tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57591461570940328852024-02-20T03:50:18.218-06:00Casual ListeningA review of cool new musicJeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.comBlogger188125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-87797169462941119052010-02-25T22:01:00.004-06:002010-02-25T22:07:09.780-06:00MOVING ON UP<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:180%;">CASUAL LISTENING IS MOVING ON UP<br /><br />(moooo-vin' on up!)<br /><br /><br />TO THE SKY<br /><br />(we're a-movin' on up!)<br /><br /><br />TO A DE-LUXE NEW WEBSITE, AT:<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://casuallistening.com/">http://casuallistening.com</a><br /></span><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com55tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-9026483799557883982010-02-18T21:55:00.000-06:002010-02-18T21:56:32.201-06:00Casual Listening - Nick Curran and the Lowlifes, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Dessa<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2010" day="19" month="2"><b style="">February 19, 2010</b></st1:date><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">I think we’ll be ready to launch the new website in a week.<span style=""> </span>Expect a slew of special features as a kind of Grand Opening.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Nick Curran and the Lowlifes – Reform School Girl</b> (rock)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the beginning, there was Rock & Roll.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Before the art form got micro-marketed as classic rock, shoegazer, dream pop, and a hundred others, there was one sound that set the world on its ear.<span style=""> </span>That’s the sound Nick Curran plays with uncompromising energy.<span style=""> </span>You can hear echoes of Little Richard in Curran’s bluesy shout, and the rhythm drives hard underneath.<span style=""> </span>There’s even enough edge in the lyrics to make parents nervous.<span style=""> </span>Curran drinks deeply from the source of rock & roll, and listening gives you the same rebellious thrill that launched a cultural revolution almost 60 years ago.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Nick Curran and the Lowlifes “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6554946&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Tough Lover</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Preservation Hall Jazz Band – Preservation </b>(jazz)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The kings of New Orleans-style hot jazz team up with a slew of name artists for charity.<span style=""> </span>Tom Waits, Merle Haggard, and Ani DiFranco are all here, but it’s Andrew Bird’s whistling solo that steals the show.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Preservation Hall Jazz Band with Andrew Bird “<a href="http://lala.com/zEL0">Shake it and Break it</a>” <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Dessa – A Badly Broken Code </b>(rap)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Dessa’s hip-hop persona is stripped of braggadocio, leaving clear stories told in straightforward language.<span style=""> </span>Breakbeats are layered with eccentric instruments (hammered dulcimer, bassoon) to surprisingly hip effect.<span style=""> </span>Dessa’s rap won’t sell sneakers, but it has the potential to inspire a thousand young street poets.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Dessa “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6554961&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Children’s Work</a>” <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Jaga Jazzist – One-Armed Bandit </b>(jazz)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">These Norwegian fusionistas are advancing the flag of jazz without limits.<span style=""> </span>Broad instrumental range – electric guitar, flute, marimba, harpsichord, electronics – wash in a tidal wave of jazz-rock instrumentals.<span style=""> </span>Shifting keys and time signatures bring complexity to songs that still have clear hooks – M.C. Escher in sound.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Jaga Jazzist “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6554988&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">One-Armed Bandit</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Joyo Velarde – Love & Understanding</b> (R&B)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Velarde’s debut draws heavily from 70’s funk and soul – lush and occasionally psychedelic orchestration.<span style=""> </span>Her voice is impassioned both with romantic love songs, and love-the-world songs.<span style=""> </span>There’s a lot of hope in her music.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Joyo Velarde “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6554995&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Build This World</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-62366793232090959882010-02-11T22:24:00.001-06:002010-02-11T22:24:58.228-06:00Casual Listening - Abdullah Ibrahim, Galactic, My Name is Khan<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2010" day="12" month="2"><b style="">February 12, 2010</b></st1:date><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">First things first.<span style=""> </span>For those whose hearts are with the protesters in Iran tonight, there’s a new recording by Iranian-Canadian band Blurred Focus of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall.”<span style=""> </span>Check it out <a href="http://www.blurredvisionmusic.com/">here</a>.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Abdullah Ibrahim – Bombella</b> (jazz)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ibrahim is the most important jazz musician you’ve never heard of.<span style=""> </span>A South African talent who found a patron in Duke Ellington, his musical style rolled with the changes in jazz through the 1960’s and 70’s.<span style=""> </span>Now back with a big band, his clear sense of melody and skillful use of a huge horn section would do Ellington proud.<span style=""> </span>Ibrahim’s compositions are joyous, and the band really swings.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Abdullah Ibrahim “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6544878&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Bombella</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Galactic – Ya-Ka-May </b>(funk)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">No city has given more to the evolution of funk than <st1:city><st1:place>New Orleans</st1:place></st1:city> – Professor Longhair, Dr. John, The Meters, and now Galactic.<span style=""> </span>Freely mixing jazz, hip hop, soul, and Mardi Gras brass band music, the group’s sound is downright stanky.<span style=""> </span>A who’s who of Big Easy players in all those styles fills out the album.<span style=""> </span><st1:city><st1:place>New Orleans</st1:place></st1:city> is celebrating this week – join the party.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Galactic “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6544889&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Boe Money</a>” featuring Rebirth Brass Band<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* My Name is Khan – Original Soundtrack </b>(world)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Judging from the previews, this movie is a powerful statement about post-9/11 <st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>; judging from the soundtrack, we’re looking at a Bollywood music sensation that’s about to infect two continents.<span style=""> </span>Some of the best voices and arrangers in the industry are here, and the Islamic themes give deep spiritual overtones to several of the songs.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Rashid Khan “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6544895&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Allah Hi Rahim</a>” from My Name is Khan<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Tecupae – Tiempo </b>(Latin)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Tecupae is driving a new sound that incorporates the groovy accordion of Venezuelan Vallenato music into Latin pop and rock-en-español stylings.<span style=""> </span>It’s a potent mix that earns the band a place alongside other Latin rock crowdpleasers like Los Lonely Boys.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Tecupae “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6544918&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Amor Chiquitico</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Living Corpse – Metaphysical Collapse</b> (metal)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Seriously heavy, and seriously listenable.<span style=""> </span>Power chords and a driving double-kick-drum serve as musical lifelines that carry you through the volcanic fury.<span style=""> </span>Some slower passages give emotional contrast.<span style=""> </span>Shouted vocals provide energy without stealing focus, even if the lyrics are unintelligible.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Living Corpse “<a href="http://lala.com/zqXp">Metaphysical Collapse</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Josh Turner – Haywire </b>(country)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Turner’s full-on bass vocals and honky-tonk tendencies distinguish this album from the pop country masses.<span style=""> </span>Kick back and enjoy this easy ride.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Josh Turner “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6544938&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Why Don’t We Just Dance</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-12849545417797962852010-02-04T23:13:00.001-06:002010-02-04T23:15:05.284-06:00Casual Listening wins 5 Grammys, plus Bassekou Kouyate, Bela Fleck, Yo-Yo Ma<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2010" day="5" month="2"><b style="">February 5, 2010</b></st1:date><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Casual Listening Wins 5 Grammys<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">While the Grammy voters are notorious for choosing star power over musical integrity, the down-ballot categories tend to be a reasonable benchmark for how much quality and diversity of music you can find on Casual Listening.<span style=""> </span>The following grammy winners had garnered a starred review or better here when they were first released:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Best Regional Mexican Album: Vicente Fernandez – Necesito de Ti</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Best <st1:city><st1:place>Americana</st1:place></st1:city> Album: Levon Helm – Electric Dirt</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Best <st1:place>Bluegrass</st1:place> Album: Steve Martin – The Crow</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Best Contemporary World Music Album: Bela Fleck – Throw Down Your Heart</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Best Musical Album for Children: Ziggy Marley – Family Time</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Anyone can turn you on to Beyonce, but Vicente Fernandez?<span style=""> </span>That’s what we’re here for.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba – I Speak Fula</b> (world)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">How do you say “guitar god” in Fula?<span style=""> </span>The ngoni is an ancestor of the banjo native to <st1:country-region><st1:place>Mali</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and Kouyate leads a band full of them.<span style=""> </span>The rhythms are devastating, and multiple vocalists give elegant contrast to the furious strings.<span style=""> </span>This album will be 2010’s must-hear world music album.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6534291&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Musow (For Our Women)</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Bela Fleck – Throw Down Your Heart: </b><st1:place><b style="">Africa</b></st1:place><b style=""> Sessions Part 2 </b>(world)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A welcome companion to <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/2009/12/casual-listening-best-of-decade-2k-d1.html">last year’s must-hear world music album</a>.<span style=""> </span>This and the first should be considered a complete set, with volume 2 containing more music from the movie, more field recordings, and more studio tracks from the African voyage of the world’s most versatile banjoist.<span style=""> </span>More mind-opening, world-shrinking, jaw-dropping musical collaborations.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Bela Fleck “Salam Aleikum” available only at his website <a href="http://www.belafleck.com/">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma, & Itzhak Perlman – Mendelssohn Piano Trios </b>(classical)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">While I’m not expert enough on Mendelssohn to do this recording justice, it’s worth checking out just to hear three of the most accomplished musicians of our age playing together.<span style=""> </span>The second trio in particular has some exquisite moments.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6534328&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">II – Andante Espressivo</a>” from Piano Trio No. 2<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Kasper Fredhom Groove Syndrome – Naked Brunch </b>(jazz)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Wicked jazz-funk that’d be at home on the shelf next to Herbie Hancock’s <i style="">Headhunters.</i><span style=""> </span>Electric organ, sax, guitar, drums, and smoky female vocals put the band in the shades-at-midnight coolness league.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Kasper Fredhom Groove Syndrome “<a href="http://lala.com/zqZQ">Naked Brunch</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Akai – The Coldest Hour (Is Just Before Dawn) </b>(rock)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sprinkle your ipod with fairy dust.<span style=""> </span>Gossamer pop-rock with piano, glockenspiel, and reverb-heavy harmonies.<span style=""> </span>Tight, sweet tunes hold the package together.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Akai “<a href="http://lala.com/zaasI">Satellite</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-75361574750142232262010-01-28T23:32:00.001-06:002010-01-28T23:32:55.673-06:00Casual Listening - Corinne Bailey Rae, Four Tet, Eric Bibb<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapedefaults ext="edit" spidmax="1026"> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapelayout ext="edit"> <o:idmap ext="edit" data="1"> </o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2010" day="29" month="1"><b style="">January 29, 2010</b></st1:date><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Corinne Bailey Ray – The Sea</b> (rock)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Writing a convincing love song is almost as hard as love itself.<span style=""> </span>Corinne Bailey Ray makes it sound impossibly easy.<span style=""> </span>She lends a perfectly bittersweet delivery to this collection of pop-soul beauties.<span style=""> </span>Impressionistic guitars and tasteful use of strings makes this feel already like a classic.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Corinne Bailey Ray “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6523354&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Are You Here?’</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Four Tet – There is Love in You </b>(electronic)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This is electronic artistry designed for headphones, not the dance floor.<span style=""> </span>Four Tet employs a warm, clean palate of slowly shifting sounds reminiscent of bells, chimes, cymbals, and voices.<span style=""> </span>Four Tet’s music is utilitarian in the best sense, a slow-turning kaleidoscope that gently agitates your mind.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Four Tet “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6523356&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Circling</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Eric Bibb – Booker’s Guitar </b>(blues)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">For a bluesman, having a chance to touch the strings of the guitar of a musical ancestor like Booker (Bukka) White is a fairy tale come true.<span style=""> </span>Eric Bibb was inspired enough by the experience to write an album’s worth of fables.<span style=""> </span>He channels ancient spirits into new blues, and the emotional power is palpable.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Eric Bibb “<a href="http://lala.com/zrKvI">With My Maker I Am One</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Pat Metheny – Orchestrion </b>(jazz)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Metheny ups the instrumental ante in wiring an orchestra like a player piano.<span style=""> </span>His jazz fusion guitar riffs still cascade over the top, but the breadth of sound possibilities available make these recordings stand out.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Pat Metheny“<a href="http://lala.com/zlBw">Orchestrion</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">And see the Orchestrion in action <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIZ2Ldrr5ok">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Youssou N’Dour – Music From The Motion Picture “I Bring What I Love” </b>(world)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">One of the most famous voices in world music finally gets his close-up on the silver screen.<span style=""> </span>The soundtrack puts his Senegalese pop in a more deliberately global setting, which N’Dour takes in stride.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to “<a href="http://lala.com/zaasI">Mame Bamba/Touba - Daru Salaam</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Cyrille Aimee & Diego Figueiredo – Smile </b>(jazz)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A reminder of the power of a simple voice and guitar.<span style=""> </span>Aimee has tremendous vocal control, and Figueiredo’s guitar is powerful yet understated.<span style=""> </span>Cabaret, Bossa Nova, and jazz standards all rub elbows comfortably here.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Cyrille Aimee & Diego Figueiredo “<a href="http://lala.com/zaasI">La Vie En Rose</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Citay – Dream Get Together </b>(rock)<b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’m risking my critic’s credibility in admitting that I love a good jam band.<span style=""> </span>Citay is one of the best I’ve heard in a long while.<span style=""> </span>Acoustically based with vocal harmonies and a swirl of psychedelic classic rock.<span style=""> </span>This band deserves their own Ben & Jerry’s flavor.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Citay “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6523424&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Return From Silence</a>”</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It’s an amazing week for music, and I’ve just scratched the surface.<span style=""> </span>Great stuff also out by Patty Griffin, Magnetic Fields, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Fredrik, Lady Antebellum, Never Shout Never, Basement Jaxx, Brooklyn Rider, Gorevette.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-13958872426187296292010-01-21T22:21:00.000-06:002010-01-21T22:22:06.431-06:00Casual Listening - Eels, Makoto Ozone, Sizzla<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2010" day="15" month="1"><b style="">January 15, 2010</b></st1:date><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Eels – End Times</b> (rock)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Heaven help us if the end of the world sounds this beautiful.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>The songwriting sparkles like diamonds intentionally left in the rough.<span style=""> </span>Simple guitar on some tracks, pedal steel and electronics fill in behind the band on others.<span style=""> </span>The apocalyptic theme that runs through this song cycle works to intensify a sense of nostalgia and isolation.<span style=""> </span>Above all, these are songs that will bear a hundred listens without getting old.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Eels “<a href="http://lala.com/z3vt">End Times’</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Makoto Ozone featuring No Name Horses – Jungle </b>(jazz)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Listening to a great big band is one of the true pleasures of jazz.<span style=""> </span>Ozone’s manages to do it all – heavy swing, sizzling mambo, and several modern compositions that show the potential of the form to cover new ground.<span style=""> </span>Big brass, lots of percussion, and fluid piano work from Ozone.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Makoto Ozone “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6512258&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Coconuts Meeting</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Sizzla – Crucial Times </b>(reggae)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sunny Jamaican roots music with a heavy dose of Rastafarian devotion.<span style=""> </span>Electric organ and saxes bounce along with Sizzla’s rubberband voice, along with a couple of tracks with more experimental settings. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Sizzla “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6512300&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Precious Gift</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Tracy Thornton – Steel Drum Fever </b>(world)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Carnival time is coming, and in <st1:place>Trinidad</st1:place>, that means steel drum bands playing in the streets.<span style=""> </span>This is a representative set of Calypso and other party music that’ll help melt away the snow.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Tracy Thornton“<a href="http://lala.com/zZyVI">Bum Shaker</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-2021448240596616952010-01-14T23:03:00.001-06:002010-01-14T23:06:16.338-06:00Casual Listening - Vampire Weekend, La Otrabanda,<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2010" day="15" month="1"><b style="">January 15, 2010</b></st1:date><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Vampire Weekend – Contra</b> (world)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* La Otrabanda – </b><st1:city><st1:place><b style="">Pueblo</b></st1:place></st1:city><b style=""> Vivo/Vibrant People</b> (world)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Two impressive releases with a cosmopolitan vibe bode well for new directions in global fusion.<span style=""> </span>Vampire Weekend combines pop instincts and bouncy energy with southern African rhythms and guitar styles.<span style=""> </span>La Otrabanda combines Venezuelan, American, and a smattering of other musical traditions to create a sound with mellower, dreamier grooves.<span style=""> </span>Vampire Weekend’s production is expansive, including tasteful electronics alongside xylophones, assorted percussion, occasional strings and a core of guitar/bass/drums.<span style=""> </span>La Ortrabanda isn’t far behind, with a rock band augmented by acoustic guitar, cuatro, percussion, and even bagpipes on one tune.<span style=""> </span>Both of these represent the possibility of adventurous sounds infiltrating unsuspecting American ears.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Vampire Weekend “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6501408&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">White Sky</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to La Otrabanda “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6501406&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Indigenas</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Ray Wylie Hubbard – A. Enlightenment<span style=""> </span>B. Endarkenment (Hint: There Is No C) </b>(country)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Hubbard’s is the <st1:city><st1:place>Americana</st1:place></st1:city> of fallen angels.<span style=""> </span>He’s drawn to the redemption of old gospel hymns, but is more at home with hard-living blues and honky-tonk.<span style=""> </span>His sound digs deep in the gutbucket with bottleneck slide, blue harmonica, and a voice with edges like a chainsaw.<span style=""> </span>His lyrics reveal a literary mind and a barroom brawler’s fists.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Ray Wylie Hubbard “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6501423&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Drunken Poet’s Dream</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Sean Corbett – Keep On Walkin’</b> (R&B)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Louisiana-style keyboard funk that’d give Dr. John himself a mischevious grin.<span style=""> </span>Horns and backup singers build a thick sound over a rhythm section that cooks.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Sean Corbett “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6501432&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Keep On Walkin’</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">T-Model Ford – The Ladies Man</b> (blues)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">T-Model is one of the last of the backwoods bluesmen, and on this album delivers a stripped-down acoustic set that’s miles deep.<span style=""> </span>If Lightnin’ <st1:city><st1:place>Hopkins</st1:place></st1:city> were still around, he’d be making albums like this one.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to T-Model Ford “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6501441&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Two Trains</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-2730177326806167052010-01-07T21:14:00.000-06:002010-01-07T21:16:37.242-06:00Casual Listening -- The Real Sound of Chicago, 2009 Playlist<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} p {mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2010" day="8" month="1"><b style="">January 8, 2010</b></st1:date><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">One new review, and a new year’s treat.<span style=""> </span>The website is almost ready – I’ll let you know when the grand opening is happening.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! The Real Sound of </b><st1:city><st1:place><b style="">Chicago</b></st1:place></st1:city><b style="">: Underground Disco From The </b><st1:place><st1:placename><b style="">Windy</b></st1:placename><b style=""> </b><st1:placetype><b style="">City</b></st1:placetype></st1:place> (dance)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Stop me if you’ve heard this one…an underground musical movement emerges in the 1970’s in response to the banality of what rock music had become.<span style=""> </span>Kids everywhere responded to the new do-it-yourself ethic by picking up guitars and putting music on wax, if for no one else than their friends and the few die-hard fans who’d show up at a club and listen.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This is disco???<span style=""> </span>More than you’d imagine, and this collection brings together the best of the forgotten disco bands of one city in that era.<span style=""> </span>Four-on-the-floor beats, slap-and-pop bass, big orchestral arrangements, and a surprising amount of artistry.<span style=""> </span>At its best, disco is the progressive evolution of funk, and this is disco at its best.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to samples from The Real Sound of </i><st1:city><st1:place><i style="">Chicago</i></st1:place></st1:city><i style=""> <a href="http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Ap2om967okeq1&emc=lm&m=699055&l=23&v=1201754">here</a>, including “Too Far Gone” and “Open Soul”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Casual Listening 2009 playlist</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">People will argue whether these songs are the best of the year, but these are the songs that I’ll remember the year by.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to the full playlist on Rhapsody <a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6490283&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">And here’s what’s on it:<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">2009 Playlist</span></b> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">1. Invisible Cities – NOMO</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">2. Saudades de Manezinho Araujo – Forro in the Dark</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">3. Soul do Samba – Marcio Local</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">4. Sounsouomba – Oumou Sangare</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">5. Kalemba (Wegue–Wegue) – Buraka Som Sistema</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">6. Frenzy – Bobby Sanabria</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">7. Quiet Dog – Mos Def</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">8. The Spirit vs. the Kick Drum – Derek Webb</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">9. Give Blood – Rain Machine</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">10. The Passenger – Art Brut</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">11. Electric Twist – A Fine Frenzy</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">12. Mama’s Little Baby – Delbert McClinton</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">13. Don’t Lie Down – Round Mountain</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">14. Throw Down Your Heart – Bela Fleck</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">15. <st1:city><st1:place>Winnipeg</st1:place></st1:city> – Chris Pandolfi</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">16. Williamine – Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">17. Such <st1:place><st1:placename>Great</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Heights</st1:placetype></st1:place> – Iron & Wine</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">18. Goodbye – Tingsek </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-61412867596752055962009-12-18T00:07:00.000-06:002009-12-18T00:08:05.626-06:00Casual Listening - Best of the Decade (2K-D1)<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Tahoma; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1627421319 -2147483648 8 0 66047 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} p {mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2009" day="18" month="12"><b style="">December 18, 2009</b></st1:date><b style=""> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Here’s what’s left of the end-of-the-year calendar:<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Dec 18: The best of the decade<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Dec 25 & Jan 1: No reviews, possibly some special features<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Jan 8: Launch of the new casuallistening.com<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Best of the Decade (2K-D1)<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">1. Kanye West – Late Registration</b> (rap)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">If the story of music in the last 10 years was the switch from the "we culture" of radio and record stores to the iCulture of the digital download, the moral is that we've lost any sort of common musical reference point. Except one: Kanye West. I dare you to find someone other than your grandmother who escaped hearing "Gold Digger" this decade (your grandma may surprise you, too), and I dare you to find any other song this decade that would pass that test.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Beyond this, Kanye's music represents a renaissance in hip hop. Aesthetically, it raised the bar for production, introducing a new "wall of sound" that drew heavily on classic soul as well as electronic music. Lyrically, it broke the stranglehold of gangsta rap, unmasking and embracing the music as the province of nerdy Black kids far more than actual thugs. Kanye is responsible for defining the <st1:place><st1:placename>Chicago</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>School</st1:placetype></st1:place> of hip hop, which inspired artists such as Lupe Fiasco and Rhymefest as well as rejuvenating older heads like Common through brilliant production work. All this in addition to Kanye's production work on several definitive albums by Jay-Z. </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Kanye has given us some of the most enduring pop music of the decade, with indelible hooks set against exquisite sonic backdrops. There's a musical complexity to much of his work that will be rewarding listeners for decades more.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Kanye West “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6453132&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Touch the Sky</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Honorable Mention: Common – Be; Lupe Fiasco –<span style=""> </span>Food & Liquor; Jay-Z – The Black Album; Q-Tip – The Renaissance, <span style=""> </span>Outkast – Stankonia<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">2. Green Day - American Idiot</b> (rock)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">By the middle of the decade, the absurdity of the Bush years was beginning to collapse on itself: two failed wars, torture scandals, and a hurricane made worse by government ineptitude. All this the result of an administration that was democratically elected. Twice.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">There was only one possible response, and although the album wasn't explicitly a political rallying cry, young <st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> embraced it as such. American Idiot became a giant upturned middle finger to the Bush administration and all those who blindly supported it. That it came from a punk band was fitting, although in 30 years punk has only turned out a handful of pop anthems of this magnitude.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">American Idiot is driving energy, tuneful melodies, and tight vocal harmonies.<span style=""> </span>Green Day manages to create a more penetrating sound than seems possible for a 3-piece guitar band.<span style=""> </span>Slower pieces like “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and “Wake Me Up When September Ends” take the same core thread of alienation and pull it inward.<span style=""> </span>This album will be remembered as the one that captured the zeitgeist of the Bush years, tied it to a tree, and drove a stake through its heart.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Green Day “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6453155&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">American Idiot</a>” <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Honorable Mention: Radiohead – In Rainbows; Bruce Springsteen – The Rising; The White Stripes –</i> <i style="">Red Blood Cells; TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain; Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">3. Bela Fleck – Throw Down Your Heart </b>(world)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Barack Obama won the Nobel peace prize because people around the world heard him – and <st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> by extension – speaking in their own languages, whether quoting from the Qur'an, Chinese proverbs, or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.<span style=""> </span>Bela Fleck is our musical Obama, one of the few musicians with the musicianship and the desire to have a dialogue with nearly anyone on the globe.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Throw Down Your Heart may be the strongest statement of American engagement with the world community since Paul Simon's <st1:place>Graceland</st1:place>. It's a banjo travelogue to the land where the instrument was born, notable because most of the songs here are not a fusion of east and west, but rather Fleck playing fundamentally African music with African musicians. He navigates about a dozen distinct styles in five countries brilliantly and with minimal rehearsal time. Even more than the virtuosity of Fleck's playing, we are witness to the depth of his listening.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">As with Obama's Nobel, Fleck represents the possibility of a new relationship with the world, if not yet its full realization. This is still cause for celebration. We have on our hands the kind of global cultural ambassador <st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region> hasn’t seen since Dizzy Gillespie, with the talent and grace to take a seat at the global jam session.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i style="">Listen to Bela Fleck “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6453197&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Zawose</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i style="">Honorable Mention: M.I.A. – Kala; Amadou & Mariam – Dimanche e Bamako, Mariza – Fado Curvo; Antibalas – Talkatif; Manu Chao – Proxima Estación: Esperanza<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">4. <span style="">Sufjan Stevens – </span></b><st1:state><st1:place><b>Illinois</b></st1:place></st1:state><b> </b>(folk)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The surprise of the decade in folk music was who was playing it – namely young musicians, including a lot of barefoot guys with big beards. The generational shift is as profound as the folk revival of the 1960's, when the <st1:place>Greenwich Village</st1:place> kids reconfigured old American music for an urban scene. The stylistic shift in this decade has been equally profound, with the new music sounding as different from Bob Dylan as Dylan sounded from Blind Willie McTell.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Stevens is of this group, but brings a classical sensibility to his art. He's drawn to paint grand orchestral narratives of The American People, shot through with populist, pastoral aspirations, tempered with the post-modern self-consciousness that such grandiosity is drastically out-of-vogue. He is Aaron Copland for a new Millennium.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">"<st1:state><st1:place>Illinois</st1:place></st1:state>" is a pastiche of culture and kitsch, a wax museum where Carl Sandburg stands beside the Superman statue from downstate Metropolis. Woven through this landscape are intensely personal narratives. "Casimir Pulaski Day" is representative: known to <st1:state><st1:place>Illinois</st1:place></st1:state> schoolchildren less as a Polish heritage celebration than a gift of state-sanctioned hookey, it becomes a song about the day Stevens must come to grips with the death of a lover. With grief and memory tightly spun over a simple melody, the effect is breathtaking.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Sufjan Stevens “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6453213&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Casimir Pulaski Day</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>Honorable Mention: Various Artists – O Brother Where Art Thou (soundtrack); Iron & Wine – Around the Well; Nickel Creek – This Time; Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">5. Johnny Cash – The Man Comes Around </b>(country)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">At a time of growing Balkanization in the world of country music, Johnny Cash was the one figure that inspired everybody. His late recordings are a remarkable document of man dealing with the reality of his own death. Under the guiding hand of producer Rick Rubin, Cash began putting on tape as much music as he could manage. He sang folk standards and church hymns, pop chestnuts, murder ballads, and a handful of songs made popular by much younger musicians. </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The Man Comes Around shows both the range and depth of Cash’s late work. From the apocalyptic prophesy of the title track to the unexpected tenderness of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" to the devastating honesty of "Hurt," he holds nothing back.<span style=""> </span>The deep tremor of his voice – pained, hopeful, determined – turns every song to gold.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">These recordings are a hope chest for the ages. In preparing it, Cash became an American Folk Hero. He played to beat the steam drill, and victorious, he laid down his guitar and he died.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Johnny Cash “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6453240&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Hurt</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="">Honorable Mention: Chuck Ragan & Austin Lucas – Bristle Ridge; Lucinda Williams – World Without Tears; Loretta Lynn – Van Lear Rose; Steve Earle – Jerusalem</span><o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">6.</b> <b>Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble – Black Unstoppable </b>(jazz)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">While many jazz veterans are still making innovative music, the untold story of this decade is that many of the most important young lions are women. The best-selling new jazz artist of the decade is Norah Jones, while the most critically acclaimed new voice is Esperanza Spaulding. Both have real talent that has yet to find full expression. Nicole Mitchell is the rising star of this decade that actually produced a masterpiece.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Black Unstoppable acknowledges the broad inheritance that is Black music, with aural nods to blues, gospel, Motown, and classic jazz, as well as the avant-garde with which Mitchell is most closely identified. Her vision is a profoundly feminist one, a rarity in a field where even the most talented female musicians rely on conventional love ballads.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">She has the confidence of a lion, with muscular themes that become the basis for free improvisation. Alongside the most challenging pieces are passages haunting in their simplicity – the final riff of “Thanking the Universe” seems to linger in your ears for hours after the final note has gone silent. Mitchell's is a bold and beautiful vision, the new shape of jazz to come.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Nicole Mitchell “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6453311&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Thanking the Universe</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Honorable Mention: Herbie Hancock – River: The Joni Letters , Dave Holland – What Goes Around; Dianne Reeves – Good Night and Good Luck (soundtrack); Ornette Coleman – Sound Grammar<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">7. <span style="">Mavis Staples – Live: Hope at the Hideout </span></b>(gospel)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">It's a matter of cosmic symbolism that this album was released on election day, 2008. The spirituals that gave courage to the civil rights movement seemed to be finding their fulfillment that day. While Mavis Sings "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize" and adds "We're going to get that prize!" election returns showed Americans turning over at least a piece of that prize to a Black President. One can't help but feel goosebumps all through this record.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Staples had developed this project a year earlier with guitarist and producer Ry Cooder for the album "We'll Never Turn Back." Although the Cooder arrangements have stayed, the sound is exponentially better without him, trading the pristine studio for a flesh-and-blood audience. The call-and-response, as well as Mavis' storytelling, is as captivating as the songs themselves.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">One election can't fix the world. We're going to need the courage of these songs for years to come.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Mavis Staples “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6453324&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Eyes on the Prize</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Honorable Mention: Mike Farris – Salvation in Lights</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">8. The </b><st1:place><span style=""><b>Silk Road</b></span></st1:place><b> Ensemble – New Impossibilities </b>(classical)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Twentieth-century classical music broke down nearly every remaining aesthetic barrier attached to the art form. What distinguishes the 21st century so far is the breaking of cultural barriers. From the recognition of composers such as Osvaldo Golijov and Tan Dun to the buzz over Gustavo Dudamel's premiere with the L.A. Symphony, it's clear that the classical idiom is no longer exclusively Western art.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The Silk Road Ensemble exemplifies this trend, breaking cultural barriers through most of the decade. Led by renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the ensemble features virtuoso players on a number of Eastern instruments - Sheng, Pi-pa, Koto, Tabla and others. While each of the ensemble's recordings break new ground, the collaboration with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra covers the broadest stylistic range, as well as showing the creative possibilities of this music in conventional classical performance.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The <st1:place>Silk Road</st1:place> is itself a powerful symbol of what this music represents, the name referring to the legendary trade route across <st1:place>Asia</st1:place> connecting <st1:place>Europe</st1:place> and the <st1:place>Far East</st1:place>. It speaks of pan-Asian continuity, relations built on exchange rather than colonialism, and a metaphorical crossroads of history, wealth, and culture. The <st1:place>Silk Road</st1:place> journey is the artistic paradigm of the new millennium.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to </i><st1:place><i>Silk Road</i></st1:place><i> Ensemble “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6453375&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Ambush From Ten Sides</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Honorable Mention: John Adams – On the Transmigration of Souls; Osvaldo Golijov – La Pasion Segun San Marcos; John Williams – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (soundtrack)<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="">9. </span><span style="">Daddy Yankee – Barrio Fino</span></b> (Latin)</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">It's a rare treat to watch an entire new style of music emerge. The mix of dancehall reggae and North American rap known as Reggaeton had its passport stamped in Panama, Puerto Rico, and the United States (among other places) on its way to becoming a hemispheric if not global phenomenon. Reggaeton blew up mid-decade to the point where there were entire radio stations playing nothing but. That fever has subsided, but the influence of the music is still strong in rap and rap-en-espanol, while the most prominent Reggaeton artists are still making records and touring.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Daddy Yankee was the first artist to go Big with a capital B, and this was the album that did it. You'll hear the quintessential stutter-step beat, hyper-masculine boasting, and wickedly addictive hooks on “Gasolina.” Yankee's convincing bad-boy personality and biting delivery help distinguish him from the crowd of performers who drove this sound throughout the decade.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Daddy Yankee “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6453394&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Gasolina</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Honorable Mention: Vicente Fernandez – Primera Fila, Chicha Libre – Sonido Amazonico; Paulina Rubio – Pau-Latina; Café Tacuba – Cuatro Caminos</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">10. <span style="">Bruce Springsteen – We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions </span></b>(kids)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The last ten years saw a proliferation of kids albums, often by alternative rockers who now have young kids of their own. The vast majority of this music will be forgotten. To get a sense of what may endure, strip away all the clever cookies-and-naptime lyrics. If the raw music can hold the kids' (and parents') attention, you've got a keeper. By this test, much of the best music for kids you'll find in other categories in the virtual record store.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Springsteen's Seeger Sessions succeeds for the same reason that Seeger's music has succeeded for going-on-70 years: time-tested songs delivered with a palpable sense of joy. In Springsteen's case, a fifteen-piece band gives this recording the feel of an old-time hootenanny. There's also the satisfaction of exposing kids to several American classics, including "O Mary Don't You Weep'' and "We Shall Overcome." Pete Seeger's music made the generational leap, as I'm now playing my childhood records for my own kids; I'm hoping Springsteen makes the leap for my kids’ kids thirty years from now.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Bruce Springsteen “<a href="http://www.lala.com/#album/504684633536101024/Bruce_Springsteen/We_Shall_Overcome_The_Seeger_Sessions_American_Land_Edition">Jacob’s Ladder</a>”</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Honorable Mention: Elizabeth Mitchell – You Are My Little Bird; Ellis Paul – The Dragonfly Races; They Might Be Giants – Here Comes Science<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-38460267536683290182009-12-10T23:41:00.001-06:002009-12-10T23:41:59.339-06:00Casual Listening - Best of 2009<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date month="12" day="11" year="2009"><b style="">December 11, 2009</b></st1:date><b style=""> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">In addition to the year-end special features, check the blog for some additional stocking-stuffers.<span style=""> </span>This week it’s the top ten kids albums by guest reviewer Lee Winkelman, a special guest review of the Bob Dylan Christmas album by Steve McManus, and more greatest misses by Rain Machine and Cedric Watson.<span style=""> </span>Here’s the end-of the year lineup:<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Dec 11: The best of 2009<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Dec 18: The best of the decade<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Dec 25 & Jan 1: No reviews, possibly some special features<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Jan 8: Launch of the new casuallistening.com<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Best Albums of 2009<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">(All reviews as they originally appeared)<b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">1. Bela Fleck – Throw Down Your Heart </b>(world)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Some albums require more than three sentences to really understand. Today, I have an essay about Bela Fleck's "Throw Down Your Heart" on the Pop Matters website. You can read the full article <a href="http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/72762-full-circle-bela-fleck-paul-simon-and-americas-return-to-the-world-co/">here</a>.
<br />
<br />And then there's the music. To my ears, it's one of the most significant world music releases since Paul Simon's <st1:place>Graceland</st1:place>. Check out the album <a href="http://www.lala.com/#album/1657606138647288006">here</a>. There is also a documentary of Bela Fleck's travels to <st1:place>Africa</st1:place> that's racking up prizes at film festivals. You can find out more about the film and when it may be coming to your town <a href="http://www.throwdownyourheart.com/">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Bela Fleck “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6440151&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Wairenziante</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">2. NOMO – Invisible Cities </b>(jazz)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A musical layer cake - the base is Afrobeat (heavy, horn-laden funk) filled with improvisational jazz and iced with bells, gongs, and other creative percussion that give the music a psychedelic sheen. It's a brilliant combination, either for dancing till you drop or a hypnotic journey to another plane.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to NOMO “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6440160&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Invisible Cities</a>” <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">3. Derek Webb – Stockholm Syndrome </b>(rock)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">One of the most interesting recordings of the year, in any genre. Meticulously produced, with elegant pop songcraft over heavy drums and electronic samples – if you dug Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” you’ll be equally entranced with Webb’s sonic collage. The album has also become the center of serious controversy, as Webb’s label refused to release it as written due to inappropriate content (namely, he used the s-word in one song, and railed against the pervasive homophobia in conservative Christian circles). Whatever your religious persuasion (or lack thereof), you’ll appreciate this as art with a progressive, righteous vision.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to the song that kicked off the controversy "What Matters More” on <a href="http://www.myspace.com/derekwebb">myspace</a>.</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Then spend the $8 for the uncensored album <a href="http://www.derekwebb.com/store/">here</a>. When someone sticks their neck out like he did, it’s important to show your support.</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">4. <span style="">Bobby Sanabria conducting the </span></b><st1:city><st1:place><b>Manhattan</b></st1:place></st1:city><b> Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra – </b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b>Kenya</b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b> Revisited Live </b>(Latin)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It doesn’t get any hotter than this. Sanabria is the new millennium apostle of Latin jazz, and he’s enlisted an orchestra to recreate one of the masterpieces of the genre. He’s even got Candido Camero, who played congas on the original recording with Machito 50 years ago. Five minutes listening and you’ll realize why every jazz musician of the day dropped everything they were doing and taught themselves to play this music.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Bobby Sanabria “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=5991905&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Wild Jungle</a>”</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>And for those who are interested, here’s Machito’s original “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=5992203&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Wild Jungle</a>”</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">5. <i style="">(tie)<o:p></o:p></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:city><st1:place><b>Antony</b></st1:place></st1:city><b> and the Johnsons – The Crying Light</b> (vocal)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Quiet songs sung with a beautifully fragile voice with spare accompaniments of piano guitar, and strings. Aching, tender, and not easily forgotten.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to </i><st1:city><st1:place><i>Antony</i></st1:place></st1:city><i> and the Johnsons “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=5612247&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Her Eyes are Underneath the Ground</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ami Saraiya– Archaeologist </b>(vocal)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I don’t invoke names like Edith Piaf and Billie Holiday lightly, but I also don’t come across voices anywhere near that caliber very often. You’ve just got to hear Ami Saraiya to believe it. She’s able to pull emotional strings across the musical spectrum: her cabaret is romantic, her blues gritty, and her rock downright sinister. The orchestration is exquisite, with occasional strings, muted trumpet, guitar, and heavy doses of accordion. You can’t help but be swept off your feet by this album.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Disclaimer: I know Ami and have followed her work for years. I can assure you no favors were traded in preparing this review. This is legitimately a world-class album.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Ami Sariaiya’s “Vegas Moon” on <a href="http://www.myspace.com/amisaraiya">MySpace</a>, and order the album at </i><a href="http://www.amisaraiya.com/" target="_blank">www.amisaraiya.com</a>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">6.</b> <b>Iron & Wine – Around the Well </b>(folk)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Iron & Wine is an ambassador from the future of American folk music. With impressionistic use of traditional instruments (banjo, steel guitar) and styles (ballads & blues), Iron & Wine unfolds quiet, penetrating lyrical portraits that approach the greatness of the best bards of the ‘60s. This two-disc set of previously (and inexplicably) unreleased work is split between early acoustic home recordings and more recent forays into psychedelia.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Iron & Wine “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6011448&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Loud as Hope</a>” and “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6011455&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Carried Home</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">7. <span style="">Sufjan Stevens – The BQE: The Motion Picture Soundtrack </span></b>(classical)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Beethoven wrote an ode to joy. Pablo Neruda wrote an ode to his socks. Sufjan Stevens wrote an ode to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. All three pieces make transcendent art out of something that otherwise would go unnoticed. In this case, it’s a multimedia symphony that draws into itself the best of the last century of classical composition and takes it another step. It’s time to start treating this cat as a real American composer. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Sufjan Stevens “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6362805&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Movement V: Self-Organizing Emergent Patterns</a>”</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">8. <span style="">Rihanna – Rated R </span></b>(R&B)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’m having trouble figuring out which of these is more shocking to me:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">1. The best mainstream pop album of the year is about domestic abuse.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">2. The most powerful public statement about domestic abuse this year is a mainstream pop album.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">While I’m getting over the shock, let me say that the album sounds great. Slower tempos and dancehall inflections give a sense of gravity that’s uncommon for an artist aiming for the top 40. Rihanna portrays herself on this set as hardened. She evokes images of gang fights and Russian roulette not because she has a deathwish, but because she doesn’t. She’s been forced to face her mortality and somehow has to rebuild a life afterwards. Heavy stuff, powerful art.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Rihanna “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6430553&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Stupid in Love</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="">9. </span><span style="">K’Naan – Troubador</span></b> (rap)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Anyone looking for proof of the global scope of rap music should consider K’Naan exhibit A. Raised in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Somalia</st1:place></st1:country-region> and relocated to <st1:country-region><st1:place>Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>, K’Naan testifies to the redeeming power of hip hop on streets far more dangerous than urban <st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>. With a hopeful vibe and a powerfully spoken message, K’Naan digs this music deeper than all but the most skilled American rappers. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to K’Naan “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=5745589&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Dreamer</a>”</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">10. <span style="">The </span></b><st1:place><b>Dixie</b></st1:place><b> Bee-Liners – Susanville </b>(<st1:place>Bluegrass</st1:place>)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A one-hour road trip for the mind, “Susanville” captures the restlessness and discovery of barreling across <st1:place>middle America</st1:place>. The string band sound evokes just enough nostalgia to capture the feel of truck stops and diners without getting too comfortable – after all, it’s the road that calls. These songs carry a sense of velocity, always moving us along to somewhere new.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to The </i><st1:place><i>Dixie</i></st1:place><i> Bee-Liners “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6386216&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Restless</a>”</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-60610064344717562452009-12-10T23:39:00.003-06:002009-12-10T23:41:24.349-06:00Casual Listening Guest Review - Best Kids Music 2009<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; 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mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;} ol {margin-bottom:0in;} ul {margin-bottom:0in;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Extra!<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><st1:date year="2009" day="11" month="12"><b style="">December 11, 2009</b></st1:date></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i style="">Lee Winkelman is a Casual Listener who follows kids music releases way more closely than I do.<span style=""> </span>Here are his picks in this category for the year:<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: black;">Best Kids Music of 2009<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: black;">The golden age of kids music continues with another strong year.<span style=""> </span>There is nothing on this list that I wouldn’t be willing to listen to without my kid around<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: black;">Here are my (and my five year old son Henry’s) 12 favorite kids albums of 2009, listed in order:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"><span style="">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Duplex - Worser (Mint Records).<span style=""> </span>This record is an indie music delight.<span style=""> </span>It is by a collective of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Vancouver</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"> musicians led by Veda Hille and Justin Kellam.<span style=""> </span>Musical styles include heavy metal (about the nobel gases), synthpop, powerpop, and folk rock (about why two dads are splitting up), with everything just enough off kilter to be interesting. You have to order this record online from their record company, but it is worth it. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"><span style="">2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">They Might Be Giants - Here Comes Science (Walt Disney Records).<span style=""> </span>This great kids record isn’t much of a departure from TMBG’s adult records.<span style=""> </span>I remember dancing to one of the songs on the record – Why Does the Sun Shine? – at TMBG concerts in the 1990s long before they released a kids record.<span style=""> </span>Be sure and get the version with the </span><st1:stockticker><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">DVD</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"> because the videos that accompany each song are a lot of fun.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -0.25in;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"><span style="">3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Secret Agent 23 Skidoo - Easy (Happiness Records).<span style=""> </span>Kid-hop music with a positive message.<span style=""> </span>Luck is the best hip-hop song of the year to prominently feature a banjo.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"><span style="">4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Peter Himmelman - My Trampoline (Minivan Record).<span style=""> </span>Straight ahead, upbeat rock and roll that will appeal to fans of Bruce Springsteen or John Fogherty.<span style=""> </span>Fun to dance to.<span style=""> </span>I love the organ on “Florie Loves Flowers” and the ballad that asks the plaintive question: “Are There Any Kids Named Steve Anymore?”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"><span style="">5.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black;">The Macaroons - Let's Go Coconuts! (JDub Records). You don't have to be Jewish to enjoy this kids record, but it helps. The lyrics may be a bit puzzling to the goyim (what's a mezuzah? A talis?), but the fun, rocking tunes will appeal to everyone. For those looking for a Jewish religioius experience, please note that the lyrics are silly with very little spiritual content. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -0.25in;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"><span style="">6.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Ziggy Marley - Family Time (TUFF GONG WORLDWIDE).<span style=""> </span>An easy-going, likeable record.<span style=""> </span>Ziggy sings with members of his family and special guests stars.<span style=""> </span>It is not a hard core reggae record (unless you consider his father’s “Redemption Song” to be hard core reggae).<span style=""> </span>Guests include Willie Nelson, Toots Hibbert, Paul Simon, Elizabeth Mitchell and Laurie Berkner.<span style=""> </span>Produced by Don Was. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"><span style="">7.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Renee & Jeremy - C'mon (One Melody Records).<span style=""> </span>They’ve left the gentle lullabies of their first record behind, rocking out on pretty melodies with real drums.<span style=""> </span>It still has a sweet, lo-fi quality to it, like it was recorded in their living room.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"><span style="">8.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Dan Zanes - 76 Trombones (Festival Five Records).<span style=""> </span>The dean of contemporary kids music takes on Broadway standards.<span style=""> </span>His loose and ragged style roughs up the songs in an appealing way.<span style=""> </span>A fun album. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"><span style="">9.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Los Lobos - Los Lobos Goes Disney (Walt Disney Records).<span style=""> </span>The souped up rhumba of Los Lobos’ Heigh Ho is completely contagious.<span style=""> </span>Los Lobos takes (mostly) familiar Disney songs and puts their own spin on them, making them sound fresh again. <span style=""> </span>I am especially fond of the surf-guitar instrumental Wish Upon A Star/Small World medley. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"><span style="">10.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Randy Kaplan - Loquat Rooftop (Yellow Thing Records).<span style=""> </span>An urban folk troubadour sings a mix of originals and well chosen covers (Leadbelly, the Coasters, Hank Williams).<span style=""> </span>He’s a charming story teller with a good sense of humor.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"><span style="">11.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Robbert Bobbert - Bubble Machine (Little Monster Records). Robbert Bobbert is the leader of the power-pop band Apples in Stereo.<span style=""> </span>On this kids record, he brings the same infectious energy and catchy melodies to his kids music.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: -0.25in;"><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="ListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: normal;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"><span style="">12.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Gustafer Yellowgold - Mellow Fever (</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Apple-Eye Productions/Redeye)</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">.<span style=""> </span>Gustafer Yellowgold is the creation and alter-ego of singer-songwriter and graphic artist Morgan Taylor.<span style=""> </span></span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Taylor</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"> creates gorgeous music and charming drawings on this CD/</span><st1:stockticker><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;">DVD</span></st1:stockticker><span style="font-size: 12pt; color: black;"> set, telling the story of Gustafer, an immigrant from the Sun, and his friends.<span style=""> </span>The music is would fit in well with Cat Stevens or the gentler side of the Beatles.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: black;">12. The Sippy Cups - The Time Machine (Snacker Disc).<span style=""> </span>The </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="color: black;">San Francisco</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="color: black;"> sound is updated and made appropriate for kids (alas, no drug references).<span style=""> </span>Even when the songs have a message (like the global warming song “Don’t Remove the Groove”), they are never preachy, always silly.<span style=""> </span>Though this album is all originals, when they play live, they are likely to do kid-friendly covers of the Monkeys, the Ramones, and who knows who else.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">Most (but not all) of the records above can be found at </span><a href="http://www.pokeypup.com/"><span style="">www.pokeypup.com</span></a><span style="color: black;"> or cdbaby.com. The rest can be found by googling the record company.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com341tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-19428951234582397852009-12-10T23:39:00.001-06:002009-12-10T23:39:44.942-06:00Casual Listening Guest Review - Bob Dylan Christmas<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} p.western, li.western, div.western {mso-style-name:western; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Extra!<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><st1:date year="2009" day="11" month="12"><b style="">December 11, 2009</b></st1:date></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i style="">I haven’t seen a Dylan music polarize the musical community as much as I’ve seen with Christmas in the Heart.<span style=""> </span>I’m<span style=""> </span>having trouble giving an objective review, so I’ve turned to one of Casual Listening’s greatest Dylanophiles for this review.<span style=""> </span>Here’s Steve McManus<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b style="">Bob Dylan – Christmas in the Heart </b>(holiday)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I suppose a review of "Christmas in the Heart" by Bob Dylan could start with a discussion of how the album falls in line with his Christian Gospel work of the late 1970s. Some folks may look at it as another collection of Dylan folk songs. Perhaps some reviewers may analyze the irony of Dylan, who has been called a prophet by many, singing about the birth of the man many consider to the Messiah. Yes, there is plenty of material here for the Dylan scholars, historians, critics, zealots, lecturers, and biographers. But I'm going to look past all that and simply say that this a sincere and enjoyable record to add to your holiday collection, and the proceeds go to Feeding America. And if "Christmas in the Heart" doesn't make it into your stocking, you can still donate to Feeding America and find out more information here: <a href="http://feedingamerica.org/" target="_blank">http://feedingamerica.org/</a>."<o:p></o:p></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com228tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-59508514727116792272009-12-10T23:28:00.001-06:002009-12-10T23:36:09.561-06:00Casual Listening - More Greatest Misses<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} p.western, li.western, div.western {mso-style-name:western; mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Extra!<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><st1:date year="2009" day="11" month="12"><b style="">December 11, 2009</b></st1:date></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i style="">Two more greatest misses from this year:<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b style="">! Rain Machine – Rain Machine </b>(rock)</p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Rain Machine is the project of art-rock phenom Kip Malone, whose other band (TV on the Radio) is showing up on a lot of best-of-the-decade lists.<span style=""> </span>This album is brilliant as well, with a frayed-around-the-edges voice that ricochets between shouts and falsetto.<span style=""> </span>All of his music comes from a deep emotional place, and it’s the centerpiece of a sound that ranges from heavy rockers to stripped down acoustic guitar.<span style=""> </span>A sophisticated listen.</p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i style="">Listen to Rain Machine “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6441737&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Give Blood</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b style="">* Cedric Watson – L’esprit Creole </b>(folk)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">This is what Zydeco is all about.<span style=""> </span>Great bluesy accordion dance music with evident Creole roots, mostly sung in French.<span style=""> </span>Watson manages both authenticity and adventurousness, showing off the breadth of this still-vital musical form.</p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="western" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i style="">Listen to Cedric Watson “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6441734&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Le Sud de la Louisiane</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-71925210399488667732009-12-03T23:23:00.000-06:002009-12-03T23:24:18.821-06:00Casual Listening - Greatest Misses 2009<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2009" day="4" month="12"><b style="">December 4, 2009</b></st1:date><b style=""> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">The parade of end-of-the-year features continues:<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Dec 4: Greatest Misses: stuff I’ve overlooked<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Dec 11: The best of 2009<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Dec 18: The best of the decade<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Dec 25 & Jan 1: No reviews, possibly some special features<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Jan 8: Launch of the new casuallistening.com<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Greatest Misses: Overlooked in 2009<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Ami Saraiya– Archaeologist </b>(vocal)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I don’t invoke names like Edith Piaf and Billie Holiday lightly, but I also don’t come across voices anywhere near that caliber very often.<span style=""> </span>You’ve just got to hear Ami Saraiya to believe it.<span style=""> </span>She’s able to pull emotional strings across the musical spectrum: her cabaret is romantic, her blues gritty, and her rock downright sinister.<span style=""> </span>The orchestration is exquisite, with occasional strings, muted trumpet, guitar, and heavy doses of accordion.<span style=""> </span>You can’t help but be swept off your feet by this album.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Disclaimer: I know Ami and have followed her work for years.<span style=""> </span>I can assure you no favors were traded in preparing this review.<span style=""> </span>This is legitimately a world-class album.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Ami Sariaiya’s “Vegas Moon” on <a href="http://www.myspace.com/amisaraiya">MySpace</a>, and order the album at </i><a href="http://www.amisaraiya.com/" target="_blank">www.amisaraiya.com</a>.<i><o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Anne Akiko Meyers – Smile </b>(classical)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Eclectic pieces for virtuoso violin connected by a deep sense of joy.<span style=""> </span>With achingly pure tone, Meyers does equal justice to Schubert, Astor Piazzola, and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”<span style=""> </span>The title piece is originally by silent film star Charlie Chaplin, and it’s a chaplinesque broad smile that’s the product of every piece on this recording.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Anne Akiko Meyers “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6430542&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Smile</a>” <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Rihanna – Rated R </b>(R&B)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I’m having trouble figuring out which of these is more shocking to me:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">1. The best mainstream pop album of the year is about domestic abuse.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">2. The most powerful public statement about domestic abuse this year is a mainstream pop album.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">While I’m getting over the shock, let me say that the album sounds great.<span style=""> </span>Slower tempos and dancehall inflections give a sense of gravity that’s uncommon for an artist aiming for the top 40.<span style=""> </span>Rihanna portrays herself on this set as hardened.<span style=""> </span>She evokes images of gang fights and Russian roulette not because she has a deathwish, but because she doesn’t.<span style=""> </span>She’s been forced to face her mortality and somehow has to rebuild a life afterwards.<span style=""> </span>Heavy stuff, powerful art.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Rihanna “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6430553&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Stupid in Love</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Hiram and Huddie – various artists </b>(country, blues)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A group of folk and blues players wrench two American music legends off their pedestals and make them dance again.<span style=""> </span>Hiram is the given name of Hank Williams, and Huddie somehow got the nickname Leadbelly.<span style=""> </span>The new interpretations of their honky-tonk and jailhouse classics are amazingly vital.<span style=""> </span>The performers here – William Elliot Whitmore, Scott H. Biram, and Reverend Payton’s Big Damn Band are the tip of the iceberg – have the collective potential to turn the roots rock world upside down.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Hiram and Huddie “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6430570&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Gallis Pole</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Filisko & Noden – </b><st1:place><b style="">I.</b></st1:place><b style=""> C. Special </b>(blues)<b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Two top-shelf instrumentalists wail on the forgotten blues of the 1920s and 1930s.<span style=""> </span>Filisko is a legend in harmonica circles, and Noden deserves to be one for his slide guitar work.<span style=""> </span>They find plenty of life left in songs and styles from the dawn of recorded music.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Disclaimer: I know these guys, too.<span style=""> </span>What can I say?<span style=""> </span>Genius loves company.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to “Gridlock Blues” and buy the album <a href="http://www.ericnoden.com/Filisko_Noden/">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Ori Dakari – Entrances </b>(jazz)<b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Dakari’s compositions blend Israeli music traditions with the jazz tradition.<span style=""> </span>A talented sax-focused quintet gives these pieces life, with Dakari himself on guitar.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Ori Dakari “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6430592&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Beresheet</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Dunkelbunt – Raindrops and Elephants </b>(world)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Master DJ’s alongside drums and instruments from across sound like a musical dispatch from the electronic Amazon.<span style=""> </span>Dunkelbunt surprises at every turn, rolling a global amalgam over a big beat.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Dunkelbunt “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6430601&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Balkan Qoulou</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Animal Collective – Fall Be Kind </b>(rock)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">You’ll see the group’s earlier release “Merriweather Post Pavilion” on many critics’ best-of lists this year.<span style=""> </span>This 5-song EP is a good introduction to their freak-out pop style.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Animal Collective “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6430606&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">What Would I Want? Sky</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-24096809986659884302009-11-27T21:11:00.000-06:002009-11-27T21:12:01.789-06:00Casual Listening - Christmas Album Roundup<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2009" day="27" month="11"><b style="">November 27, 2009</b></st1:date><b style=""> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Happy post-Thanksgiving, all.<span style=""> </span>We’re into the end of the year, and new releases slow to a crawl, so I’ve got a series of special features for you over the next few weeks:<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Nov 27: Christmas Album Roundup<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Dec 4: Greatest Misses: stuff I’ve overlooked<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Dec 11: The best of 2009<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Dec 18: The best of the decade<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Dec 25 & Jan 1: No reviews, possibly some special features<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Jan 8: Launch of the new casuallistening.com<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Christmas Album Roundup<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Kermit Ruffins – Have a Crazy Cool Christmas </b>(jazz)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It doesn’t snow in <st1:city><st1:place>New Orleans</st1:place></st1:city> in December, but that doesn’t keep Ruffins from spreading some holiday cheer.<span style=""> </span>Spot-on Dixieland and funk jazz renditions of the classics along with a few surprises.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Kermit Ruffins “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6420581&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Santa Claus Is Coming To Town</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Andrea Bocelli – My Christmas </b>(vocal)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As a recording of a beautiful voice with over-the-top orchestration, Bocelli’s album belongs in the same category as Bing Crosby’s Christmas recordings.<span style=""> </span>Some of the carols have a more classical bent, others more pop, but all of the have the kind of sentimental feel that brings families together around the hearth this time of year.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Andrea Bocelli “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6420587&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">White Christmas</a>” <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Bifrost Arts – Salvation is Created </b>(rock)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This collective of indie rock artists came together as a group to explore Christian themes in traditional music – which made a Christmas album a natural.<span style=""> </span>The settings draw on a chamber orchestra, with various tracks having violins, xylophone, and electric guitar.<span style=""> </span>These are adventurous and often dark takes on mostly familiar standards. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Bifrost Arts “<a href="http://lala.com/zyrP">Let All Mortal Flesh</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Straight No Chaser – Christmas Cheers </b>(A Capella)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The novelty song is a venerable Christmas tradition, and Straight No Chaser carry it on honorably.<span style=""> </span>Both more listenable and more clever than “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer,” this album is a big dose of jolly.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Straight No Chaser “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6420603&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">The 12 Days of Christmas</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-13432822262089292442009-11-19T22:05:00.001-06:002009-11-19T22:05:44.466-06:00Casual Listening - Dave Rawlings Machine, Them Crooked Vultures, CAGE MATCH: Lady Gaga vs. Kid Sister<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2009" day="20" month="11"><b style="">November 20, 2009</b></st1:date><b style=""> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Dave Rawlings Machine – A Friend of a Friend </b>(folk)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Best known as Gillian Welch’s guitar-playing sidekick, Rawlings shows he can kick out the back porch jams.<span style=""> </span>Tight harmonies, lots of mandolin, and an enthusiasm reminiscent of The Band brings on a big hippie grin.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Dave Rawlings Machine “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6408434&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures </b>(rock)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A Frankenstein of a rock project.<span style=""> </span>With superstars from bands like Nirvana and Led Zeppelin grafted together, the full assembly is menacing, but it’s alive.<span style=""> </span>Sludgy guitar riffs and a trashcan drum sound make for a heavy but inventive set of tunes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Them Crooked Vultures “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6408445&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Elephants</a>” <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Alan Lomax – Alan Lomax in </b><st1:country-region><st1:place><b style="">Haiti</b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b style=""> </b>(folk)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">An enormous time capsule from one of the most important documenters of the world’s traditional music.<span style=""> </span>Ten discs of field recordings from the island made in 1936 and 1937 are being made available for the first time.<span style=""> </span>There are whole albums of voodoo music and carnival music, as well as three songs sung by folklorist and writer Zora Neale Hurston.<span style=""> </span>It’s worth just picking through a few tracks at random to give yourself the sound of another place and time.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Alan Lomax in </i><st1:country-region><st1:place><i style="">Haiti</i></st1:place></st1:country-region><i style=""> “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6408459&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Woy-O Woy-O Plus Ochan</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Grupo Pesado – Desde La Cantina </b>(Latin)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">While most only encounter the radio version of Nortena music, to catch its true spirit you need to hear it live with friends, accompanied by a few beers.<span style=""> </span>Grupo Pesado’s new album comes as close as I’ve heard to capturing that setting.<span style=""> </span>Perfectly harmonized ballads and brawny accordion solos show off a band playing their hearts out.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Grupo Pesado “<a href="http://lala.com/z2gb">Cielo Nublado</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Larry Sparks – I Just Want to Thank You Lord </b>(country)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Gospel numbers have always been part of bluegrass, and Bill Monroe always had several hymns among the ballads and breakdowns.<span style=""> </span>This album is all bluegrass gospel, in the best old traditional style.<span style=""> </span>High and lonesome with plenty of serious picking, it’s also a window on an era when church music was one of the universals of rural life.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Larry Sparks “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6408490&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Little White Frame Church</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">CAGE MATCH: Lady Gaga: The Fame Monster -vs- <span style=""> </span>Kid Sister: Ultraviolet</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">The Contest: Dance Dance Revolution!</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">On the left dancepad, the new darling of dance-pop, so cool you need a refrigerator just to dig her, Lady Gaga! (GAGAGAGA!!!)<span style=""> </span>And on the right dancepad, the princess of the hip-hop underworld, patron saint of nail technicians everywhere, Kid Sister! (HOOYAHH!!!!)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lady Gaga drops a mid-tempo disco noir.<span style=""> </span>Step-step, twirl (you’re doin’ great!)<span style=""> </span>Stomp to the beat!<span style=""> </span>Stomp to the beat! (you’re on fire!)<span style=""> </span>Now she’s signing like Madonna!<span style=""> </span>Hophophop-step (let’s do it again!)<span style=""> </span>That score’s going to be tough to beat.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Kid Sister punches up the electro beats (let’s dance!) Step-step-jump! (all riiiight!)<span style=""> </span>Bop to the left, Bop to the right, feel the funky flow (your moves are refreshing!) <i style="">and the screen shuts off</i>!<span style=""> </span>Her stare is too seductive for the computer to handle!!!<span style=""> </span>Kid Sister wins!!!<span style=""> </span>(HOOYAHH!!!!)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Lady Gaga “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6408525&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Bad Romance</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Kid Sister “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6408528&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Right Hand Hi</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Giuliano & I Baroni – Faccia d’Angelo </b>(rock)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Every once in a while, I run across an album so unbelievably bad, I can only marvel at the evil geniusness of the artist who concocted such a monster.<span style=""> </span>This is hands down the worst album I’ve heard all year, possibly the most horrendous album I’ve heard since I started reviewing music.<span style=""> </span>From the embarrassing cover photo to the pop trash sung in Italian, this is a true tour de farce.<span style=""> </span>And if you think the album’s a nightmare, the YouTube video will have you screaming.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Giuliano & I Baroni “<a href="http://lala.com/zO6b">Piccola Stella</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Or if you dare, go to the website and watch the YouTube video of “<a href="http://www.giulianoeibaroni.it/home.html">Arrivano I Cow Boy</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-29824353460609411352009-11-12T22:41:00.000-06:002009-11-12T22:42:37.498-06:00Casual Listening - Asobi Seksu, Wale, Silk Road Ensemble<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2009" day="13" month="11"><b style="">November 13, 2009</b></st1:date><b style=""> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Asobi Seksu – Rewolf </b>(rock)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Like strolling across a meadow made of clouds, this is dream pop with a heavy emphasis on the dream.<span style=""> </span>Xylophone, flute, toy piano, soprano vocals with heavy reverb, and anything else that weights the sound toward treble.<span style=""> </span>A beautiful, fragile sound.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Asobi Seksu “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6397659&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Walk on the Moon</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Wale – Attention Deficit </b>(rap)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Deftly syncopated flow over backgrounds painted with an extensive palate: afrobeat , retro R&B, and space-age synths.<span style=""> </span>Amidst the party jams and boasting are a few tracks that speak fearless truths. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Wale “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6397725&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Shades</a>” <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:place><b style="">Silk Road</b></st1:place><b style=""> Ensemble – Off the Map </b>(classical)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Even without founder Yo-Yo Ma, this is a formidable ensemble.<span style=""> </span>With pan-Asian instrumentation including koto, er-hu, sheng, and tabla alongside orchestral strings, <st1:place>Silk Road</st1:place> is redefining the classical tradition to include east and west, ancient and contemporary.<span style=""> </span>Four major pieces each present a different vantage point on this unexplored, challenging terrain.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to </i><st1:place><i style="">Silk Road</i></st1:place><i style=""> Ensemble “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6397769&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Sulvasutra: Letter to Pythagoras</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Julia Wolfe – Dark Full Ride: Music in Multiples </b>(classical)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Contemporary classical music that still passes the coolness test.<span style=""> </span>Layering of single instruments and repetition characterize the sound.<span style=""> </span>The opening is a jaw-dropper – I guarantee you’ve never heard bagpipes quite like this.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Julia Wolfe “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6397774&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">LAD Part 1</a>”</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-49216009338381246302009-11-05T22:47:00.001-06:002009-11-05T22:48:17.540-06:00Casual Listening - Dixie Bee-Liners, Celia Mur, Emma Lou Diemer<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date month="10" day="30" year="2009"><b style="">October 30, 2009</b></st1:date><b style=""> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! The </b><st1:place><b style="">Dixie</b></st1:place><b style=""> Bee-Liners – Susanville </b>(<st1:place>Bluegrass</st1:place>)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A one-hour road trip for the mind, “Susanville” captures the restlessness and discovery of barreling across <st1:place>middle America</st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>The string band sound evokes just enough nostalgia to capture the feel of truck stops and diners without getting too comfortable – after all, it’s the road that calls.<span style=""> </span>These songs carry a sense of velocity, always moving us along to somewhere new.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to The </i><st1:place><i>Dixie</i></st1:place><i> Bee-Liners “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6386216&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Restless</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Celia Mur – Simpatia </b>(jazz)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Nightclub jazz with sultry vocals in Spanish, Portuguese, and English.<span style=""> </span><st1:place>Mur</st1:place> is a delight to listen to, and her improvisations show the confidence she feels with her voice.<span style=""> </span>Mark Turner’s sax is a welcome bonus.<span style=""> </span>A couple of flamenco tunes round out the set.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Celia </i><st1:place><i style="">Mur</i></st1:place><i style=""> “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6386262&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Tres Morillas</a>” <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Emma Lou Diemer – Summer Day: The Complete Works for Violin and Piano</b> (classical)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Diemer’s compositions are characterized by a strong sense of melody, a quality that is rare to find in the world of modern composition.<span style=""> </span>The duet format leaves plenty of space for the melodies to emerge.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Emma Lou Diemer “<a href="http://www.lala.com/song/937030214737815239">Suite for Violin and Piano: Summer Day</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Rickie Lee Jones – Balm in </b><st1:place><b style="">Gilead</b></st1:place><b style=""> </b>(rock)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Jones’ unpolished but enthusiastic voice always brings a smile to my face.<span style=""> </span>Whether she’s doing retro soul, honky tonk, jazz, or just her own thing, there’s an underlying joy to the music that’s irresistible.<span style=""> </span>Not to mention songwriting that’s head and shoulders above most of what gets produced today.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Rickie Lee Jones “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6386328&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Eucalyptus Trail</a>”</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Amerie – In Love & War (R&B)<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">High quality pop candy.<span style=""> </span>Amerie’s buoyant voice bobs across a clear sheen of energy that manages not to be too much of anything, but draws elements of soul, rock, rap, and funk.<span style=""> </span>Nearly every song on here could see radio airplay.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Amerie “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6386339&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Dangerous</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Kate Earl – Kate Earl </b>(rock)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">While she’s cribbed a page from Lily Allen’s playbook, she does it so well that you really don’t mind.<span style=""> </span>Slick, sexy, and aloof, this is an enjoyable listen.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Kate Earl “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6386373&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Nobody</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-29633862387500537432009-10-29T23:42:00.002-05:002009-10-29T23:43:01.998-05:00Casual Listening -- Havana Cultura plus Rock & Roll CAGE MATCH and Halloween Special!<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="stockticker"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2009" day="30" month="10"><b style="">October 30, 2009</b></st1:date><b style=""> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Gilles Peterson Presents </b><st1:city><st1:place><b style="">Havana</b></st1:place></st1:city><b style=""> Cultura: New Cuba Sound </b>(Latin)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the musical world, <st1:country-region><st1:place>Cuba</st1:place></st1:country-region> is the gift that keeps on giving.<span style=""> </span>In this case, it’s giving to a DJ from the <st1:stockticker>BBC</st1:stockticker> who brought back two albums of material, one from a recording session he engineered and another that features recordings of artists he came across while on the island.<span style=""> </span>It’s all hot.<span style=""> </span>The first disc runs from mambo to afrobeat, while the other has strong hip hop, jazz, and reggaeton influences.<span style=""> </span>One of these days the <st1:country-region><st1:place>U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> will lift the embargo and <st1:country-region><st1:place>Cuba</st1:place></st1:country-region> will become a global musician’s paradise.<span style=""> </span>Until then, we’ve got Gilles Peterson to give us a taste of what we’re missing.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to </i><st1:city><st1:place><i>Havana</i></st1:place></st1:city><i> Cultura Band “<a href="http://www.lala.com/song/4035506746249870637">Pa’ Gozar</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>And Ogguere “<a href="http://www.lala.com/song/4035506797789478189">La Revolucion del Cuerpo</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Jessica Pavone – Songs of Synastry and Solitude </b>(classical)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A collection of tuneful compositions that captures a brooding introspection in the midst of the mundane.<span style=""> </span>These pieces for string quartet move quietly, evenly, and effortlessly.<span style=""> </span>Beautiful stuff.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Jessica Pavone “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6374605&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Hope Dawson is Missing</a>” <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">The Blind Boys of </b><st1:state><st1:place><b style="">Alabama</b></st1:place></st1:state><b style=""> – Duets</b> (gospel)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A lineup of A-list musicians from rock, blues, country, and gospel each get a turn with the world’s best backup singers.<span style=""> </span>It’s fun to hear descent singers suddenly sound awesome when surrounded by the Blind Boys’ enormous gospel harmonies.<span style=""> </span>Lou Reed, Ben Harper, and Jars of Clay all get the royal treatment.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to The Blind Boys of </i><st1:state><st1:place><i style="">Alabama</i></st1:place></st1:state><i style=""> with Dan Zanes “<a href="http://www.lala.com/song/360569483827773234">Welcome Table</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">The </b><st1:city><st1:place><b style="">Lawrence</b></st1:place></st1:city><b style=""> Arms – Buttsweat and Tears </b>(rock)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">OK, so I couldn’t resist the title, but the music’s surprisingly good.<span style=""> </span>High octane, three-chord punk-pop.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to The </i><st1:city><st1:place><i style="">Lawrence</i></st1:place></st1:city><i style=""> Arms “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6374691&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Them Angels Been Talkin’</a>”</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:stockticker><b style="">ROCK</b></st1:stockticker><b style=""> & </b><st1:stockticker><b style="">ROLL</b></st1:stockticker><b style=""> CAGE MATCH!!!</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Wolfmother – Cosmic Egg <i style="">vs.</i> Winger – Karma<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In this corner, the young guns of retro-rock, the monsters of the mainstream, Wolfmother! (YAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!)<span style=""> </span>And in the other corner, it’s the killers from the crypt, the band that would not die, Winger! (yay.)<span style=""> </span>Wolfmother tears through the power chords, taunting Winger with vocals that sound ripped from the throat of Robert Plant himself!<span style=""> </span>Winger seems laughably uncool by comparison.<span style=""> </span>Is there a slaughter rule in the cage match?<span style=""> </span>But wait!<span style=""> </span>Winger cranks it up and launches barrage after barrage of screaming guitar solos!<span style=""> </span>It’s a classic rope-a-dope!<span style=""> </span>Winger unleashes a massive dosage of Rawk and double back even harder at Wolfmother.<span style=""> </span>Wolfmother’s on the ropes!<span style=""> </span>The referee steps in!<span style=""> </span>It’s Winger!!!!!! (yay.)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Wolfmother “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6374659&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">New Moon Rising</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Winger “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6374663&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Deal With the Devil</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: THE WEEK’S SCARIEST MUSIC<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">The </b><st1:place><st1:placename><b style="">Red</b></st1:placename><b style=""> </b><st1:placetype><b style="">Shore</b></st1:placetype></st1:place><b style=""> – Unconsecrated </b>(metal)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Boo!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to The </i><st1:place><st1:placename><i style="">Red</i></st1:placename><i style=""> </i><st1:placetype><i style="">Shore</i></st1:placetype></st1:place><i style=""> “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6374691&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Slain by the Serpent</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-51858180140529946022009-10-22T23:10:00.000-05:002009-10-22T23:11:24.730-05:00Casual Listening - Sufjan Stevens, Forro in the Dark, Round Mountain<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2009" day="23" month="10"><b style="">October 23, 2009</b></st1:date><b style=""> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Welcome to all the new folks this week.<span style=""> </span>I’ve got two weeks of music to give you, so you’ll get a lot to listen too, albeit with a little less to read about each one.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Sufjan Stevens – The BQE: The Motion Picture Soundtrack </b>(classical)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Beethoven wrote an ode to joy.<span style=""> </span>Pablo Neruda wrote an ode to his socks.<span style=""> </span>Sufjan Stevens wrote an ode to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.<span style=""> </span>All three pieces make transcendent art out of something that otherwise would go unnoticed.<span style=""> </span>In this case, it’s a multimedia symphony that draws into itself the best of the last century of classical composition and takes it another step.<span style=""> </span>It’s time to start treating this cat as a real American composer.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Sufjan Stevens “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6362805&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Movement V: Self-Organizing Emergent Patterns</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Forro in the Dark – Light a Candle (</b>world)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Forro is Brazillian party music, and this quartet carries it off with enthusiasm.<span style=""> </span>Fantastic flute playing with electric guitar and a boatload of drums and percussion.<span style=""> </span>It’s an inviting beat that’ll give you a grin the size of a Cheshire cat.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Forro in the Dark – “<a href="http://www.lala.com/song/648799831943676107">Saudades de Manezinho Araujo</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* </b><st1:place><st1:placename><b style="">Round</b></st1:placename><b style=""> </b><st1:placetype><b style="">Mountain</b></st1:placetype></st1:place><b style=""> – Windward </b>(folk)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Round Mountain gave their acoustic sound a passport and sent it around the world.<span style=""> </span>It still invokes the melodies and harmonies of American roots music, but through a prism of global drums, accordion, musical bow, and bagpipes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to </i><st1:place><st1:placename><i style="">Round</i></st1:placename><i style=""> </i><st1:placetype><i style="">Mountain</i></st1:placetype></st1:place><i style=""> “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6362834&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Don’t Lie Down</a>” <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard – One Fast Move and I’m Gone: Music From Kerouac’s </b><st1:place><b style="">Big Sur</b></st1:place> (rock)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lonely pedal steel guitar winds along the coastal mountains on this literary journey. The album includes original songs by rock royalty (Farrar: Son Volt, Gibbard: Death Cab for Cutie) based on texts taken from Jack Kerouac’s book <i style="">Big </i><st1:country-region><st1:place><i style="">Sur</i>.</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style=""> </span>What’s most interesting musically is hearing the fragile clarity of Gibbard’s voice in Farrar’s rugged <st1:city><st1:place>Americana</st1:place></st1:city> milieu.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6362908&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Williamine</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Jello </b><st1:place><b style="">Biafra</b></st1:place><b style=""> – The Audacity of Hype </b>(rock)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">For those who missed out on the 80’s, <i style="">this</i> is what great punk rock sounds like.<span style=""> </span><st1:place>Biafra</st1:place> is a master, and his piercing voice alongside roaring electric guitar comes across as a steamroller of righteous indignation.<span style=""> </span>He’s one of a handful of artists with the brains and the gumption to pull off a song about NAFTA.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Jello </i><st1:place><i style="">Biafra</i></st1:place><i style=""> “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6362840&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">New Feudalism</a>”</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Electric Six – Kill </b>(rock)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This is gonzo rock & roll.<span style=""> </span>Macho vocals and guitars wrapped in disco.<span style=""> </span>Tongue in cheek, but not so far to miss some really catchy music.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Electric Six “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6362846&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Egyptian Cowboy</a>” (explicit)<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Del Tha Funky Homosapien & Tame One – Parallel Uni-Verses</b> (rock)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Two very clever lyricists rhyming over jazz-inspired grooves.<span style=""> </span>The strength of their flow is impressive, and evokes what made old school rap such a phenomenon in the first place.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Del Tha Funky Homosapien & Tame One “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6362859&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Flashback</a>” (explicit)<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Doug Cox & Sahlil Bhatt – Slide to Freedom II</b> (world)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Slide playing is a sound that crosses continents.<span style=""> </span>In this case <st1:place>North America</st1:place> and <st1:place>Asia</st1:place>, with two musicians playing a mix of blues and Indian classical on modified instruments that are half-guitar, half-sitar.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to samples of the album at <a href="http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/coxbhatt">CDBaby</a><o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">The Flaming Lips – Embryonic </b>(rock)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Weirrrrrrrrrd.<span style=""> </span>In a good way.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to The Flaming Lips “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6362887&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Evil</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Twilight: New Moon </b>(soundtrack)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I guess when vampires aren’t sucking blood, they’re hanging around indie record stores.<span style=""> </span>This will be one of the most talked about soundtracks of the year, and there are several worthy cuts here, from a who’s who of hip artists.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Bon Iver & </i><st1:place><i style="">St. Vincent</i></st1:place><i style=""> on Twilight: New Moon, “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6362917&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Roslyn</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-71343578579382894332009-10-16T22:39:00.000-05:002009-10-16T22:40:26.574-05:00Casual Listening - Dudamel Concert Review<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Tahoma; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1627421319 -2147483648 8 0 66047 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2009" day="16" month="10"><b style="">October 16, 2009</b></st1:date><b style=""> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">I’ve been away at a conference this week, without a chance to listen to new music.<span style=""> </span>Next week will be a double issue.<span style=""> </span>In the meantime, here’s a review of a concert that you ought to be aware of.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Dudamel's Winning Premiere<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In an age when a “classical event” feels like an oxymoron, the national simulcast and webcast of opening night at the Los Angeles Philharmonic will be the talk of the music world for a long time to come.<span style=""> </span>Gustavo Dudamel, a 28-year old Venezuelan, took the baton of one of the top North American orchestras, and powerfully so.<span style=""> </span>People are nuts about Dudamel – not just the musical elite, but a lot of ordinary Angelinos, many who are paying attention to classical music for the first time.<span style=""> </span>His story is inspirational; his music even moreso.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It's hard to see a year go by without another major study being done tolling the decline of classical music.<span style=""> </span>Audiences are graying and shrinking, and 21st century audiences have less patience for music of the 18<sup>th</sup> and 19th.<span style=""> </span>In the last few years these studies started grudgingly to include an asterisk: <st1:country-region><st1:place>Venezuela</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span style=""> </span>There's been a major effort in that country to put instruments and classical instruction in every school in the country.<span style=""> </span>"El Sistema" (the system) has resulted in an unbelievable pipeline of new classical musicians that are just now coming of age through institutions like the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra.<span style=""> </span>So while Cuba's exporting shortstops to American baseball teams and Brazil's exporting midfielders to soccer leagues, Venezuela's starting to export principal violinists to American orchestras.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Dudamel has spent more than half of his life on the podium.<span style=""> </span>He toured internationally as conductor of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra, where he made an impression on the folks at the L.A. Philharmonic.<span style=""> </span>From the sound of it, he makes an impression on everybody.<span style=""> </span>Exuberant, flamboyant, engaging - it's emblematic that he made his major pre-season appearance with the "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Ninth.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The program for opening night juxtaposed novelty and tradition, the adventurous and the familiar.<span style=""> </span>"City Noir" is a symphony commissioned from John Adams, one of <st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s most lauded living composers.<span style=""> </span>This was paired on the program with Mahler's First Symphony, a crowd-pleaser with a second movement that's among the most recognizable passages this side of Beethoven.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The orchestra attacked the <st1:place>Adams</st1:place> symphony.<span style=""> </span>Opening with brash, honking tones, it could easily have been the soundtrack to a lost Hitchcock movie.<span style=""> </span>A cymbal and woodblock kicked in a syncopated beat while the wind section staggered over the top, invoking the pace of jazz with none of the familiar harmonies.<span style=""> </span>Slower passages provided no respite, with eerie xylophone cascades rising from droning strings.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A trumpet solo at midpoint provided the piece’s only melodic handle, and it disappeared almost as soon as it appeared, replaced by violent lurches in the low brass.<span style=""> </span>A saxophone picked through a wreck of notes. The arrival of bongos ultimately carried the piece to a dramatic climax, leaving a profound dread to hover in the silent air.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">For a populist conductor, it's an odd introduction, although one that Dudamel managed to sell with tremendous energy and athleticism.<span style=""> </span>He conveyed vividly this portrait of a dark, senseless city, a heightened dramatization of a place synonymous with drama.<span style=""> </span>Despite enthusiastic applause, this isn't the kind of piece that's going to win over curious new listeners to contemporary music.<span style=""> </span>Any commission involves risk, and this is an atypical entry for <st1:place>Adams</st1:place>, generally known for his accessibility.<span style=""> </span>What it does show us is Dudamel’s willingness to take risk as well as his appetite for new music.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Dudamel's Mahler was exquisite.<span style=""> </span>The pianissimo, lento opening of the first movement is a difficult one to conduct, and Dudamel showed above all a patience with the music that carried through the entire piece.<span style=""> </span>He turned over each note with attentiveness, an expectation that there might be surprises hiding even under these familiar passages.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">His approach to the second movement was romantic in the <st1:place>Hollywood</st1:place> sense - seductive, playful, lusty.<span style=""> </span>He managed total intensity at a relaxed tempo, releasing the big, booming fourths with gusto.<span style=""> </span>It was here that Dudamel the Epicure arrived, and that’s the persona that turns serious music connoisseurs into starry-eyed teenagers.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Long silences between movements served as palate-cleansers, giving the listener a chance to savor the finish of the prior emotion and prepare for the next one.<span style=""> </span>Dudamel brought a dose of levity to the moodier third movement.<span style=""> </span>His direction was measured and serious, but not too serious.<span style=""> </span>The final movement broke with alarm, echoing the <st1:place>Adams</st1:place> symphony.<span style=""> </span>Deliberately, Dudamel led the orchestra deliberately toward a grand, not grandiose conclusion.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As a conductor, Dudamel shows way more emotional range than you’d expect from a 28-year-old, and yet it’s the energy and audacity of his youth that’s spellbinding.<span style=""> </span>Performances like this ought to be inspiring audiences for years to come.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">You can catch a TV broadcast of the full concert on PBS October 21.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma;"><span style=""> </span></span><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-64539724700948466292009-10-08T23:28:00.001-05:002009-10-08T23:29:40.109-05:00Casual Listening - Osso & Sufjan Stevens, Califone, Me'Shell Ndegeocello<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2009" day="9" month="10"><b style="">October 9, 2009</b></st1:date><b style=""> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Slightly abbreviated this week to make time for the Dudamel premiere.<span style=""> </span>Who’s Dudamel, you ask?<span style=""> </span>Tune in next week for full report.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Osso & Sufjan Stevens – Run Rabbit Run </b>(classical)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A song cycle of compelling modern compositions arranged for string quartet and based on the Chinese zodiac.<span style=""> </span>Its composer Sufjan Stevens is better known in other circles, although his classical training shows through in pieces of both great resonance and dissonance.<span style=""> </span>Originally written as an electronic piece, members of the Osso quartet have reinterpreted it for live instruments.<span style=""> </span>Listening without access to the original, one can only speculate what was lost and gained in translation.<span style=""> </span>The current work holds its own as a piece of serious music.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Osso & Sufjan Stevens “<a href="http://www.lala.com/song/5620773840010013776">Year of the Horse</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Califone – All My Friends Are Funeral Singers (</b>rock)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It’s no ordinary musical mind that says “I picture this song accompanied by a theramin and a bucket of bolts.”<span style=""> </span>Understated vocals and acoustic guitar are petrified in an amber of experimental sound, reminiscent of Wilco at its most adventurous.<span style=""> </span>Albums like this are why headphones were invented.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Califone – “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6337889&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Polish Girls</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Me’Shell Ndegeocello – Devil’s Halo </b>(R&B)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ndegeocello’s cosmic visions hail from the same galaxy as Sun Ra and Jimi Hendrix.<span style=""> </span>Her fearless experimentalism is belied by easy melodies and steady grooves.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Me’Shell Ndegeocello “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6337892&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Love You Down</a>” <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Maria Muldaur: </b><st1:place><st1:placetype><b style="">Garden</b></st1:placetype><b style=""> of </b><st1:placename><b style="">Joy</b></st1:placename></st1:place><b style=""> </b>(blues)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As the unemployment rate continues to climb, people are finding new meaning in the hard-times rags and blues of the Great Depression.<span style=""> </span>Maria Muldaur is an able blues traditionalist, and she brings real emotion to these rarely performed laments.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Maria Muldaur “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6337905&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Bank Failure Blues</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-13431912022165218672009-10-01T22:50:00.000-05:002009-10-01T22:51:31.048-05:00Casual Listening - Barbra Streisand, Alice in Chains, Poncho Sanchez<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="Street"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="address"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2009" day="2" month="10"><b style="">October 2, 2009</b></st1:date><b style=""> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Barbra Steisand – Love is the Answer </b>(easy listening)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Really?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Really.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As someone with almost no context for Barbara (Funny Girl, Yentl) and no prior experience of her singing offscreen, this album caught me completely off-guard.<span style=""> </span>Her voice is unbelievably smooth and powerful – still one of the best in the business.<span style=""> </span>Every vocal gesture is considered, and even with a voice that big, she still manages to come across as understated. The songs on this collection are available both in full orchestral and quartet settings.<span style=""> </span>I love the full-on orchestra, but the quartet settings may help to convince those with a more jazz-attuned ear.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Barbra Streisand “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6324043&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Gentle Rain</a> (orchestral)” or “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6324049&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Gentle Rain</a> (quartet)”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Tingsek – Restless Soul (</b>R&B)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This is deep soul, reminiscent of Stevie Wonder’s creative excursions of the 70’s.<span style=""> </span>Electric piano, acoustic guitar, and layered vocals give a heavy romantic feel intensified with a harmonic sophistication rarely found in contemporary R&B.<span style=""> </span>I’m conflicted as to whether to recommend this as a make-out album – the music’s good enough to be distracting.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Tingsek – “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6324065&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Coming Back to You</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Anthony Coleman – Freakish: Anthony Coleman Plays Jelly Roll Morton </b>(jazz)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">While Jelly Roll Morton’s claim to be the inventor of jazz is disputed, he was certainly the bridge between ragtime and the eternal sound of Louis Armstrong.<span style=""> </span>Coleman’s renditions for solo piano are definitive modern recordings, showing tremendous emotional and technical range.<span style=""> </span>His sureness of hand is absolute.<span style=""> </span>Bravo.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Anthony Coleman “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6324092&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Fickle Fay Creep (Soap Suds)</a>” <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Kris Kristofferson: Closer to the Bone </b>(country)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Like Johnny Cash’s American recordings, the magic in this recording is of a man confronting his own mortality, and the freedom it gives him to sing his heart out fearlessly. <span style=""> </span>Much of this is solo guitar, voice, and an occasional harmonica.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Kris Kristofferson “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6324116&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Sister Sinead</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:city><st1:place><b style="">Alice</b></st1:place></st1:city><b style=""> in Chains – Black </b><st1:street><st1:address><b style="">Gives Way</b></st1:address></st1:street><b style=""> to Blue </b>(rock)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I always imagined this band as <st1:place>Crosby</st1:place>, Stills, Hetfield, and Ulrich.<span style=""> </span>Heavy, twisted rock that still manages to hook you with impeccable harmonies.<span style=""> </span>As the title implies, this album isn’t nearly as dark as the band’s early work, and consequently has the potential to attract a new circle of fans.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to </i><st1:city><st1:place><i style="">Alice</i></st1:place></st1:city><i style=""> in Chains “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6324196&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Check My Brain</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Poncho Sanchez – Psychedelic Blues </b>(Latin)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sanchez is one of the greatest living conga players.<span style=""> </span>His latest is a textbook example of the musical hybrid that is contemporary Latin jazz, with an emphasis on the jazz.<span style=""> </span>His “<st1:place><st1:placename>Canteloupe</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Island</st1:placetype></st1:place>” is smokin’.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Poncho Sanchez “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6324220&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Canteloupe Island</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The reviews above are, in my opinion, the best of the best.<span style=""> </span>Still, it’s been an amazing week for music, possibly the heaviest week for new releases all year.<span style=""> </span>Here’s a list of some of the rest that still caught my attention: Ramsey Lewis, Robert Earle Keen, Karen O. and the Kids (Where the Wild Things Are soundtrack), Dethklok, Patty Loveless, La Roux, Miranda Lambert, Samuel James, Selena Gomez, Bebel Gilberto, Fred Hammond, Zero 7, State Radio, and Fungus.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-4110359474581867092009-09-24T22:21:00.001-05:002009-09-24T22:21:57.317-05:00Casual Listening - They Might Be Giants, Claudia Cunha, Volcano Choir<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFPI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Informal Roman"; mso-font-alt:"Courier New"; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:script; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date month="9" day="25" year="2009"><b style="">September 25, 2009</b></st1:date><b style=""> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* They Might Be Giants – Here Comes Science </b>(kids)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">If there’s anyone that could make science cool…it’s probably Beyonce or someone like that.<span style=""> </span>TMBG only intensifies its nerdy allure through pop gems with titles such as “I<span style=""> </span>Am a Paleontologist” and “Photosynthesis.”<span style=""> </span>Still, my money’s on this album for cementing the fascination of a younger generation with phenomena like solar plasma<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to They Might Be Giants “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6308614&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Why Does the Sun Really Shine?</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">And courtesy of Lee Winkelman, one of our Casual Listeners, a recommendation for another great new kids rock album: “Worser” by Duplex!<span style=""> </span>You can catch one new song from the album <a href="http://www.myspace.com/itsduplex">here</a>, and the whole thing for sale <a href="http://vedahille.com/products-page/">here</a>.</span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Claudia Cunha – Responde a Roda (</b>world)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Cunha has the attitude to pull off perfect Bossa Nova: a fine balance of laid-back and playful that seems to underlie all good Brazilian music.<span style=""> </span>The arrangements are smart, using snappy percussion, quiet guitar, accordion and musical bow.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Claudia Cunha – “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6308645&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Baiao Dividido</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Volcano Choir – Unmap </b>(folk)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Angelic choral tapestries stretched over neo-rustic frames – it’s no surprise that a key architect of this <st1:place>Midwest</st1:place> pastorale is Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.<span style=""> </span>The hypnotic background patterns are reminiscent of classical minimalism.<span style=""> </span>A little guitar, stray thumb piano, and lots of love.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Volcano Choir “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6308668&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">And Gather</a>” <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill </b>(folk)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Don’t worry, I hadn’t heard of Judee Sill before either.<span style=""> </span>She was a shooting star of a folk singer in the ‘70s who wrote beautiful melodies that deserve to be revisited.<span style=""> </span>An able cast of young singers (Ron Sexmith, Beth Orton, etc.) provide gentle re-visions of these works.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6308677&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Jesus Was a Cross Maker</a>” from “Crayon Angel”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Adam Steffey – One More for the Road </b>(bluegrass)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Solid traditional bluegrass, alongside a few contemporary riffs.<span style=""> </span>The instrumental tunes in particular add a welcome bit of harmonic adventurousness.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Adam Steffey “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6308699&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Deep Rough</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Dan Tepfer/Lee Konitz – Duos With Lee </b>(jazz)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Konitz has been a household name in the jazz world for 50 years.<span style=""> </span>Tepfer may be the next one.<span style=""> </span>Tepfer’s classically inspired compositions for saxophone and piano have an appealing sweetness.<span style=""> </span>Konitz is still in fine form, although it’s Tepfer that sets the pace of this album.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Dan Tepfer & Lee Konitz “<a href="http://www.lala.com/song/360569453908078500">Elande #2 (Bb)</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5759146157094032885.post-1615044692060759932009-09-17T23:00:00.000-05:002009-09-17T23:01:14.468-05:00Casual Listening - Mujerez, Q-Tip, Chris Knight<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" 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mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 36pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">Casual Listening<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 22pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">a review of cool new music<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";">by Jeff Pinzino<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><i style=""><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: "Informal Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2009" day="18" month="9"><b style="">September 18, 2009</b></st1:date><b style=""> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">! Mujerez: Juana/Dolores/Tomasa </b>(world)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Hands down the most powerful flamenco I’ve heard.<span style=""> </span>The passion you hear in the voices of these three women is enough to knock you off your chair.<span style=""> </span>Despite wide differences in vocal style, they share the soulfulness that’s made people across the globe fall for this music.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>Listen to Mujerez “<a href="http://www.lala.com/song/360569450421703482">Te Quise Sin Darme Cuenta</a>”</i><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Q-Tip – Kamaal the Abstract (</b>rap)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Abstract is the operative word, and in this case it signals masterful creativity.<span style=""> </span>Q-tip is embracing a tradition of Black experimental music, and you can hear its overtones throughout the album: Miles Davis’ fusion and Prince’s pop-funk are two reference points.<span style=""> </span>This album is a challenging listen, but it rewards you with a sophistication that mainstream rap doesn’t even attempt.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Q-Tip – “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6293308&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Heels</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">* Chris Knight – Trailer II </b>(country)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Knight wears country lonesome like a favorite flannel shirt.<span style=""> </span>He has a gutsy drawl that’s more troubadour than twang, and a simple guitar accompaniment leaves plenty of space for beautifully crafted, heartbreaking songs.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Chris Knight “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6293331&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">It Ain’t Easy Being Me</a>” <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Muse – The Resistance </b>(rock)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Muse creates for a giant-sized world: epic, dramatic, and with grand scale.<span style=""> </span>Driving rhythms with guitars, synths, and earnest vocals characterize most of the songs.<span style=""> </span>File this next to The Killers, although their palate is broad enough to pull in everything from Queen to Beethoven.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Muse “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6293358&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">The Resistance</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Simian </b><st1:place><b style="">Mobile</b></st1:place><b style=""> Disco – Temporary Pleasure </b>(electronic)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This one’s just a pleasure to dance to.<span style=""> </span>Simple electronic beats carry big hooks and harmonies, more music than metronome.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Simian </i><st1:city><st1:place><i style="">Mobile</i></st1:place></st1:city><i style=""> Disco “<a href="http://rhaplinks.real.com/rhaplink?rhapid=6293418&type=playlist&title=Playlist&from=real">Cruel Intentions</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Chris Russell – Merge </b>(ambient)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">While Casual Listening often strives to present music you can enjoy while doing other things, ambient music is purposely designed as creative background noise.<span style=""> </span>Chris Russell’s newest project presents a range of electronic textures that manage to convey a sense of warmth amidst the machines.<span style=""> </span>Let this wash through your subconscious while you’re going about your day.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Chris Russell’s track “Sky Watcher” at <a href="http://atmoworks.ning.com/">AtmoWorks</a><o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Cowboy </b><st1:city><st1:place><b style="">Troy</b></st1:place></st1:city><b style=""> – Demolition </b><st1:city><st1:place><b style="">Mission</b></st1:place></st1:city><b style="">: Studio Blue Sessions</b> (rock, etc.)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><o:p> </o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Cowboy <st1:city><st1:place>Troy</st1:place></st1:city> is one of my guilty pleasures.<span style=""> </span>Best known as the inventor of the county-rap hybrid “Hick-Hop,” <st1:city><st1:place>Troy</st1:place></st1:city> takes this album in the direction of straight-ahead rock.<span style=""> </span>Whatever he’s playing, he’s got a real pop sensibility that works.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="">Listen to Cowboy </i><st1:city><st1:place><i style="">Troy</i></st1:place></st1:city><i style=""> “<a href="http://www.lala.com/song/1657606150854591634">That’s Me</a>”<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">* <i style="">highly recommended<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">! <i style="">highest recommendation<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Check out the blog at <a href="http://casuallistening.blogspot.com/">http://casuallistening.blogspot.com</a> .<span style=""> </span>Follow me on Lala <a href="http://www.lala.com/#member/48747@22223">here</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt;">To subscribe or unsubscribe, or just to say hi, send an e-mail to <a href="mailto:jeffpinzino@google.com">jeffpinzino@gmail.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> Jeff Pinzinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01846518300637276937noreply@blogger.com0