Feelin' Groovy: Paul Simon's So Beautiful or So What

So Beautiful Or So What EPK

Like many avid music fans, I'm constantly in search of the thrill of the new. Established, tried-and-true artists, consequently, don't always grab my attention. Earlier this week I reluctantly cued up Lucinda Williams' new Blessed album. It's really nice. With the same sort of initial misgivings, I recently began listening to Paul Simon's So Beautiful or So What.

"Ain't no song like an old song," Simon sings on "Love & Blessings."

Sometimes I forget just how true that is. The new album is a natural extension of the same smart but playful grooves that have characterized his entire career. Besides, the album's gospel, African and South American flourishes are already familiar in popular music today in large part because Simon was doing that stuff forty years ago.

Now excuse me while I get back to glorifying my shiny new toys.


---
Krystle Warren! (Video tip via Sam Wisman.)

---
The video for "All I Kno Is Hood" shows why I'm a fan of Big Scoob and Krizz Kaliko. I'm less impressed by Ron Ron's new tribute to Run-DMC.

---
I L.O.V.E. the Go! Team.

---
I'm awed by the video documentation of Dustin O'Halloran's performance at HBC Berlin.

---
"Run the World (Girls)," the jigsaw puzzle that passes as her new single, makes my role as a shameless Beyonce apologist rather difficult.

---
Did you know that a compilation of Henry Rollins' favorite Blue Note recordings has been issued by the jazz label?

---
Kansas City Click: Doug MacLeod appears Friday at BB's Lawnside BBQ.

The Whigs play the Riot Room on Saturday.

The People's Liberation Big Band celebrate May Day at the Record Bar.

Manchester Orchestra headline Monday at the Beaumont Club.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Shiftless When Idle: Notes on Sunday's Tribute to the Replacements

Take it from a guy who was there- The Replacements weren't a good live band. Sunday's tribute show at the Record Bar, consequently, was an attractive proposition. And coming as it did on Easter, I was able to celebrate in a fashion appropriate to the occasion.

Dead Girls opened the show with "Little Mascara." They went on to play Big Star's "September Gurls," The Beatles' "Nowhere Man" (a learned friend informed me that Westerberg covered it for the I Am Sam soundtrack) and Kiss' "Black Diamond." Another friend amusingly characterized the set as a "tribute to a Replacements tribute."

Although the quality of the subsequent performers didn't dissipate, the remainder of the night represented a case of diminishing returns. I just wasn't feeling it. Only when Steve Tulipana's band was joined by a three-piece horn section that included excellent jazz saxophonist Rich Wheeler for a crackling rendition of "Can't Hardly Wait" did I get chills.

You guessed it- I left "Unsatisfied".

(The Pitch provides proper pictures.)

---
Today's new releases, in order of personal preference: James Farm, Bill Frisell, Of Montreal, Emmylou Harris, Eric Alexander, Prefuse 73, MF Doom, Otep, Julian Lage, Tindersticks, Cachao, Explosions In the Sky, Various- The Sue Story, Bootsy Collins, Ricky Dillard, Irvin Mayfield, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Juvenile, NightShade, Steve Earle, Todd Rundgren, Etta Jones & Houston Person, Lightnin' Malcolm, Bowling For Soup and Thao & Mirah.

---
I reviewed reviewed last night's concert by Deftones and Dillinger Escape Plan. I reviewed Aaron Lewis' performance in the same venue last week.

---
Huey Meaux has died. I only spoke to him a couple times, but I represented Meaux's incredible catalog for years.

---
That voice! Phoebe Snow has died.

---
Hazel Dickens died last week. Not every folk artist can be Joan Baez, you know.

---
Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex has died.

---
I interviewed Clayton McDonnell of MaxJazz at Plastic Sax.

---
Kanrocksas.

---
Kansas City Click: The Beaumont seems like an awfully big venue for The Black Lips, but the band is headlining at the Westport venue Tuesday.

Kinky Friedman does his thing at Knuckleheads on Wednesday.

The Photo Atlas perform at Crosstown Station on Thursday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: DJ 2-Tone Jones' Shaolin Jazz: The 37th Chamber

Shaolin Jazz EPK

If you suspect that classic Wu-Tang Clan material re-imagined as the work of a jazz-based collective would be exactly my thing, well, you have me pegged. I represent precisely the target audience for DJ 2-Tone Jones' Shaolin Jazz: The 37th Chamber.

The train-spotting aspect of the new free mixtape has already provided me with hours of pleasure.

Is that the Blackbyrds on "The High Priestess of Chessboxin'"? Wait, is that Fela during this interlude? Hey, that's Pharoah Sanders' "Astral Traveling" behind "C.R.E.A.M."! I can't believe he thought to combine Ramsey Lewis' version of "Quinn the Eskimo" and "Method Man." Is DJ 2-Tone Jones mocking Redman and Method Man's juvenile "How High"? Hilarious!

Is Shaolin Jazz greater than the sum of its parts? No, of course not. Herbie Hancock's essential Blue Note sessions and Liquid Swords are already perfect. But DJ 2-Tone Jones has nonetheless created something new, something that should also have lasting value.

Aside from dealing with the noxious nature of Mediafire, adventurous There Stands the Glass readers and Gil Scott-Heron fans have nothing to lose. Go get it. "The combination," as Raekwon suggested, will make your "eyes bleed."

---
I reviewed Mac Lethal's new North Korean BBQ mixtape. (Spoiler: I like it a lot.)

---
UMKC professor Zhou Long was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in music this week.

---
Gerard Smith of TV on the Radio has died.

---
Terry Currier reports that Kent Morrill of the Fabulous Wailers has died.

---
Big band leader Orrin Tucker died April 9.

---
Kansas City Click: I'll break my KC-only rule to recommend Soul Track Mind's Thursday appearance at the Bottleneck in Lawrence. RIYL: Charles Bradley, Delbert McClinton and Eddie Hinton.

Longtime There Stands the Glass favorite Steddy P. tops Friday's bill at the Record Bar.

Red Line Chemistry have an acoustic in-store lined up at FYE in Independence on Saturday.

Here comes a regular. I'll be at the Record Bar on Sunday. Here's an invitation I made at Card Karma.

Deftones and Dillinger Escape Plan hit the VooDoo on Monday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Crate Digging with DJ P

As friends posted updates about their Record Store Day activities last Saturday, I considered inviting them over to my home for an impromptu sale. I could always use the money and my neglected collection takes up a lot of space. Even so, I was sucked into the vinyl vortex the following day when I heard that DJ P was performing in front of Zebedee's. I like DJ P in part because we both understand that hip hop, metal and reggae albums belong in the same bin. Footage from 2006 shows that DJ P was ahead of the curve. Inevitably, I wound up buying more jazz and R&B vinyl. I just can't help myself.

---
With features from many of the town's top names, The Popper's "For the Mo" will almost certainly be the Kansas City-area's top music video of 2011. (Initial tip via Tony's Kansas City.) It also reminds me that it's been far too long since I've heard "Check My Posture", one of my favorite songs of 2008.

---
Randy Wood, founder of Dot Records, died last week. Jazz blogger Marc Myers provides valuable perspective on Wood's legacy.

---
I'm misty blue. A storm destroyed Malaco Records last week.

---
I recently reviewed performances by Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain and Edgar Meyer and the Del McCoury Band with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

---
I've done a disservice to myself and to There Stands the Glass readers by not regularly listing the new releases that most excite me. In order of personal preference, here's a checklist of artists with albums out today: Ralph Stanley, Les Nubians, Dead Rock West, Berner, Gorillaz, Walt Weiskopf, High Llamas, DJ Quick, Willie Clayton (If Your Loving Wasn't Good Enough To Keep Me...How In The World Do You Think It Can Bring Me Back), Various- Shattered Dreams: Funky Blues 1967-78, Various- Impulse! @50: First Impulse - The Creed Taylor Collection, Del Tha Funky Homosapien, Allen Toussaint (Lost Sessions), Erwin Schrott, Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers, Duff McKagan, Old Time Religion- Rare Recordings Of Jerry Lee Lewis In Church Preachin', Shoutin', and Singin', Samuel Blaser & Paul Motian and Cam'ron.

---
I made an e-card invitation for a show I plan to attend on Easter. Feel free to join me.

---
Here's a new Kickstarter funding request from the People's Liberation Big Band.

---
Kansas City Click: The Barclay Martin Ensemble return to Jardine's on Tuesday.

The Hudson Falcons play Davey's on Wednesday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Robert Parris at Saint Paul's Episcopal Church

I attended an organ recital Monday. On purpose. I overcame my bias against Episcopal churches to hear Robert Parris perform at Saint Paul's.

Parris doesn't look like the kind of guy who spends much time around 808s, but he opened the concert with an original composition that seemed as if it was directly inspired by hip hop. The low end of his Sonata II was dope.

The brilliance of J.S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in E minor, S. 548 allowed me to conduct a spontaneous exercise in astral projection. The complete version of Julius Reubke's challenging Sonata on the 94th Psalm had many in the audience of 150 squirming impatiently in the unforgiving wooden pews. Not me.

I'm looking forward to future American Guild of Organists events.

---
Here's the money line from Tim Finn's interesting survey of music retail: Kelly Corcoran of Love Garden suggests that "The new interest in vinyl is from people mostly interested in the same 500 records." You mean to tell me that the trend-chasing of hipsters hasn't increased the value of my complete collection of Cameo albums?

---
A Facebook friend challenged people to list their favorite fifteen songs by the Kinks. Here's what I posted: Oklahoma U.S.A., Picture Book, All Day and All of the Night, Where Have All the Good Times Gone, You Really Got Me, Waterloo Sunset, Alcohol, Low Budget, Stop Your Sobbing, Tired of Waiting, The Village Green Preservation Society, Big Sky, Celluloid Heroes, A Rock'n'Roll Fantasy and This Is Where I Belong.

---
Mashup of the year? (Via Meesha.)

---
Jazz violinist BIlly Bang has died.

---
Chicago blues man Lacy Gibson has died.

---
It's astounding that a guy who played with Django Reinhardt is alive and continuing to make groundbreaking music. I watched NPR's live webcast of Martial Solal's gig last night. It was really good. The cumulative viewership never surpassed 300. That's not so good.

---
The newly announced Wakarusa schedule poses several intriguing choices for attendees of the festival- My Morning Jacket or Galactic? Umphrey's McGee or Ha Ha Tonka? Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings or Lucero?

---
Ces Cru's new video features footage from its January 15 gig opening for Tech N9ne at the Beaumont. (Via Tony's Kansas City.)

---
Kansas City Click: The weekly KC Songwriter Forum takes place Thursday at the Brick.

Diverse plays the music of Michael Jackson at the Record Bar on Friday.

Terence Blanchard performs at the Gem Theater on Saturday.

Alaturka return to Jardine's on Sunday.

Pepper Rabbit top Monday's bill at the Riot Room.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Middle of the Map

It's a hit! The inaugural Middle of the Map festival succeeded on every level. I caught eight of the festival's fifty-plus performances. In order of personal preference:

1. Daniel Johnston with Capybara- The pairing of cult hero Daniel Johnston with Capybara was inspired. Johnston's effort was nothing short of heroic.
2. Cowboy Indian Bear- Even though its feathery melodies and happy bounce aren't really my thing (they'd be the perfect house band for Yo Gabba Gabba!), Cowboy Indian Bear is on to something extraordinary.
3. Deadringers- Blues-based garage rock along the lines of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
4. Paper Route- The OneRepublic of indie-rock. (That's a good thing.)
5. Spirit is the Spirit- A hippie version of Dr. Dog.
6. Saharan Gazelle Boy- It doesn't happen often outside of hip hop, but this is a rare instance of an act's recordings being superior to its live show.
7. Margot & the Nuclear So & So's- Bland.
8. Sam Billen- There's a time and place for Billen's laptop folk music. Saturday afternoon at the Record Bar wasn't one of them. (One of the bored people in this photo is your humble correspondent.)

---
Hammerlord has a new video for "Tombstone Piledriver".

---
I loved Kool Keith's rare Kansas City appearance. Here's my review.

---
Kansas City Click: Hermon Mehari returns to the Blue Room on Monday.

Movits! play at Crosstown Station on Tuesday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Israel Nash Gripka- Barn Doors and Concrete Floors

Video stream of Israel Nash Gripka's "Goodbye Ghost"

Where my hippies at?

Israel Nash Gripka creates music that's a throwback to the Nixon era. Yet today's listeners don't need to remember John Denver or wear bell-bottoms to appreciate Barn Doors and Concrete Floors.

The new album contains the songcraft of Robbie Robertson and the bleary gypsy-folk style associated with Bob Dylan's Desire. And then there's the Stones references. "Sunset, Regret" and "Louisiana" make it clear that Gripka and his band have spent some quality time with Sticky Fingers. The presence of producer Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth insures that the album never sounds stale. Barn Doors and Concrete Floors demands to be played on vinyl with windows thrown open so that crickets can chirp along.

"Oh, Missouri won't you bless my soul," Gripka moans on "Bellwether Ballad."

Shake it on down.


---
I'm not entirely sold on the music, but Spoek Mathambo's "Control" is my second-favorite video of 2011. (Via BigSteveNO.)

---
My final Middle of the Map band of the week is Maps & Atlases: The Chicago-based band is slotted between Work Drugs and Two Door Cinema Club at the Beaumont Club on Friday.

---
Here's a high-quality performance video of Kristie Stremel & the 159ers.

---
I might have accomplished a lot more in recent weeks if only I'd been able to stop thinking about Chris Brown's "Look At Me Now". It's not a proper song, yet it's one of the year's biggest hits. How does that happen? Brown is going out of his way to make everyone in the world hate him. Why isn't it working? Are his fans really that dim? Busta! Is Weezy's explicit homophobia merely a sly response to Brown's opening rap about male genitalia? And is the video an intentional homage to the sexual ambiguity of Michael Jackson's "Beat It"?

---
Kansas City Click: The inaugural Middle of the Map festival takes place in four venues Friday and Saturday.

The annual fundraiser for Kansas City Youth Jazz is Sunday at the Madrid Theater.

Hermon Mehari hosts Monday's jam at the Blue Room.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Big K.R.I.T.- Return of 4Eva

After quickly glancing at a list of my favorite releases from the first quarter of 2011, I was pleasantly surprised to spot several free self-released mixtapes in my nascent top ten. They range from Nicholas Payton's label-rejected Bitches to Kansas City hip hop artist Steddy P.'s What Happened Tomorrow. Big K.R.I.T.'s Return of 4Eva is also in the mix. Unlike many such projects, it boasts top-quality production and solid features by the likes of David Banner, Chamillionaire and Raheem DeVaughn. I'd gladly pay money for songs like "Lions and Lambs" and "King's Blues." And that's the conundrum- how can I justify spending money on today's new releases from the Raveonettes, Gretchen Parlato, Avant and Etta James when I already possess hour after hour of excellent free new music? Aw... I'm not fooling anybody. Money I'd otherwise spend at the Oak Tree will continue to go to prerecorded music.


---
The hype surrounding Vijay Iyer quickly becomes tiresome, but I have to admit that this trio session recorded for NPR is astounding.

---
Here's my review of Joe Lovano and Us Five's concert at the Folly Theater. I also covered a fine outing by the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey and Snuff Jazz.

---
Although I always loathed his biggest hit, I'm saddened by the death of Mel McDaniel.

---
I must have missed the release of the new video for "Caked Up" by Ron Ron and Stik Figa while I was on my blogging sabbatical.

---
Free Lil' Boosie! Not really. But the new video for Kansas City's Mon EG and Boosie's "Dime Piece" is solid. (Via Tony's Kansas City.)

---
Kansas City Click: Big K.R.I.T. appears at the Granada Theater in Lawrence on Tuesday.

Jack Walrath performs at White Recital Hall on Wednesday.

The Waybacks pick and grin at Crosstown Station on Thursday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Nicholas Payton's Bitches

I'll take credit for being the first to make the connection- Nicholas Payton's Bitches is the jazz equivalent of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

Both albums were rejected by the artist's record labels. And both projects represented major stylistic departures. Just as Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was not the expected roots-rock album, Bitches is not a mainstream jazz recording. As "By My Side" and "Shades of Hue" indicate, Bitches contains the sort of contemporary psychedelic R&B associated with Erykah Badu, Bilal and Maxwell. The top ten lists in the column to the right show that I already adore that sound.

It's been noted elsewhere that the project was initially inspired by Miles Davis' Bitches Brew. I was unaware of these sessions when I attended Payton's odd appearance at the Rhythm & Ribs festival last October. In my notes about the event at Plastic Sax, I drew comparisons to Davis' On the Corner and Stevie Wonder's Fulfillingness' First Finale. Bitches affirms that impression.

At 74 minutes, it's a sprawling mess. As with the genre's greatest album, however, even Bitches' flaws sound right. Bitches is brilliant.

---
I'm also currently obsessing over George Cables' 1979 album Cables Vision.

---
I reviewed last night's performances by the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey and Snuff Jazz.

---
Wayward Blog brought the locally-based Overland Shark label to my attention today.

---
Why yes, I am excited about Amazon's sound cloud. Thanks for asking.

---
Here's the schedule for next week's Middle of the Map festival. My festival band of the week is the mysterious Candy Claws. It's typical of Middle of the Map's emphasis on electronic dream-pop.

---
Kansas City Click: Foster the People will play "Pumped Up Kicks" Thursday at the Beaumont.

Benny Golson will be honored at the Blue Room on Friday.

Joe Lovano leads a band Saturday at the Folly Theater.

The Dramatics top Sunday's bill at the Beaumont.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Ingrid Fliter and the KC Symphony

"Such soothing music!" a misguided patron exclaimed as he strolled out of the Lyric Theater on Saturday. The performance by the Kansas City Symphony could be characterized as inspiring or stimulating, but calling it soothing was an unintended insult to the musicians and composers. Elgar's Enigma Variations didn't do anything for me but Ravel's G Major Piano Concerto provided a wild ride. Ingrid Fliter, the featured pianist, was charming. Although I'm still in search of the mythical $10 Symphony ticket, at $16, Saturday's rush tickets still represented a steal.

---
I love whatever's happening on track #10 of The Lost and Found, Gretchen Parlato's new album.

---
In spite of its patronizing tone, a recently uncovered 1956 documentary about the music of a Southern sharecropper is worth the attention of roots music fans and students of American history. (Via Marc Meyer's Jazz Wax.)

---
Syd Kitchen has died.

---
My friend Corky alerted me to this exciting development.

---
Red Line Chemistry made a video for "You Don't Get It".

---
Local readers might be interested in a ticket contest at Plastic Sax.

---
Kansas City Click: Tom Russell returns to Knuckleheads on Tuesday.

The Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey graduates to Crosstown Station on Wednesday.

Electric Six perform at the Riot Room on Thursday. Request "Gay Bar".

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

The Gruesome Return of the Death Blog

I visited the grave of Serge Gainsbourg in Paris last week. I'm attending a funeral in western Kansas tomorrow. Rather than allowing the long list of music-related deaths to paralyze me, I'll simply list them.

*Kansas City pianist Ronald Brown.
*Michael Charles, a fixture on Kansas City's black gospel scene.
*Reggae's Smiley Culture.
*Disco star Loleatta Holloway.
*Country legend Ferlin Husky.
*Blues man Big Jack Johnson.
*Jazz drummer Joe Morello.
*Death Row Records luminary Nate Dogg.
*Steel guitarist Ralph Mooney (Tip via BGO.)
*Blues pianist Pinetop Perkins.
*Oddball Zoogz Rift.
*Jazz-funk guitarist Melvin Sparks.
*Mike Starr of Alice in Chains.

---
Have I mentioned that I love Alison Krauss? I'm looking forward to her new album.

---
I recommend Pusha-T's Fear of God free mixtape to fans of the Clipse, N.E.R.D and Odd Future.

---
Could "Into the Spin" be the video that makes Doomtree's Dessa a star?

---
The pictured Melvin Sparks import contains two entertaining albums from the '70s.

---
Hidden Pictures is critiqued by a drunk guy.

---
Kansas City Click: Brass Bed brings its Big Star-style pop to the Record Bar on Thursday.

Dianne Reeves performs Friday at the Gem Theater.

Trio Mediaeval return to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Saturday.

The Trashcan Sinatras perform at Knuckleheads on Sunday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Concertgebouw

That's the Concertgebouw. I admired it during my recent trip to Europe but I didn't attend a performance at the venerable hall. A few excellent buskers aside, I haven't heard any live music in two weeks. Instead, I've been subjected to almost nothing but trifling pop music at grocery stores, cafes, shops and on public transport in Belgium, the Netherlands and France. I never need to hear Alison Moyet again.

---
The Mumlers headline the late show at the Record Bar on Tuesday. I'll probably be there.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Down the Road a Piece

There Stands the Glass' usual shenanigans will resume later this month. Until then, I'll be "Down the Road a Piece".

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Steddy P. & DJ Mahf- What Happened Tomorrow

What Happened Tomorrow promo video

What Happened Tomorrow, the compelling new mixtape by Steddy P. and DJ Mahf, is more of the same. As with the duo's previous projects, it's smart, funny and highly entertaining.

Available as a free download March 15, What Happened Tomorrow showcases the young Missouri-based musician's stubborn old-school mentality. Steddy P.'s delivery and mindset continue to invite comparisons to Chuck D. It's also telling that he references KRS-One on "Heartbeat." The primary subject of What Happens Tomorrow is the artist's career in music. Sure, it's annoying, but when it comes to free mixtapes, self-obsession isn't just a prerogative, it's practically an obligation.

Steddy P.'s not-so-secret weapon is DJ Mahf. Even when his partner's rhymes falter, Mahf's musical choices maintain interest. The album opens with a muted Manu Dibango-style track. In order to keep copyright attorneys off the duo's backs, I won't mention what clever rock sample is heard on "The Art of..."

On "By Myself," Steddy P. describes his struggle to establish himself "in a town where everybody wants to be the Killer Clown," Even if Steddy P. has yet to achieve a fraction of Tech N9ne's financial success, his ongoing efforts continue to reward listeners.


---
Yeah, I know what day it is. I'm just not in the mood.

---
I caught Hot Tuna last weekend. Here's my review.

---
New Orleans drummer Herman Ernest has died. (Tip via BGO.)

---
Johnny Preston- "Running Bear" and "Cradle of Love"- has died. (I hadn't realized that the Big Bopper wrote "Running Bear.")

---
Get a taste of the ethereal new album by Trio Mediaeval here.

---
James Farm!

---
I continue to stir the pot at Plastic Sax.

---
Have we no shame?

---
Kansas City Click: Grand Marquis play Jazz in midtown on Fat Tuesday.

Am I actually recommending a Vertical Horizon show? Yeah, but the band's gig Wednesday at the Power & Light stage is free.

Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard sing songs you know by heart Thursday at the Music Hall.

(Original image of artist at a 2010 Steddy P. and DJ Mahf performance by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: The Water Tower Bucket Boys- Sole Kitchen

Video stream of the Water Tower Bucket Boys version of "Greasy Coat"

Never once have I fantasized about being a famous musician. The lovably ramshackle acoustic music of The Water Tower Bucket Boys, however, makes me want to grab a mandolin and jump on a train. Sole Kitchen (available now from CD Baby and at other outlets on April 26) is that ingratiating. The Portland-based band probably isn't any better than the Bad Livers, the Hackensaw Boys or Split Lip Rayfield, but I adore Sole Kitchen's songs about bread ("tastes just like my honey's bun!"), the quality of smoke in Berkeley and drinking so much whiskey that you "pass out on the hot, dusty ground." And anyone familiar with my loathing of rodents can imagine my delight with "Blackbird Pickin' at a Squirrel." Where's my knapsack?

---
Mercy, the new album by Max Justus, streams here.

---
I enthusiastically reviewed Kasey Anderson's Heart of a Dog in January. He recently recorded a Daytrotter session. It's really good.

---
My Middle of the Map festival band of the week is Paper Route.

---
Mac Lethal and Charlie Sheen: Separated at birth?

---
The Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey recently worked with a few all-star horn players. This excites me.

---
Art Brut never fail to make me laugh. Among the songs on its forthcoming album Brilliant! Tragic! are "Clever Clever Jazz" and "Is Dog Eared."

---
Kansas City Click: Arturo Sandoval plays the Folly Theater on Friday.

Illphonics visit the Czar Bar on Saturday.

The People's Liberation Big Band return to the Record Bar on Sunday.

Glen David Andrews celebrates the advent of the holiday season Monday at the Blue Room.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Eddie Kirkland, 1923-2011

Although Eddie Kirkland was 87 when he passed away a couple days ago, he didn't die of old age. A horrific car accident killed him. The life of the former musical partner of John Lee Hooker was full of such unlikely surprises. For starters, he was born in Jamaica. Kirkland toured with Otis Redding in 1964. Backed by Foghat, he performed on Don Kirshner's nationally televised "Rock Concert" with Foghat in 1977. (Drop everything and watch the amazing footage now.) He recorded several solid albums during the blues revival of the '80s and '90s, including this minor gem for the JSP label.

---
I analyzed Operation Long Leash, the new album by the Dead Kenny Gs, at Plastic Sax.

---
I was privileged to hear Héctor Del Curto and Gustavo Casenave perform with the Bach Aria Soloists last weekend. Here's my review.

---
Rick Ross's recent concert was a fiasco. Here's my review.

---
I regularly mock "tasteful" albums that seem as if they're made specifically with NPR in mind. But darned if I don't love Lagrimas Mexicanas, the new collaboration between Vinicius Cantuaria and Bill Frisell.

---
Jane Russell has died.

---
Kansas City Click: Rodney Crowell returns to Knuckleheads on Tuesday.

The Beaumont Club hosts The Dropkick Murphys on Wednesday.

The Sons of Brasil play Jardine's on Thursday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

This Changes Everything

I'd only recently become aware of the Odd Future collective when I clicked "play" on the video for Tyler the Creator's "Yonkers" a couple days ago. I immediately sensed that I was watching something significant, a game-changing work of art that will eventually have an enormous impact on pop music and on popular culture as a whole.

The electrifying moment brought similarly revelatory past experiences to mind. I'm not the world's greatest prognosticator, and I've slept on the initial stirrings of countless groundbreaking movements- I failed to grasp grunge, for instance- but I've created a list of twenty things that I recognized as crucial when they were brand new. In other words, things that subsequently altered our perception of everything else.

Interestingly, my list doesn't include a lot of the stuff I treasure. The influence of my favorite indie rock and alt-country projects seems incremental rather than immediately revolutionary. And jazz, classical and so-called world music didn't make the cut only because the impact of each endeavor (save #19) is so limited.

1. The Ramones (1976, album)
The Ramones' debut caused me to trade in my Emerson Lake & Palmer and Kansas albums. I remember chanting "Beat On the Brat" as I bullied kids on my way home from school.

2. The Sex Pistols- "Anarchy In the U.K." (1976, 12")
I've never listened to the Sex Pistols for pleasure. Didn't like 'em then. Don't like 'em now. But shortly after I bought this pre-Never Mind the Bullocks imported 12" out of curiosity, I knew that I might never listen to my collection of Paul McCartney albums again.

3. Talking Heads- Fear of Music (1979, album)
The Talking Heads combined two of my favorite things- the Ohio Players and "new wave"- to make something new. Until 1979, that simple premise seemed to have been against the rules.

4. Laurie Anderson- "O Superman" (1981, song)
"You'd better get ready." How was this a hit? I'm still not sure, but this fluke and Gary Numan's "Cars" launched a new subset of popular music that I still don't particularly care for.

5. Prince- 1999 (1982, album)
"I Wanna Be Your Lover" was a staple of dances at my school. It wasn't until 1999, however, that Prince changed everything. In addition to breaking down racial barriers, he brought synth-rock into the mainstream.

6. Run-DMC- "It's Like That" (1983, song)
"It's Like That" was probably the first hip hop song that immediately resonated with me. The Grandmaster Flash and Kurtis Blow stuff had sounded kind of corny. This didn't. LL Cool J's stunning Def Jam singles were still two years away.

7. Michael Jackson- "Billie Jean" (1983, video)
You know how countless experts rhapsodize about the impact of this song at MTV? It's all true. I grew up watching the Jackson 5's cartoon show on Saturday mornings, but this was something else entirely. And everybody knew it.

8. The Police- Synchronicity (1983, album)
It's almost impossible to comprehend today, but when Synchronicity was released in 1983, the Police were still considered a weird and vaguely threatening "new wave" band. Within a year, many of its songs were staples on radio and MTV. I hate to admit it, but Synchronicity collapsed the barrier between "classic" and "alternative" rock.

9. N.W.A.- Straight Outta Compton (1988, album)
Although I've since made my peace with it, I hated this album for years. I preferred the (self-)righteous Public Enemy. Everything about N.W.A.'s message disturbed me. Everything, that is, save Dr. Dre's production. While guys like Schooly D had been performing gangsta rap prior to 1988, it was Dre's contribution that brought it to the masses.

10. Beck- "Loser" (1993, song)
While attempting to ape hip hop. Beck came up with something entirely new. This odd hit made the endless recycling of music socially acceptable.

11. Britney Spears- "...Baby One More Time" (1998, video)
When I saw the teenage trollop's video on MTV, I instantly knew that we'd entered a new era of lasciviousness. God help us all.

12. Mystikal- "Bouncin' Back" (2001, song)
The Neptunes go to the Dirty South. Even after T.I. took over, the song remains mind blowing. (Pharrell, obviously, is not an Earthling.)

13. Missy Elliott- "Get Ur Freak On" (2001, song)
Wait... what just happened? High concept, museum-quality hip hop hits the mainstream.

14. Wilco- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002, album)
How I hated this album the first three times I listened to it! Most of what's touted by NPR's All Things Considered and Paste magazine is at least tangentially related to this project.

15. Kanye West- The College Dropout (2004, album)
I still remember almost driving off the road immediately after purchasing this future icon's debut album.

16. Run the Road (2005, album)
The grime compilation introduced me to Dizzee Rascal, Lady Sovereign and the Streets. The influence of the icy approach to hip hop was soon heard in the music of the Gorillaz, Thom Yorke, Air and Bjork.

17. Lil Wayne- "A Milli" (2008, song)
He'd been around for years, but in 2008 Lil Wayne proved that swag and a beat were all that's necessary to create a monster hit.

18. M.I.A.- "Paper Planes" (2008, song)
You already know what it is. "Paper Planes" ushered in the long-awaited era of truly international pop music.

19. Esperanza Spalding (2009, performance)
And the heavens parted. That's how I felt when I witnessed Spalding's concert at the Folly Theater. I know my wishful thinking can and will be mocked, but Spalding is "The One." Mark my words...

20. Tyler the Creator- "Yonkers" (2011, video)
Smart, funny, anarchic and irredeemably nihilistic. The end is nigh.



---
My Middle of the Map festival band-of-the week is Tamaryn.

---
I'm falling way behind on new releases. The new Brad Mehldau is near the top of my list.

---
Kansas City Click: Ben Rector performs Thursday at the Record Bar.

Jamey Johnson opens for Kid Rock at Sprint Center on Friday.

Malevolent Creation is at the Riot Room on Saturday.

Ron Ron is among Rick Ross' support acts Sunday at the Sprint Center.

Review: Rhys Chatham- Outdoor Spell

Video snippet of a recent Rhys Chatham performance.


There's a lot of electrified barbed wire here in Kansas. Its siren song is irresistible. Even though you know it's going to hurt, the wire simply must be touched.

I feel much the same way about Outdoor Spell, the forthcoming album by Rhys Chatham. It's often excruciating, yet I've been listening to bits of it every day for over two weeks.

As with many of my generation, Sonic Youth's early work served as my introduction to artistic noise. Pouring over pre-internet interviews with the rock band led me to Chatham. Years of willful appreciation of the sonic assaults, however, didn't prepare for Outdoor Spell.

After a relatively tranquil opening track, "Crossing the Sword Bridge" quickly becomes unbearable. It sounds like air squeakily escaping from a balloon, the insistent whine of a vacuum and the irate honking of a dozen taxi drivers. Chatham seems to be challenging listeners to to endure all eighteen minutes of the piece. (I can't make it without taking a couple breaks.) "Corn Maiden's Rite" is made only slightly more tolerable by arrhythmic drumming. Its chorus of trumpets sounds like a flock of dying geese. Long swathes of "The Magician" resemble a flatulence-induced car crash.

It's genius.

---
My friend S. tipped me off to Odd Future. I love these kids! And this is the single funniest thing I've seen in 2011. There's a riot going on.

---
The new video for Hidden Pictures' "Anne Apparently" is cute.

---
Mac Lethal is featured in another high profile battle. The action starts at 3:30.

---
I reviewed Todd Clouser's Sunday outing for Plastic Sax.

---
Kansas City Click: Smith Westerns is at the Record Bar on Tuesday.

Cage the Elephant return to the Beaumont on Wednesday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

George Shearing, 1919-2011

George Shearing- "My Funny Valentine" (video stream)

People who suggest that they were born in the wrong era baffle me. I'm just glad to be here. I freely acknowledge, however, that I experience music through a contemporary filter. Django Reinhardt's scratchy recordings from the 1930s strike me as up to date as Jay Electronica. Other artists, George Shearing among them, evoke a period that seems somewhat foreign to me. His romantic and formal sensibility, while immediately accessible, is rooted in an entirely different time and place. I can appreciate it- I can even love it- but I'm several steps removed from its origin. George Shearing died on Valentine's Day. He was 91.

---
My latest ECM infatuation: Mistico Mediterraneo by Paolo Fresu, Daniele di Bonaventura and A Filetta.

---
Max, the man behind Nuthatch-47, has a new song and video. (Via Wayward Blog.)

---
Who Is Arcade Fire? has made me laugh out loud every day this week.

---
The Life and Times is responsible for my tenth favorite album of 2009. The band is performing at the Middle of the Map festival in April.

---
While there's still no mention of the news at the Kansas City Symphony's site, a recording featuring the ensemble won Grammy Awards for "Surround Sound Album" and "Producer of the Year, Classical."

---
Hey, Kansas City music lovers- this is what a real record store looks like. Grimey's in Nashville is just killing it.

---
Kansas City Click: Motorhead will make everything louder than everything else Thursday at the Midland Theater.

Phonologotron performs at City Center Square on Friday.

Thomas Pridgen's band The Memorials will be at the Riot Room on Saturday.

I previewed Todd Clouser's Sunday appearance at the Record Bar for Plastic Sax.

Julian Lage plays the Blue Room on Monday.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Review: Blues at the Crossroads at the Uptown

"Bittersweet!" a woman in the row behind me repeatedly shrieked Saturday at the Uptown Theater.

It wasn't going to happen. The oblivious woman may have paid $55 to hear Big Head Todd and the Monsters play its signature song, but Todd Park Mohr, the leader of the Colorado-based band, made it clear from the outset that the evening would be dedicated to the blues. (Here's my review of 100 Years of Robert Johnson.)

A decidedly mixed bag, the quality of the concert can be reduced to a simple axiom. Less is more. Mohr's solo acoustic work was shockingly good. A critic in Ann Arbor savaged his effort on the previous night, but the bandleader was far more convincing than I'd expected. Lightnin' Malcom's duet segment with James Cotton was the evening's clear highlight. Malcolm offered the same sort of tasteful support for Hubert Sumlin.

Things weren't nearly as nice when all of Mohr's Monsters were on stage. The large ensemble's version of "Come On in My Kitchen," for instance, might easily have been mistaken for "Bittersweet" by that frustrated fan. She was probably also pleased to hear hits by Bryan Adams and Bonnie Raitt played over the PA at intermission. I suspect that she didn't notice the unexplained absence of David "Honeyboy" Edwards, either. I'd really been looking forward to seeing Edwards one last time. For entirely different reasons, she and I both came down with a bad case of the blues on Saturday.

Here's Joel Francis' proper review of the concert.

---
After I wrote this essay about the significance of Esperanza Spalding in 2009, I've taken to referring to her as "The One." As of today, she unofficially supplants Wynton Marsalis as the face of jazz.

---
Quit your hating. I loved the Grammy broadcast. My favorite performances, in order: B.o.B, Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae; Cee Lo Green; Arcade Fire; Eminem; and Mick Jagger's tribute to Solomon Burke.

---
Kansas City rapper Dinero Fazil has a nice video for "Mi Vida Escrita En Papeles". (Via Credential Hip Hop.)

---
Kansas City Click: I suspect Mark Lowrey will play "My Funny Valentine" more than once at Sullivan's on Monday.

Carrie Rodriguez, Erin McKeown and Mary Gauthier team up Tuesday at Knuckleheads.

The Record Bar hosts Sebadoh on Wednesday.

(Original image of Sumlin, Malcom and Mohr by There Stands the Glass.)