoc in Heaven).
I think these also remain the most original songs. Not that the new songs
are slouchers. She references more genres including trip-hop/hip-hop, and
some of the tracks are just plain fun. You might have heard "Money" in the
promos for the new ABC series Dirty Sexy Money. But then there's the
lovely, dreamlike "Love Is All We Have" about Hurricane Katrina. I keep
listening and still don't really know how to describe it. One thing I can
say: this album is all over the place, and it succeeds.
Over the Rhine - The Trumpet Child
late-night jazz cocktail lounge feel. like you have a drink in your hand,
but because you're relaxed and life is good (not because you want to lose
yourself in alcohol). highly recommended
JoAnn
and now, the sounds of dogs barking outside. ugh.
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Timothy Jones-Yelvington
With any compilation like this, there's inevitably going to be tracks you
want included that were left out... Or tracks included that you question.
Debating this is sort of masturbatory, like debating top ten lists and the
like.
But.. For the sake of indulgence (lest we forget that masturbating is
pleasurable)...
I think "Buildings and Bridges" could easily get bounced for something else
more interesting from "Out of Range." "Letter to a John" stands out as the
most classic. But I'm also a fan of the title track, "Hell Yeah," and "Love
is Like Falling." The choice of "Buildings and Bridges" sort of puzzles me.
It seems evident from the omissions that "Up x6," "Imperfectly" and "Dilate"
are not Ani's favorite recordings (we already know via "Like I Said" that
she despises her first two). Interesting, since I too have always considered
them her weakest. But I do think that "Upx6's" "Angry Anymore" is one of her
most accomplished bits of songwriting, and would have loved to see it
included here.
I'm also very partial to "To the Teeth," which is relatively unrepresented
here. I'm particularly fond of "Wish I May" (one of my all-time favorite Ani
songs, actually), "Back Back Back" and "Going Once."
In general, she seems to have chosen not to emphasize the band leader jazz
experimentation phase of her career -- "Here for Now" (which is fantastic)
is really the only representation of that style. Most of the songs from
these albums (Upx6 through Evolve) are her more melancholic solo-ish
ballads. This is kind of too bad, since I've always been a strong defender
of her oft-maligned jazz jams. At the same time, the ballads are some of the
strongest most emotionally visceral material of her entire career, and she's
chosen some of the best, particularly "Marrow" and "Grey."
I like *some* of the new recordings. I actually think this may be the best
version of "Napoleon" yet. And I understand why she doesn't like the
bass-heavy production of the "Dilate" version... But... I miss some of the
old vocal tics from "Shameless."
I'm less enthused by "Both Hands" (just not necessary) and Your Next Bold
Move and Overlap, both of which seem less emotionally committed than the
originals. Like she's giving them musical makeovers (which sound great,
that's not the issue) while forgetting what they're about and what makes
them special. "Your Next Bold Move," as originally recorded, really
accurately captured the sense of desolation (and very slight ember of hope)
leftists were feeling at the dawn of the new millennium. This version feels
much less meaningful. Similarly, "Overlap" is a beautiful, tentative song
about intimacy. Here it feels to casual and uptempo for the kind of depth
the singer is seeking.
..just my thoughts.
How bout you? What else would you have included. If you were going to
compile a supplemental collection called "Apocrypha," what would be on it?
Here's mine...
Work Your Way Out
Out of Habit
Gratitude
Blood in the Boardroom
Willing to Fight
Out of Range
Letter to a John
Not a Pretty Girl
Two Little Girls
Independence Day
Angry Anymore
Wish I May
Going Once
Back Back Back
What How When Where (Why Who)
School Night
You Each Time
Recoil
~tim
Timothy Jones-Yelvington
> late-night jazz cocktail lounge feel. like you have a drink in your hand,
> but because you're relaxed and life is good (not because you want to lose
> yourself in alcohol). highly recommended
This album is perfectly accomplished... With all the range, musicality and
professionalism I've come to expect from OTR. But the "come on get happy"
tone just isn't my favorite. It's totally a personal bias... But I like my
OTR served with a sharp dose of melancholy. I'm an "Ohio" and "Drunkard's
Prayer" boy through and through. I do love Karin's jazz stylings... If the
whole record really were recorded in a cocktail vibe, I might be more
inclined to coast on the mood... As I do listening to the excellent "Snow
Angels." But there's some uptempo Americana numbers in the middle that
disrupt that particular flow and demand to be listened to on their own
terms. Like I said... A perfectly good record... But the first time in a
while that OTR won't land a spot in my year-end favorites.
~tim
Greg Dunn
--
--
| Greg Dunn | this is slowly taking me apart. |
| greg...@indy.net | grey would be the color if i |
| The Sultan of Slack(tm) | had a heart. |
| http://www.indy.net/~gregdunn/ | Trent Reznor |
Gairin
> Hello ecto. I feel like I've been in lurker mode for since the beginning of
> August. I moved across the country, started grad school (any UNC Chapel
> Hill people or neighbors, please send a shout out; there are some great
> concerts coming to the area soon), finally got home internet access again
> (yay!) but still have no speakers (boo). Anyway, I've been catching up on
>
> So, what I've been listening to lately:
>
> Ani DiFranco - Canon
> 16 years of music, 16 albums of original music distilled into a 36-song,
> 2-disc set. I might have made some different choices about which tracks to
> include, but I can't complain about what's here. It all flows really well,
> and while it doesn't cover the full range of her styles, it provides an
> recorded and released songs) are all good too. The set is also
> well-packaged, and it's nice to have lyrics for all the songs. I'm also
> glad she didn't include one of those "this is an important artist" essays
> that seem ubiquitous in retrospectives these days. It would have been nice
> to hear her thoughts on her career though.
>
> (There's also a book, Verses, which collects some of her song lyrics
> (including, I think, some unrecorded songs), sketches, and a conversation
> with spoken word artist Sekou Sundiata. I don't have this but flipped
> through it in a bookstore, and it seems like a nice coffee table book,
> something to peruse once in a while rather than read straight through.)
>
> Clare Burson - Thieves
> Another in-store, intrigued-by-the-cover find. Thank goodness for listening
> booths. I was immediately captivated by Clara Burson's voice. This is
> (like Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter), but not at all derivative either.
>
> A Fine Frenzy - One Cell in the Sea
> This album popped up as a recommendation when I was looking at something
> else on Amazon (though I don't remember what). I checked it out because the
> artist and album titles were so intriguing. And so is the album.
> Piano-based not-quite-pop.
>
> Jesca Hoop - Kismet
> More quirky hard-to-place music, though more pop and more accessible than
> Silver Screen Demos. My favorites continue to be the three re-recorded
> songs from that album (Seed of Wonder, Silverscreen, and Havoc in Heaven).
> I think these also remain the most original songs. Not that thenewsongs
> are slouchers. She references more genres including trip-hop/hip-hop, and
> some of the tracks are just plain fun. You might have heard "Money" in the
> lovely, dreamlike "Love Is All We Have" about Hurricane Katrina. I keep
> listening and still don't really know how to describe it. One thing I can
> say: this album is all over the place, and it succeeds.
>
> Over the Rhine - The Trumpet Child
> late-night jazz cocktail lounge feel. like you have a drink in your hand,
> but because you're relaxed and life is good (not because you want to lose
> yourself in alcohol). highly recommended
>
> JoAnn
> and now, the sounds of dogs barking outside. ugh.
>
> _________________________________________________________________
Dear Jo Ann,
Have a listen to mine please...
No dogs barking but a Coyote Party!
Best to you,
Mary Kay
http://aufrance.com/gairin