I've been holding out. One of my favorite albums of 2010 hasn't been mentioned at There Stands the Glass until now. It's not that I'm embarrassed about adoring an album that I imagine is mostly loved by women. I've been reluctant to write about Love and Its Opposite because the uncomfortable intimacy of Tracey Thorn's new project hits too close to home.
The events described in "Oh, the Divorces!" play out around me every day. ""Now there's kids to tell and legal bills and custody," Thorn sighs. Bad times. Very rarely has popular music so artfully addressed the inmost side of adolescent angst as on "Long White Dress". And the almost unbearably painful "Singles Bar" accurately portrays the wretched behavior of several of my acquaintances.
None of this would really resonate with me if it wasn't for the exquisite ache in Thorn's voice. I believe every word she sings. And while many of the acoustic-based songs are complemented by an electronic shimmer, the heavy thump of Thorn hits like "Missing" from her tenure with Everything But the Girl are absent.
I admire the It Gets Better project aimed at gay teens. Yet Love and Its Opposite serves as a reminder that for many straight people in their forties, things only get worse.
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Das EFX, I've discovered, helps me overcome Tracey Thorn-induced melancholy.
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Mac Lethal humiliates Dirtbag Dan in this compelling battle. (The action starts around the 3:20 mark.)
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Gospel and R&B vocalist James Phelps died October 26.
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I wholeheartedly embrace the aesthetic of new jazz site The Revivalist.
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Kansas City Click: More than one person I know intends to "Drink the Night Away" at Gaelic Storm's concert Thursday at the Uptown Theater.
Paul Geremia picks and grins Friday at BB's Lawnside Bar-B-Q.
Tech N9ne's tour with E-40 concludes Saturday at the Uptown Theater.
New Riddim cover The Slackers at the Record Bar on Sunday.
(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)
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