January 30, 2010

Playlist: Week of 1-30-10

* Biber: Unam Ceylum (Holloway/Mortensen/Assenbaum) (ECM CD)
* Vivaldi: Cello Sonatas (ter Linden/Mortensen) (Brilliant Classics 2CD)
* Venice Baroque Orchestra (Marcon/Carmignola): Concerto Veneziano (Archiv Prod. CD)
* Schoenberg: Piano Concerto, Op.42, etc. (Cleveland Orch./Boulez/Uchida) (Philips CD)
* Boulez/Barraque: Notations/Sonata (Pi-Hsien Chen) (Telos CD)
* Duke Ellington: Money Jungle (Blue Note CD)
* Duke Elligton Meets Coleman Hawkins (Impulse! CD)
* Duke Ellington and John Coltrane (Impulse! CD)
* Grant Green: Street of Dreams (Blue Note CD)
* Bobby Hutcherson: “Mellow Vibes” (Blue Note mix CDR)
* Sun Ra: The Warehouse, San Francisco, CA 6-10-71 (SBD CDR)
* Sun Ra: The Native Son, Berkeley, CA, circa. Summer 1971 (SBD CDR)
* Sun Ra: Unknown venue, circa. 1972 (SBD CDR)
* Sun Ra: Universe in Blue (Saturn LP>CDR)
* John Coltrane: Crescent (Impulse! CD)
* Miles Davis: The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (d.3-4) (Columbia/Legacy 4CD)
* Miles Davis: The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions (d.1) (Columbia/Legacy 5CD)
* Herbie Hancock & Headhunters: Music Inn, Lenox, MA 8-31-74 (AUD 2CDR)
* William Parker Violin Trio: Scrapbook (Thirsty Ear)
* Susie Ibarra: Flower After Flower (Tzadik CD)
* DJ Spooky: Optometry (Thirsty Ear CD)
* Ethiopiques 4: Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale 1969-1974 (BudaMusique CD)
* The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (stereo remaster) (Apple/EMI CD)
* The Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour (stereo remaster) (Apple/EMI CD)
* The Beatles: Yellow Submarine (stereo remaster) (Apple/EMI CD)
* Jimi Hendrix Experience: Are You Experienced? (Experience Hendrix/MCA CD)
* Grateful Dead: Public Hall, Cleveland, OH 12-6-73 (SBD 3CDR)
* Grateful Dead: Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke Univ., Durham, NC 12-8-73 (SBD 4CDR)
* Jerry Garcia Band: Let It Rock: Keystone 11-75 (Rhino 2CD)
* Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: Déjà vu (Atlantic/MFSL LP)
* Neil Young: Harvest (Reprise LP)
* Tom Waits: Nighthawks at the Diner (Asylum 2LP)
* Tom Waits: Glitter and Doom Live (Anti- 2LP)
* Guided By Voices: Propeller (Scat LP)
* Guided By Voices: King Shit and the Golden Boys (Scat LP)
* Yo La Tengo: Popular Songs (Matador CD)
* My Bloody Valentine: Isn’t Anything (Plain LP)
* Animal Collective: Archa Theatre, Prague 10-14-08 (FM CDR)
* Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion (Domino CD)

Commentary:

The big news here in Middle Tennessee is of course, snow -- lots of snow. It finally quit snowing around noon today after an overnight coating of sleet and freezing rain. All told, I’d say we got about five inches of ice and snow out here in Kingston Springs and it is seriously slippery out there! Great sledding conditions -- neighborhood kids are having some rare fun -- but it ain’t so good for motorized transportation (or walking around for that matter!). Fortunately, we still have electricity; that means Lizzy and I can enjoy being snowed in together in our cozy home, a fire in the fireplace, and records on the player. Life really doesn’t get better than this.

+++

I’m still on the fence regarding Animal Collective. The live set I dug up was particularly underwhelming and made me appreciate the artifice of the album even more. Nevertheless, Merriweather Post Pavilion seems to make promises it ultimately can’t fulfill. Or maybe it’s me; I’ll keep listening. One thing about that title that tickles my brain: when I think of Merriweather Post Pavilion, I think of a legendary Grateful Dead concert that occurred at this venue just outside of Washington, D.C. on June 30, 1985. Let me tell you, that “Shakedown Street” is mind-bendingly awesome. What does that have to do with Animal Collective? Probably nothing. Heck, these guys were probably not even born yet. But I think of it every time I put on their latest record. One thing Animal Collective shares with the Grateful Dead is an acid-drenched sensibility. That, I like.
at

1 comment:

  1. Sam12:46 PM

    We got snow too--13 inches of it, for the second time this month!! If you know anything at all about Virginia weather, then you know that that's really, really strange and unprecedented. I'm not much of a snow fan--looks pretty coming down, then you have to deal with it.

    The highlight of my listening week was going over to my friend Cal's and listening to (mostly) vinyl all night. He got a new cartridge, his stereo sounds fantastic, and we jumped around through all kinds of goodies--"Jes' Grew" from Kip Hanrahan's first Conjure LP, some Joe Henderson, some Beatles, plus several tracks from the XTC box set of 7-inch 45s of songs from "Apple Venus" and "Wasp Star." They sounded just unbelievable, the best I've ever heard these tracks. "Apple Venus" is one of my favorite XTC albums, and this version really does the songs justice. Plus as a bonus, they threw in a 45 of the formerly web-only "Say It," a marvelous track about...listening to 45s. Great fun!

    Here's my playlist and reading log for this past week. I'm noticing a dearth of Miles and Coltrane in my playlists! I'll have to rectify this soon....

    Playlist 2010-02-01

    *AMM: 1970-03-02 London (CDR)
    *Tim Berne Adobe Probe: 2008-01-10 The Stone, NYC (CDR)
    *Anthony Braxton/Milford Graves/William Parker: Beyond Quantum
    *Anthony Braxton: Falling River Quartet 2008-10-10 Philadelphia (CDR)
    *Anthony Braxton: Falling River Quartet 2008-11-22 Herford, Germany (CDR)
    *Anthony Braxton Large Ensemble: 2008-12-03 Wesleyan (CDR)
    *Rodger Coleman: Bark Quack & Howl
    *Rodger Coleman & Sam Byrd: Duets Nashville 2001-11-23
    *Rodger Coleman & Sam Byrd: Unheard Voices "Children's song"
    *Jimmy Ghaphery: Path (CDR)
    *Joe Henderson: Multiple (LP) (side 1)
    *Andrew Hill: Dance With Death
    *Andrew Hill: Time Lines
    *Charles Mingus: New York Sketchbook [East Coasting]
    *New Loft: 2010-01-27 Live at the Bossa Bistro, DC (mp3)
    *Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble: Drawn Inward
    *Sam Rivers Orchestra: 1979-11-20 Turin, Italy (CDR)
    *Sun Ra: Unreleased test pressing tracks, NYC, 1965 (CDR)
    *Sun Ra: Media Dreams (Art Yard) disc 2
    *Sun Ra: Detroit Jazz Center, discs 9, 10 (1980-12-28) (CDR)
    *Cecil Taylor: 2009-08-31 Highland Ballroom, NYC (CDR)
    *Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
    *Beastie Boys: Ill Communication
    *Beatles: Help! (2009 stereo remaster)
    *Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour (Mobile Fidelity LP, side 2)
    *Grateful Dead: 1969-07-12 NY State Pavilion, Queens (CDR)
    *Grateful Dead: 1969-08-03 Family Dog, SF (CDR)
    *Grateful Dead: 1977-06-09 Winterland (CDR) disc 3
    *George Harrison: Let It Roll
    *Henry Cow: Leg End
    *Henry Cow: In Praise of Learning
    *High Llamas: Buzzle Bee
    *High Llamas: Cold and Bouncy
    *High Llamas: Retrospective, Rarities and Instrumentals (disc 2)
    *Irma Thomas: Time Is On My Side
    *XTC: Apple Vinyl (45rpm) (selections)

    Reading log 2010-02-01

    *The Complete Weird Science (EC) (started)
    *Kirby, Jack. Jack Kirby's Mister Miracle (in progress)
    *Larson, Gary. The Complete Far Side (in progress)
    *A New Literary History of America (ed. Greil Marcus & Werner Sollors) (in progress)
    *Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet (Oxford ed., ed. Jill Levenson) (in progress)

    ReplyDelete