469. Michael Gordon

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(January 2023) Episode 469 of the “opus project” is MICHAEL GORDON. A contemporary composer and one of the co-founders of the Bang on a Can collective (with wife Julia Wolfe of episode 347 and David Lang episode 453).  Styles include dissonance, minimalism, unusual instrumentation (2x4s), reinterpretations of classic works, pop culture. There is a lot of variety to keep you interested.  Some of his earlier works featured rock guitar, and he emphasizes multimedia works and unusual operas.

Favorite piece: Trance

Favorite orchestral piece: Dystopia

Favorite large ensemble piece: Rushes

Favorite piece with guitar: Thou Shalt!/Thou Shalt Not!

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: he is worth checking out; a lot of pieces are available as embedded on his website

468. Regina Spektor

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(January 2023) Episode 468 is REGINA SPEKTOR. I can overcome my aversion to “singer-songwriters” with Regina Spektor. She uses her versatile voice like an instrument, confident yet delicate, neither emo nor operatic. Her lyrics and wordplay are interesting, and melodies inventive. I prefer her earlier, sparer recordings —  mostly just her voice and peppy piano — over her later lush and orchestrated albums, although two of my favorite songs are on her latest release (“Up the Mountain” and “SugarMan”).

Favorite album: Soviet Kitsch

Favorite song: Up the Mountain

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation:  I do recommend

467. KYUSS

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(January 2023) Episode 467 is KYUSS. If grunge and doom metal had a baby, it would sound like Kyuss.  Drop tuned goodness.  But adding the groove and funk metal elements, Kyuss defies categorization. The best aspect is the absolutely delicious tone they get through the amps.  It’s as if hot lava were edible like fudge. Yum. This is fantastic stuff, and you are required to listen at maximum volume.

Favorite album: Welcome to Sky Valley

Favorite song: Asteroid

Favorite song with vocals: One Inch Man

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: I cannot recommend this highly enough

466. Chuck Brown

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(January 2023) Episode 466 is CHUCK BROWN (and the Soul Searchers). Known as the “Godfather of Go-Go.”  Go-go is a subgenre of funk and soul that became popular in the Washington, DC, area from the mid-70s.  Its main feature is a particular rhythmic pattern, which you will recognize as the beats pounded by the guys who play the paint buckets on downtown DC streets.  Brown didn’t have much national fame but was a big deal in the DC scene. His hit “Bustin’ Loose” is played after wins by the Washington Capitals and Wizards, and after home runs by the Nationals.

Favorite album: We the People (released under “The Soul Searchers”)

Favorite song: Ashley’s Roachclip

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: I prefer the first two early 70s albums of classic funk, but the 79-80 albums are also funky good

465. Agnostic Front

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(January 2023) Episode 465 is AGNOSTIC FRONT.  Coming out of the New York City hardcore scene, they helped pioneer crossover thrash. While I’m not a punk connoisseur, their early punk stuff sounds pretty good to me (their opening EP is 10 songs in 6:22 – classic).  Unlike peer bands that crossed over once from punk to thrash, Agnostic Front went back and forth over the years. In later years Roger Miret’s vocals get annoying.

Favorite album: Victim in Pain

Favorite song: The Eliminator

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: should be in both your punk and thrash playlists

464. Buffy Sainte-Marie

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(January 2023 ) Episode 464 is BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE. An archetype of the activist folk-singer. As an (the only?) indigenous woman in the business, many of her songs address the struggles of native peoples, but she also sings of war, poverty, etc. Her dominating vibrato voice is not my cup of tea for the folk style, but it is distinctive and well-suited to deliver her worthy messages.  Her 60s recordings are typical for the folk revival but I prefer her more inventive direction in the early 70s.

Favorite album: Illuminations

Favorite song: Cod’ine

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: you should have some familiarity with Buffy

463. Suicide

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(January 2023) Episode 463 is SUICIDE. This is weird stuff. On its own, I’d probably give it a pass. But knowing where it emerged from and what it led to make it worth a review. A duo out of the late-70s NYC glam punk scene, with one making repetitive and dissonant patterns on a synthesizer and drum machine and the other laconically muttering words in heavy echo effect. It’s like a combination of David Byrne, John Cale, Can and Depeche Mode. They were influential for 80s synth pop duos (think Soft Cell) and 90s industrial dance music.

Favorite album: Suicide

Favorite song: Cheree

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: it’s worth a listen to know it exists, but probably just that

462. Aphex Twin

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(December 2022) Episode 462 is APHEX TWIN. Every couple years I pull out a techno/electronic dance music artist in the hope that something appealing about the genre will be revealed to me. It hasn’t happened yet, and it didn’t with Aphex Twin. That said, I do like some of James’ early ambient work (especially the beatless Vol II) and appreciate his creativity in what appears to be a desire to make genuine music.  Yet no matter the intention, EDM always sounds to me like something to market to rave clubs and Euro-style hotels.

Favourite album: Selected Ambient Works Volume II

Favourite song: Rhubarb

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: just the two early ambient albums, IMO

461. The Shins

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(December 2022) Episode 461 is THE SHINS. They are a textbook representation of the duality of 2000s indie rock: songs melodic enough to be enjoyable, yet delivered in a twee manner that makes them not so enjoyable. By the 2010s, their music becomes burdened by the application of lush over-production typical of the era.

Favorite album: Oh, Inverted World

Favorite song: New Slang

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: only the first album has any semblance of charm

460. Buffalo

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(December 2022) Episode 460 is BUFFALO, a heavy rock outfit from Australia from the mid-1970s. The emphasis here is on the heavy – primal, sludgy, ponderous grooves – with a special mention to Dave Tice’s vocals which sound uncannily like Chris Cornell two decades later.  Good stuff.

Favourite album: Volcanic Rock

Favourite song: Freedom

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: the first three albums are rather good