Top 10 Albums of 2012

When I'm not working, my mind floats somewhere between anxiety and anger, admittedly. Music is the comfort food most of the time. The chicken fried steak with gravy and biscuits. With mashed potatoes also with gravy. Certain albums step in and I'll listen over and over.

In April, I decided to dig a garden in by backyard to grow tomatoes. My grandfather grew tomatoes in his yard and I remember how they tasted: pure and simple; seeds, water, dirt, sunshine. So I wanted to grow my own in Brooklyn soil. Granted these would be tough tomatoes. They would have to grow up through glass and rocks and soil that has seen God knows what. But I started to dig. The spot I chose ended up terrible for two reasons: (1.) It turned out to be shady 24 hours a day, awful for tomatoes. (2.) It was next to a tree = lots of roots.

After about 15 minutes of digging I realized it was a bad idea. I was 3 feet from the base of a tree. Some of the roots were 4 or 5 inches in diameter. I asked my roommate, "have you ever started doing something and realized immediately it was a dumb idea, but continued to do it anyway." He said, "I've lived most of my life that way."

I continued on. The shovel I used was a rusty old guy I found in the backyard. It didn't have a handle, but I found one of those too.

Robert Pollard once said, "If you're ever feeling depressed go in your backyard and dig a hole 6 feet deep. But DON'T jump in. If you're still depressed after, dig another hole 6 feet deep. And so on."

I can't say I spent a lot of time feeling sorry for myself this year. But I did spend time floating on that ship between anger and anxiety. And so the ludicrous hole I dug was chicken fried steak. The $1.50 24-oz Coors Original from the corner bodega next to my apartment never tasted so good after breaking my back digging a hole through an endless system of roots and rocks in Brooklyn soil.

...

João Gilberto (b. 1931) - Chega de Saudade (1959)

The album Chega de Saudade was the first viable, relevant bossa nova LP; the song by the same name is considered the first bossa nova song. It was Gilberto's first full-length LP, and here, he paints a picture that became hugely influential. 

Bossa nova was born out of the rhythms of Brazilian samba and the harmonies of jazz.

The album is a collection of twelve songs crafted on nylon strings and vocals with minimal percussion and sparse production. Each song is a scant two minutes, rounding the total out at around twenty-two.

It is said Gilberto developed his style in the confines of a bathroom for improved acoustics. He waded his way through his twenties sleeping on couches and turning down gigs.

Chega de Saudade was a hit, and made bossa nova both a jazz and popular music sensation in Brazil and the US. Five years later, in 1964, Gilberto recorded The Girl from Ipanema, with Stan Getz, which became one of the most popular and most recorded songs of all time. 

Chega de Saudade is intimate, delicate, though. The 28-year old broke Gilberto, whose father once admitted him to a psychiatric ward, and who, as it turns out, is as crazy as any poet, is practicing his craft in the bathroom.



Dexter Gordon (1923 - 1990) - Doin' Allright (1961)

Doin' Allright was a comeback album. It was Dexter Gordon's first recording for Blue Note, and the beginning of a resurgence of his career. He went to jail in 1952 for narcotics possession and spent most of the decade inactive or in prison ... out to sea.

Doin' Allright was the beginning of his "mature" era, a break from bebop. By 1961, Jazz had evolved away from the hard-hitting, vitriolic virtuosity of the 1940's club scene. The likes of Miles Davis and John Coltrane forged ahead both harmonically and rhythmically. As a saxaphonist, Gordon was inspired by Lester Young (1909 - 1959) and was an [early] inspiration to John Coltrane (1926 - 1967). After losing almost a decade, he stepped out of the dark and into stride. Coltrane lead the way, but Gordon maintained his characteristic  with Coltrane's style.

Gordon's sound was commonly characterized as being 'large' and spacious and he had a tendency to play behind the beat.

He recorded three more albums for Blue Note between 1961 and 1962, and then moved to Europe to live as an expatriate until 1976.

 
Lineup: Dexter Gordon (tenor sax), Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Horace Parlan (piano), George Tucker (bass), and Al Harewood (drums).
 

I never actually finished reviews of the remaining albums, but here is the list:

Gang Starr - Step In the Arena
Charlie Parker / Dizzy Gillespie - Bird and Diz 
Chet Baker - Ensemble
Bach, JS - Brandenburg Concertos
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - San Antonio Rose (Discs 1-11)
Desmond Dekker (1941-2006) & The Aces - Rudy Got Soul: The Complete Early Years 1963-1968
Mississippi Fred McDowell - I Do Not Play No Rock 'N' Roll
James Wallace & the Naked Light - More Strange News From Another Star (only released on cassette tape)
Gene Autry - That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine (Discs 1-9) 
The Ink Spots - Greatest Hits: The Original Decca Recordings 1939-1946

Dan Deacon - America
Mozart, WA - Philips Complete Mozart - Vol 11: String Quintets (Disc 1-3)   
Jorge Ben - Samba Esquema Novo
Nina Simone - Nina Simone Sings the Blues
Kourosh - Back from the Brink - Pre-Revolution Psychedelic Rock from Iran (1973-1979)
Jelly Roll Morton - 1923/24
Carsick Cars - You Can Listen, You Can Talk
Caetano Veloso - Caetano Veloso
Caetano Veloso - Caetano Veloso (1969) 
Tom Waits - Bone Machine
The Deep Dark Woods - Winter Hours
Sigur Ros - Valtari
Townes Van Zandt - For the Sake of the Song

Top 10 Albums of 2011

It's December and I'm driving around Texas in my brother's (other) car. From Dallas to Austin, then west. Then east, and south to Houston. Back to Austin, back to Dallas. Great for reflection and creating an annual Top 10 list that exceeds the nominal ten.

ARTIST / ALBUM

Various Artists / Downtown 81 Original Soundtrack (Recall Records 2001)

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The story, set in 1981, follows painter Jean-Michel Basquiat around the East Village. He wanders in and out of clubs and through alleys in a surrealist stream of dialogue and music that includes Latin dance pop, spoken word, hip hop and art-rock at a time when the East Village was a truly weird and dangerous place.

Some of the music I wouldn't put on if there was another person in the room, or even recommend as a listen. It's sort of a bad trip but there's something about dissonance that, from time to time, warms my soul.



Solomon Burke (1940 - 2010) / Solomon Burke: The Definitive Soul Collection (Rhino 2006)

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Jesse and I have an ongoing joke where we run a venue in the 1960's that promotes soul bands. The joke is that we grow to despise them because we do so many. "Ahhhh another FUCKING soul band," we loathe as we put on a fake smile and high five them as they show up for soundcheck. The truth is, the music is so good we can hardly stand it.

Solomon Burke, a southern black preacher backed by a rock and roll band and gospel singers with a tinge of country, was the "King of Rock and Soul" and refused to be branded "R&B" for reasons of the church. He coined the term "soul music" when asked what kind of singer he wanted to be.

This 30-song compilation spans four record labels from 1961 to 1974, his formative years, and the golden age of soul.



Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828) / Schubert: Symphonies Vol II (EMI Classics 2005)

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For $9.49 I downloaded five symphonies. So easy and disposable in fact, that I never listened to four of them -- only the 5th Symphony. I heard it during the closing credits of The Cruise, a documentary about an NYC tour bus guide I stumbled across on Netflix's Watch Instantly.

Schubert (1797-1828) wrote close to 1000 pieces in his short life, including 9 symphonies. The 5th Symphony was around his 500th, and he composed it at the age of 19. It is light and comes in under twenty-five minutes.



'The Quintet' / Jazz at Massey Hall (Debut 1953)

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If Bop were basketball, "The Quintet" would be the '92 Dream Team. Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet), Charlie Parker (saxaphone), Bud Powell (piano), Charles Mingus (bass) and Max Roach (drums) on stage for one and only time, at Toronto's Massey Hall. Recorded in May of '53. Parker played a Grafton -- AKA plastic -- sax on Jazz at Massey Hall because he had pawned his.

The concert was infamously scheduled the same night as a televised World Heavyweight title fight between Rocky Marciano and Jersey Joe Walcott (in Chicago), and ticket sales were at 25%. The musicians were reportedly never paid except for Parker; ironic, for what has been called "the greatest jazz concert ever."

The liner notes tell a story of five musicians showing up at LaGuardia airport in NY with five plane tickets. A wife and a friend swelled the group to seven. So Parker and Gillespie stayed behind to catch the next flight while the group waited in Toronto wondering if they would actually show.

In 1953, this was progressive. In 2011, it's background music at a late-night trattoria, or as any jazz student might put it, "fucking ridiculous."



Snooks Eaglin (1936 - 2009) / New Orleans Street Singer (Smithsonian Folkways 1959)

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Smithsonian Folkways page

 

Snooks Eaglin (1936 - 2009) was born, bred, based out of, and buried in New Orleans. He was 23 when New Orleans Street Singer was recorded, and while his later work spans genres, this one finds him in a stripped down busker fashion.

From the Smithsonian Folkways website:

"Folkways Records released New Orleans Street Singer in 1959 and the album set the world of folk and acoustic blues fans on fire. Snooks Eaglin was in the early stages of his long R&B career when folklorist Harry Oster heard him playing solo on the streets of the French Quarter. That very recording, presented here with 7 previously unreleased tracks, captured Eaglin's genius and elevated him to the pantheon of eccentric, uncategorizable guitar virtuosos." 

Os Mutantes / Os Mutantes (Omplatten / Polydor 1968)

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Brazil's Os Mutantes recorded their eponymous debut in 1968 at the height of the Tropicália movement. It's psychedelic pop with both an edge and a sense of humor.



The Sonics / Boom (Etiquette Records 1966)

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Two terms sure to pop up if you google the Sonics (band) are 'garage rock' & 'protopunk'. Terms used to describe all that music that lead to the Sex Pistols and the Ramones. There's always something before and after something bigger. The Sonics didn't invent garage rock, and they didn't take it as far as others. They never had a hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but they did make some noise.

Movements in history have had things like manifestoes and philosophies, but garage rock is not one of them. A band drinking beer and playing rock in their garage. They record a couple albums, but then some of the members go to college, or start working at their pop's shop, or get their girlfriend pregnant, and, in general, slowly have the innocence taken from them. Before that, though, they were on to something. And like those that came before, they helped build something bigger.



Dustin O'Halloran (b. 1971) / Piano Solos Vol. 2 (Filter Recordings 2006)
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An elusive balance between cerebral and accessible. Dustin O'Halloran makes playing and composing for piano seem easy. Like watching Tony Hawk skateboard.

Composers have written collections of solo works for pedagogy or as a rite of passage throughout history. Dustin O'Halloran may or may not have been following convention by writing Piano Solos Volumes 1 & 2 -- 12 and 11 pieces respectively. But he has come up with something worthy of the shoulders he stands on. 



 The War on Drugs / Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian 2011)
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More than once this year I heard the War on Drugs mentioned in the same sentence as Kurt Vile. 

 

Ben E. King / The Very Best of Ben E. King (Atlantic and Atco 1995)
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Ben E. King's song Stand By Me went to #4 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart following its release in 1961, and then to #9, twenty-five years later when the movie of the same name used it.

From the cover of the album: "The silky-smooth baritone's top original Atlantic recordings both with the Drifters and as a Solo Artist". Includes singles from 1959 when he was fronting the Drifters, through 1975 with his solo work.



Caveman / CoCo Beware (Magic Man! 2011)
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On an early Thursday afternoon during SXSW, I dragged four girls into east Austin to see Caveman at a place called Club 1808. It was in the "are you sure this right?" part of east Austin. No stench of irony, no sense of urgency (yet.) No stage or schedule or anyone in charge. We stood around for a while and scoured for a stage we might have missed. Out back, we found people rolling cigarettes and a grill with hot dogs.

Luckily there was Lonestar and Tecate, so began the only real SXSW tradition, which is to drink as much as possible, for as long as possible, for as many days in a row as possible.

Eventually the smoke machine started and Caveman began their tribal drumming and ambient keyboards.



Various Artists / The Secret Museum of Mankind Vol 1: Ethnic Music Classics 1925-48 (Yazoo 1995)
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I heard The Secret Museum of Mankind Vol 1 on Jeff Mangum's mixtape podcast, and I imagine if Mangum were alive between 1925 and 1948, and lived in another country, he would have written songs for this recording.



Jay McShann Orchestra / Blues from Kansas City (GRP 1992 -- comprised of every commercial side made by McShann during 1941-1943)
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Tom Pendergast was a political boss who controlled Kansas City during the Great Depression. He helped politicians get elected and he created jobs. Picture "Nucky" Thompson from Boardwalk Empire but in Kansas City. 

From the Visit Kansas City website:

"While jazz began in the 1920s with a bang, it flourished in the 1930s, mainly as a result of political boss Tom Pendergast. During prohibition, he allowed alcohol to flow in Kansas City. As an entertainment center, Kansas City had no equal during these dry times.

This "wide-open" town image attracted displaced musicians from everywhere in mid-America. Throughout the Depression, Kansas City bands continued to play while other bands across the nation folded.

Only in Kansas City did jazz continue to flourish. At one time, there were more than 100 night clubs, dance halls and vaudeville houses. Legends like Count Basie, Andy Kirk, Joe Turner, Hot Lips Page and Jay McShann all played in Kansas City. A saxophone player named Charlie Parker began his ascent to fame here in his hometown in the 1930s.

Kansas City’s 12th Street became nationally known for its jazz clubs, gambling parlors and brothels, earning the city the moniker, “The Paris of the Plains.” At its height, 12th Street was home to more than 50 jazz clubs. Just six blocks to the north, jazz also flourished at 18th & Vine, which became nationally respected as the epicenter of the city’s African-American community."

Jay McShann (1916 - 2006) moved to Kansas City in 1936 to be a part of the flourishing scene. He formed a group that would grow to 12-15 musicians. From 1941-43, he recorded hits for Decca with this group -- his 'Orchestra'. During this time, he nurtured a young Charlie Parker. In 1944, he was drafted into the war, and upon return found the big band era, as well as political bossism in KC, to be over.

Jay McShann's legacy is the time he spent in Kansas City before the war. He wrote music for, and managed an orchestra.



Justin Hinds & the Dominoes / Carry Go Bring Come: Anthology '64-'74 (Trojan 2005)
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Justin Hinds recorded 70+ singles in Kingston between '63 and '72 at a time when the popular music style in Jamaica transitioned from ska (developed in the late 50's) to rocksteady (mid 60's) to reggae (late 60's.) He was a country boy at heart and disappeared from the scene in the early 70's only to return in 1976 to record his first proper LP, Jezebel.

Carry Go Bring Come: The Anthology captures the early years before his initial departure -- 46 tracks altogether -- of tune after sweet tune.



Igor Stravinsky - J. S. Bach / Stravinsky - Bach (ECM 2005)
Igor Stravinsky Wikipedia artist page 
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Igor Stravinsky's (1882 - 1971) "neo-Classical" period is considered to be from circa 1919 to 1954. He moved to France in 1920 (from Russia) and began a new life that lasted until 1939 when he moved to Los Angeles.

During this time he transitioned from using Russian pagan themes to re-examining Bach and Mozart. I opened one of my college textbooks for insight:

"The essence of Stravinskyn 'neo-Classicism' lies in the thorough rebuilding of tonal practice independent of the traditional functions. 

In Classical usage there is a network of contrapuntal motion away from and back towards goals that are defined partly culturally, and partly by the nature of this motion itself. In Stravinsky, tonality is represented by the emphasis, the repetition, or the sustaining of chords or chordal patterns. There is nothing inevitable about the tonal centers; they are present and effective because they are stated and asserted to be so." -- Eric Salzman, Twentieth-Century Music

He was writing tonal music, but making up his own rules.

Both Stravinsky pieces here, the Suite Italienne (1932), and the the Duo concertant (1932) are considered to be examples of Stravinsky's "neo-Classical" period, and the Bach pieces are a thought-provoking juxtaposition.




Luke Temple / Don't Act Like You Don't Care (Western Vinyl 2011)
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Luke once said: "we will use what we have." The sort of Eastern logic that abandons frenetic desire to want more in order to produce something new.

Charles Bukowski wrote:

"you’re going to create whether you work
16 hours a day in a coal mine
or
with part of your mind and your body blown
away,

air and light and time and space
have nothing to do with it
and don’t create anything"

Luke strikes me as the character writing in a coal mine if necessary. Hopefully not, but if necessary, he'd be down there.

Mix Tape: Fall Mix

 
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ARTIST / TRACK / ALBUM

01. Dustin O'Halloran (b. 1971) / Opus 23 / Piano Solos Vol. 2 (Filter 2006)
02. The War on Drugs / Best Night / Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian 2011)
03. Nice Nice / A Way We Glow / Extra Wow (Warp Records 2009)
04. Vic Chestnut / Concord Country Jubilee / At The Cut (Constellation 2009)
05. Arvo Pärt / Spiegel Im Spiegel (excerpt) / The Very Best of Arvo Pärt (EMI 2010 (Performed by Tasmin Little, Martin Roscoe))
06. Os Mutantes / Senhor F / Os Mutantes (Omplatten 1968)
07. Phish / Scents and Subtle Sounds (excerpt) / 2011/07/02 Super Ball IX, NY (Set 2)
08. Bill Callahan / Jim Cain / Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle (Drag City 2009)
09. A Winged Victory For The Sullen / Steep Hills Of Vicodin Tears / A Winged Victory for the Sullen (Kranky 2011)

Mix Tape: Summer Mix

 
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(DESIGNED FOR SHUFFLE)

ARTIST / TRACK / ALBUM

01. The Clash / Somebody Got Murdered / Sandinista! (Epic 1980)
02. Paul Simon / Diamonds On the Souls Of Her Shoes / Graceland (Warner Bros 1986)
03. Foster the People / Pumped Up Kicks / Torches (Startime 2011)
04. Solomon Burke / Party People / The Definitive Soul Collection (Rhino 2006 (1961 - 1974))
05. A.C. Newman / The Heartbreak Rides For Free / Get Guilty (Matador 2009)
06. The Buzzcocks / Why Can't I Touch It / Singles Going Steady (IRS Records 1979 (Re-released EMI Records 2001))
07. Monster Rally / Land Ho - Masasu / Coral LP (monsterrally.bandcamp.com)
08. Cultura Profética / M.O.T.A. / Un Deseo (Machete Music 2005)
09. Dismemberment Plan / The Face of the Earth / Change (DeSoto 2001)
10. George Harrison / What Is Life / All Things Must Pass (Capitol 1970)
11. Gregory Isaacs / Sad To Know You're Leaving / Night Nurse (African Museum/Island 1982)
12. Elbow / Scattered Black and Whites / Asleep in the Back (UME 2001)
13. Justin Hinds & Dominoes / Corner Stone / Carry Go Bring Come: Anthology '64-'74 (Trojan 2005)
14. Mos Def / Definition / Black Star (Rawkus 1998)
15. Ben E. King / How Can I Forget / The Very Best of Ben E. King (1995 Atlantic & Arco)
16. Phish / Heavy Things / 2010/07/04 Alpharetta, GA
17. The Sonics / Shot Down / Boom (Norton 1966)
18. The Octopus Project / Korakrit / Hexadecagon (Peek-a-Boo 2010)
19. Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears / Mustang Ranch / Scandalous (Lost Highway 2011)
20. Tom Petty / Time to Move On / Wildflowers (Warner Bros 1994)
21. Sigur Rós / Heysatan / Takk (Geffen 2005)