(May 2019) Episode 216 of my “opus project” is MIKE KROL. Garage rock that’s loud, distorted, frenetic, humorous. It’s like hemoglobin for me. If you like Ty Segall or Oh Sees, check this guy out. (This may be the first artist in the Project whose first recording came out in the current decade.)
Favorite album: Turkey
Favorite song: Little Drama
Compared to expectations: ↑
(May 2019) Episode 215 of my “opus project” is FRANZ SCHUBERT. Arguably the most productive composer ever — more than 1,000 works even though he died at age 31 (this was a loooooong episode). The majority of these are secular songs (lieder), the genre for which he is probably the most famous, although they are not my cup of tea. Bridging the Classical and Romantic eras, he composed in pretty much every genre; I enjoyed his chamber music the most. But despite his genius and continued inclusion in contemporary repertoires, it is curious that few of his works endure in the public consciousness, with the obvious exception of Ave Maria and maybe the fish song.
Favorite piece: Symphony No. 9 (Great C major)
Favorite string quartet: No. 13, Rosamunde
Favorite quintet: Quintet in A major
Favorite large chamber piece: Wind Nonet “Franz Schuberts Begräbniß-Feyer”
Echoes of Beethoven’s 7th, 2nd movement: Eight Variations on an original theme in A♭ major for piano duet
Compared to expectations: same
(May 2019) Episode 214 of my “opus project” is THE CHOCOLATE WATCHBAND. A late 1960s Bay Area outfit that combined gritty garage rock and psychedelic sounds — shoot this directly into my veins! While they didn’t have a hit that endured in the popular consciousness, it’s good stuff. Like several groups of that period, some surviving members hit the revival circuit, and even, as septuagenarians, released an album this year (it’s not bad).
Favorite album: The Inner Mystique
Favorite song: Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)
Compared to expectations: same
(May 2019) I have completed episode 213 of my “opus project.” This edition: NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL. This is the performing name of Jeff Mangum, the reclusive and enigmatic co-founder of the fantastic Elephant 6 collective. I characterize this music as lo-fuzz. Don’t try to comprehend the lyrics. There are Elephant 6 bands that I listen to more than NMH, but “Aeroplane” has grown on me over the years. I hope for more releases.
Favorite album: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Favorite song: The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. One
Compared to expectations: same
(April 2019) I have completed episode 212 of my “opus project.” This edition: FOXYGEN. It’s exceedingly difficult to characterize their music, so here goes: Imagine Olivia Tremor Control reincarnated as a duo in Los Angeles as the love child of Ty Segall and Lou Reed, mixed with early Beck, mid-period Kinks, Satanic-era Stones, Oh Sees, late Beck, and a sprinkling of ELO and Zappa. That might be Foxygen, for now, because their next sound could be completely different. Fun fact: their latest album came out yesterday, setting the OP record for quickest incorporation of a new release.
Favorite album: We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic
Favorite song: San Francisco
Compared to expectations: same
(April 2019) I have completed episode 211 of my “opus project.” This edition: BUDDY HOLLY. Just classic. Influence immeasurable. How different would music be if there had been no Buddy Holly?
Favorite album: Buddy Holly
Favorite song: Everyday
Compared to expectations: same
(April 2019) I have completed episode 210 of my “opus project.” This edition: fIREHOSE. I finished Minutemen, so I naturally started fIREHOSE next as it featured its two surviving members. This is what I should have been listening to in the 1980s instead of whatever I was listening to. Early fIREHOSE is much better than later fIREHOSE. Mike Watt is an incredible bass player.
Favorite album: If’n
Favorite song: Honey, Please
Compared to expectations: ↓
(April 2019) I have completed episode 209 of my “opus project.” This edition: LAURIE ANDERSON. When I was younger, Laurie Anderson’s music was too weird for my taste. Now, my taste requires a weirdness in music such as Laurie Anderson’s. It would be more fully appreciated in performance, with her visual element too. I love the idiosyncrasies in her words. Her voice is classic American Standard, with a subtle midwestern twang.
Favorite album: Big Science
Favorite song: O Superman
Better than expected: the spoken word albums
Compared to expectations: same
(March 2019) I have completed episode 208 of my “opus project.” This edition: MINUTEMEN. I did not follow them in real time, but listening in retrospect, their influence is clearly recognizable, especially in funk-punk. Notable is their sense of adventurism. I particularly like the echoes of Captain Beefheart. It’s apt that Minutemen’s early songs clocked in at about one minute each, although I don’t think that’s where their name comes from.
Favorite album: Double Nickels On The Dime
Favorite song: The Glory of Man
Favorite EP: Minuteflag
Best approximation of a Captain Beefheart song: Power Failure
Compared to expectations: ↓
(March 2019) I have completed episode 207 of my “opus project.” This edition: MAURICE RAVEL. A rare case where a composer’s best known work (Boléro) is unlike anything else he did. I love the way it builds over the repetition. I’m not a fan of impressionism (art or music) but there were some works here that, ahem, impressed me more than expected, especially the complex orchestral and stage compositions. I imagine pianophiles like to challenge themselves with his piano works. He didn’t write as much as contemporaries.
Favorite piece: Boléro
Favorite stage piece: Daphnis et Chloé (ballet)
Favorite orchestral piece: Piano Concerto in G
Favorite small piece (non-vocal): Tzigane
Compared to expectations: same
Opus Project 