Category: Episodes

381. Bonnie Raitt

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(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

380. Courtney Barnett

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(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

379. Slayer

~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(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

378. Joaquín Rodrigo

~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(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

377. Sister Rosetta Tharpe

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(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

376. Townes Van Zandt

~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(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

375. Dengue Fever

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(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

374. Anna Thorvaldsdóttir

~ ernopepper ~ 2 Comments

(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

373. Ride

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(December 2021) Episode 373 is RIDE. Their debut album Nowhere was a landmark of shoegaze, albeit more melodic than My Bloody Valentine, and that’s what made me take notice. But they quickly discarded that sound for unremarkable (IMO) alt rock and later lush pop.

Favourite album: Nowhere

Favorite song: Black Nite Crash

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: just Nowhere

372. Al Green

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(December 2021) Episode 372 is AL GREEN. Simply one of the best soul voices ever.  His early 1970s albums are canon for soul music. He later moved on into religious music which is not my cup of tea. 

Favorite album: I’m Still in Love with You

Favorite song: Take Me To The River

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: early 70s are a must for any soul review