Casual Listening Best of 2007

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

(Rhapsody subscribers – instructions at the bottom for how to access the Casual Listening 100 playlist)

This is the last post of the year. Thanks to everyone for reading, writing, and supporting the music. See you in 2008!

BEST OF CASUAL LISTENING 2007

10 albums, 10 genres, the best music of the year.

1. Radiohead – In Rainbows (rock)

The album of the year. The title is apt, and listening is like swimming in a kaleidoscope of sound. Melodies ache across tumbling prisms with stylized drums and arching guitar lines. Multiple listenings each reveal new visions. Mind-altering music.

2. Herbie Hancock – River: The Joni Letters (jazz)

Moving jazz portraits of Joni Mitchell songs, both hits and hidden treasures. Hancock peels away layer after layer, reminding us just how much music is packed into Mitchell’s tunes. Fantastic guest vocals by Nora Jones, Tina Turner, and Leonard Cohen.

3. Galactic – From the Corner to the Block (rap)

Galactic is proof that New Orleans has a musical future. A brilliant mix of jazz and hip hop, with guest rappers on every track. Rump-shaking funk, with additional background provided by mardi-gras style horn players. Did I mention funky?

4. Chaka Khan – Funk This (R&B)

Wicked syncopation and slow jams from the original funk goddess. A cover of Jimi Hendix’s “Castles Made of Sand” is arguably better than the original. A duet with Mary J. Blige tears the roof off. The new generation of soul singers should take note – this is how it’s done.

5. I’m Not There: Original Soundtrack (folk)

The songs from the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic are an embarrassment of riches. Big names like Eddie Vedder and Jeff Tweedy, living legends like Willie Nelson and Richie Havens, and buzz bands like Iron & Wine and Cat Power all do powerful takes on Dylan. The sounds of these songs are all over the map, but what comes through brilliantly is the emotional bite that you hear in the best of Dylan. If you hate Dylan, this album could change your mind. If you love Dylan, some of these songs will put you in tears.

6. The Silk Road Ensemble – New Impossibilities (classical)

Yo-Yo Ma’s pan-Asian supergroup teams up with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for a mind-opening set of cross-cultural creativity. Eastern instruments such as pipa, sheng, and er-hu join Ma’s cello, a battery of percussion, and occasionally the entire orchestra to create a surprising array of suggestive textures. Several of the pieces are challenging listening, but on balance Silk Road is more accessible than avant-garde.

7. Mike Farris: Salvation in Lights (gospel)

The former frontman of the Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies got sober, got religion, and got really, really good. He does several classic spirituals and hymns in a blues-gospel style backed with a choir and a horn section. He’s the rare singer with the pipes to pull it off, and it’ll take everything you’ve got not to start dancing on your chair to some of these songs.

8. Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Ten Days Out (blues)

When this guitar prodigy turned 30 last year, he packed up a band and a film crew and headed for blues country to play with some of the last living blues legends, many approaching three times his age. They recorded in kitchens, backyard barbecues, and juke joints, capturing styles old and new in their natural surroundings. This album is a ticket to a private concert with some of the finest blues artists you’ve never heard of and may never hear again. Four of the musicians that appear here are no longer with us.

9. M.I.A. – Kala (world)

Revolutionary dance tracks that draw influences from all over the globe. Snippets of Bollywood, Jamaican dancehall, Techno, and Dijeridoo, to name just a few. Music twenty years ahead of its time.

10. Steve Earle – Washington Square Serenade (country)

Everything you’ve come to expect from Steve Earle – gutsy vocals, catchy songwriting, pointed satire, and folksy tributes. The arrangements are unexpectedly urbane, with electronic samples scattered among the mandolins. Earle has always been an iconoclast, and seems equally at ease in a New York soundscape as in a Texas one.

Rhapsody Subscribers: Go to playlist central, decade mixes. Scroll to the bottom and click See More. Click the Most Recent button. Scroll down to find “Casual Listening 100 – Best of 2007,” published December 13. Play it and rate it!

Check out the blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.

Casual Listening Extra 12-7-07

Casual Listening

Extra!

December 7, 2007

Bonde do Role – Marina Gasolina (dance)

Off the wall Brazillian pop that you can’t help but dance to. One song has a backbeat of tuba and frog croaks, and it’s absolutely irresistible.

Aphrodesia – Lagos by Bus (world)

Stateside Afrobeat on vacation in Nigeria. A balance of heavy and relaxed dance grooves with a solid dose of funk. Dig it.

Casual Listening 12-7-07

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

December 7, 2007

New releases slow to a trickle after Thanksgiving, so Casual Listening will be home to special features over the next few weeks to help wind up the year.

REQUEST WEEK: All of these albums have been recommended to Casual Listening by readers over the past year

Ornette Coleman – Sound Grammar (jazz)

In 1960, free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman was ahead of his time. In 2007, time finally caught up and awarded him the Pulitzer Prize in Music for this brilliant live set. Coleman’s rapid saxophone runs, seemingly disconnected from the furious playing going on around him, balance with beautifully oblique ballads. On first listen, this music is easy to dismiss as noise, but once your ears adjust to Coleman’s grammar, a methodical madness emerges.

Beirut – The Flying Cup Club (world)

You might expect a scratchy version of this gypsy-inspired orchestral music playing on the phonograph in the background of an Indiana Jones movie. Subtle and seductive cabaret vocals rest in a hammock of trumpets, accordion, and various strings.

Bobby Sanabria – Big Band Urban Folktales (Latin)

Somewhere, Dizzy Gillespie is listening with his celestial headphones and thoroughly digging this album. Sanabria drives a solid big band over Latin percussion, straight into the groove between salsa and swing.

A Band of Bees – Octopus (rock)

These Bees create quirky, genre-bending mosaics. Touches of blues, reggae, and afrobeat enhance a jammy blend of harmonies. For days when you need to let your goofy side loose a little.

Damian Marley – Welcome to Jamrock (reggae)

Marley pushes roots reggae straight into the 21^st century, weaving together dancehall, hip hop, and R&B with more traditional stylings. Sharp production and sharp lyrics make for a compelling set of cosmopolitan Jamaican music.

Celtic Woman – A New Journey (Celtic, sort of)

I had to double-check my player to make sure I hadn’t accidentally cued up an Andrew Lloyd Weber musical. Melodramatic, bombastic arrangements of Irish and faux-Irish tunes with rainsticks, harps, and what sound like taiko drummers. Save your cash for live music night at your local Irish pub.

Special thanks to Steve, Tim, Dad, Mark, Jordan, and Dave for the requests.

New releases in the blog this week: Bonde do Role, Aphrodesia

Check out the blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.

Casual Listening 11-30-07

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

November 30, 2007

New releases slow to a trickle after Thanksgiving, so Casual Listening will be home to special features over the next few weeks to help wind up the year.

Seven Blues Albums That’ll Change Your Life

Blues is the granddaddy of all modern American music. In the blues you can see rock, hip hop, R&B, jazz, gospel, and house music all stripped down naked and beguiling. At first glance, it’s not much to look at – kind of scraggly and out of shape, not as young as it used to be – in a word, real, like the rest of us. From that realness pours steam heat fueled by years of shameless living. Once you’ve breathed it, you’ll never be able to put it out of your mind.

Blues is an attitude, a tone of voice that grabs you by the shoulders and shakes your body down. Blues doesn’t hide behind electronics, overdubs, and slick production. All it has to hook you with is a wail, shout, and moan. For the best blues singers, that’s more than enough. A skilled blues player can take a harmonica or slide guitar and make it cry so sad you’d swear it were alive.

Blues is the opposite of transcendent. Its songs are pasted together from the stuff of this world – pleasure and pain, sex, death, and heartache. Its lessons aren’t fancy or glib, but they run miles deep and generations long. Here are seven of the best you’ll ever hear:

Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Ten Days Out

When this guitar prodigy turned 30 last year, he packed up a band and a film crew and headed for blues country to play with some of the last living blues legends, many approaching three times his age. They recorded in kitchens, backyard barbecues, and juke joints, capturing styles old and new in their natural surroundings. This album is a ticket to a private concert with some of the finest blues artists you’ve never heard of and may never hear again. Four of the musicians that appear here are no longer with us.

Buddy Guy – Live! The Real Deal

Ask any Chicago Blues fan about the greatest concert they’ve ever seen, and you’ll get the same response: seeing Buddy Guy play live at his club. Screaming electric blues from one of the greatest showmen in the business, Buddy’s live sets can only be described as a religious experience. Having G. E. Smith and the Saturday Night Live Band behind him raises the wattage on this mind-blowing performance.

Paul Reddick and the Sidemen – Rattlebag

If there were even three touring bands today that sounded as tight as this, no one would spend sleepless nights worrying about the future of the blues. Reddick’s swagger animates a broad assortment of styles that reach across decades, and keeps it simple enough to let the raw soul of the music speak for itself.

Junior Wells – Hoodoo Man Blues

Nothing comes close to this set in terms of pure badassedness. Wells channels the funk of James Brown and the cool of Miles Davis with a thick streak of cocked-hat attitude. His singing and harmonica playing are barely restrained, like a tiger on a leash that’ll snap at any moment.

Howlin’ Wolf – His Best

Possibly the most distinctive voice ever committed to wax, to the point of making actual wolves jealous. From the heyday of 1950’s Chicago blues, Wolf’s growl burns tread marks on the inside of your skull while the band stomps alongside.

Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers

Taylor plays frenetic slide guitar through the world’s oldest amplifier – I’ve gotten higher fidelity from two tin cans tied together with string – which is, of course, what makes his sound so delicious. Bruce Iglauer started a record label just so he could record Hound Dog Taylor, and I’d be surprised if after hearing this album you wouldn’t do the same.

Mississippi Fred McDowell – You’ve Got To Move

This is old school, some of the deepest blues there is, nothing but a slide guitar and the voice of the apocalypse. McDowell plays the Mississippi delta style common in the 1930’s, recorded thirty years later when technology let you hear the music instead of just the hiss and pop of aging phonograph records. I had a chance to meet the once-young blues fan that took a microphone to McDowell’s living room to bring back these diamonds, and thanked him for ensuring that my grandchildren will one day have the chance to hear and love this music.

Check out the blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.

Casual Listening Extra 11-23-07

Casual Listening
Extra!

November 23, 2007

Live Albums Part 2: Daft Punk, Opeth

In last week’s blog, I said that certain types of music benefit from the intimacy and immediacy of a live setting, while others don’t. These are two great examples of music that does benefit, largely because it’s not music you tend to hear live. Daft Punk plays Euro-dance-rock, stuff made for clubs that almost never gets played live. The fact that Daft Punk does play live, does it well, and does it in robot costumes has made their shows famous, and the energy of the show comes through brilliantly on “Alive 2007,” out this week. Opeth plays progressive metal, the lovechild of Slayer and Pink Floyd, very aggressive music broken up by folk and atmospheric interludes. Contemporary metal tends to be a studio art, where the darkness of it is accentuated. In a live setting, you’ve got a cheering crowd behind the band to remind you that this is still social music, not a completely misanthropic art form. It works, and the variety in Opeth’s music makes for an interesting listen. Both of these albums are recommended.

David Buchbinder – Havana/Odessa (world)

Two cities half a world away, and one musician who’s not afraid to try to bring the two together. Cuban rhythms and old world Klezmer find common ground in jazz, and the mix works better than one might expect.

Casual Listening 11-23-07

Casual Listening
a review of cool new music
SPECIAL GUEST EDITOR: YESH PAVLIK

November 23, 2007

! Amy Winehouse – Frank (soul/R&B)

Amy Winehouse before they tried to make her go to rehab. This album is a sassy blend of danceable beats, confident vocals and blunt lyrics that will make you blush. Amy always makes you feel like you’re in a smoky, kind of dirty, 1940’s night club with her horn and piano accompaniment. In rehab or drunk… Amy can lay it down, I LOVE this album.

* Jean Grae – The Orchestral Files (rap/hip-hop)

Grae’s commanding voice, loaded lyrics and self-proclaimed, “Old School” rhymes will leave YOU feeling “schooled”. A dj spinning tracks in the background and live clappers will compel you to nod your head, and listen up. Her tone is Lauryn Hill-esque, and her opinions are strong. This album might make you want to bust out your own rhyme.

Lamar Campbell – New Song New Sound (Christian/gospel)

Lamar gives you everything you might expect from a gospel singer. He has a powerful yet gentle voice, a killer gospel choir behind him and band that will cause your body to unconsciously sway in your chair, and make a believer out of you. Halleluiah!

Flunk – Personal Stereo (electronica)

Attention Regina Spektor fans – you will need this album. A bit slower than Ms. Spektor likes to lay her tracks, this chilled out collection is perfect for rainy afternoons and days when you feel like you’re the star of your own Indie film.

Richard Cole – Shade (jazz)

Sometimes edgy, sometimes perfectly flowing, Richard Cole’s album, “Shade” is an easy jazz album to pick up. The piano seems to walk in the track “Moxy,” and each solo leaves you wanting to clap. Jazz novices will easily enjoy this album and jazz snobs will appreciate the perfection of the musicians and the collection’s classic feel.


In the blog this week: Live albums part 2: Daft Punk, Opeth; David Buchbinder’s Salsa/Kelzlmer fusion

* highly recommended
! highest recommendation
Know of an upcoming release that’s worth checking out? Send a tip to jeffpinzino@google.com. Only the best each week will appear in CL. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@google.com.

Casual Listening Extra 11-16-07

Casual Listening

Extra!

November 16, 2007

Are Live Albums Worth the Trouble?

Well, it depends. If you’re Os Mutantes, then no. If you’re James Taylor, then yes. Os Mutantes is a hip Brazillian rock band from the 1960’s that’s enjoying a revival. The music is cool, but unless you’re a superfan, it’s a lot like what’s on their other records, except with poorer sound quality. Taylor’s One Man Band, on the other hand, is a definitive performance for the 70’s balladeer. Folk music tends to translate to a live album – there’s something about the intimacy and immediacy of the performance that better expresses the essence of the music than the studio. Check out Simon & Garfunkel’s Live From New York City, 1967 to hear some of the best versions of their classics. Rock, on the other hand tends not to translate, unless the musicians are doing something radically different from what’s already on record.

Queensryche – Take Cover (rock)

The band puts aside the full metal jacket to give an unusual selection of rock covers. Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine,” The Police’s “Synchronicity II,” and Crosby, Stills, and Nash’s “Almost Cut My Hair” all share space on this disc. More interesting for its novelty value than its musical value, it’s still pretty interesting.

Casual Listening 11-16-07

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

November 16, 2007

* Joan Sebastian – No Es De Madera (Latin)

This is what you’re missing out on when you skip past the Spanish station on your radio. Listen through the oompah accordion, tuba, and heavy brass, and you’ll find Sebastian sings well-crafted songs of love and loss that owe as much to the Beatles as they do to traditional corridos.

Cedar Walton Trio & Dale Barlow – Manhattan After Hours (jazz)

To hone the album title further, this feels like a jazz club in Harlem in 1957 after hours. A classic-sounding tenor saxophone quartet with super chops. If you like to chill out with Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, you’re going to want to add this to your collection.

The Hives – The Black and White Album (rock)

Full-on distortion-fueled garage rock. Crank this and go nuts.

LCD Soundsystem – 45:33 (dance)

Your new favorite work-out soundtrack. A single track whose title matches its length, the various phases of the piece are specially designed for interval training on the stairmaster, complete with warm-up and cool-down. You’ll find a variety of samples, including horns, chimes, and retro laser sound effects, all settling into an extended house groove.

In the blog this week: Are live albums worth the trouble? Os Mutantes, James Taylor, and covers from Queensryche.

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

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Casual Listening Extra 11-9-07

Casual Listening

Extra!

November 9, 2007

Me’Shell Ndegeocello – The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams (jazz)

I don’t know how I missed this when it first came out about six weeks ago. An extremely inventive album by a woman who remains a musical mystery. I’d file this under jazz fusion, specifically the jazz of Sun Ra and the funk/rock/soul of Stevie Wonder. This one won’t be getting mainstream radio airplay anytime soon, but if you want to hear a mad genius at work, check this out.

Sones de México – Esta Tierra es Tuya (Latin)

This one was beat out for the Latin Grammy, but is still a great listen. You can hear about the band from NPR’s Morning Edition story this morning by clicking here. The head-turner on this album is a version of Led Zeppelin’s “Four Sticks.”

The Eagles – Long Road Out of Eden (rock)

This release is a Wal-Mart exclusive. Wal-Mart can do their own tip sheet if they want you to know about it.

Casual Listening 11-9-07

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

November 9, 2007

* Jay-Z – American Gangster (rap)

Most gangsta rap gets by glorifying guns, drugs, money, and sex while begging the question “Why are you telling me this?” American Gangster is an hour’s worth of “because.” Jay-Z comments on the conditions that give rise to the gangster, the way its mythology perversely feeds into the American dream, and the ultimate emptiness of outlaw success. An intricate backdrop of 70’s funk and soul is in itself remarkable, but the real power here is in the storytelling. This is a disturbing record, the kind of art you can argue with, but not dismiss.

* Sigur Rós – Hvarf - Heim (rock)

Rainy day pop brightened with an angelic falsetto. Reverb-heavy bells, piano, and electronic tones create a sound you can easily get lost in. Entrancing sad innocence.

Loren Connors – As Roses Bow: Collected Airs 1992-2002 (classical)

A collection of 43 short, solo, electric guitar pieces in a deeply contemplative mood. The experience is like flipping through an artist’s sketchbook – the beauty lies in beholding a series of unfinished, unvarnished creative ideas.

Dan Mangan – Postcards and Daydreaming (folk)

On any given night, in any given coffeehouse in America, there’s a wide-eyed young man curved over a guitar playing songs he hopes are as good as this album sounds. Heartrending songs linger over a country-inflected backing band to make a soundtrack of blue reminiscence.

Robin & Linda Williams– Radio Songs (folk)

Sweet harmonies from the perennial folk duo recall the golden age of country radio. These are all live performances from A Prairie Home Companion and other assorted public radio programs. Close your eyes and picture yourself listening to a 1940’s version of the Grand Old Opry, or a clear channel broadcast of the Carter Family.

In the blog this week: Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Sones de México, Eagles.

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

Check out the blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.

Casual Listening Extra 11-2-07

Casual Listening

Extra!

November 2, 2007

Blues Traveler – Cover Yourself

I was a college freshman and aspiring harp player in 1991 when I heard “But Anyway” on the radio and found myself stammering “That’s a harmonica?!?!” Sixteen years later, I’ve stopped keeping up with the band, having decided that it all sounds the same after a while. Enter Cover Yourself, which includes eleven radical reworkings of fan favorites, and which sounds fresh as the day it first knocked the wind out of me. The big stuff is stripped down (“Defense and Desire,” “NY Prophesie”), the slow stuff gets funky (“100 years”), and the good stuff gets even bluesier (“Mountains Win Again,” “Carolina Blues,”). Really satisfying déjà vu – familiar, but I’ve never heard it like this before.

Dylan Soundtrack Redux

Bob Dylan has already been done six ways from Sunday, so hearing so many fresh interpretations of the work is really a remarkable accomplishment. Thirty-four of the tracks on I’m Not There are 24 karat gold, with a couple of brass junkers along for the ride. First the good stuff. The album opens with Eddie Vedder’s version of “All Along the Watchtower,” which nods to both the Dylan and Hendrix versions while going its own organ-drenched direction. Sonic Youth takes on the movie’s title track, which shows up in the original Dylan version on the bonus tracks. Listen to these two back-to-back, and you’ll hear the frazzled sound in Dylan’s voice that makes it a natural for Sonic Youth. So many other highlights – Richie Havens sounds young again on “Tombstone Blues,” while Pavement’s Steven Malkmus sounds ancient on “Ballad of a Thin Man.” Karen O’s driven, jagged “Highway 61 Revisited” is the high point of the collection. Iron & Wine and Sufjan Stevens both dislocate the originals in exquisite ways through their orchestration. Willie Nelson and Los Lobos both add a South of the border breeze to their selections. Jeff Tweedy and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot reach across generations to re-enact the naked vulnerability of “Simple Twist of Fate” and “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues.” Listening to Cat Power I did a double-take thinking it was actually Dylan singing. Yo La Tengo, The Black Keys– the list goes on. A perfect experience is interrupted only by Jack Johnson’s sacrilegious gumping through “Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie” and Mason Jennings’ inept “The Times They A-Changing.” Still, these aren’t enough to tarnish the package. You’ll not regret the hours you’ll inevitably spend with this album.

Casual Listening 11-2-07

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

November 2, 2007

! I’m Not There: Original Soundtrack (rock)

The songs from the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic are an embarrassment of riches. Big names like Eddie Vedder and Jeff Tweedy, living legends like Willie Nelson and Richie Havens, and buzz bands like Iron & Wine and Cat Power all do powerful takes on Dylan. The sounds of these songs are all over the map, but what comes through brilliantly is the emotional bite that you hear in the best of Dylan. If you hate Dylan, this album could change your mind. If you love Dylan, some of these songs will put you in tears. More commentary on this one in this week’s blog.

! Andy Bey – Ain’t Necessarily So (jazz)

Andy Bey’s voice is Grade A maple syrup: smooth, rich, and distinctive. He sings jazz standards on this album – “All the Things You Are,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” and the Gershwin title track – but he could sing a dial tone for 45 minutes and make the list. Don’t miss a truly great jazz vocalist at work.

Youssou N’Dour – Rokku Mi Rokka (world)

Youssou N’Dour’s voice is one of the most distinctive in the Afropop world – half carnival, half call to prayer. A modest band featuring guitar, drums, and accordion brings the beat while allowing the vocals to shine.

The Starkweather Boys – Archer St. Blues (rock)

These guys nail the 1950’s rock sound so well, Chuck Berry himself would be proud. Go beg, borrow, or steal a classic convertible, spin this disc, and go cruising.

hollAnd – Love Fluxus (rock)

Hip, spare rock with way cool electronic support. Quirky, catchy, well-crafted indie pop.

Leni Stern – Africa (world)

Warm jazz guitar and fragile vocals over West African twilight. Choral backup, African Kora, and talking drum help create a distinctive fusion drawing deeply from the subcontinent.

In the blog this week: Blues Traveler, Dylan Soundtrack Redux.

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

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Casual Listening Extra 10-26-07

Casual Listening

Extra!

October 26, 2007

American Idol Contestants Make Good Music

Although I’m proud to say I’ve never seen the show, I’m beginning to think American Idol is a force for good in modern music. Both Carrie Underwood and Bo Bice drop albums this week, and they’re both surprisingly good. The music isn’t especially innovative – Underwood sings country with a rock edge, and Bice sings rock with a country edge – but the singing is fantastic. Singing tends to take a back seat these days to production, so it’s refreshing to hear two artists whose strongest selling point is the raw power of the human voice.

Neil Young – Chrome Dreams II (rock)

Of the many sides of Neil Young, this one taps the vein of straightforward, rootsy rock that’s been his bread and butter for most of his career. There’s nothing here as vulnerable as the Harvest Trilogy, nothing as loud as the glory days of Crazy Horse. Still, he comes through with some decent rockers that’ll satisfy long-time fans.

Ween – La Cucaracha (rock)

Serious music with goofball lyrics. Each song mimics a specific musical style, from 80’s pop to classic country to dub reggae to an acid rock ballad complete with voice modulator. Worthy of a spot on the spoof rock continuum somewhere between Spinal Tap and Dr. Demento.

Casual Listening 10-26-07

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

October 26, 2007

* West Indian Girl – 4^th & Wall (Rock)

Sparkling pop music with choral vocals, slinky synths, and the occasional handclap or tambourine. It’s all the rage these days to pay tribute to the retro pop sound, but West Indian Girl brings the sunshine far stronger than its acclaimed bretheren. Your face will hurt from smiling.

* Robert Plant & Allison Krauss – Raising Sand (rock)

The year’s most unusual collaboration: the frontman from Led Zeppelin, the queen of modern bluegrass, and the producer of “O Brother, Where Art Thou.” Sweet harmonies over folk-rock hidden treasures from the Everly Brothers to the Byrds to Townes Van Zandt. Not every track hits, but those that do are drop-dead gorgeous.

The Family Elan – Stare of Dawn (folk)

Trance folk string band. The group’s sound centers around a lute with a mesmerizing drone that’s halfway between a dulcimer and a sitar. Violin and Mandolin add to a set of extended spiritual jams.

Dwight Yoakam – Dwight sings Buck (country)

One of today’s maverick stars pays tribute to the 60’s country hitmaker. Buck Owens sang catchy songs in an uptempo honky-tonk style which Yoakam ratchets up a notch.

Deep Blue Organ Trio – Folk Songs (jazz)

A classic Hammond organ sound in masterful hands drives this collection of blue jazz grooves. A style that appeals to non-jazz fans as well as aficionados.

Yea Big and Kid Static – Yea Big and Kid Static (rap)

A reminder of all the reasons you started loving hip hop in the first place – crazy beats, clever lyrics, and mischief based on wits, not warfare. The sci-fi motif adds an additional level of nerd-cool.

In the blog this week: American Idol Contestants Make Good Music, Neil Young, Ween.

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

Check out the blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.

Casual Listening Extra 10-19-07

Casual Listening

Extra!

October 19, 2007

Molotov – Eternamiente (Spanish Rock)

The abrasive Mexican punk unit splintered to write their own songs, then duct-taped it all back together for this album. You get a sense of the four personalities that come together to create the band’s sound, although the group sounds more or less interesting depending on who’s responsible for the songs. The back half of this album is where I found the most compelling stuff.

Casual Listening 10-19-07

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

October 19, 2007

* Wayne Gorbea’s Salsa Picante – Introducing Wayne Gorbea’s Salsa Picante (Latin)

Old-school Nuyorican salsa. Before the manicured music you hear nowadays from club DJs came into style, salsa was rough around the edges with big horns and lots of percussion. Wayne Gorbea never stopped playing this style. Crank this and dance around your room. Caliente!

Octopus Project – Hello Avalanche (rock)

Dance-driven electronic pop. The album boasts happy instrumental tracks with a live rhythm section and a lead synthesizer. Sonic soup that’s fun to swim in.

Thrice – The Alchemy Index Vols. I and II: Fire and Water (rock)

Thrice have crafted an album that perfectly balances yin and yang. Six tracks of punk metal fire-themed songs precede a half-dozen ambient water creations. Either side could stand on its own, but it’s the juxtaposition of the two by the same band that makes it remarkable.

Behold…The Arctopus – Skullgrid (rock)

This one’s for all the jazz metal fusion freaks out there – you know who you are. Daring guitar harmonics punctuated with a double-kick drummer help make this album a seamless epic voyage. Challenging, but ultimately a rewarding listen.

In the blog this week: Molotov.

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

Check out the new blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.

Casual Listening Extra 10-12-07

Casual Listening

Extra!

October 12, 2007

How Much Should You Pay for the New Radiohead Album?

6£

It’s a Brit site, so you pay in pounds, which are a fraction past two dollars each. You’ll pay a .45£ service fee, which puts the total at about $12.99. That’s 30% more than what you’d pay for an album on itunes. The music is worth it. Be warned that it’s a little shorter than most new CD’s, with 10 tracks and about 42 minutes of music. It’s still worth it.

Full disclosure: I paid 4.5£, having no idea what the album would sound like.

Casual Listening 10-12-07

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

October 12, 2007

! Radiohead – In Rainbows (rock)

The rock album of the year. The title is apt, and listening is like swimming in a kaleidoscope of sound. Melodies ache across tumbling prisms with stylized drums and arching guitar lines. Multiple listenings each reveal new visions. Mind-altering music.

* Robert Pollard – Standard Gargoyle Decisions and Coast to Coast Carpet of Love (rock)

Pollard is the Pete Townsend of the indie rock world, with an unusual gift for writing songs that are both epic and catchy. Solid rock with a progressive twist. Taking a break from his band Guided by Voices, Pollard releases two albums this week. If you’re a fan, you’ll want them both. If not, flip a coin – you can’t go wrong.

Café Tacvba – SiNo (Spanish rock)

If Talking Heads were Mexican…okay, we won’t go there, but this is impressionistic art-pop that doesn’t take itself too seriously. From revved-up fun-punk to languid ballads, this’ll give you a sense of what the cool kids south of the border are listening to.

The Paschall Brothers – On the Road Right Now (gospel)

A capella gospel. The brothers take pages from the old hymn book and lay them bare with tight 5-part harmonies.

Slidin’ Slim – One Man Riot (blues)

Traditional delta blues slide guitar with distinctly un-traditional arrangements. Samples and electronica make up part of his backing band, yet manage not to distract from some fine fretwork.

In the blog this week: How much should you pay for the new Radiohead album?

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

Check out the new blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.

Casual Listening Extra 10-5-07

Casual Listening

Extra!

October 5, 2007

Bruce Springsteen -- Magic (rock)

The E-Street band is back with big arrangements of mid-tempo guitar rock. Piano, xylophone, and tambourine help to evoke the sound of teenage yesteryear. There’s no top 40 hit here, but plenty of the kind of urban portraits that make Springsteen the musical Norman Rockwell of working-class white America.

Annie Lennox – Songs of Mass Destruction (rock)

The ex-Eurythmics vocalist shares another set of mature songs of the heart. Her band tends toward epic pop, with everything from gospel singing to accordion and strings woven into the mix. The strength of Lennox’s soulful, self-assured singing sells the package.

Casual Listening 10-5-07

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

October 5, 2007

* Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – 100 Days, 100 Nights (soul)

Classic-styled soul so authentic you’d swear you were listening to outtakes from Martha and the Vandellas. Jones is a charismatic frontwoman, and the Dap-Kings are a pitch-perfect R&B machine. If you’ve got a pre-set on your car stereo for the oldies station, you’re gonna love this.

* Chicago Afrobeat Project – A Move to Silent Unrest (world)

Afrobeat is a Nigerian style of jazz-heavy dance music, and Chicago Afrobeat Project brings these deep groves to life stateside. Low saxes and Hammond organ drive a cool, jammy, cosmopolitan sound.

P. J. Harvey – White Chalk (rock)

Spare, haunting, and dark. Harvey’s gauzy soprano steps across simple piano flourishes and brushed drums. Gothic beauty chills like a flower after the first frost.

For The Kids – Three! (kids)

A collection of uber-hip bands doing songs for the younger set. Moby, Of Montreal, and Rogue Wave are among the contributors of original material, as well as familiar tunes. Be prepared for your little one to endlessly repeat Over the Rhine’s chorus of “Poop goes in the potty.”

Aaron Stout – Queens Live in Caskets (rock)

Rootsy, opaque songwriting on a warm blanket of electronoise. Sometimes jarring, but with strong songs and a sound that grows on you. Folk music deconstructed.

Mason Casey – Sofa King Badass (blues)

Turbocharged blues-rock. Casey has a Tom Waits voice that bellows along with electric harmonica and guitar. There’s a wide range of rock, roots, and R&B styles, but the mood is unmistakably blues.

Other good stuff this week: Bruce Springsteen, Annie Lennox. Check the blog for these reviews.

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

Check out the new blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.

Casual Listening Extra 9-28-07

Casual Listening

Extra!

September 28, 2007

Joni Mitchell – Shine (folk)

Like much of Mitchell’s later music, Shine is both personal and inventive. Sadder-but-wiser song-poems still respond with immediacy to the changing world around her. An electronic orchestra supplements her piano and guitar playing.

El Gran Silencio – Serie Verde (Spanish Rock)

Like someone put the Spanish station and the Alternative station too close together on the radio dial so the signals bleed into each other. Rapped lyrics and rock guitars compete with accordion Cumbias, to hip effect.

Casual Listening 9-28-07

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

September 28, 2007

! Herbie Hancock – River: The Joni Letters (jazz)

Moving jazz portraits of Joni Mitchell songs, both hits and hidden treasures. Hancock peels away layer after layer, reminding us just how much music is packed into Mitchell’s tunes. Fantastic guest vocals by Nora Jones, Tina Turner, and Leonard Cohen.

! Chaka Khan – Funk This (R&B)

Wicked syncopation and slow jams from the original funk goddess. A cover of Jimi Hendix’s “Castles Made of Sand” is arguably better than the original. A duet with Mary J. Blige tears the roof off. The new generation of soul singers should take note – this is how it’s done.

* Steve Earle – Washington Square Serenade (rock)

Everything you’ve come to expect from Steve Earle – gutsy vocals, catchy songwriting, pointed satire, and folksy tributes. The arrangements are unexpectedly urbane, with electronic samples scattered among the mandolins. Earle has always been an iconoclast, and seems equally at ease in a New York soundscape as in a Texas one.

* Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog (rock)

Impressionistic story-songs conveyed in muted psychedelic tones. Sitar and bass harmonica are among the acoustic instrumentation supporting a warm voice that’s both dynamic and restrained. A gem.

Jose Gonzalez (folk)

Shhhh. You’ll have to listen closely to catch Gonzalez’ quiet-style singing and guitar playing. Introspective songs help take the edge off late-night solitude.

Bettye LaVette – The Scene of the Crime (soul)

LaVette’s style is uptown blues, something you might find sandwiched between B.B. King and Bobby Blue Bland on the radio of an earlier era. Her voice is aged like fine wine, and she can still belt out heartbreaking soul.

Other great stuff this week: Joni Mitchell, El Gran Silencio. Check the blog for these reviews.

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

Check out the new blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.

Casual Listening 9-21-07

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

September 21, 2007

* Jim Lauderdale – Bluegrass Diaries (bluegrass)

This album is notable for a strength rarely found in bluegrass: songwriting. Had there been steel guitars instead of banjos, this album would be a hit with the big hat crowd, but instead it’s an acoustic breath of fresh air. Don’t be surprised to find yourself with these songs stuck in your head hours after you’re done listening.

* Gloria Estefan – 90 Milas (world)

Classic tropical stylings from the most recognizable Cuban-American voice since Celia Cruz. The songs here span the gamut of Cuban rhythms, from romantic ballads to hot dance numbers. Estefan shows this is still vital music for the 21^st century.

* Akron/Family – Meek Warrior (rock)

Bombastic, psychedelic – the kind of music one would associate with either the creation or the destruction of the universe. Dense drumming, choral singing, and free jazz interludes are used to magical effect. Quieter, acoustic, though no less epic songs are interspersed. Ridiculously exciting music.

* Thurston Moore – Trees Outside the Academy (rock)

Smart, spare indie rock. The Sonic Youth noisemaker goes solo with a well-crafted, melodic set accented by acoustic guitar and violin. Only occasionally does he let his electric guitar off the leash.

Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds – Playlist (easy listening)

If you only have one lite rock album in your collection, make this the one (and really, do you need more than one?). Babyface lends his soothing tenor to soulful covers of James Taylor (“Shower the People,” “Fire and Rain”), Eric Clapton (“Wonderful Tonight”), and Dan Fogelberg (“Longer”).

Dropkick Murphys– Made in the Shade (Celtic rock)

Blustery Celtic-American pop punk. Raucus and fun with loud guitars and bagpipes, this album is good for a shout-along with a pint of Guinness.

Willie Williams – Comet Ride (jazz)

Post-Coltrane tenor sax fireworks. Williams is a compelling soloist, experimental without becoming obtuse. There’s a broad range of moods on this disc, from frenetic to introspective to edgy to sublime. Jazz with something new to say.

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

Check out the new blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.

Also-rans: 50 Cent

Also-rans: 50 Cent

You may notice that I reviewed only half of the week’s cage match between Kanye and 50 Cent. My opinion was that 50’s new album wasn’t worth the bandwith, but after a reader request, I decided to say something.

I’m an occasional fan of rap, and I’ll admit that I have no real interest in gangsta rap. Still, I realize that I need some objective criteria to review a rap album. I’m not ready to write off an entire genre, especially one that has as big an audience as gangsta rap does. So I asked an unbiased listener, my wife, to enumerate for me what she thinks makes a good rap album. Her list pretty well reflects mine:

1. It doesn’t completely offend me
2. It’s got cool beats
3. It has interesting lyrics

So let’s look at the 50 Cent album through this framework.

1. Completely offensive? No. With rap, I try to give some benefit of the doubt, but the disqualifiers in this category would be heavily misogynistic or homophobic lyrics, graphic depictions of torture or pornographic sex without a larger message. The 50 Cent album, at least what I heard of it, doesn’t have any of these. Lots of gun fetishism and sexual innuendo, but overall a lot tamer than I expected.

2.Cool beats? No. This is pretty standard stuff. No irresistible hooks or unusual instrumentation, just a lightly ornamented backbeat.

3. Interesting lyrics? No. No compelling storytelling, or creative twists of phrase, just straightforward boasting, and talking about guns. Even then, you’d hear more interesting rhetoric at an NRA convention.

So the music’s nothing to write home about, and you don’t even have the excuse that it was too graphic. Curtis is a mediocre album.

Casual Listening 9-14-07

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

September 14, 2007

* Kanye West – Graduation (rap)

Believe the hype. This is a fascinating album. Kanye draws from a ridiculously broad palette of sound, from sci-fi dance grooves to Stevie Wonder-style soul, electronics to strings to choral arrangements. Whoever says rap is dead needs to give this one a listen.

* The Go! Team – Proof of Youth (rock)

If the cheerleading squad got together with the marching band to enter your high school Battle of the Bands, it would sound something like the Go! Team. Relentlessly peppy rock-chant with retro guitars, horns, and bushels of percussion. Infectious.

The Turtleduhks – True Lover (folk)

Sweet back-porch music with fiddle, guitar, and banjo. A mix of old-time standards and neo-traditional tunes that’s as good an excuse as any to get the clogging shoes out.

The Red Stick Ramblers – Made in the Shade (Cajun)

A panoply of pan-Louisana stylings: Cajun fiddle tunes, Zydeco, funk-boogie, and anything else that strikes their fancy. Playfully eclectic. Only 5 months till Mardi Gras!

Jonathan Rice – Further North (rock)

Rock-driven Americana that lands near the country side of Wilco. A sometimes loud, sometimes twangy sound supports interesting, albeit dark songwriting.

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

Check out the new blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.

The Onion: Pitchfork Gives Music 6.8

A brilliant skewering of the cooler-than-thou music review site:

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/pitchfork_gives_music_6_8

Casual Listening 9-7-07

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

September 7, 2007

Labor Day week is slow for releases – watch for a raft of blockbusters due next week.

! Dee Dee Bridgewater – Red Earth (world/jazz)

The veteran vocalist draws her latest material and her backing musicians from Mali. Bridgewater’s jazz approaches traditional African music like visiting a cousin, both with interesting stories to share since they last talked. The result does justice to both styles, while opening new horizons through their dialogue. Bridgewater makes it seem natural to trade scat-singing solos with a kora (African harp).

Patti Scialfa – Play it as it Lays (rock)

Raw roots-rock from a whiskey-throated singer. A member of the E Street Band, she could easily slip many of these songs right into their set. Scialfa shows herself a powerful performer in her own right, a name worth remembering more for her bluesy artistry than for being Bruce Springsteen’s wife.

Manu Chao – Radiolina (world)

Manu Chao is a musical nomad, drawing Latin and Reggae influences into a psychedelic rock beat. He manages to sound sexy in Spanish, French, or English, which accounts for his global star power. Groovy stuff.

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

Check out the new blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.

Casual Listening 8-31-07

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

August 31, 2007

*Helen Sung – Sungbird: After Albeniz (jazz/classical)

A brilliant crossover concept from a consummate pianist. Sung’s inspiration is Isaac Albeniz’ suite for solo piano España, which is itself a classical vision of traditional Spanish music. Sung alternates the six original pieces with jazz reinterpretations played with a small combo. Her virtuosity and creativity in both styles are on display, and hearing the two versions back to back deepens the experience of each piece.

* Aesop Rock – None Shall Pass (rap)

Aesop Rock is the musical incarnation of a wildstyle graffiti piece. His lyrics are surreal, often cryptic, yet endlessly compelling. The production is equally intricate, sampling cool jazz, congas, old spoken word records, and scratch vocals.

Sarah Johns – Big Love in a Small Town (country)

The songs from Johns’ debut album may soon end up in endless replay on a country music radio station near you, but don’t let that turn you off to this talented singer. Johns has a freight train of a voice that invokes the great country divas of yesteryear. Plus you get great lyrics like “If you could hold your woman like you hold your whiskey, I’d still be in your arms.”

Atreyu – Lead Sails Paper Anchor (rock)

Atreyu fill their plates at the loud buffet – metal, punk, alternative, and guitar rock. It’s an unlikely meal that somehow goes together well, and leaves you alternately humming along and screaming along.

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

Check out the new blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.

Terry Gross interviews heavy metal stars

Drop whatever you're doing and listen to this week's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. On yesterday's show, she interviewed Rob Halford of Judas Priest and James Hetfield of Metallica. Today is Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin and Steven Tyler of Metallica. Tomorrow is Christopher Guest of Spinal Tap and Gene Simmons of Kiss. If you thought Spinal Tap was outrageous, the real interviews are even more over-the-top. Go to:

http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13&agg=0&prgDate=08-29-2007&view=storyview

Casual Listening 8-24-07

Casual Listening

a review of cool new music

by Jeff Pinzino

August 24, 2007

! Galactic – From the Corner to the Block (funk)

Galactic is proof that New Orleans has a musical future. A brilliant mix of jazz and hip hop, with guest rappers on every track. Rump-shaking funk, with additional background provided by mardi-gras style horn players. Did I mention funky?

* M.I.A. – Kala (world)

Revolutionary dance tracks that draw influences from all over the globe. Snippets of Bollywood, Jamaican dancehall, Techno, and Dijeridoo, to name just a few. Music twenty years ahead of its time.

* Caribou– Andorra (rock)

Sergeant Pepper’s nerdy young Canadian cousin. Fuzzy, psychedelic canvasses glow under gauzy vocals. Dense arrangements augment guitar and drums with flute, tuba, and jingle bells as well as plenty of electronic ear candy.

* The Everybodyfields – Nothing is Okay (country)

Achingly bittersweet Americana accompanied by fiddle and pedal steel guitar. Introspective ballads with gorgeous vocals evoke a late-night loneliness that appeals to both the coffeehouse and the honky-tonk.

S.K.I.P. – Autobiographicology (rap)

A fresh re-envisioning of hip hop with drum & bass electronic backdrops and intelligent lyrics that are equal parts personal and political.

Poets & Pornstars – Poets & Pornstars (rock)

Classic rock revivalists that really rock. Great songs played on screaming guitars. Mullet optional.

* highly recommended

! highest recommendation

Check out the new blog at http://casuallistening.blogspot.com . To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to jeffpinzino@gmail.com.