Too much beauty.
Since I mangled my left knee on Thanksgiving afternoon, seemingly simple tasks like replacing a disc in a CD player have become a major challenge. So after about five consecutive plays of the new Jay-Z, I finally convinced someone to grab Sao Vicente for me. It's no substitute for Vicodin, but the music of Cesaria Evora can help ease the worst of pains. Elements of Portugese fado, Brazilian MPB, African rhythms and Italian pop inform Evora's sublime beauty.
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Until this morning, Taylor Swift was a shoe-in as my least favorite artist of the year. The kid's calculated insincerity really irks me. But then I heard NPR's interview with soprano Measha Brueggergosman on Morning Edition. "I think that music without drama or character is uninteresting and that's what I kind of like about this repertoire," she said of contemporary art songs. "It feels like it's an extension of who I am anyway." Ugh.
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Here are a few pictures I took of Millie Jackson, Floyd Taylor and Johnnie Taylor, Jr., at the Thanksgiving dance in Kansas City, Kansas. My pal Jason has his own take.
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Kansas City Click: I can't attend tonight's early show at The Record Bar. Because I prefer listening to noise bands in ten minute bursts, I might not suffer through The Locust 's entire set anyway. But I'd love to catch openers The Beautiful Bodies, Sleeping People and Yip Yip.
3 comments:
your pal Jason's take was ill-formed and proves once again to me that the concept of the white negro remains intact in the post modern world. irony? plenty of it. in spades, if you get my drift.
Jason is a funny guy and an excellent writer.
I usually disagree with his opinions and tastes, and I even cringed when I spotted him capturing that film footage. That said, the world's a better place because he DID make that movie. And Jason is anything but a racist.
As always, BGO, it's a real treat for me when you comment.
i was a tad harsh wasn't i? i mean no disrespect to him and totally agree he is an excellent writer. i even spoke once with him on the phone and he was real pleasant to chat with. it just that he seemed to pander to what white people are missing out in hipster talk i found unnecessary.
whatever works for you, works for me too. i understand you intent was to convey what a great annual event it is. i went to my first one probably 30 years ago.
so jason, i apologize.
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