(May 2020) Episode 262 is ALISON KRAUSS. When I subject myself to country music, it usually goes down best as bluegrass. And so I find a lot to like about Alison Krauss, who (with Union Station) kind of propelled a bluegrass revival. But no matter the style of music, she just has the perfect voice. And her fiddlin’ is pretty good too.
Favorite album: Raising Sand (with Robert Plant)
Favorite solo album: I’ve Got That Old Feeling
Favorite song: Jacob’s Dream
Compared to expectations: same
(April 2020) Episode 261 is PORCUPINE TREE. When many others were going back to basics with grunge in the early 90s, these guys were reviving prog rock. Some of the music is enjoyable, especially the heavy metal-tinted later recordings, but the vocals/lyrics tend toward the prog-pretentious which is kind of a turn-off.
Favourite album: Deadwing
Favourite song: Shallow
Compared to expectations: ↓
(April 2020) Episode 260 is LUSCIOUS JACKSON. Their funk, syncopation and semi-rap is a Very 90s sound, but unlike so many others of that decade, it holds up. It is not a surprise they have links to the Beastie Boys. Did you know they made a children’s album?
Favorite album: Fever In Fever Out
Favorite song: Under Your Skin
Compared to expectations: same
(April 2020) Episode 259 of the “opus project” is STEVIE WONDER. Everybody loves Stevie and knows his hits. But you should dig deep into his albums, particularly from his “classic” period of 1972-76, to really appreciate his (inner)vision and talent as a song composer and multi-instrumentalist. Those albums are essential listening — the diversity and mixing of styles, the integration of synthesizers, the social commentary. His early teenage prodigy recordings are dispensible; the late-60s, early 70s albums a mixed affair, and the 80s pop cringe-worthy.
Favorite album: Innervisions
Masterpiece: Songs in the Key of Life
Favorite song: Superstition
Worst song: I Just Called To Say I Love You
Compared to expectations: ↑
(March 2020) Episode 258 of the “opus project” is CLARA SCHUMANN. I realize I haven’t covered a woman classical composer yet, so it makes sense to do Clara right after her husband Robert. A child prodigy and piano genius, her greatest fame was from concert performances, but she did some fine composing in her youth.
Favorite piece: Piano Trio in G Minor
Compared to expectations: same
(March 2020) Episode 257 is ROBERT SCHUMANN. Another solid and dependable Romantic-era composer, although apologies if I confuse his works with those of Schubert and Mendelssohn. Actually, I might put him a notch below them because of his aversion to big-form pieces (symphonies and concertos) that I prefer. Lots of pretty piano pieces to enjoy, and melodic songs in German if that’s your thing.
Favorite piece: Symphony #4
Favorite choral piece: Requiem
Compared with expectations: same
(March 2020) Episode 256 is EMMYLOU HARRIS. In my effort to expose myself to country music, I turn next to Emmylou Harris, on the perception that she does not confine herself to the country genre that made her famous. So it’s not surprising that I prefer her folk- and bluegrass-influenced songs, for which I find her wonderful voice more suited, and her later-career Americana and country-folk albums. While most of her famous songs were written by others, I like better the albums where she wrote most.
Favorite album: Red Dirt Girl
Favorite “country” album: Roses in the Snow
Favorite song: The Stranger Song
Favorite song (written by EH): Prayer in Open D
Compared with expectations: same
(March 2020) Episode 255 is KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD. As I continue prospecting Australian psychedelic bands, I hit the friggin’ gold mine with KG&tLW (out of Melbourne, not Perth, this time). They are My New Favourite Band! Strong prog-rock elements here, so I label their sound “Progadelic” (if no one else has coined the term). Each album has its own personality and offers its own experience: melodic acoustic ballads, psych freak-outs, jazz fusion, thrash metal, microtonal tuning, garage rock, and a sci-fi concept album featuring vomit. Their output is as prolific (15 albums and 2 EPs in less than a decade) as their music is propulsive, which often feels like skydiving after downing a case of Red Bull. Try it!
Favourite album: Nonagon Infinity
Favourite song: Head On/Pill
Possibly a Reincarnation of Olivia Tremor Control: Paper Mâché Dream Balloon
Special sauce: whoever’s on bass guitar
Compared with expectations: ↑↑
(February 2020) Episode 254 is KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN. You won’t hear his music at dinner parties, but he’s one of the most important composers and musical theorists of the late 20th century. There is a lot to absorb here: integration of electronic composition, theatricality, mystical themes, and that’s not even counting his theoretical writings. I was particularly impressed by the ambition of his cycles: “Licht (Light),” cosmic operas on the days of the week, and “Klang (Sound),” expressing a color for each hour of the day. If I ever have time, I might like to devote myself to a deep study of 20th century musical theory.
Favorite piece: Mittwochs Gruss(“overture” from Wednesday from Light)
Favorite opera: Freitag aus Licht (Friday from Light)
Favorite chamber piece: Adieu
Favorite choral piece: Unsichtbare Chöre
Compared to expectations: same
(February 2020) Episode 253 of the “opus project” is BUZZCOCKS. WOW! those first three late-70s punk pop albums kick ass! Buzzcocks near the top of my “regret” list: bands I should have been listening to at the time instead of the crap I was listening to. Their later output (90s-10s) is decent but unremarkable guitar-driven rock.
Favourite album: Another Music In A Different Kitchen
Favourite song: No Reply
Special sauce: Pete Shelley’s guitar hooks
Compared to expectations: ↑
Opus Project 