Don’t You Wonder Sometimes About Sound and Vision

My eyes and ears played tricks on me yesterday.  The day of disorientation began when I encountered a gif that prompts an auditory hallucination.  My lunch break was stranger still.  I’ve mocked Taylor Swift’s irritating artifice for years, yet I quickly succumbed to the tactical pop brilliance of her chart-topping Reputation during the noon hour.  I surrender!

I was torn between concurrent concerts by Kodak Black at the Midland theater and the Wood Brothers at the Truman as darkness fell and a bitter wind beset Kansas City.  There are few things I love more than attending shows by artists at their artistic and commercial peak.  I suspect that’s the case with the young rapper behind the momentous “No Flockin’”.  Yet I went with the Wood Brothers, in part because I heard John Medeski- Chris Wood’s bandmate in Medeski Martin & Wood- perform with Hudson in October (my review).

The stab at symmetry failed.  Even though I admired the Wood Brothers’ effort and approach, the trio left me cold.  I felt as if the audience of about 600 was listening to an outstanding backing band akin to Booker T. and the M.G.s or the E Street Band riffing while waiting in vain for Otis Redding or Bruce Springsteen to show up.  David Bowie rescued me on the drive home.  “Sound and Vision” popped up soon after I hit shuffle on a 16-hour playlist of my favorite songs.  At the end of an unsettling day, I needed his admonition to appreciate the resplendent “gift of sound and vision.”


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I revealed my favorite jazz albums and jazz performances of 2017 at Plastic Sax.

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I write weekly music previews for The Kansas City Star.

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Björk’s Utopia resembles the soundtrack to a fully immersive experience at Disneyland in the year 2033.

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Aida Cuevas’ Arrieros Somos: Sesiones Acusticas is charming.  RIYL: Juan Gabriel, corridos, Yolanda Del Rio.

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A concert featuring Ron Miles and Bill Frisell almost put me to sleep in April.  Miles’ I Am a Man, an album that features Frisell, Thomas Morgan and Brian Blade, is entirely invigorating.

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Even when paired with magnificent talent, noble intentions don’t necessarily make for good music.  Mavis Staples’ cloying If All I Was Was Black is RIYL Sweet Honey in the Rock, resistance, Curtis Mayfield.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Album Review: The Wood Brothers- The Muse

The year-end top-ten-album list I just submitted to the official gatekeepers is dominated by hip-hop and jazz entries.  I'm pleased with my choices, but obviously a brief list won't fully represent my listening habits.  For instance, I listen to a lot of folk and folk-rock ranging from favorite albums by the late Bill Morrissey to current folk scare acts like the Head and the Heart that are inflicted on me by members of my compound.  Because its relaxed tone is reminiscent of creaky old albums by The Band, I'm particularly partial to The Muse, the latest effort by The Wood Brothers.  I'm not about to forsake my beloved jazz, hip-hop and metal for The Muse, but it's pretty solid.  Here's the video for the album's title track.


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I reviewed Harry Connick's concert at the Midland theater on Sunday.

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Kansas City rapper Ace Duce has died.

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Dalima, a Kansas City rapper associated with Tech N9ne, was involved in a shooting in Salina several months ago.  (Tip via Tony's Kansas City.)

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Composer John Tavener has died.  I reviewed a performance of one of his works in 2011.

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The video for Josh Berwanger's "Time Traveler" is RIYL: Warriors (the movie), 1989, Cheap Trick. 

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Marcus Yates, the artist known as Obergeek just a few months ago, has released Dark Taupe Schemata . RIYL: XV, Tech N9ne, Kid Cudi.

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Danny Brown's cameo is my favorite part of the new interactive Bob Dylan video that's threatening to explode the internet today.

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Esperanza Spalding campaigns for the closure of Guantanamo in "We Are America".

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Death's edition of "What's In My Bag" is pretty great.

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El Pelon del Mikrophone's "No voy a llorar" is my idea of a good time.

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Here's a track from Neneh Cherry's forthcoming solo album, her first in 16 years.  RIYL: M.I.A., The Slits, Roni Size.

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I mentioned Marco Polo's PA2's The Director's Cut in the previous post.  I finally got around to listening to the supremely entertaining 80-minute project that serves as a tribute to old-school hip-hop.  RIYL: Pharoahe Monch, Large Professor, King Tee.

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Oh, Kanye West,, how I love you!

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By request- here's the soundtrack of my childhood: "Hee hee he haw haw haw".

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)