(July 2021) Episode 343 is PANTERA. Heavy metal as it is meant to be: propulsive, aggressive and ear-bleeding. Funny thing is they started out in the 80s as a run-of-the-mill hair metal band, but flipped the switch in the 90s to metal goodness with machine-gun riffs, double pedal speed and throat scream vocals, owning the decade. Quality stuff.
Favorite album: Vulgar Display of Power
Favorite song: Slaughtered
Compared to expectations: ↑
(July 2021) Episode 342 is ELVIS PRESLEY. There’s a reason I listened to 341 artists before I got to the “King.” Was never a fan, and this episode did not make me one. His influence on 20th century music is hard to overstate (even if it is tainted by whitewashing which I hold against the system, not Elvis personally). And his early rock-n-roll hits are catchy even if completely oversaturating. But I can’t stand his cloying, syrupy voice which, along with his act, have become a parody unto itself. This voice fits best in his countrypolitan sound of the 1970s, which says something.
Favorite album: Elvis Presley (you know, the one whose cover the Clash mimicked)
Favorite song: Hound Dog
Best compilation of early hits if you feel that you must: Elvis’ Golden Records
Compared to expectations: same
(July 2021) Episode 341 is JOAN JETT (and The Blackhearts). Your health demands an infusion of pure, unadulterated rock-n-roll from time to time, and Joan Jett provides that, with a tasty helping of snarl. But as with much straight-ahead rock, it can become tedious.
Favorite album: Bad Reputation
Favorite song: Bad Reputation
Best late-period album: Sinner
Best collaboration: Evil Stig (with The Gits)
Compared to expectations: same
(July 2021) Episode 340 of the “opus project” is ANTON WEBERN. The last for me of the big three of the Second Viennese School of serious serialists. His portfolio isn’t big and he hardly makes it into any repertoires, but he was influential and the music is interesting.
Favorite piece: String Trio
Compared to expectations: same
(July 2021) Episode 339 is WEIRD AL YANKOVIC. Simply put, he is a genius. There is no shortage of parody/satire music out there (esp. in the social media age) but Weird Al is the master and has been so for decades. His albums (and videos) are consistently clever, current and on point. I LOLd often. And his original songs are not only funny but show him to be a talented pop/rock songwriter (ex: Skipper Dan). Extra points for doing it clean and not resorting to prurience or profanity (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I look forward to the polka medleys.
Favorite album: Straight Outta Lynwood
Favorite song: Jurassic Park
Compared to expectations: ↑
(July 2021) Episode 338 of the “opus project” is BIOSPHERE, the recording name of Norwegian Geir Jenssen (this includes his other works too). Ambient can mean a lot of things, and he touches most of them. The majority of his stuff is more textural and minimal, the kind I prefer, but he also records techno-ambient, which I loathe (reminds me of ghastly upscale Euro-chic hotels). He also makes literal ambient sound recordings.
Favorite album: Shenzhou
Favorite song: Translation
Compared to expectations: same
(June 2021) Episode 337 of the “opus project” is MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT. Guitar pickin’ blues, my favorite kind of blues I think. That, along with his gentle voice and calm delivery (not to mention his uncomplicated personal life), make him distinctive if not unique in the genre. He was rediscovered in the 1960s and thus contributed to the folk revival. A benefit is that most of his recordings are of good quality.
Favorite song: Richland Woman Blues
Compared to expectations: ↑
(June 2021) Episode 336 of the “opus project” is SUN RA. Pianist, bandleader, poet, cosmic philosopher, and one of a kind. Mostly accompanied by his Arkestra, he provided a soundtrack to Afrofuturism through almost every kind of jazz — swing, bebop, free, avant-garde, experimental, fusion, solo piano. I like best the free jazz and space-ness of the late 60s and early 70s. Extremely prolific too; at 131 albums this was by far the biggest non-classical episode in the project. I wish I had seen him in concert, although I did see members of the Arkestra once.
Favorite album: Astro Black
Favorite song: Nuclear War
Compared to expectations: same
(June 2021) Episode 335 is ARVO PÄRT, maybe the most popular living composer you’ve never heard of. He started out in neo-classical and serialist forms, but then went into seclusion in the early 1970s and came out with a dramatically different approach. He invented a form called tintinnabuli, of a minimalist aesthetic. He also focused on choral works, mostly spiritual following study of medieval music and a personal religious conversion, which also forced him to leave the USSR. Much of Pärt’s music sounds meditative and mystical, embodying his spiritual inspirations.
Favorite piece: Fratres (for violin and piano)
Favorite choral piece: Stabat Mater
Favorite meditative piece: Spiegel im Spiegel
Compared to expectations: ↑
(June 2021) Episode 334 of the “opus project” is EYEHATEGOD. Sludge metal band from New Orleans. It’s raw and misanthropic early on, evolving to a somewhat slicker but no less misanthropic tone more recently.
Favorite album: Dopesick
Favorite song: Dixie Whiskey
Compared to expectations: ↓
Opus Project 