(June 2018) I have completed episode 172 of my “opus project.” This edition: EDGARD VARÈSE. An avant-garde composer from the first half of the 20th century, his works, unbounded by conventional structure, influenced many threads of that century’s music, including electronic. Any fan of Frank Zappa should get to know his compositions, as Varèse was a major influence on him.
Favorite Piece: Amériques
Favorite electronic piece: Poème électronique
Compared to expectations: same
(June 2018) I have completed episode 171 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to the complete works of an artist. This edition: STEVE REICH. As a devotee of minimalist music, of course I am a fan of one of its founding fathers, arguably one of America’s greatest living composers. I especially appreciate Reich’s early experimentation with tape loops and phasing, as they have had such a wide influence across a wide range of musical styles. He has kept innovating with African polyrythms, unique orchestrations, mixed-media operas, religious themes, etc.
Favorite Piece: Music for 18 Musicians
Favorite orchestra-ish piece: The Four Sections
Favorite tape loop: Come Out
Favorite use of amplified noise to explore a concept: Pendulum Music
Compared to expectations: same
(June 2018) I have completed episode 170 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to an artist’s full discography. This edition: LEONARD COHEN. He is a legend. And yet, I can’t get much beyond meh with much of his work. As a poet, his lyrics are the heart of his music. But since lyrical content is the last thing I listen to in music, I am missing the depth of appreciation. I prefer the earlier folk material, but also the last sparse, dark recordings. One interesting observation is how the pitch of his voice drops with each album, from medium-high register on the first albums to nearly inaudible depths by the final ones.
Favorite album: Songs of Love and Hate
Favorite song: Suzanne
Compared to expectations: ↓
(June 2018) I have completed episode 169 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s full discography. This edition: BADFINGER. One of the three Pillars of Power Pop (along with Big Star and the Raspberries). No one excelled at the power ballad quite like Badfinger.
Favorite album: Straight Up
Favorite song: No Matter What
Hidden Gem: the first album (Maybe Tomorrow, issued as The Iveys), with period-apt psychedelics and baroque pop
Compared to expectations: same
(June 2018) I have completed episode 168 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s full discography. This edition: WU-TANG CLAN. I’m not much into rap but I can dig the them for their hardcore approach, inventive lyrics, entrepreneurialism, and kung-fu ethos. I limited this episode mostly to the albums released as Wu-Tang Clan; I didn’t have the stamina for all the projects put out by the Wu-Tang collective.
Favorite album: Iron Flag
Favorite song: Bring Da Ruckus
Compared to expectations: same
(May 2018) I have completed episode 167 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s full discography. This edition: MAZZY STAR. An underrated band from the 1990s IMHO. A distinct sound — hazy, echo-y, spare, not quite alt-country, with subtle bits of psychedelia — that I might label “sultry shoegazing.”
Favorite album: So Tonight That I Might See
Favorite song: Halah
Compared to expectations: same
(May 2018) I have completed episode 166 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to an artist’s full discography. This edition: MILES DAVIS. I’ve had a complicated relationship with jazz, but Miles Davis has always been my favorite jazz artist — he was a trumpeter (as were my father and I), he was a constant innovator, and he was cool as hell. While it may be considered heresy, my favorite is his “electric period” of experimental, funk and fusion (1969-75). This was a long one — I covered the studio and live albums released under his name, but not bootlegs or his recordings as sideman.
Favorite album: Bitches Brew
Favorite song: Pharaoh’s Dance
Coolest album (in the history of the world): Kind of Blue
Favorite live album: Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970
Favorite period: 1969-75
Worst song: Human Nature (Michael Jackson cover)
Best space jam that sounds like a Pink Floyd song that actually inspired Brian Eno: He Loved Him Madly (from Get Up With It)
Compared to expectations: same
(April 2018) I have completed episode 165 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s full discography. This edition: OPETH. Who doesn’t love a little epic Swedish death metal? At some point they retired the demon howl for a greater focus on progressive metal and heavy mellow, but I prefer the earlier material.
Favorite album: Blackwater Park
Favorite song: Blackwater Park
Least favorite album: Damnation
Compared to expectations: same
(April 2018) I have completed episode 164 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to a band’s full discography. This edition: DEVO. As my interest in late-70s New Wave has grown, so has my appreciation of Devo’s first few albums. They’re more than a one-hit wonder, but their sound never really “evolved” (pun intended) from its one-dimensionality. If repetitiveness is proof of concept, they succeeded.
Favorite album: Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!
Favorite song: Uncontrollable Urge
Worst album: Total Devo
Compared to expectations: ↓
(April 2018) I have completed episode 163 of my “opus project,” in which I listen to an artist’s full discography. This edition: ROBERT JOHNSON. We pretty much owe everything to this man. There are only 42 surviving recordings of his songs (13 are alternative takes), but you can hear his influence everywhere.
Favorite song: Sweet Home Chicago
Compared to expectations: same
Opus Project 