Keep on Movin'

In 1973, the great trumpeter Donald Byrd was teaching at Howard University, and formed The Blackbyrds with some of his students. I'm not sure where I picked up their self-titled first album, but if you want to explore some seminal funk music, this is a must-have. There's some great jams here. Do It, Fluid is a great example of the loose vibe that rules this record.

My next entry crosses over into movie territory. Any fan of Brazilian music will recognize the name Caetano Veloso. His voice is known around the world. And one of the most famous is his rendition of Cucurrucucu Paloma. It's a beautiful song, and when Veloso sings it I get a shiver up my spine. But my favorite version is the one he sings in the movie Hable con Ella (Talk to Her), by the cinematic genius Pedro Almodóvar. Here's the clip, I think you'll agree it's a moving song:

Continuing through my music collection

Just leafing through my music library, and rediscovering some real gems. I thought I'd share them with the aether, to pass it on. After all, many of these came to me the same way. Some random link from somewhere, and boom, uncover a musical world.

I'll start with Boban Marković Orkestar & Marko Markovic, a Balkan brass band that you may enjoy. I don't really know anything about them, and I can't remember if Tracy or I found them. It may have been Tracy, as she has been listening to Balkan Beatbox and some northern European hip hop recently. In any case, here's a video of them playing live:

 

Pretty sweet. I'd really love to hear these guys live. What an amazing energy.

Alright, for Brett Dennen, first watch the video:

I first heard this guy a couple years ago. I was just randomly browsing through the iTunes store (whether you buy from them or not, it's a great way to find unexpected gems) and I found this self-titled album from Dennen. In the video, it's completely obvious that Brett listens to African guitar music and loves it. His play style is very African, with that thumb and index on the hard plucking, it's that Congolese way of playing I'm in the process of trying to teach myself. The recorded versions of these songs sound more acoustic than this live track, but even there the guitar stands out. Of course, the way he incorporates this stuff into his songs is very unique.

Darling Do not Fear is probably my favorite Brett Dennen song. Great tune, wonderful lyrics. Here's a video from a radio studio performance:

Brett Dennen writes really nice lyrics, and really puts a lot of soul into his work. One of my favorite things about this songwriter is just how positive he is. There's not a lot of people who write such celebratory lyrics in this genre of music. Brett achieves this positive spirit with some real poetry. Nice stuff.

Tracy and I went to see Dennen while we were down in Scottdale this Spring for one of Tracy's medical conferences. We only stayed for four or five songs. Simply put, the sound was horrible. It's such a shame, how a great act can be completely derailed by a bad sounding room. Now, I'm not going to blame the sound guys. There's some rooms that you just can't make sound good. Well, not without major remodeling and PA investment. This, sadly, was one of them. Perhaps this being a deal-breaker for us was just a sign of our age. The place was standing room only, full of college kids - hence a murmuring din that can be heard through the music - and we were already pretty tired. But, seriously, it just sounded bad. I'd like to see him sometime in a better venue.

Three unique voices deserve a closer listen

I wanted to write about a few songwriters who can be a bit of an acquired taste. These composers each have some very unique traits that can seem a bit strange a first listen, but that get more interesting and fascinating with every listen.

Anais Mitchell is a young woman from Vermont whose almost childlike voice could seem a bit strange at first listen, but half way through the song, you're suddenly and completely inside this intimate, vivid world she's created. The Brightness is a testament to the passion, breadth, and raw talent of this composer. It's easy to fall in love with a song like Shenandoah, with its timeless melody and delivery. But I really don't think I could pick a favorite from this album - every song is such a rare and unique jewel. From the old-school folk sound of Song of the Magi to the organic open-tuned groove of Hobo's Lullaby, to the spare piano/vocal Of a Friday Night, this is just a fantastic album. I prefer it to Hymns for the Exiled, which was a great album too. I just think that The Brightness adds greater breadth to Mitchell's already impressive ability to establish a real organic groove. There's great soul and a love of rhythm here.

Regina Spektor is a "Bronx girl by way of Moscow" who's really been getting a lot of attention over the last few years, and whose talent is worth every bit of it. She has a very unique singing style. Mitchell's voice is unique in its nature, while Spektor's voice is unique in its delivery. Her voice is very flexible, and she manages to project a lot of soul into what could only be described as a sort of quirky cadence. That her quirky delivery enhances the songs is the real beauty of Regina's talent - in a lesser songwriter her strange affectations could be a "fringe" badge. She manages to so convince us with her singing, that her delivery becomes like icing on a lovely cake. Her earliest stuff - and perhaps it still is, I don't really know - was apparently recorded in her home setup, with her playing all the parts. That gives me hope in a way. Not for success, I don't really think that's likely, but in hearing just how great a groove can be accomplished with homegrown equipment and one-man-band tracks. The solid sounds she is getting are inspiring. I need to go deeper into the woodshed! She has a new album out, far, but I've only heard a couple songs from it, so I can't judge the entire album, but Laughing With and Eet are really strong compositions. Spektor's songs tend to have odd, cryptic lyrics. There's a lot of really interesting lines in her songs, but sometimes I understand the "feel" of the song more than I really understand the meaning of the lyrics as a cohesive whole. I think that's because there is a cohesive whole, it's just somewhere beyond my grasping without perhaps many more listens.

My last entry into this particular category is Joanna Newsom. She sings and plays a full-sized orchestral harp. She's a remarkable player, and while her voice can seem quite odd at first, if you watch a video of her performing (like this) I think you might just fall under the spell of this strange, wonderful songwriter. She can really establish a deep pocket with just the harp and her voice. Really impressive! Likewise the lyrics unfold slowly over many listenings. What seems mystifying one day starts to gel into cohesion in a week, and becomes profoundly moving in a fortnight.

I would encourage anyone to watch this video all the way through, even if the singing doesn't grab you right away. There's some amazing instrumental bits in this performance. Newsom is a real virtuoso. It's strange but sort of fitting that Joanna Newsom, in this age of internet saturation, seems to be largely unconcerned with a sizable "official" presence on the web. It's not that songs or videos are hard to find, it's just that the official site is a bit bare. If you watch any interviews with this strange half-elf, you'll quickly see that her strange songs match her interesting personality perfectly, and that it's totally in character for her to be detached from even the medium that seemed once to be a detachment from traditional, more hierarchical media. If you develop a taste for Joanna Newsom's songs, you can't go wrong with The Milk-eyed Mender. It's a brilliantly executed recording: intimate, gorgeously toned playing complimenting a passionate voice. Her melodies are some of the most original I've ever heard. I'd love to see her perform live, the live videos I've watched were all very impressive.

I'll end with a favorite performance, from the same venue as the first video I showed here, this time a fantastic version of Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie:

Songwriters, the blitz edition...

When you like a song, what is it that you like about it? Do you like the melody? Is it the rhythm that gets you? The lyrics? The quality of the singer's voice? Each of us reacts to music in a unique way. Some people cannot enjoy a song if there are any instruments or vocals that are even slightly off of true pitch. Some folks won't be able to enjoy music being sung in a language they do not understand. And we enjoy different songs in different ways. The way I love listening to Remmy Ongala is different from the way I love listening to Gary Jules. And certainly, there are songs we like for no reason other than it evokes a memory of another time in our lives; some childhood moment, some significant event.

I've been on a music listening kick recently. Indeed, everything I've written about so far has been about listening. But truthfully, I don't spend a huge amount of my time listening to music. Often, I prefer quiet, particularly if I am out walking, riding, or driving. But lately, I've been listening to a lot of music, and thinking about why I like a particular song or artist. Typically, this process convinces me I will never write a great song! So there's a sort of torture in listening to great songs. I love it, but it reminds me how far I have to go!

So I thought I'd write down a few thoughts about various random songs. Putting these feelings into words will be either a learning experience for which I am thankful, or a pretentious disaster I rue forever. My odds are on the latter. For no reason at all, and with no thought to ranking, these entries are numbered.

1. Red Vines, by Aimee Mann. I really love this song. Just a great combination of groove, great melody, and beautiful lyrics. The band is smoking, the song has a great pocket, and wow, there's this great poetry being sung over it! Her songs are so personal. One of the things that draws me into her music is that it is so raw, so bare. I think it wouldn't hurt for me to get a bit more personal in my own songwriting.

2. All My Days, by Alexi Murdoch. I love the production on this track, and I think it's just really well put together as a song. Reminds me a little of Nick Drake at times. I particularly enjoy the picking on this tune. It's so much smoother than the stuff I tend to think of. I need to spend some time practicing new picking patterns.

3. Mbiffé, by Amadou and Miriam. Dimanche à Bamako was produced by Manu Chao; talk about a power trio! Bring together the best, and this album is the result! This is the music that inspires me the most. I can't explain it well, but this sort of music moves me at the most fundamental level. I listed Mbiffé here, since it was that simple beginning that immediately drew me into this new album, but the entire album is first rate. I imagine Sénégal Fast-Food is the obvious single, with Manu Chao bringing his voice into the mix. Listening to this doesn't make me think about structures and "songs." It doesn't make me reflect or intellectualize my music. It makes me want to immediately get into the studio and start making some grooves!

4. Smash, by Avishai Cohen. The version I have is from As Is...Live At the Blue Note, a recording I highly recommend. From a compostional standpoint, I feel like listening to Cohen's band on this album is like attending a school for how to put fucking notes together! Aside from being an unbelievably good bassist, his compostions have a really tight harmonic structure that's almost haunting. And talk about finding the pocket of all sorts of crazy time signatures... this music reminds me to work on my technical skills and to study theory.

5. Burnin' And Lootin', Bob Marley and the Wailers. OK. Now you know you're a Wailer lover if you care which version of a particular song you are listening too. I love the music from every stage of Bob's career, but my favorite stuff is from the mid-to-late-seventies. All the songs they had been singing for years suddenly took a bunch of bong hits and slooooowed down. The pocket, already deeper than most bands have a right to be, got even deeper. All the years of playing together was starting to really pay off with an almost supernatural sense of connectedness. And this song is just about the top of the heap for me. This Live At The Roxy recording is a great combination of nice thick, full recording quality, and a band in absolutely top form. Listening to this reminds me that, behind the 'meanings,' the forms, and the grand ideas, it's always gotta have a pocket!

As you can see, I'm heading down the alphabet. I'll continue this next time...

Come on feel the Illinoise! Or, Why I hate Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan's music came to me the way the best music does - by word of mouth. A friend mentioned him to me, and about a year later, I finally got around to checking him out. My reaction, right from the first was, how could I have wasted almost an entire year not listening to this?!

Sufjan Stevens has an amazing gift for melody and orchestration. I don't think there's anyone out there making such gorgeous music. His arrangements are complex, but in a way that never interferes with the beauty of the song.

In 2003, Stevens released Greetings from Michigan - The Great Lake State, and announced that he was planning to do an album for every state. We'll see. So far, it's just Michigan and Illinois.

I wanted to focus on Illinoise for this post. It was the first one I heard, and it's still my favorite.

The first track opens with a beautiful, pulsing piano. It's called Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois. Who could imagine a more beautiful song about such a strange subject?

Track two has perhaps my favorite title: The Black Hawk War, or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself In the Morning, or, We Apologize for the Inconvenience But You're Going to Have to Leave Now, or, "I Have Fought the Big Knives...". How's that for a mouthful? I'll admit, the long titles get annoying when it comes to remembering which song is which. Come on, I'm forty years old! I can't remember stuff like that!

Come On! Feel the Illinoise!, Pt. I: The World's Columbian Exposition / Pt. II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me In a Dream is a brisk 5/8 romp with a great piano riff and just a crazy arrangement. Unlike a lot of "experimental" music, Sufjan has a way of keeping strange meters and complex orchestrations grounded in songs with strong, beautiful melodies. This song switched to 4 and really has some amazing sections in the middle. Definitely one of my all time favorite keyboard solos, gritty and gorgeous.

Finally a short name! John Wayne Gacy, Jr. isn't just about the notorious serial killer. It's also the most beautiful ballad on the CD. Really, I don't have words to describe this stuff. Just go listen to it, at least twice.

The biggest hit from this album is probably Chicago. For good reasons - it's a great song, AND it has a short name! It's also a great example of how Stevens uses very direct, personal lyrics. He doesn't sing in elliptical, hidden metaphors, he just sings plainly, even if it isn't. [how's that for mixed up...] An example from this song:

I drove to New York

in the van, with my friend

we slept in parking lots

I don't mind, I don't mind

I was in love with the place

in my mind, in my mind

I made a lot of mistakes

in my mind, in my mind

How simple is that? I always try and get too deep, to reveal some hidden layer in my lyrics. I could take a lesson here. One of the reasons Stevens affects me is the plainspoken lyrics that are intensely personal.

On that note, I want to post a longer section of lyrics, this time from Casimir Pulaski Day:

Golden rod and the 4-H stone

The things I brought you

When I found out you had cancer of the bone

Your father cried on the telephone

And he drove his car to the Navy yard

Just to prove that he was sorry

In the morning through the window shade

When the light pressed up against your shoulder blade

I could see what you were reading

Oh the glory that the lord has made

And the complications you could do without

When I kissed you on the mouth

Tuesday night at the bible study

We lift our hands and pray over your body

But nothing ever happens

I remember at Michael's house

In the living room when you kissed my neck

And I almost touched your blouse

In the morning at the top of the stairs

When your father found out what we did that night

And you told me you were scared

Oh the glory when you ran outside

With your shirt tucked in and your shoes untied

And you told me not to follow you

Isn't that just amazing? Wow. I'm blown away by lyrics like this. I swear, I think I could just listen to this song on an endless loop...

So why then, you ask, do I title this "Why I hate Sufjan Stevens?" Because he is one of those rare songwriters who just seems to have it all together. He's prolific, he writes amazing lyrics, incredible melodies, and top notch arrangement. What's not to hate? As a songwriter perpetually struggling to get above "good," I simultaneously want to worship and strangle a talent like Stevens.

"Lifeline" by Ben Harper

I have a bit of a strange relationship with Ben Harper's music. On paper, he's perfect. Great musician, smokin' band, great voice, and a bent toward social justice issues. And there are some songs where that all comes together amazingly well. Most of Burn to Shine was a real pleasure. But there's just one thing that usually keeps him from being in a lot of my playlists - his lyrics. I usually like the subject of a given song, but there's something about his turn of phrase that rubs me the wrong way. Like, he seems overly fond of turning cliches around so as to make them rather clever. It's kind of cool the first time, but after awhile, it starts to get a bit old for me.

Anyway, I want to get to this album I'm listening to at the moment. It's called Lifeline, and it was recorded live to analog tape in a Paris studio. Needless to say, that's not terribly common these days, and more than anything else, it's a real testament to the tightness of the Innocent Criminals. The ambiance of this session has a warmth that makes this feel more like a record. Not just a group of basically random songs, but a sort of old-school album feel.

Of course, there are plenty of places on this album where Harper's lyrics bug me a little. In "Fight Outta You" he says "Shoulda known better than to mistake business for love," which seems to me a bit pendantic. Of course the next line is "Shoulda known better than to mistake a fist for a glove," which is a lot more intriguing as a bit of wordplay. And that's the way it goes through every song. Some real gems, surrounded by phrases that at times border on trite.

"In the Colors" really lets the band show its stuff. They kick right off with a some great riffs, and really lock down the pocket the whole way through. "Younger than Today" is another great example of my love-hate thing with Harper. Beautiful song, really, but the lyrics bug me. And I don't think I can really explain it. It could be just me. The most memorable melody on the album is the gorgeous slide work on "Paris Sunrise #7." It feels raw, up close, and sensitive. It's maybe no surprise, now that I think about it, that the instrumental is my favorite track...

Overall, Lifeline is a really well made album. It sounds great. I like the stereo spacing on the mix, and the live analog sounds just wonderful. I'll have to give this a few more listens before I find if there's any songs that will make my regular rotation, and join the rank of beauties like "Morning Yearning" and "Happy Everafter In Your Eyes" from Both Sides of the Gun, or "Steal Your Kisses" from Burn to Shine.

Prince Nico Mbarga and more

Ah, Prince Nico and the Rocafil Jazz. In 1976 they released Sweet Mother, a song so beloved across the continent, it is often referred to as "Africa's Anthem." It's a catchy, sweet ode to our mothers. The album, Aki Special, is full of wonderful highlife grooves. Mbarga's mother was Nigerian, his father from Cameroon. During the civil war in Nigeria, he spent a few years in Cameroon, where he discovered a passion for highlife.

This is Seventies Highlife in all its raw glory. The cheap, barely tuned instruments, the lilting, floating guitar over the bubbling rhythm section. This isn't a record I would give to someone hoping to turn them into overnight fans of African music. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but particularly the production values could be hard to get past for new listeners.

Sadly, Rocafil Jazz never had any more big hits, and in 1997, Prince Nico was killed in a motorcycle crash.

Loketo

Ah, it's time to send some love to the congolese stylee! I'll save a full post for the whole sordid soukous tale and the founding fathers like Franco. I want to focus on Loketo because they're just a ton of fun. Most impressive for me, as a guitarist, is the fact that this band was the vehicle for the great Diblo Dibala. He started out as a teenager playing in Franco's TPOK band, but first really hit his stride playing with Kanda Bongo Man. Loketo was the band he formed with Aurlus Mabele after leaving Kanda Bongo Man's group.

Super Soukous, Comme Un (with Jean Baron), Soukous Trouble, were great albums. Here's Pingui Bill off of Soukous Trouble. Fantastic! Notice how this music is defined - apart from the distinctive guitar style - by the four on the floor kick drum coupled with the clave. Diblo's guitar just sings over these tracks. So smooth, so effortless.

I've been a fan of this stuff for ages, but it wasn't until relatively recently that I've had the pleasure of viewing the amazing music videos that accompanied these tunes. This video for Rosa for example. Totally homegrown. And proof that the love of T&A in music videos isn't merely an MTV phenomenon!

Sam Fan Thomas

I picked up my first copy of African Typic Collection at a little basement record shop in Adams Morgan in D.C. I had never heard of Thomas, though I was vaguely aware that Makossa was an energetic form with some similarities to Soukous. I was also unaware when I bought it just how popular it was in the mid-eighties across Africa.

Sam Fan Thomas is much less known in the US than Manu Dibango, who is considered one of the architects of modern Makossa, but I personally prefer Thomas' infectious, fun style. It's even been termed Makassi rather than Makossa, as a lighter, bubblier style.

The first tune, African Typic Collection, gives its name to the album for good reason. It's a fantastic song, full of great riffs and joyous singing. The bass is popping, the horns are tight, and Thomas' guitar work is smooth and light.

Sabina comes next. I love the chorus on this song. Most of these songs follow a pattern similar to soukous. There's a B section part of the way through. Sometimes this will include a key change, but it's where the high guitar really comes in. There's no soloing in this music the way there is in rock or jazz. It's all about constructing the ensemble. The high guitar takes "lead," but there's no noodling about. Don't get me wrong, I love a great guitar solo, but in music like this it's not missed in the slightest.

One of my favorite tracks on the album has to be Si Tcha. It's hard listening to this album as I write, because the music just makes me want to move! If you listen to this album, you'll see why. This isn't music made to be listened to - it's made to be felt. Who can avoid smiling at the three minute mark in Si Tcha when it kicks into that B section? Awesome.

It's albums like this that really hooked me on African music. There's a joy to it that's lacking in so much American music, where angst and depression seem to rule the day.

I was able to find a few of these tunes on Youtube. Unfortunately these aren't live videos, just album versions played over a video of a still picture, but worth listening to, especially if you have never heard Thomas' music before. Neng Makassi, Olga, and African Typic Collection are the only ones I could find there. Give them a listen, I think you'll like it!

Finding Thomas' albums can be a challenge. Makassi is available on iTunes, as is a compilation titled the African Typic Collection, which has three of Sam Fan Thomas' big songs. If you live near a big city, I'd suggest the out-of-the-way little record shops that specialize in world music. Sometimes those little African import stores - the ones that sell all the African art and jewelry - can be a great place to find CDs or records. In fact, it's from those sorts of stores that I've obtained some of my most precious recordings - live Youssou N'Dour recordings that weren't even available commercially in the US.

I'll close with a link to another video. This time, it's The West African Highlife Ensemble at the University of Colorado in Boulder, performing African Typic Collection. They do a great job! I love this video mostly because it's great to see young people in the US getting excited about African music! If you are anything like me, when hear music like this, you wonder why everyone isn't listening to this amazing stuff. So, it's always a great feeling to see people "getting" it, particularly at a young age. My hat is off to Dr. Kwasi Ampene, the director of this group.