Monday, May 28, 2007

Steve Coleman- Cinema Saga

















End credits.

A typically insightful series of posts about '90s jazz at Destination: Out put me in mind of Steve Coleman. The bandleader was once the recipient of glowing praise in publications like the Village Voice. The profiles hailed Coleman as the embodiment of jazz's future. Accordingly, I bought Sine Die with high expectations. I instantly despised it. I was certain that the synths, funk elements and a female vocalist's crazy ramblings weren't jazz at all. As Dylan sang, "I was so much older then; I'm younger than that now." In my first listen to the album in an least a decade, I found I now enjoy the funk and the experimental synths. And that girl singer? Her name is Cassandra Wilson! The release is far from perfect; but it's certainly not the ridiculous embarrassment I first took it for.

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My friend Mike uncovered this ancient trailer for The Deliquents. It's Robert Altman's first film. The trailer is mandatory viewing for anyone who decries the corruption of today's youth.

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I receive many of same publicist emails as hundreds of other music bloggers. I welcome seeing how artists are positioned. For the most part, though, I defer such opportunities to the bloggers constantly focused on the next big thing. They're often eager to follow the directives of publicists. Lay Low seems to be an exception. Very few blogs are responding to a publicity push on behalf of the young Icelandic. Maybe most bloggers consider Lay Low too derivative of Jolie Holland and Emiliana Torrini. Or perhaps she's too bluesy for their tastes. That's too bad; Lay Low sounds pretty great to me.

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Kansas City Click: I've decided that I won't attend another show like today's Unsane gig at the Record Bar until I buy a pair of steel-reinforced shoes. I'm tired of getting my toes crushed at hardcore and punk shows.

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