Don’t You Wonder Sometimes About Sound and Vision

My eyes and ears played tricks on me yesterday.  The day of disorientation began when I encountered a gif that prompts an auditory hallucination.  My lunch break was stranger still.  I’ve mocked Taylor Swift’s irritating artifice for years, yet I quickly succumbed to the tactical pop brilliance of her chart-topping Reputation during the noon hour.  I surrender!

I was torn between concurrent concerts by Kodak Black at the Midland theater and the Wood Brothers at the Truman as darkness fell and a bitter wind beset Kansas City.  There are few things I love more than attending shows by artists at their artistic and commercial peak.  I suspect that’s the case with the young rapper behind the momentous “No Flockin’”.  Yet I went with the Wood Brothers, in part because I heard John Medeski- Chris Wood’s bandmate in Medeski Martin & Wood- perform with Hudson in October (my review).

The stab at symmetry failed.  Even though I admired the Wood Brothers’ effort and approach, the trio left me cold.  I felt as if the audience of about 600 was listening to an outstanding backing band akin to Booker T. and the M.G.s or the E Street Band riffing while waiting in vain for Otis Redding or Bruce Springsteen to show up.  David Bowie rescued me on the drive home.  “Sound and Vision” popped up soon after I hit shuffle on a 16-hour playlist of my favorite songs.  At the end of an unsettling day, I needed his admonition to appreciate the resplendent “gift of sound and vision.”


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I revealed my favorite jazz albums and jazz performances of 2017 at Plastic Sax.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star.

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Björk’s Utopia resembles the soundtrack to a fully immersive experience at Disneyland in the year 2033.

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Aida Cuevas’ Arrieros Somos: Sesiones Acusticas is charming.  RIYL: Juan Gabriel, corridos, Yolanda Del Rio.

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A concert featuring Ron Miles and Bill Frisell almost put me to sleep in April.  Miles’ I Am a Man, an album that features Frisell, Thomas Morgan and Brian Blade, is entirely invigorating.

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Even when paired with magnificent talent, noble intentions don’t necessarily make for good music.  Mavis Staples’ cloying If All I Was Was Black is RIYL Sweet Honey in the Rock, resistance, Curtis Mayfield.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Watch That Man: David Bowie, 1947-2016

David Bowie died yesterday.  Here’s an incomplete timeline of his impact on my life:

1978-80: As a misfit kid in the pre-internet era, determining who and what I was became easier once I discovered David Bowie.  I studied his back catalog as if it was a musical hidden treasure map.  The aggressive glam-rock of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars blew my mind.  The application of jazz on Aladdin Sane made a profound impression on me.  Low remains my favorite Bowie album.

1980-81: Two or three of my high school friends insisted that Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) be utilized as the soundtrack for several hazy high school experiences.  (Maybe that’s why I never acquired a taste for the album.)

1982: I talked my way into a Stevie Ray Vaughan rehearsal for Bowie’s Let’s Dance project at Billy Bob’s Texas.

1983-84 Bowie’s Let’s Dance became a mainstream pop sensation.  I was thrilled when “normal” girls would dance with me as Bowie songs played.

1990-93: I was a sales rep for Rykodisc as the record label rolled out reissues of Bowie’s catalog.  I was awarded the autographed poster pictured above at a sales conference.

2015: I was pleased but not surprised upon learning that Bowie was collaborating with the jazz musician Donny McCaslin for what would become his final album.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

The Top 40 of 2013

These songs- each is a single released in 2013- made me glad that I still listen to the radio.  Here's a corresponding Spotify playlist.

1. J. Cole featuring TLC- "Crooked Smile"
A most unlikely civil rights anthem.

2. Lorde- "Royals"
The zeitgeist.  

3. David Bowie- "Where Are We Now?"
The lion in winter.

4. Pusha T- "Numbers On the Boards"
Barbarous. 

5. Gary Allan- "It Ain't the Whiskey"
Drinking the pain away.

6. K. Michelle- "V.S.O.P."
Classic old-school R&B.

7. Janelle Monae featuring Erykah Badu- "Q.U.E.E.N."
"Am I a freak for getting down?"

8. Miley Cyrus- "We Can't Stop"
Can't stop, won't stop.

9. B.o.B- "We Still In This Bitch"
The soundtrack of the January 20  inauguration.

10. Ace Hood- "Bugatti"
Ridiculous but undeniable.

11. Action Bronson- "Strictly 4 My Jeeps"
12. Kelly Rowland- "Dirty Laundry"
13. Robin Thicke- "Blurred Lines"
14. Alice In Chains- "Stone"
15. Jay-Z featuring Justin Timberlake- "Holy Grail"
16. Toby Keith- "Drinks After Work"
17. A$AP Rocky- "Fashion Killa"
18. Marc Antony- "Vivir Mi Vida"
19. Justin Timberlake- "Suit & Tie"
20. Charlie Wilson- "My Love Is All I Have"

21. Volbeat- "Lola Montez"
22. Ms. Jody- "Still Strokin'"
23. Black Sabbath- "God Is Dead?"
24. Future- "Karate Chop (Remix)"
25. Foxygen- "San Francisco"
26. Jaheim- "Age Ain't a Factor"
27. Carlos Vives- "Como Le Gusta a Tu Cuerpo"
28. Ashley Monroe- "Like a Rose"
29. Tamar Braxton- "Love and War"
30. Yo Gotti- "Act Right"

31. Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly- "Cruise (Remix)"
32. Chris Brown- "Fine China"
33. Arctic Monkeys- "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?"
34. Bruce Springsteen- "High Hopes"
35. Lady Antebellum- "Downtown"
36. Dr#@e- "Started From the Bottom"
37. Alicia Keys featuring Maxwell- "Fire We Make"
38. The Uncluded- "Delicate Cycle"
39. Steel Panther- "Party Like Tomorrow Is the End of the World"
40. 2 Chainz- "Feds Watching"

Here's a Spotify playlist of my favorite singles of 2012.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: The Kansas City Chorale at Asbury United Methodist Church

My worst concert-going experience in recent memory transpired Tuesday at Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village, Kansas.   It wasn't the un-amplified performance of the Kansas City Chorale that caused me grief.  The ensemble was wonderful.  At least, I assume it was.  

The problem was the boorish behavior of an alarming portion of the attendees.  Apparently compelled to hear the Chorale in the wake of the blitz of positive publicity that followed the receipt of another Grammy Award last month, the capacity audience included a few dozen people who made it clear that they really didn't want to be there.  The atmosphere was akin to dining at a trendy new restaurant while surrounded by an anxious clientele that suddenly remembered that they didn't care for that particular type of cuisine. 

I overheard one codger hectoring his wife about the price of tickets.  Even with their senior citizen discount, he complained, tickets were $20 each.  I paid $30 for the privilege of listening to the old guy complain throughout the first portion of the concert.  Several of his peers regularly emitted exasperated sighs.  Based on the steady barrage of noise he made, I can only assume that the old man seated directly behind me was focused on an intricate origami project.  While slightly more discrete, the women seated on either side of me transformed their programs into noisemakers when they weren't fussing with candy wrappers.

Conductor Charles Bruffy must have sensed the discontent.  He pleaded with the audience to limit applause so that the program could progress more quickly.  I trust that the next time I see Bruffy at work he won't feel obliged to rush. 


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I walked out on a locally-based band last weekend when it launched into "Kansas City."  It's one thing to play the tired song for tourists at a downtown bar.  But the gig in question was almost certainly attended exclusively by locals.  I'd rather hear "Mustang Sally."  Cut it out.

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Here's episode #10 of the KC Cypher series.  My favorite participants are Rondoe and Godemis of Ces Cru. 

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I have no reason to believe that the rapturous reviews aren't justified, but I just can't bring myself to listen to David Bowie's new album.

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After taking in the streaming version of last night's SXSW showcase by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, I gave the band's new Push the Sky Away album another chance.  Listening to it under the stars changed everything.  It rocketed to #8 on my ranking of the Best Albums of 2013.

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Nerds!

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image of the audience's version of a vuvuzela by There Stands the Glass.)