(October 2021) Episode 363 is PIERRE BOULEZ. I first learned of Boulez through Frank Zappa, who said he was his favorite composer. You can hear his ideas imprinted on much of Zappa’s more ambitious work. Boulez was acclaimed as a serialist composer, but also as a writer, institute founder and conductor, including of Zappa compositions.
Favorite piece: Répons
Compared to expectations: ↑
Recommendation: Yes, if you like to expand with serialism and similar forms
(October 2021) Episode 362 is ENTOMBED, along with progenitor NIHILIST. Considered one of the ‘big four’ Swedish death metal bands, pioneering the buzzsaw guitar sound along with speed and growl. By the mid-90s they turned down the tempo, yelled rather than growled the lyrics, becoming more regular heavy or thrash metal, which worked on some albums but not on others.
Favorite album: Wolverine Blues
Favorite song: Chief Rebel Angel
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: essential for any Swedish death metal listeners
(October 2021) Episode 361 is LES PAUL. His primary legacy is as a pioneer of the solid-body electric guitar that still carries his name. But he earns an episode here for his innovative guitar playing, with his fast trills and fancy licks, and invention of multi-layer, variable-speed recording techniques. Any guitar aficionado must revere this. But his pop hits with Mary Ford are not my thing.
Favorite song: Lover
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: mostly for guitar aficionados
(September 2021) Episode 360 is MICA LEVI, who usually performs under the name Micachu. A genre-defying artist who does things you wouldn’t think of. Their work falls into three categories: quirky, rhythmic pop (with the Shapes), experimental collages (at times merged with hip hop), and unconventional film scores.
Favourite album: Jewellery
Favourite song: Golden Phone
Compared to expectations: ↓
Recommendation: if you’re in the mood for something completely different
(September 2021) Episode 359 is BOB MARLEY and the Wailers. Is there any artist whose music is so universally enjoyed and adored? You can’t not feel chill and happy. Even though we have been over-saturated by his hits, they still get you humming and toe-tapping.
Favorite album: Burnin’
Favorite song: Three Little Birds
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: a greatest hits compilation will satisfy
(September 2021) Episode 358 is THE DECEMBERISTS. I listen to little aughts indie rock, so I was unprepared for how pretentious it can get, as exemplified by The Decemberists with their precious song titles and knowingly literate lyrics delivered in an affected voice. Somewhat counter-intuitively, it gets better when they move into concept albums, featuring guest singers and an occasionally heavier sound.
Favorite album: The Hazards of Love
Favorite song: Everything is Awful
Compared to expectations: ↓
Recommendation: nah
(September 2021) Episode 357 is THE SLITS. Started out as a formative female UK punk band but soon transitioned to a wild-sounding post-punk, new wave sound with a strong dub substrate sung in a Nico* accent.
Favourite album: Cut
Favourite song: Shoplifting
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: An acquired taste, but a must-have if you’re into the UK punk/new wave thing.
* They covered “Femme Fatale” in a live recording, with (German-born) Ari Up pronouncing “clown” as “clonn” just as Nico did.
(September 2021) Episode 356 is ASH RA TEMPEL, along with ASHRA and MANUEL GÖTTSCHING solo albums. It started as a classic avant-garde Krautrock collective leaning toward the spacey side (Kosmische Musik). But it became a vehicle for Göttsching and reached a peak when he put his guitar at the center. He gets the most Mike Oldfield-like guitar tone I’ve heard elsewhere. The best stuff sounds like a blend of Oldfield, Tangerine Dream and Discipline-era Fripp.
Favorite Ash Ra Tempel album: Schwingungen
Favorite Ashra album: Blackouts
Favorite Manuel Göttsching album: Inventions for Electric Guitar
Favorite song: Echo Waves
Compared to expectations: ↑
Recommendation: If you like the artists listed above, this is a must.
(September 2021) Episode 355 is KISS. I can’t think of a rock band whose fame is derived from a higher ratio of style over substance. Cock rock has not aged well (other than as period pieces in movie soundtracks), and KISS is no exception. It’s like they presciently made music in order to be mocked by Spinal Tap, and later made music that mimicked the mocking. I was too young for the KISS Army and like to think I would not have succumbed.
Favorite album: Destroyer
Favorite song: Dark Light
Oddest yet weirdly compelling album: Music from “The Elder”
Best late-period album: Carnival of Souls
Best 1978 solo album: Ace Frehley
Favorite member: Ace Frehley
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: don’t bother
(September 2021)
Episode 354 of the “opus project” is BÉLA BARTÓK. A solid and important composer of the early 20th Century, and one of the famous two Hungarian pianists (along with Lizst), but was less avant-garde than I had expected. He sought out and composed folk songs from many traditions in central Europe, foreshadowing the field of ethnomusicology.
Favorite piece: Violin Concerto No. 2
Favorite chamber piece: Sonata for two pianos and percussion
Favorite stage work: The Miraculous Mandarin
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: if you are exploring composers of the early 20th century, there are many to get to before him
Opus Project 