(January 2022) Episode 383 is THE BOO RADLEYS. As I continue my (second) tour of 90s UK bands, I come to The Boo Radleys, who trod the crowded path from shoegaze to Britpop. Their songs never settle on a singular style, both within and across albums, which makes them both an interesting listen but also hard to characterize.
Favourite album: C’Mon Kids
Favorite song: What’s in the Box? (See Whatcha Got)
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: should be on your 90s British rock list
(January 2022) Episode 382 is JENNIFER HIGDON. An award-winning contemporary composer with a catalogue of excellent works for string and wind. She’s somewhat more conventional (in form and sound, as in more tonal) than some of the other 21st century composers I’ve explored recently – with works more tailored for concert bands than for mixed media installations.
Favorite piece: Concerto for Orchestra
Favorite chamber piece: Sky Quartet
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: yes for the orchestral pieces
(January 2022) Episode 381 is BONNIE RAITT. I don’t think anybody can dislike Bonnie Raitt. Her bluesy/soulful voice and slidey guitar make a wholesome blend of blues/rock/roots music. But it can also be kinda basic. The albums from her mainstream success years are my least favorite, and I like her later, more atmospheric and introspective, recordings the best.
Favorite album: Slipstream
Favorite song: God Was In The Water
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: enjoyable but it does not challenge you
(January 2021) Episode 380 is COURTNEY BARNETT. Conventional yet enjoyable singer-songwriting, delivered in a somewhat laconic, sometimes Sprechgesang Australian accent. I was drawn to her by the grungy fuzz of “Pedestrian at Best” but that was more exception than rule.
Favorite album: Sometimes I Sit And Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit*
Favorite song: Pedestrian At Best
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: enjoyable but not spectacular
* one of my favorite album titles of all time
(January 2022) Episode 379 is SLAYER. 1980s music generally sucked, but it did bless us with thrash metal, in which Slayer reigned (in blood). I like my metal at the extremes and Slayer goes there with speed, speed, speed, with a full package of death and devil themes. And they seamlessly transitioned through groove metal too. So good.
Favorite album: Reign in Blood
Favorite song: Angel of Death
Compared to expectations: ↑
Recommendation: essential in the metal genre
(January 2022) Episode 378 is JOAQUÍN RODRIGO. You’ll recognize him from the main theme of Concierto De Aranjuez (used by Miles Davis, Chick Corea), a piece that sentimentally evokes a Spanish pastoral landscape. He elevated the guitar in classical repertoire, and it is my favorite part of his works, although amazingly he never mastered the instrument. Also amazing: he was blind and composed in Braille.
Favorite piece: Concierto De Aranjuez
Favorite solo guitar piece: Toccata para guitarra
Favorite solo piano piece: Cinco Sonatas de Castilla
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: Strongly recommend the guitar works
(January 2022) Episode 377 is SISTER ROSETTA THARPE. I’m not into the gospel message but the music can have a certain power, and is worth studying for its common roots with blues, rock, R&B and soul. Tharpe played an influential role in that history by putting her bluesy electric guitar out front and bringing the music into secular venues.
Favorite album: Gospel Songs
Favorite song: Strange Things Happening Every Day
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: for students of the history of rock and soul
(January 2022) Episode 376 is TOWNES VAN ZANDT. Amidst the flowering of new musical styles in the 60s came Van Zandt’s folk-tinged country (or is it country-tinged folk?) with its melancholy tone delivered in his earnest voice. Whatever you call it, it is stellar songwriting. His personal life struggles add a tragic veneer to the music.
Favorite album: Townes Van Zandt
Favorite song: I’ll Be Here In The Morning
Compared to expectations: ↑
Recommendation: yes, for a taste of authentically American music
(January 2022) Episode 375 is DENGUE FEVER. I had no idea there was such a thing as Cambodian psychedelic rock until I was introduced to this band. Dengue Fever combines a couple of indie hipsters from LA and a Cambodian immigrant singer. Their music recreates the sound of that scene from the 60s and 70s (until undone by Pol Pot), a mix of surf-style guitar, fuzzy keyboards, world music rhythms and lyrics sung (mostly) in Khmer in a Eastern pentatonic style. It’s an odd mix that works.
Favorite album: Escape from Dragon House
Favorite song: One Thousand Tears of a Tarantula
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: if you like hearing styles you’ve never heard before
(December 2021) Episode 374 is ANNA THORVALDSDÓTTIR. Her compositions are like ecosystems of sound, evocative of nature and landscapes – a description you will understand if you’ve been to her native Iceland. Her music is direct and powerful, often unsettling, and sometime includes electronic and visual elements in an avant-garde approach.
Favorite piece: Aequilibria
Favorite solo piece: Sola
Favorite ensemble piece: Spectra
Favorite vocal piece: Ad Genua
Compared to expectations: ↑
Recommendation: yes
Opus Project 