potpourri!
Let's see what some people have been writing about on the site here.
Brynne: I sincerely cannot wait to get back to Virginia and play music. One of these days! And I'm glad using one of my songs got you an A, although I do fear that that is one more confirmation of the low value of good grades -- A students working for C students, and all that.
Shelly: I do not think I know who you are! The idea that the person or people who stole my gear is "in a world of need and fear" is appealing, but I think it's wishful thinking, because, for all we know, he's just some contemptible, selfish asshole. Seems equally likely to me.
Rusk: You are right -- my error -- it was Joshua Bell who played to zero acclaim on the Washington Metro, not Joshua Redman. Thanks.
Travis: No matter how annoying your cousin the professor is, I'm sure I can whip him on the turdometer!
Rich: I disagree; I think good musicians have, overall, reliably great taste in music, and they're always turning me on to terrific things I've never heard of, or did hear of and dismissed. In the last year alone, musicians have steered me toward: Slim and Slam, Riley, Arthur Russell, M. Ward, Bola Sete, Duke Ellington's all-star violin record, Charles Mingus's "Ah Um," Lonnie Johnson, the Big 3 Trio, Claude Thornhill, Nicole Atkins, Abner Jay, the Impressions, Garoto, and Li'l Band of Gold. Obviously some of these are oddly huge things to have missed in 40 years of playing music. A subscription to Mojo would have hipped me to Arthur. If I paid the scantest opinion to consensus opinion among jazzbos or Pitchfork zombies I would certainly already own, respectively, the Mingus and M. Ward LPs. But when I think of all I would have had to read about and sort through to get to these good bits, well, it's just nauseating. I can't imagine a source that would have efficiently led me to all those disparate artists, other than musicians.
I do think that musicians are susceptible to, and should be wary of, the syndrome in which extremely specialized music that is clearly repellent to average listeners is overvalued. Gentle Giant and Harry Partch are OK by me, but I always suspect that people who have much of a strong taste for that sort of thing are excited by some non-musical idea -- of algebraic complexity, beautiful eccentricity, hostility to the bland mainstream -- rather than responding simply and purely to the sound of the music. Probably a hopeless ideal, that, but worth emulating.
Dan: There's a lot of music that strikes me as calculated to create tortuous displeasure, but I think that's just me. (I include in this category 75% of what my oldest son listened to as a teenager, such as Eagle Eye Cherry, and of what my current teenaged son listens to, like Rage Against The Machine.) The main thing is, I'm not aware of any artists who actually aim at creating it, and that definitely includes Steve and his excellent band!
To all who highlighted the importance of personal biography and context in evaluating music: Agreed, but I keep having the feeling that "And Your Bird Can Sing" is actually a great song. And would be on Mars, and will be in 300 years.
Kevin M: Yes, there are recordings made of all my Hideout shows, by two crazy nerdy men who would be making better use of their time watching "Ally McBeal" or something. Right now I am culling the first year's recordings in the hope of getting a website release together -- stay tuned!
To all who threw in ideas and assistance on southwest dates: Thanks a million! I'm not sure if it's going to work this time or not, but if not, I have some real good leads to follow next time. You all are dynamite and I am humbled.
Matt: I don't have the old essays anymore, sorry!
Tim: At McCabe's in Santa Monica, July 31.
Tom L: "Good for what?" Good point, good story. Music that makes you laugh at how ridiculous it is has a positive value.
Paul: Thanks for the nice comment. The two songs you mentioned are two of my favorites (of mine).
Jeremy: I am half in agreement with you -- somebody should replace Sasha!
As a final aside, a couple recent Hideout shows have really lifted my skirt. The Don Stiernberg and Robbie Gjersoe duo shows were for small, but not absurdly small, groups. In both those I felt happy about the intensity of the playing, the flow of the sets, and the audience reaction. In fact I felt that if the audience had been big, it wouldn't have been the same show, or as good. There's a cool, secret-society effect from playing a one-time-only show for a small group who's into what you're doing. Then there was the Gram and Emmylou show, which wasn't as musically seamless (partly a function of more players onstage), but was OK, and played to a full room of happy (I think) humans. Two very different models for a memorable live show, but I think each of them could only have been enacted at the particular kind of venue that is the Hideout.
3 comments
Dude...no Ah-Um until recently? That's vaguely disturbing for some reason. I strongly urge you to get right on The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady if you haven't already. I don't rate it more highly than Ah-Um (though some do), but it is definitely Mingus at the height of his powers and aiming at something bigger and more complex. Plus it has liner notes from his psychiatrist.
i think i under stand. maybe im just a little slow today :P
I was one of the fortunate souls in attendance at the Don Stiernberg show and am still reeling from the winsome exuberance on display that night. And that was just in the crowd! I agree completely - there is a rare delight in being amongst a fair-sized audience and feeling that you are sharing a musical 'happening' - and the the musicians seem to feel the same way. I look forward to a return trip to Chicago this summer and (with any luck) another singular evening at the Hideaway.