When You Are Sad and Lonely and Have No Place to Go

Even though the last ten days have been miserable for me, I managed to pull off the enjoyable items listed below.  And yes, I’m putting a lot of satisfying time into compiling my year-end lists.


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I reviewed Tech N9ne’s Gift of Rap concert at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena for The Kansas City Star.

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I named Logan Richardson the Plastic Sax Person of the Year.

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I yakked about my favorite music of 2019 on the weekly radio show Eight One Sixty.

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I write concert previews for The Kansas City Star every week.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Azymuth- Demos 1973-1975

At the risk of oversharing, I’ll divulge the musical component of one of my proven methods of relaxation.  Deploying shuffle mode on a playlist with a few hours of lowkey Brazilian grooves from the ‘70s and ‘80s almost always makes me feel better.  Azymuth is a key component of these emergency decompression sessions.  The group’s Brazilian twist on effervescent instrumental funk and lilting jazz fusion provides engaging but undemanding background music.  The release of Demos (1973-1975), Vol. 1 & 2 is an unexpected windfall.  Most of the 80-minute compilation is musically preferable- if sonically inferior- to Azymuth’s most popular material.  Songs like “Laranjaeiras” are in keeping with watery instrumental jams of the era like Deodato’s reading of “Also Sprach Zarathustra” and Bob James’ “Nautilus” while the least pleasing tracks are compelling studio workouts.  The unfortunate inclusion of a seven-minute drum solo that’s of interest only to beat pilferers kills the otherwise sublime restorative vibe.


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I reviewed StrangeFest for The Kansas City Star.

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I write weekly concert previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I reviewed Ralph Peterson & The Messenger Legacy’s Legacy Alive, Volume 6 at the Side Door
at Plastic Sax.

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Ivan Conti’s impressive new album Poison Fruit doesn’t qualify for inclusion in the playlists I reference above.  Not only does it not fit into my arbitrary time frame constraints, the project by Azymuth’s adventurous 72-year-old drummer includes contemporary electronic and hip-hop elements.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Kansas City's (Not So) Hot 100

While trying to devise an appropriate headline for the online component of my new audio feature about the Greeting Committee for KCUR, I toyed with the premise that the indie-pop quartet is Kansas City’s most popular band.  Is that true?  I dove into Spotify’s statistics to gauge how Kansas City acts past and present stack up.  The following ranking is based on the service’s monthly listeners metric.

1. Tech N9ne 2,789,000
2. Janelle Monaé 2,748,000
3. Puddle of Mudd 2,481,000
4. Count Basie 2,342,000
5. Kevin Morby 1,230,000
6. Pat Metheny 804,000
7. Melissa Etheridge 735,000
8. Bob Brookmeyer 538,000
9. Ben Webster 538,000
10. Charlie Parker 495,000

11. Oleta Adams 416,000
12. Coleman Hawkins 375,000
13. Dreamgirl 311,000
14. Lester Young 297,000
15. Krizz Kaliko 281,000
16. Burt Bacharach 254,000
17. The Greeting Committee 188,000
18. David Cook 181,000
19. Stevie Stone 179,000
20. Norman Brown 173,000

21. The Get Up Kids 167,000
22. Mac Lethal 159,000
23. Karrin Allyson 141,000
24. Ces Cru 137,000
25. Big Scoob 130,000
26. Big Joe Turner 127,000
27. Radkey 120,000
28. The Floozies 119,000
29. Gene Clark 114,000
30. Jay McShann 113,000

31. Bloodstone 95,000
32. Kutt Calhoun 93,000
33. Samantha Fish 87,000
34. Nicolette Larson 83,000
35. Making Movies 71,000
36. Iris DeMent 70,000
37. JL 69,000
38. Kevin Mahogany 67,000
39. Hembree 59,000
40. Me Like Bees 54,000

41. Danielle Nicole 53,000
42. Brewer & Shipley 52,000
43. Joyce DiDonato 51,000
44. Reggie and the Full Effect 47,000
45. 77 Jefferson 45,000
46. Julian Vaughn 45,000
47. Krystle Warren 42,000
48. Mackenzie Nicole 38,000
49. Miles Bonny 35,000
50. Madison Ward and the Mama Bear 31,000

51. Listener 30,000
52. Nathan Davis 28,000
53. Eldar Djangirov 27,000
54. Chris Hazelton’s Boogaloo 7 27,000
55. Marva Whitney 26,000
56. The Anniversary 24,000
57. Joey Cool 21,000
58. Rich the Factor 21,000
59. Shy Boys 21,000
60. Chris Connor 16,000

61. Black Oxygen 15,000
62. Ubi 15,000
63. Various Blonde 15,000
64. Beautiful Bodies 14,000
65. Kelley Hunt 14,000
66. The Republic Tigers 12,000
67. Ha Ha Tonka 11,000
68. Coalesce 10,000
69. Jo Jones 10,000
70. Missouri 10,000

71. Shooting Star 10,000
72. Buck Clayton 9,000
73. Evalyn Awake 9,000
74. Bobby Watson 9,000
75. The Kansas City Symphony 8,000
76. Blair Bryant 6,000
77. Godemis 6,000
78. Kyla Jade 6,000
79. Julia Lee 6,000
80. Pageant Boys 6,000

81. The Rainmakers 6,000
82. 57th Street Rogue Dog Villians 5,000
83. The Kansas City Chorale 5,000
84. Bennie Moten 5,000
85. Trampled Under Foot 5,000
86. The Casket Lottery 4,000
87. The Marcus Lewis Big Band 4,000
88. Fat Tone 3,000
89. The Life and Times 3,000
90. Behzod Abduraimov 2,000

91. Calvin Arsenia 2,000
92. Mess 2,000
93. Radar State 2,000
94. Shiner 2,000
95. The Architects 1,000
96. Rex Hobart & the Misery Boys 1,000
97. Info Gates 1,000
98. Walter Page’s Blue Devils 1,000
99. Logan Richardson 1,000
100. Virgil Thomson 1,000


Notes and caveats:

*My listing- the product of three hours of racking my brain for every consequential artist from the Kansas City area- almost certainly contains several glaring omissions.  Yet before you call me an idiot for overlooking an artist, be advised that many ostensible hometown heroes are streamed by only a few hundred users each month.

*The number for Charlie Parker includes his separate listings for the Charlie Parker Quartet, the Charlie Parker Quintet, etc.  I also combined multiple entries for Count Basie, Pat Metheny, Bennie Moten and Ubi.

*Spotify updates its statistics daily.  The numbers for artists with popular new releases such as the Get Up Kids are sure to change dramatically in the following weeks.

*I recognize that the listening habits of Spotify users don’t necessarily reflect overall music consumption.  Even so, it’s among the most accurate gauges of what’s actually getting played.

*Although Eminem was born in St. Joseph, he’s not considered a local. Besides, his 28,811,000 monthly listeners make everything on my list look like a pitiful scrap.  (Khalid is currently the #1 artist in the world with 49,685,000 monthly listeners.)

*Sevendust has 1,055,000 monthly listeners, but only vocalist Lajon Witherspoon lives in the Kansas City area.

*So, is the Greeting Committee (#16) currently Kansas City’s most popular band?  Kinda sorta.

*EDIT: I’m arbitrarily boycotting Topeka artists. Here are the numbers on four notable Top City acts: Kansas- 5,362,000, Origin- 24,000, Youngblood Supercult- 21,000, Stik Figa- 7,000.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

The Top Ten Albums of 2018 by Kansas City Musicians

Musicians associated with Kansas City released dozens of albums in 2018.  A few of the most prominent projects aren’t included here.  Rather than acting as a barometer of parochial groupthink, my list contains the ten albums with the most artistic merit.

1. Logan Richardson- Blues People

2. Kelly Hunt- Even the Sparrow

3. Stephonne- Caged Bird Sings Songs About Red Beard

4. Rich the Factor- CEO of the Blacktop,  CEO of the Blacktop 2 and CEO of the Blacktop 3

5. Janelle Monáe- Dirty Computer

6. The Project H- Everyday, Forever

7. Chen Yi- Concertos for String Instruments

8. Stephen Martin- Vision

9. Tech N9ne- Planet

10. Calvin Arsenia- Cantaloupe

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Black Panther: The Album

I don't patronize movie theaters.  Staring at a screen in a dark room doesn’t appeal to me, partially because there’s an endless supply of live and recorded music I could be processing instead.  I may never see Black Panther, but I’ve had the soundtrack on repeat all weekend.  It’s the Kendrick Lamar album I hadn’t expected.  Not only does he dominate the mixtape-like soundtrack, K. Dot sounds like he’s having fun.  Unlike his mercenary turns with Taylor Swift and Maroon 5, Lamar seems entirely at home on the pop-laced project.  The first single is my least favorite song.  The tracks with hip-hop royalty including Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, Future, Vince Staples, Schoolboy Q and 2 Chainz are instant classics.  Lamar does, in fact, “live on ten.”


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I wrote and narrated a five-minute feature about the Kansas City jazz musician Stan Kessler for KCUR.

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I write weekly concert previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I highlighted Julia Othmer in my weekly Band of the Week segment for KCUR.

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I lauded a momentous concert by Ryan Keberle & Catharsis at Plastic Sax.

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Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson has died.  It’s a tremendous loss.  I documented my passion for his music at There Stands the Glass in 2012 and 2016.

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Dennis Edwards of the Temptations has died.  I’ve always adored his solo hit “Don’t Look Any Further”.

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Cabaret vocalist Wesla Whitfield has died.

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Hip-hop pioneer Lovebug Starski has died.

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I haven’t been truly enthused about a new Tech N9ne release in a few years.  The initial singles “Bad Juju” and “Don’t Nobody Want One” indicate that his next album will focus on the elements that once made him exceptional.

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There’s nothing worse than contrived jazz poetry.  Affected jive voices make me cringe.  Backed by the all-star band of saxophone titan David Murray, pianist Orrin Evans, bassist Jaribu Shahid and drummer Nasheet Waits, the spoken word artist Saul Williams sidesteps the pitfalls of the form on the vital Blues for Memo.

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Sports journalists often speak of narrow defeats as good losses.  That’s how I feel about Bigyuki’s latest synthesis of jazz, R&B and electronic music.   Reaching for Chiron is RIYL Thundercat, moral victories, Bilal.  Here’s “Eclipse”.

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FaltyDL’s galvanizing Three Rooms transports me to a terrifying place.  RIYL: rubber rooms, dancing as bombs drop, straightjackets.

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Just as I can’t listen to Mount Eerie’s devastating A Crow Looked At Me, I can’t handle the raw pain documented on Mary Gauthier’s Rifles and Rosary Beads.  Here’s “Bullet Holes in the Sky”.  RIYL: depression, Dave Van Ronk, PTSD.

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The James Hunter Six’s Whatever It Takes is RIYL Jackie Wilson, all vintage everything, Amy Winehouse.  Here’s “I Don’t Wanna Be Without You”.

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Wanna make out?  I have the perfect soundtrack cued up.  Blood, the seductive new album by Rhye, is the best Sade album since 1988’s Stronger Than Pride.  Here’s “Count To Five”.

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Mopo is a wild-eyed Finnish jazz trio.  Mopocalypse is RIYL Moon Hooch, dancing, Galactic.  Here’s "Tökkö".

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The more I listen to H.C. McEntire’s Lionheart, the less I like it.  RIYL Emmylou Harris, melancholy, Kacey Musgraves.  Here’s “Quartz in the Valley”.

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The good stuff on Lonnie Smith’s All In My Mind is capable of inducing altered states.  Alas, it’s not all good.  RIYL: Dr. John, organ jazz, Pharoah Sanders.

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God bless John Prine.

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Julian Lage’s Modern Lore is a loopy surprise.  RIYL: Chet Atkins, smiling, Les Paul.  Here’s “Roger the Dodger”.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Sour Concord Grapes

I’m not one of the three pasty men in the photograph that accompanies a The New York Times report about the latest transmutation of the entity once known as Concord Records.  While I bear a slight resemblance to the executives who oversee the conglomerate, I suppose I lack some of their business acuity.  I certainly had myriad opportunities to get in on the ground floor of the operation.  I regularly interacted with Carl Jefferson, the late founder of Concord Records, as I toiled as a sales rep for independent record labels when his company was strictly devoted to mainstream jazz recordings.  When he wasn’t scolding me about slow payments or the ostensibly light spreads of his latest releases, Jefferson and I had delightful discussions about our mutual admiration of musicians like Ruby Braff.  Even though things have worked out for me, I occasionally regret not striving to become a redoubtable music industry mogul.


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I reviewed the 25th anniversary edition of Rockfest.

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I reviewed Tech N9ne's return to the Midland.

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Future’s concert at the Sprint Center was my show of the week for The Kansas City Star and
Ink magazine.

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I gave Nick Schnebelen my KCUR Band of the Week designation.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star and Ink magazine.

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I reviewed Hermon Mehari’s solo debut album at Plastic Sax.

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Danny Cox recalled the summer of 1967 for The Kansas City Star.

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Bern Nix has died.

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The remix of Bob Marley & the Wailers' Exodus is disorienting.  Here’s ”Turn Your Lights Down Low”.

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Mad Decent added just the right amount of production sweetening to Omar Souleyman’s music on To Syria, With Love.  Here’s ”Chobi”.

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Cuong Vu’s Ballet is miraculous free-ish jazz.  RIYL: Bill Frisell, four (brilliant) dudes jamming, Dave Douglas.

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Orrin Evans might be my favorite mainstream jazz pianist.  His presence elevates Sean Jones’ Live From at the Bistro.  RIYL: Hermon Mehari, the St. Louis jazz club, Terrel Stafford.

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Rock may be dead, but the members of Greta Van Fleet are expert necromancers.  Black Smoke Rising is RIYL Led Zeppelin IV, gravedigging, Houses of the Holy.  Here’s ”Highway Tune”.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Lemmy Kilmister, 1945-2015

Motörhead knew only one song.  Thankfully, it was a great one.  The running time of my collection of physical copies of Motörhead albums and CDs is more than six hours.  Talk about overkill... 

I never had any use for Hawkwind, but Lemmy Kilmister’s Motörhead meant a lot to me.  I came upon the Ramones and Motörhead at about the same time.  Like a lot of self-conscious teenagers, I had been under the foolish impression that image had meaning.  Lemmy and his partners in crime helped me to understand that the barriers between punk and metal were artificial constructs.

My bones were rattled at several Motörhead performances.  The group’s 2006 concert at the minor league baseball stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, is ranked #19 on my 2009 list of The Best Shows of the Decade.

Kilmister died last week.


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I reviewed Tech N9ne’s Strangeulation for KCUR.

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Natalie Cole has died.  Her live version of ”Something Got a Hold On Me” is my favorite Cole performance.

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Craig Strickland has died.  The member of Backroad Anthem last performed in the Kansas City area at Kanza Hall on Jan. 15, 2015.

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Nicole Mitchell’s Artifacts is the first entry on what’s sure to be a long list of unintentional omissions from my Top 50 Albums of 2015 post.   Check out the skronky combination of flute, fiddle, bass and drums on ”The Clowns”.

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The soundtrack for The Revenant is RIYL: Tangerine Dream, isolation, Nico Muhly.

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Posted without commentary: footage of Osa Johnson, the native Kansan who traveled the world with her husband Martin, dancing to jazz with African pygmies.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Hi, How Are You?

The second season of the Amazon series Transparent traumatized me.  It’s not the show’s primary theme of malleable gender identity that rattled my nerves.  A straight male character named Josh Pfefferman induced unwelcome flashbacks to the years I spent as a music distribution sales rep.  Josh, a self-centered weasel who intends to launch a record label, closely resembles a subset of men I once dealt with every day.  Listening to entitled guys almost exactly like Josh demand that albums by developing acts like the fictional folk-pop band Fussy Puss be stocked on shelves of Wal-Mart was the bane of my existence. 


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I reviewed Tech N9ne’s sold-out concert at the Midland theater.

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I reviewed Todd Rundgren’s return to the VooDoo.

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In what may most be my most subversive act of the year, I played punk rock (Radkey), jazz (Matt Villinger), rap (Tech N9ne), hip-hop (Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment), R&B (Jill Scott) and pop (Rihanna) during my guest appearance on the AAA station 90.9 The Bridge last week.  You can stream or download a podcast version of my misbehavior here.  I suppose I owe the staff and the listeners of the non-commercial radio station an apology.

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Scott Weiland died last week.  I ranked the reunited Stone Temple Pilots’ headlining appearance at the 2008 edition of Rockfest as one of the best concerts of the decade.  I also reviewed the first concert of Weiland’s 2009 solo tour.  The buzz in advance of that show was extremely negative but Weiland was great that night.

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Four of the top five releases in No Depression’s year-end reader’s poll have black-and-white or sepia-toned album covers.

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Jon Benjamin Well, I Should Have…* is amusing for about five minutes.  The premise- a comedian plays piano with a legit jazz band- gets old in a hurry.  The trailer is funnier than the album.

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I’m not the least bit embarrassed to admit that I’m partial to Buckcherry’s sleaze-rock.  Rock 'n' Roll is RIYL: Kiss, STDs, Aerosmith circa ‘76.  Here’s ”Tight Pants”.

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The recent reissue of Gloria Ann Taylor material doesn’t live up to the hype.  RIYL: psych guitar noodling, Big Brother and the Holding Company, forced vocals.

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Much of Van Hunt’s murky The Fun Rises, The Fun Sets makes even the biggest disappointments of Sly Stone and Prince seem competent.

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Archy Marshall’s A New Place 2 Drown is RIYL: Young Fathers, gloom, King Krule.

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Cam’s Untamed is acceptable mainstream country.  RIYL: Miranda Lambert, Nashville, Sunny Sweeney.  Here’s ”Burning House.

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The use of an accordion in an experimental jazz context sounds entirely natural to me on Old Time Musketry’s Drifter.

(Original image of Daniel Johnston-inspired graffiti by There Stands the Glass.)

Allen Toussaint, 1938-2015

Like most people, I was introduced to the brilliance of Allen Toussaint through hits by other artists.

Hearing his suggestive production on Labelle's lurid "Lady Marmalade" and Robert Palmer's downright nasty version of his song "Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley" exposed me to the concepts of prostitution and adultery when I was an impressionable kid. 

I would later binge on Toussaint's monstrously funky collaborations with New Orleans vocalists like Lee Dorsey and Ernie K-Doe and I heard a lot of colorful Toussaint stories from record clerks and buyers when I represented his NYNO record label in a territory that included New Orleans in the '90s. 

Toussaint's impeccably formal demeanor and elegant presentation during his concerts at the Folly Theater in 2010 and 2014 contrasted starkly with the vignettes of street life associated with his work in the 1960s and 1970s.  Discovering that the man responsible for a large swathe of the sultriest American music looked and acted like an investment banker was shocking.

I reviewed his concerts at the Folly Theater in 2010 and 2014.  Tim Finn quotes one of those critiques in a tribute to the great man.


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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I wrote an extended concert preview about Murs.

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My enthusiastic notes about a concert of egghead jazz by Drew Williams and John Blevins is posted at Plastic Sax.

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Phil Taylor, the former drummer of Motorhead, has died.

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Gene Norman once yelled at me on a regular basis.  The entrepreneur died last week.  I’m saddened by his passing.

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The chorus of Tech N9ne’s ”PBSA” is unfortunate.

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Steddy P made a video for ”Perfect”.

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The video for Shades of Jade’s ”That One” looks as if it's sponsored by a PR firm representing Kansas City’s Crossroads district.

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Counterparts’ performance at Aftershock on Saturday looked and sounded almost exactly like this.  Acacia Strain and Fit for an Autopsy also spurred miniature riots.  In spite of the chaos, I witnessed only two injuries and a single ejection.  And since I established an unfortunate precedent in my notes about Arlo Guthrie’s concert last month, it’s only fair to note that vape smoke, passed gas, spilled beer and blood-streaked sweat made the show the smelliest concert I’ve attended in 2015.

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The wondrous tracks on The Cutting Edge 1965-1966 remind listeners that Bob Dylan has always been a tinkerer.

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Angie Stone’s enchanting Dream is RIYL: The Supremes, real life, the Honey Cone.

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I’d better not hear any of the people who are extolling Grimes' Art Angels disparage the similar output of Justin Bieber.

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D-Stringz, the latest collaboration between Stanley Clarke, Bireli Lagrene and Jean-Luc Ponty, makes me drowsy.

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I’ve always had a weak spot for Pieces of a Dream.  All In is RIYL: candlelight, Najee, wine.

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Bobby Caldwell’s new Cool Uncle project makes me smile.  RIYL: Freddie Jackson, step dancing, Boz Scaggs.  Here’s ”Never Knew Love Before”.

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I recently came across footage of a 75-minute performance by Henry Threadgill’s Zooid.

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Boots was fantastic when he opened for Run the Jewels at the Midland theater last month, but his new album Aquaria doesn’t do much for me.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Talkin’ Out the Side of My Neck

I was denied entrance to the Power & Light District last night. 

The inner sanctum of the entertainment area had reached its capacity of 3,500 for a free concert by Cameo.  I stood among more than 1,000 disappointed people who were also shut out.  After listening to the brilliant band for about twenty minutes as I verified that all external doors were locked and that every security guard took his job seriously, I dropped into the RecordBar. 

Johnny Hamil led a “gawdy cartoonnoirjazz” (his words and stylization) band for a handful of fans, friends and family members.  After marveling at the blood moon from the venue’s smoking patio, I moved a few blocks west on Westport Road.

An adorably sincere little punk show at Records With Merritt provided me with the thrill I’d been seeking.  Rather than feeling self-conscious about being the oldest member of the audience by at least twenty years, I took pleasure in knowing that I was the only listener who had attended performances by Sonic Youth and Cameo thirty years ago. 


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I'm featured in Sylvia Maria Gross' otherwise outstanding examination of The Popper’s "I'm KC."

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I previewed Vince Staples’ concert at the Granada for Ink magazine.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I previewed Ernest James Zydeco’s album release party for KCUR.

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I reviewed Many a New Day: Karrin Allyson Sings Rodgers and Hammerstein at Plastic Sax.

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Tech N9ne has a new video for ”No K”.

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I’ve long adored K.T. Oslin.  Even so, I can’t tell if Simply, a brief album of remakes, is a last gasp or a welcome comeback.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Way Down Yonder On the Chattahoochee

One of the most common transgressions made by music fans is judging a genre by the people it supposedly attracts.

I encounter it daily:  Country fans are drunken homophobes.  Only elitists listen to jazz.  Hip-hop heads are illiterate. 

I’m also guilty of making rash generalizations.  Thankfully, I caught myself before I responded to a friend's direct provocation regarding Sturgill Simpson (a musician I appreciate).  I was going to suggest that most members of the audience at Simpson's concert in Kansas City last week were status-conscious bandwagoners who wouldn’t be caught dead at an Alan Jackson show.

That wouldn't have been nice.

Jackson's music may not be worthy of consideration by Pitchfork obsessives, but it will always have a place in my life.  In the parlance of 2015, plenty of the songs on his new album Angels and Alcohol are “basic.”  I'm not bothered that the album demonstrates no musical or ideological progression.

“Mexico, Tequila and Me” may be just as tired as its title suggests, but I genuinely appreciate the cliches of “Jim and Jack and Hank.”  I also think that the spiritual cheese of “God Paints” is delicious.  And the title track- easily the album’s best song- hits close to home.

Now, for the rest of the story: I wore a pink shirt to an Alan Jackson concert in 2007.  Harassed for hours by drunken homophobes, I thought I’d be killed in Bonner Springs, Kansas.


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I reviewed Tech N9ne’s Special Effects for KCUR.

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I reviewed a concert by Keith Sweat and Blackstreet featuring Teddy Riley and Dave Hollister.

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I reviewed a concert by the Dave Matthews Band.

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A segment about Jeff Black is among the recent Local Listen items I've contributed to KCUR.

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Shades of Jade’s new single ”That One” is RIYL: Brian McKnight, Kansas City neo-soul, Bilal.

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Bummer’s punishing Spank EP is shockingly great.  The Olathe band’s new EP is RIYL: Paw, blind rage, Tad.

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The Kansas City Star recalls the infamous Ozark Music Festival of 1974.

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Joan Sebastian has died.  I reviewed his concert at Cricket Wireless Amphitheater last year.

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Max Richter’s Sleep is “an eight-hour lullaby.”

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Man Plans God Laughs is the title track of Public Enemy’s new album.

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Heads of State’s Search For Peace is a standard-issue post-Coltrane jazz date.  RIYL: Gary Bartz, old school jazz, Larry Willis.

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”God bless Rod Stewart.”

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Misusing Your Influence: Music Midway in 2015

I’m embarking on a blogging break.  I’ll return in two or three weeks. Here are listings of my favorite things from the first half of 2015.  See ya, suckers!

Favorite Songs of 2015 (So Far)
Call it the To Pimp a Butterfly stipulation- I elected not to duplicate any artists on my songs and albums lists.  (Spotify playlist)

1. Tyler, the Creator- “Smuckers”
2. Venom- “Long Haired Punks”
3. Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear- “Silent Movies”
4. Sleater-Kinney- “Bury Your Friends”
5. Kenny Lattimore- “Nothing Like You”

6. Butch Walker- “21+”
7. Future- “F*ck Up Some Commas”
8. Courtney Barnett- “Dead Fox”
9. John Moreland- “Cherokee”
10. Charlie Wilson- “Touched By an Angel”

11. Maroon 5- “Sugar”
12. Ryan Bingham- “Fear and Saturday Night”
13. Big Sean featuring Dr*ke and Kanye West- “Blessings”
14. Father John Misty- “The Ideal Husband”
15. Joywave- “Nice House”

16. Chedda Da Connect- “Flicka Da Wrist”
17. Chris Stapleton- “Whiskey and You”
18. Lila Downs- “Balas y Chocolate”
19. José James- “Lover Man”
20. Little Big Town- “Girl Crush”

21. Maysa- “Last Chance For Love”
22. Kanye West- “All Day”
23. Doomtree- “Cabin Killer”
24. Mat Shoare- “Murder”
25. Pops Staples- “Better Home”


Favorite Albums of 2015 (So Far)
Call it the To Pimp a Butterfly stipulation- I elected not to duplicate any artists on my songs and albums lists.(Spotify playlist)

1. Kendrick Lamar- To Pimp a Butterfly
2. Rudresh Mahanthappa- Bird Calls
3. Mark Ronson- Uptown Special
4. Ghostface Killah and Badbadnotgood- Sour Soul
5. Marc Cary- Rhodes Ahead, Vol. 2

6. Dominique Sanders- A True Story Based On…
7. Jodeci- The Past, The Present, The Future
8. Tech N9ne- Special Effects
9. Action Bronson- Mr. Wonderful
10. Alabama Shakes- Sound & Vision

11. Young Fathers- White Men Are Black Men Too
12. Jazmine Sullivan- Reality Show
13. J.D. McPherson- Let the Good Times Roll
14. Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment- Surf
15. Yelawolf- Love Story

16. Dead Sara- Pleasure to Meet You
17. Bob Dylan- Shadows In the Night
18. Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld- Never Were the Way She Was
19. Liturgy- The Ark Work
20. Valentina Lisitsa- Plays Philip Glass

21. Donny McCaslin- Fast Future
22. Viet Cong- Viet Cong
23. Terence Blanchard- Breathless
24. Matt Kane & the Kansas City Generations Sextet- Acknowledgement
25. Earl Sweatshirt- I Don’t Like Sh*t, I Don’t Go Outside


Favorite Reissues of 2015 (So Far)
1. The Supreme Jubilees- It’ll All Be Over
2. Next Stop Soweto: Zulu Rock, Afro-Disco and Mbaqanga 1975-1985
3. Thomas Mapfumo- Lion Songs: Essential Tracks in the Making of Zimbabwe
4. Led Zeppelin- Physical Graffiti
5. Michael Angelo- Michael Angelo


Favorite Performances of 2015 (So Far)
A brief romp in New York City made a big impression on me.  Aside from items 3, 6 and 24, all shows took place in the Kansas City area.

1. Mark Dresser, Myra Melford and Matt Wilson- Take Five Coffee + Bar
2. Charlie Wilson- Sprint Center
3. Lee Konitz with the Dave Douglas Quintet- Jazz Standard
4. Four Fists- Riot Room
5. Helmet- RecordBar

6. Joyce DiDonato with the Philadelphia Orchestra- Carnegie Hall
7. Sufjan Stevens- Midland theater
8. Lauren Krum with the Project H- Westport Coffee House
9. Merle Haggard- Uptown Theater
10. Avishai Cohen, Tal Mashiach and Nasheet Waits- Take Five Coffee + Bar

11. Sleater-Kinney- Uptown Theater
12. Max Raabe and Palast Orchester- Helzberg Hall
13. Crobots- Penn Valley Park
14. Luke Bell- Riot Room patio
15. Hellyeah- Midland theater

16. Bill Frisell- White Theatre
17. Peter Schlamb’s Electric Tinks- RecordBar
18. John Doe- Knuckleheads
19. Ebony Tusks- Riot Room patio
20. Chris Hazelton’s Boogaloo 7- Green Lady Lounge

21. Robert Randolph & the Family Band- Town Center Plaza
22. Duncan Burnett and the Ministry- Riot Room patio
23. Various Blonde- Pizza Bar
24. Noah Preminger Quartet- 55 Club
25. Eddie Moore and the Outer Circle- Take Five Coffee + Bar


Favorite Opening Acts of 2015 (So Far)
1. Doug E. Fresh- Municipal Auditorium, for Guy
2. Ben Miller Band- Uptown Theater, for Blackberry Smoke
3. Joe- Sprint Center, for Charlie Wilson
4. Apocalyptica- Midland theater, for Sixx:A.M.
5. Joywave- Midland theater, for Vance Joy

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Yelawolf- Love Story

Blame it on David Allan Coe.  I was raised on outlaw country songs like “Longhaired Redneck” and the infamous “If That Ain’t Country.”

I suppose that’s why I remain partial to decidedly uncouth music by Southern and Midwestern outsiders ranging from Kid Rock to Tech N9ne. 

Yelawolf, the controversial Alabaman who has been repeatedly excoriated by critics, speaks directly to me, partly because I relate to his intense relationships with God and alcohol. 

Yelawolf airs his dirty laundry on the deliberately offensive “Whiskey in a Bottle”, one of Love Story’s many strong tracks.  ”Best Friend”, a collaboration with Eminem, is also pretty great. 

I don't condone the hateful slurs Yelawolf employs, nor will you ever hear me utter those words.  But that doesn’t mean that I haven't been barraged by similar trash talk for much of my life. 

I may not look or sound like Yelawolf, but I know precisely where he's coming from.


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I reviewed a concert by Vance Joy, the Kooks, Joywave and Hembree.

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I contributed a Local Listen segment about Mat Shoare to KCUR.

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“Hood Crazy” is probably Tech N9ne’s most mainstream song to date.  Here’s the video.  Tech N9ne’s Special Effects drops this week.

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I saw Joseph Kern conduct the Midwest Chamber Orchestra in a performance of his dissonant but romantic new Chamber Symphony at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection last night.  Sarah Tannehill-Anderson’s singing of a Walt Whitman text was beauteous.

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Ben E. King has died.  I suppose “Spanish Harlem” is my favorite King hit.

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Jack Ely of the Kingsmen has died.

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Reach places flowers at the graves of jazz, rock and hip-hop in the ”Pay Respects” video.

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His provocative image aside, Young Thug is kind of boring.  Barter 6 is  RIYL: Birdman, drugs, Weezy.  Here’s ”Constantly Hating”.

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Earl Sweatshirt is so sad.  "Solace" is his extremely loose new project.

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Just a Mortal Man is the debut album of 71-year-old Jerry Lawson.  RIYL: Brook Benton, classic soul, Solomon Burke.  Here’s the title track.

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I appreciate Marc Myers’ reevaluation of the collaboration between Tony Bennett and Bill Evans.

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Angry jazz is good jazz.  Terence Blanchard’s goes hard on the EPK for his new album.

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Need a lift?  I recommend "Gyae Su" by Pat Thomas the Kwashibu Area Band.

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Portions of Raekwon’s Fly International Luxurious Art are almost as good as Ghostface Killah’s recent string of outstanding albums.  RIYL: Wu-Tang Clan, the kitchen sink, Busta Rhymes.  Here’s ”All About You”.

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Bell Witch’s acclaimed metal album Four Phantoms is RIYL: vertigo, High On Fire, fashionable black metal.

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I’m disappointed by Charles Lloyd’s Wild Man Dance.  RIYL: hype, Gerald Clayton, third stream.  The EPK, however, is amazing.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Percy Sledge, 1940-2015

Tears come easily for me.  Music often acts as the trigger, and classic R&B voices get me almost every time.  I just cued up Percy Sledge’s out-of-print 1994 album Blue Night and was immediately overcome by emotion.  Listen for yourself.  Damn.  Sledge died last week.


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I reviewed Lil Boosie’s wack concert at the Midland.

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I reviewed a solid concert by Sixx:A.M. and Apocalyptica.

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I reviewed Matt Kane & the Kansas City Generations Sextet’s Acknowledgement at Plastic Sax.

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I didn’t know about Tony Bennett’s secret weapon until I first saw Ralph Sharon perform with the vocalist in the 1990s.  Sharon died on March 31.

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Johnny Kemp has died.

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After years of conjecture, a collaboration between Tech N9ne and Eminem has been released.

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Todd Clouser’s Chant is RIYL: Allen Ginsberg, beatniks, John Trudell.  Clouser created a video for “You the Brave.”

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Lila Downs’ Balas y Chocolate is a lot of fun.  RIYL: Vicente Fernández, parties, Kinky. 

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Tyler, the Creator’’s Cherry Bomb is much better than I anticipated.  And yes, “Smuckers” is the hip-hop event of the year.

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Kenny Lattimore’s Anatomy of a Love Song is RIYL: Luther Vandross, classic R&B, Marvin Gaye.  Here’s the video for “Love Me Back.”

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The-Dream’s silky Crown is RIYL: Michael Jackson, radio playlists, Future.

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Beethoven, Period, a collaboration between Matt Haimovitz and Christopher O’Riley, is my default work soundtrack.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Bobby Womack, 1944-2004

I was late to Bobby Womack's party.  By the time I purchased the CD pictured above in the early '90s, I'd already become conversant with the works of most soul greats.  Hearing songs like "Lookin' For a Love," "That's the Way I Feel About Cha" and "Across 110th Street" for the first time was stunning.  I wondered how these gems weren't played alongside familiar radio hits by James Brown and Al Green.  After finally catching up with Womack, I was able to enjoy subsequent albums as new releases.  Womack died last week.  Here's Raphael Saadiq's new tribute song.

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I reviewed Saturday's concert by Tech N9ne, Freddie Gibbs, Jarren Benton and the Psych Ward Druggies.

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I reviewed Ray LaMontagne's concert at Starlight Theatre.

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I yakked about music on KCUR's Up To Date last week.  Here's the stream.

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Lee McBee has died.

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Tech N9ne made a video for "Fear."

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Here's the trailer for Arrows Into Infinity, a new documentary about Charles Lloyd.

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I'm a Led Zeppelin freak but I'm not an apologist.  Here's essential documentation of LedZep's transgressions.  The insidious ads are a small price to pay.  (Tip via There Stands the Glass reader Phil.)

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Har Mar Superstar stars in the excellent video for Trampled By Turtles' "Wild Animals."

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Jimmy Cobb's The Original Mob bores me to tears.  I suppose that makes me a bad person.

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It's not exactly funky, but Worry Later by the unapologetically geeky jazz trio of Ben Goldberg, Adam Levy and Smith Dobson is a sublime tribute to Monk. 

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Mastodon's latest release sounds exactly like another Mastodon album.  Here's the video for "High Road".  RIYL: size, The Mars Volta, volume.

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It takes 2 hours and 35 minutes to play the new compilation Role: New Sounds of Brazil.  Much of it is exemplary.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Sidewise- Made of Matches

I lost track of the number of paying jobs I've had when the number passed 25.  Maybe the bots at Social Security or the IRS will sort it all out for me someday.  I've disliked a lot of those jobs, but I'm proud of almost all of them. 

Factories, warehouses, upscale office complexes, and yes, record stores, are among my former workplaces.  I've worn steel-toe boots and fancy ties.  The wide range of settings has erased many of my biases. 

That's why I have little patience for people who feel compelled to go out of their way to bash bands like Nickelback.  Not only do I not dislike Nickelback, I sincerely like Puddle of Mudd.  Many of the band's original fans have been my co-workers.  I've also worked alongside guys who consider Rockfest the highlight of their social calendars.

I have nothing but admiration for Sidewise's new album Made of Matches.  Sure, the Kansas City band is simply rearranging pieces of songs by the likes of Saliva, Five Finger Death Punch and Seether, but the recording rings true. 

Sidewise doesn't pretend to be innovative.  And there are times when I simply want to unwind to loud and unchallenging music.  I just spent a couple hours in the heat hacking at poison ivy.  Made of Matches sounds perfect right now.


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My thoughts about Saturday's tribute to the Jazz at Massey Hall concert are posted at Plastic Sax.

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Tim Finn reports that the Beautiful Bodies recently signed to Epitaph Records.

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Cowboy Indian Bear has released the 7-song EP Vandeventer.

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"Fix" is a new track by Reach.

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Teddy Dibble talks about records again.

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Tech N9ne released a video for "Hard".

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Jerry Vale has died.

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Da Cruz's Disco e Progresso is enthralling.  Here's a video for the opening track.  RIYL: Jorge Ben, Brasil, Chic.

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Pigeon John's Encino Man is RIYL: Kid Cudi, wild parties hosted by smart nerds, the B52s.

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The ECM player for Driftwood, guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel's collaboration with Larry Grenadier and Brian Blade, has my name written all over it.

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Curtis Harding's Soul Power is RIYL: Hanni El Khatib, American music, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears.

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Holy moly!  Down's Down IV – Part II is excellent.  RIYL: Black Sabbath, sludge, Masters of Reality.

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Marie et Marion, the latest release by Anonymous 4, rubs me the wrong way.  RIYL: incense, Chanticleer, church pews.

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Everyday Robots, the wistful and ramshackle new album by Damon Albarn, is RIYL: Paul Weller, merrie olde England, Thom Yorke.

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Sérgio Dias of Os Mutantes includes an album by the Swingle Singers (!) on his list of influential albums.

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I hadn't missed Dipset.  Here's Cam'ron's comeback song "Dipsh*ts".

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I began prepping for doomsday immediately after watching Die Antwoord's video for "Pitbull".  (Via S.S.)

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: St. Paul & the Broken Bones- Half the City

At the advent of the CD revolution I set out to build a comprehensive library of classic soul.  Each week I'd diligently purchase a title by the likes of Percy Sledge, Al Green, James Carr and Joe Tex. I scrimped and saved to acquire pricey box sets compiling the works of James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Stax Records.

I also made seeing the giants a top priority.  I took in multiple performances by the likes of Charles Brown, Solomon Burke, Bobby Bland, Etta James, Isaac Hayes, Marvin Sease, Ike Turner and James Brown.

My obsession has a downside.  I've never managed to muster the same level of enthusiasm as my peers for soul revivalists like Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings.  A lot of these new acts are undeniably great, but when Millie Jackson, Jimmy Scott, Bobby Womack, Charlie Wilson and Bobby Rush are still out there doing it, it's hard for me to get worked into a lather by expert mimics.

That said, I'm smitten by Half City, the new release by St. Paul & the Broken Bones.  The throwback approach of the Alabama-based band works largely because vocalist Paul Janeway doesn't try to be what he's not.  He's obviously obsessed with Otis Redding, but much like the late, great Eddie Hinton, he's not an embarrassing parodist. 

St. Paul & the Broken Bones merit their prestigious position in my collection between the Staple Singers and the Stylistics.


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I reviewed a concert by Slayer, Exodus and Suicidal Tendencies.

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I contributed to a feature on Dominique Sanders for KCUR's Up To Date.

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Tech N9ne's Strangeulation by the the numbers: the album topped Billboard's rap, R&B and hip-hop charts last week and landed at #5 on the Top 200.

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I hadn't realized that the Dan Conn Collection at the Marr Sound Archives existed until a link posted by There Stands the Glass reader BGO led me to the discovery.  Dan, a former co-worker, introduced me to the music of artists ranging from Red Garland to Doc Watson.

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Here's another nice video feature on Radkey.

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Anyone who likes vintage Approach and Miles Bonny will love the new video for "Chief".

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The ninth episode of the second season of the KC Cypher Series is not worth your time.

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The highlight of Dolly Parton's charming Blue Smoke is a cover of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right."  RIYL: Silver Dollar City, Elvis Presley, America.

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If Outkast and Kelis aren't booked in Kansas City prior to the festival, I may travel to St. Louis in September for Loufest.

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I innocently hit "play" on the Juilliard String Quartet's Elliott Carter: The Five String Quartets on a recent afternoon.  After several interruptions, I finished the epic cycle five hours later.  It's stunning. 

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From a purely sonic perspective, Michael Jackson's Xscape is an extraordinary achievement.  Tracks like "Blue Gangsta" sound as if they were recorded last month.  M.J.'s original demos are also worth a listen.

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I'm hardly a Black Keys fanboy, but I suspect Dan Auerbach's production of Nikki Lane's All or Nothin' is responsible for the album's excellence.  RIYL: Whiskeytown, something borrowed, Rosanne Cash.

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Love in da club.  Troy Ave's BSB Vol. 4 is RIYL: 50 Cent, prison, Wu-Tang Clan.

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Back On the Controls, ostensibly a new album by Lee "Scratch" Perry, baffles me.  RIYL: eternity, Mad Professor, confusion.

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Lantlôs' Melting Sun isn't quite as good as many reviews would have you believe.  RIYL: Deftones, dreaming out loud, Isis.

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Jody Stephens of Big Star is featured in a segment of "What's In My Bag."

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Joe Louis Walker is challenging Buddy Guy for the title of the most vital blues veteran of 2014 on Hornet's Nest.

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CNN aired a 15-minute documentary about Clipse.

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My cousin is in fine form on Virtuoso Rossini Arias.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Tech N9ne- Strangeulation

The embedded video for the cypher version of the title track of Strangeulation encapsulates everything that's both great and awful about Tech N9ne's empire.  The undisputed Kansas City King is capable of sending shivers down my spine with his brilliance on one track and triggering my gag reflex with his lusty predilections on the next song.  Just like the varied quality of his collaborators on this cypher, Strangeulation is a real mixed bag.


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I reviewed a concert by John Scofield's Organic Trio on Saturday.

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I  occasionally make music selections for KCUR's Up To Date program.  Kantorei of Kansas City's "Fantasy on La Bamba" aired Friday.

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Largely because XTA-C gets a shout-out in U-Neek's "Kansas City", I'm giving the song a pass.  (Via Tony's Kansas City.)

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Trumpeter Joe Wilder has died.

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Triptykon's Melana Chasmata is exquisite art-metal.  RIYL: Tool, H. R. Giger, Nine Inch Nails.

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I'm certainly not a member of the jazz police, but Badbadnotgood remain underwhelming on III.  RIYL: good ideas on paper, OFWGKTA, hype.

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The curatorial choices made on Road Shows, Volume 3, Sonny Rollins' latest live album, are very interesting.

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Naná Vasconcelos chatted with Gilles Peterson.

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Steel Panther's All You Can Eat isn't nearly as good as the parodists' previous albums, but it still has plenty of hilarious moments.

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God loves mediocre.  Even though I'm predisposed to love Atmosphere, I recognize that Southsiders is just ok. RIYL: Eyedea, the Twin Cities, Mac Lethal.

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I wish I liked Marrill Garbus' music as much as I like her.  I can take or leave most of Tune-Yards' Nikki Nack.  RIYL: David Byrne, playgrounds, St. Vincent.

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Ramshackle Serenade, a new effort by the trio of Peter Bernstein, Larry Goldings and Bill Stewart, is RIYL: Grant Green, overlooked excellence, Shirley Scott.

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Not only did I listen to the entirety of Skrillex's new album, I truly liked it.  Recess is RIYL: frat parties, DJ Kool's "Let Me Clear My Throat," red solo cups.

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Blueprint's Respect the Architect is the best backpack rap album I've heard this year.  Even so, it's at the bottom of my Best Albums of 2014 playlist.  RIYL: Brother Ali, corny sincerity, Aesop Rock.

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Tech N9ne will perform at the Gathering of the Juggalos 2014.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Skating Polly- Fuzz Steilacoom

Unlike many of my colleagues, I did nothing to observe the twentieth anniversary of the death of Kurt Cobain last month.  I'd rather focus on what's happening now than ruminate on the past.  Besides, Cobain lives in the music of Skating Polly.  The stepsisters from Oklahoma pay tribute to Cobain in the best way possible- by rocking in the unkept tradition of the icon.  It's no accident that the new album Fuzz Steilacoom sounds like a classic recording from the vaults of K Records.  The project was overseen by the label's Calvin Johnson.  The lead track "Alabama Movies" contains a few of the album's many undiluted moments of greatness.


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I reviewed Fitz and the Tantrums's concert on Saturday.

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Ensemble Ibérica, Beau Blesoe's new performance group, has announced its 2014 season.

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Cowboy Indian Bear made a video for "Ruffian".

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I have real problems with Tech N9ne's "Over It".  Strangeulation was released today.

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Don't believe the hype. Ratking makes hip-hop for people who like the idea of the music more than actually listening to it.  So It Goes probably sounds great in 30-second preview clips, but it's a rough slog when consumed in its entirety.  RIYL: the worst Terror Squad album, hype, the worst Wu-Tang Clan album.

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I'm amused to see that Macroscope, the new release by the Nels Cline Singers, is being embraced by people who would never consider listening to a John Scofield, Pat Metheny, Arto Lindsay or Marc Ribot album.  The entertaining recording combines elements of all four guitarists.  What's next- a Barney Kessel revival among Wilco fans?

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Coltsblood's Into The Unfathomable Abyss sounds as if it was made by the stoner kids next door.  And the amateurish quality is precisely why I love it the new album by the British sludge metal band.  

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What if Pat Metheny kept making the same music he made in 1978?  Mark Egan, the bassist on those early Pat Metheny Group albums, recreates that sound on his new album About Now.

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Given the participants' track records, Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band's Landmark merits repeated listening, but I'll admit to being totally underwhelmed.

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Iggy Azalea's The New Classic isn't.  Gwen Stefani, photogenic people, Nikki Minaj.

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Add me to the long list of metal fans who are losing their minds over Lord Mantis' Death Mask.  RIYL: new depths of heaviness, Wormrot, doomsday.

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Of the artists performing at this month's Soundset festival that I haven't seen in the past 12 months, Nas and EarlWolf are the biggest attractions.

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Stanton Moore's Conversations is a straight-ahead jazz trio album.  RIYL: Ellis Marsalis, versatility, Karriem Riggins.  (Tip via J.F.)

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Whoop whoop!  Murs has gone full… well, you know.

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Harvey Mason, the drummer of Headhunters and Fourplay, revisits '70s instrumental funk on Chameleon.

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Anyone familiar with the work of jazz/jam guitarist Charlie Hunter won't be surprised that he and Scott Amendola recorded an EP of five covers of songs by The Cars.

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"They Come In Gold" is a track from the forthcoming album by Shabazz Palaces.  I don't think the duo played the song at the Middle of Map fest in April.

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Here's an analysis of the music produced by L. Ron Hubbard.  (Via J.F.)

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I had high hopes for Dust Moth's Dragon Mouth. It sounds great but the songwriting is lacking.  RIYL: Deftones, the intersection of metal and shoe gaze, My Bloody Valentine.

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It's great to see that Bun B has it together in his interview with Nardwuar.

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Here's the trailer for the documentary: B.B. King: The Life of Riley.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: Haiti Direct: Big Band, Mini Jazz & Twoubadou Sounds, 1960-1978

The crazed shouting of a man on Les Loups Noirs' "Pile Ou Face" matches my reaction to Haiti Direct: Big Band, Mini Jazz & Twoubadou Sounds, 1960-1978.  The vocalist's manic wailing is consistent with the combination of elation and shock I felt as I realized that such amazing music had eluded me until now.  Given the massive scope of the collection, there's not much continuity.  The quality, however, remains high.  Almost every track features a novel twist on merengue, salsa, mambo, boogaloo, cumbia, R&B, mento, Afrobeat and/or psychedelic rock.  (Initial tip via Big Steve.)

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I contributed to a review of the final day of the Folk Alliance Festival.

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Your Friend's Jeckyl/Hyde was picked up by Domino Recording Company.  Here's the video for "Tame One".  RIYL: Hospital Ships, epic sadness, Angel Olsen.

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Tech N9ne and I share a long-standing infatuation with the same album.

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I prefer a little bit of nastiness in my throwback psych rock.  Temples' Sun Structures is just too nice for me.

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Akuma, the new album by Sly 5th Ave, makes most new jazz recordings seem boring.  Here's a trailer.  RIYL: Randy Weston, real roots music, Don Cherry.

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Rufus Reid's Quiet Pride: The Elizabeth Catlett Project is an unconventional big band album.  RIYL: Charles Mingus, left field, Duke Ellington.

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The future of popular music probably sounds much like a mashup of the sounds produced by the lineup of the Snowball Music Festival.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)