Playlist Week of 12-15-12

* J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations (Hewitt) Royal Festival Hall, London 4-29-09 (FM CDR)

* Veracini: Sonatas (Holloway/Mortensen/ter Linden) (ECM CD)

* Satie: Oeuvres de Piano (Ciccollini) (d.1-2) (EMI 5CD)

* Andrew Hill: Andrew!!! (Blue Note CD)

* Andrew Hill: Pax (Blue Note CD)

* Andrew Hill: Compulsion!!!!! (Blue Note CD)

* Paradoxical Frog (Kris Davis/Ingrid Laubrock/Tyshawn Sorey): Union (Clean Feed CD)

* Ingrid Laubrock Anti-House: Strong Place (Intakt CD)

* P.M. Dawn: Of The Heart, Of The Soul, And Of The Cross…(Gee Street/Island CD)

* DJ Shadow: Midnight In A Perfect World (MoWax CDEP)

* DJ Shadow: Stem (MoWax CDEP)

* Frank Ocean: Nostalgia Ultra (Frank Ocean MP3)†

* Frank Ocean: Channel Orange (Island Def Jam CD)(†/‡)

* Grateful Dead: Winterland May 30, 1971 (GDP/Rhino 2LP)

* Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Psychedelic Pill (Reprise BD)

* The Band: Stage Fright (Capitol/Mobile Fidelity LP)

* Camel: Breathless (Dream/EMI CD)†

* Thurston Moore: Demolished Thoughts (Matador CD)†

* Yo La Tengo: Painful (Matador CD)

* Spiritualized: Sweet Heart, Sweet Light (Fat Possum CD)

* Beck: Sea Change (Geffen/Mobile Fidelity CD)†

* Porcupine Tree: In Absentia (Lava/Atlantic CD)†

* Porcupine Tree: Deadwing (Lava/Atlantic CD)†

* Porcupine Tree: Fear Of A Blank Planet (Atlantic CD)†

* Porcupine Tree: Nil Recurring (KScope CDEP)†

* Porcupine Tree: The Incident (Roadrunner CD/CDEP)

* Opeth:  Heritage (Roadrunner CD/DVD)†

* Storm Corrosion: Storm Corrosion (Roadrunner BD)

* Lambchop: OH (ohio) (Merge CD)

* Lambchop: Mr. M (Merge CD/2LP)

* Lambchop/Hands Off Cuba: CoLAB (Merge CDEP)

* Hands Off Cuba: Hands Off Cuba (Hands Off Cuba CDEP)

* Jack White: Blunderbuss (Third Man LP)

* Alabama Shakes: Boys & Girls (Rough Trade/ATO LP+7”)

* Wild Nothing: Nocturne (Captured Tracks CD)(†/‡)

†=iPod

‡=car

Commentary:

When I interviewed Mary Halvorson a couple of weeks ago, I asked her what she liked to listen to that might surprise people. After hemming and hawing a bit, she revealed she had just gotten the Frank Ocean CD, Channel Orange, which she found “really interesting.”

Intrigued, I decided to pick it up at my weekly jaunt to Grimey’s. I don’t really keep up with hip-hop—not because I don’t like it, but because it’s just not on my radar most of the time. As it turns out, Frank Ocean (nee Christopher Francis Breaux) is the real deal, an R&B songwriting prodigy who cut his teeth ghostwriting hits for the likes of Beyonce and Justin Bieber. His home and studio was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina, so he relocated to Los Angeles and eventually affiliated with the loose conglomeration, Odd Future (OFWGKTA). Ocean later gained attention as a solo artist in 2011 with a mixtape, Nostalgia Ultra, which contains the salacious single “Novacane” and the controversial “American Wedding,” an audacious reworking of the Eagles' “Hotel California,” which has, not surprisingly, drawn a cease-a-desist letter from the infamously litigious rock stars. Nostalgia Ultra will likely never be officially released but an MP3 is available at Frank Ocean's website.

Channel Orange, however is something else altogether, something totally fresh and original. Slyly avant-garde and experimental in its construction, it is nevertheless hook-filled pop music that demands repeated listens. Moreover, Ocean has an extremely versatile and expressive voice, at times sounding like classic soul singers Marvin Gaye or Stevie Wonder—but with a sexy falsetto like Prince with a similar taste for the kinky and explicit. The beats are thoroughly high-tech and up-to-date but what wins me over are the relentlessly gorgeous melodies—even when he’s speak/rapping, there is a mellifluous lilt to his voice goes right to the heart. When the subject matter gets uncomfortable, as on “Super Rich Kids,” “Crack Rock” and the epic, multifaceted “Pyramids,” you’ll find yourself singing along despite your misgivings. The lushly orchestrated music is mostly down-tempo and romantic, with jazzy flourishes amidst the digital samples and ultra-trippy production, the perfect setting for Ocean’s taut, morally ambiguous narratives. This is a record that’s made for headphones, richly cinematic and thoroughly mind-blowing.

Turns out I’m late to the party regarding Channel Orange, seeing as it has topped every critic’s poll for best albums of 2012. Well, it’s clearly well-deserved. Thanks for the tip, Mary! I probably would have remained oblivious. Guess I need to listen to more hip-hop and R&B in 2013—if there's anything else out there as good as this, I want to hear it.

+++

The interview should appear over at SpectrumCulture any time now. I’ll keep you posted.