Dumb Blonde

I’m not sure why so many otherwise reasonable people are praising Frank Ocean’s Blonde.  Aside from three or four decent tracks, it’s a calamitous effort.  As you can see in the column to the right, I loved Ocean’s 2012 album Channel Orange.  Yet I’m disappointed rather than despondent.  With good-to-great new neo-soul/hip-hop albums by BJ the Chicago Kid, Chance the Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, Maxwell, Anderson Paak, Rihanna, Kanye West and Adrian Younge to keep me company, I’m not compelled to pretend that Blonde is good.


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I reviewed a concert by Def Leppard, REO Speedwagon and Tesla.

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I featured Soul Revival’s “If You Ask Me Again (I Do)” on KCUR last week.

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

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I take note of Mike Metheny’s new literary endeavor at Plastic Sax.

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Tomorrow's Dixie Chicks concert at the Sprint Center is my big show of the week.

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Juan Gabriel has died.  His concert at the Sprint Center last November was a delight.  I snapped a good photo at the show.

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Rudy Van Gelder has died.

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Gilli Smyth of Gong has died.  (Tip via BGO.)

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Derrick Hodge’s Second is RIYL: Jaco Pastorius, 21st century swing, Robert Glasper.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

An Anniversary Toast

A few observations about the legacy of Ted Hawkins launched this site on November 14, 2005.  I’m still at it ten years later. 

No amount of unwarranted DMCA take-down notices, desperate link-sharing requests from short-lived sites, shameless swagger-jacking by professional music journalists and snarky comments from friends and strangers have dissuaded me from posting music commentary.  This is entry #1,387 at There Stands the Glass.

I realize that the layout is tired- it hasn’t changed in ten years.  In an era in which design is more highly valued than substance, I recognize that There Stands the Glass is hopelessly dingy.  I’m clearly not motivated by fashion or trends. I don’t even accept guest list invitations.

Initially a MP3 blog that showcased obscure gems from my collection of albums and CDs, There Stands the Glass now acts as a musical diary.  (I’ve also documented Kansas City’s jazz scene at Plastic Sax since 2007.)

The longevity of There Stands the Glass isn’t a mystery.  I don’t care if anyone is reading.  Unlike the sad sot in Webb Pierce's 1953 hit, I'm not "wondering where you are tonight."

I’m not going anywhere.


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A broad smile never left my face on Saturday night.  Here's my review of Juan Gabriel’s concert at the Sprint Center for The Kansas City Star.

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I reviewed Mike Metheny’s new album at Plastic Sax.

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

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I wrote at length about Lindi Ortega in a preview of her appearance at Knuckleheads.

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I contributed a Local Listen segment about guitarist Will Matthews to KCUR.

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I didn’t fall in love with Lalah Hathaway’s voice until it buckled my knees at a free concert last year.  (My review.)  Hathaway’s new live album is an homage to her father Donny- it opens with ”Little Ghetto Boy”- and acts as an exciting document of her immense talent.

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Lionel Loueke kicks out the jams on Gaia.  I like the abrasiveness but detest the indulgence.  RIYL: James “Blood” Ulmer, guitar pyrotechnics, Jimi Hendrix.

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The playing of saxophonist Tim Berne and tubist Dan Beck make Ingrid Laubrock’s Ubatuba a jazz joyride.  The album is superior to Laubrock’s fine show at the RecordBar last year.  (My notes.)  RIYL: Henry Threadgill, skronk, Julius Hemphill.

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”#Hashtag” is the standout track on Lyfe Jennings’s Tree of Lyfe.  RIYL: Charlie Wilson, the ghost of Marvin Gaye, Anthony Hamilton.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)