Ian McLagan, 1945-2014

I've never met Mick Jagger.  It's probably just as well.  After all, what would we talk about?  I don't have any insights into jet ownership or luxury apartments in Cannes.  Talking to Ian McLagan was easy.  The occasional sideman for the Rolling Stones and a founding member of the Small Faces and the Faces was one of rock's most approachable stars.  Back when SXSW was more of a regional music conference than a global marketing platform, I made a point of catching McLagan perform at the Saxon Pub every March.  Watching a British legend joyously perform in a Texas roadhouse thrilled me.  His appearance in Kansas City at Davey's Uptown in 2004 (or maybe it was 2005) was even more rewarding.  Alas, McLagan's 2013 gig at Danny's in Lenexa was merely adequate.  McLagan died last week.


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I reviewed Jenny Lewis' concert at Liberty Hall.

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My favorite jazz performances of 2014 are listed at Plastic Sax.

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It would be churlish of me not to share the "2014 Year In Review" promotional video from a company that employed me for several years.

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Mary J. Blige's The London Sessions isn't quite as good as I'd been lead to believe.  RIYL: Keyshia Cole, pain, Charlie Wilson.

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I'm horrified to confess that I find Room, the new collaboration between Julian Lage and Nels Cline, entirely unlistenable.

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I sold my rarest Sun Ra vinyl years ago at $100 a pop.  Even so, I'm inclined to buy vinyl copies of Marshall Allen Presents: Sun Ra and His Arkestra- In the Orbit of Ra to give to my fashion-conscious friends this holiday season.  The new collection is an excellent introduction to Sun Ra.

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Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone of the Zombies are charming in their "What's In My Bag" segment.

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"Yeezus Film" hints at the brilliance of Kanye West's 2013 tour.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Opry Lament

The Grand Ole Opry took a lot of my money in the 1990s.  I felt like a doofus every time I joined the throngs of tourists for the Opry's cheesy skits in the soulless environs of the Opryland Hotel complex.  Yet those were the only times I saw legends including Roy Acuff, Little Jimmy Dickens, Jack Greene, Jimmy C. Newman, Johnny Russell, Hank Snow and Porter Wagoner perform.  Newman died on June 21.  Here's scratchy old footage of "Alligator Man."


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I reviewed Monday's concert by Peter Murphy, Ringo Deathstarr and Cinemaphonic.

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Why isn't Charlie Hunter a star?  Hunter and Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey performed at the Brick last Thursday.  Here's my review.

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"Hometown", a collabo between Kansas City's Skiem Hiem and Oakland's the Jacka, may be the definitive Kansas City music video of 2014.

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Stik Figa represents Topeka in the video for "Knowhere."

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Take me to the river.  Mabon "Teenie" Hodges has died.

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I comment on the late Horace Silver's connection to Kansas City here. 

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Gerry Goffin has died.

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I adore songs about God, Satan and Elvis.  Nick Cave's performance at the Midland on Wednesday, consequently, made me deliriously happy.  Tim Finn reviewed the show.

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I would pay good money to watch a comment reconstruction depicting the moronic chatter attached to a video of T.I. and Iggy Azalea's "No Mediocre".

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A lot of critics are hailing Willie Nelson's Band of Brothers as a comeback album.  Longtime readers of There Stands the Glass know that I'm quite fond of many of his recent releases.  Band of Brothers is merely adequate.  Here's the video for the title track.

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The Roots' …and then you shoot your cousin is a strange album. RIYL: N.E.R.D, middle age, De La Soul.

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"Release your wiggle!"  Big Freedia's Just Be Free is RIYL: 5th Ward Weebie, New Orleans, Sissy Nobby.

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José James' No Beginning, No End was my #5 album in 2013.  I have yet to make up my mind about his new While You Were Sleeping.  RIYL: Roy Ayers, risk takers, War.

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Because I've long admired Ian McLagan, I'm predisposed to love everything about his (average) new album. United States is RIYL: pubs, the Faces, taverns.

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Joshua Redman's Trios Live is fire.  RIYL: Sonny Rollins, live albums, James Carter.

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Raise your hand if you've been waiting decades for Jonathan Richman to quit goofing around and finally make another album in the vein of the Modern Lovers.  The members of Parquet Courts have taken matters into their own hands.  Sunbathing Animal is RIYL: Lou Reed, wondering what happened to Jonathan Richman, Pavement.

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Die Antwoord's transgressive Donker Mag is surely a sign of end times.  RIYL: Rob Zombie, drone strikes, 2 Live Crew.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Counting Nickels and Dimes With Jay-Z

A lot of the critical backlash directed at Jay-Z's Magna Carta... Holy Grail is undeserved.  Many critics are feigning surprise at the rapper's gloating.  They're  shocked (shocked!) that a hip-hop album would include such content.  Magna Carta... Holy Grail sounds like a million bucks to me. 

I don't begrudge Jay-Z his success.  He earned the right to brag about buying museum-quality art.  My idea of wealth revolves around the ability to buy ten-dollar beers at concerts and sporting events without flinching.  (I'm a long way from achieving that level of financial security.)

The uproar over Jay-Z's so-called excesses parallels one of my pet peeves.  A lot of people conflate artist's personas with the quality of their music.  That's ridiculous.  Just as horrible people make great music, nice people regularly produce inferior sounds.  I don't want or expect Jay-Z to be my friend.  As he suggests of "Nickels and Dimes", the relationship couldn't possibly be healthy anyway.

For that matter, I don't really have any interest hanging out with musicians.  I expect a lot- everything, really- from music.  I don't expect or demand any personal connection with the people who produce those sounds.


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That said, I'd be willing to throw back a Guinness or two with Ian McLagan.  I reviewed his appearance at Danny's in Lenexa on Saturday night.

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The video for Trampled Under Foot's "Bad Bad Feeling" looks great.  The band's Badlands album is released on July 9.

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All the cool kids are raving about Laura Mvula.  I remain unconvinced.

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Reminder- Plastic Sax is my other music blog.

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I covet the new The Chicago Blues Box: The MCM Records Story.

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I'm looking forward to hearing this week's new releases by Ciara, Donell Jones, King Tuff, Omar and the Howlers, Robert Pollard, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Thundercat and Chucho Valdes.  First, however, I expect to be enlightened by In Search of the Miraculous.

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Kansas City Click: Deafheaven hit the RecordBar on Monday.

Mindless Behavior appear Tuesday at the Midland.

Marcia Ball returns to Knuckleheads on Wednesday.

Big B opens for the Dirty Heads at the Midland on Thursday.

Take Five Coffee + Bar hosts Todd Strait on Friday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)