Bragging about a Pandora station is akin to blabbing about a basketball tournament bracket or a fantasy football team. I realize it's tedious, yet I just can't help it. Since Lent began February 22, the Pandora station that corresponds to this blog has kept me company on sixteen solitary walks. (I think you need a Pandora account to listen.) One rainy night it played consecutive deep tracks by Bert Jansch, Robbie Basho, My Morning Jacket, Simon & Garfunkel and Ralph Stanley. Just a closer walk with thee, indeed.
My only beef, in fact, is that the playlist tends to get stuck in a single genre. The other day I spent 45 minutes listening to nothing but vintage reggae acts like Culture, Jackie Mittoo and U-Roy. The station also goes on extended Brazillan, Tejano, blues, bluegrass and funk jags. (The station's advertisements, incidentally, are in Spanish.)
I'm tempted to add more variety but I'm afraid I'd have to resume culling out stuff I don't like. Adding Nina Simone, for instance, might cause Diane Schuur to pop up. Suggesting I want to hear more Raphael Saadiq might lead to unwanted tracks by John Legend. I currently only need to "thumbs-down" stray underground hip hop tracks that glorify marijuana. I'll be taking a blogging break, so feel free to enjoy my station in my absence. Please let me know if you hear anything that's less than sublime.
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Sketchy vocals aside, this new track from New Riddim is solid.
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The schedule for the Middle of the Map festival has been published.
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I'm elated that Mayhem added a KC date. Slipknot, Motorhead, Slayer and Anthrax? Oh man.
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I enjoyed reading the backstory of the final years of the fanzine-turned-magazine Jetlag.
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Why I'm ambivalent about attending hip hop shows: reason #73.
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Rudresh Mahanthappa appeared in a Tiny Desk Concert.
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Texas guitarist Bugs Henderson has died. (Tip via BGO.)
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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.
(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)
6 comments:
A blogging break? Don't be gone long, HiB!
Btw I had a visitor this past weekend, and I finally made it to the jazz museum. When we were leaving, I was like 'oh that's where the big green head photo came from!'
I'm back, Rick.
Steve- Reading this admission from one of the most cultured men I know is mildly horrifying. So, what were your impressions of AJM?
I don't know, I felt like there wasn't much to it. Since I was with somebody, I didn't feel like I could stop and listen to all of the headphones. Too many of them were broken too. I'm sure it's hard to strike a balance between smartasses like me who felt like they already knew all this stuff and the beginner who might be overwhelmed by too much detail. My friend and I both liked the separate exhibit about Ella Fitzgerald.
Hey it only took me four years to make it down there! And the facades on the street were a trip.
Thanks for the report, Steve.
A de-sensitized dribble of a site lacking substance in its commentary. I give it a “C”
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