Spectrum Culture: Woody at 100: The Centennial Collection

Woody Guthrie is still as relevant as ever, and this collection is a good introduction to his work. I review it on Spectrum Culture:

Singing along with Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” is a childhood memory for such a large percentage of American adults that it’s almost a cliché to mention it in a discussion of Smithsonian Folkways’ new collection of archival Guthrie recordings. The anthology gives us the “standard” version of the American classic, the one that so many schoolchildren have internalized alongside “The Star-Spangled Banner” and The Pledge of Allegiance. But, we also hear the “alternative” version, the one that, unremarkably, isn’t taught in schools. We get that extra verse, the one fraught with ambiguity, anger and optimism, the one that sums up what makes Guthrie Guthrie and why he still resonates so strongly 100 years after his birth. Near the end of this alternate rendition, Guthrie sings, “There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me/ Sign was painted, it said private property/ But on the back side it didn’t say nothing/ This land was made for you and me.”

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Spectrum Culture: Espen Eriksen Trio, What Took You So Long?

New on Spectrum Culture, I review underrated Norwegian jazz group Espen Eriksen Trio:

It’s fair to say that the piano trio format is alive and well on the contemporary music scene. Browse the “new music” section of your local jazz record store—if you’re fortunate enough to live in one of the few cities that has one—and you’ll find discs from the likes of the Bad Plus, Jason Moran and the Vijay Iyer Trio, all vital, forward-thinking artists who mix together the styles of such masters of the format as Red Garland, Bill Evans and Chick Corea with rock ‘n’ roll attitude and occasional covers of both underground and mainstream pop tunes. College kids from Toronto have even interpreted Tyler, the Creator and Kanye West through the trio lens, under the self-deprecating name BADBADNOTGOOD. All of this to say that the North American jazz market is somewhat saturated these days with gifted, energetic 21st-century trios.

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Spectrum Culture: We Walk the Line: A Celebration of the Music of Johnny Cash

New on Spectrum Culture, I review a pretty nifty Johnny Cash tribute DVD/CD:

Calling Johnny Cash a “country singer” is as limiting as labeling Miles Davis a “jazz trumpeter” or the Rolling Stones a “rock ‘n’ roll band.” Cash’s music, uncompromisingly accessible yet subtly sophisticated, has an almost universal appeal. His legions of fans extend far beyond those who typically gravitate towards country music. His life, imbued with darkness and light, tragedy and triumph, earthly struggles and spiritual longings, has inspired and fascinated people from all walks of life.

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Respiration and Revelation

There are only so many ways to be alone.

A perverse sort of pleasure holds each solitary breath hostage,

As if anything—up to and including the silence under my own skin—

Could replace raindrops melting on our backs,

Half-lines whispered in tentative candlelight,

Or second-hand hip-hop played

In another’s used kitchen.

Who can face the impossible future, quietly, comfortably,

By one’s self?


By: Jake Adams

Spectrum Culture: Monthly Mixtape July 2012

New on Spectrum Culture, our monthly mixtape. I contribute a blurb on a tune from Neneh Cherry & The Thing's steallar new record. Click here to read/listen.

PopMatters: Top 10 Performances of American Standards from Miles Davis Records

New on PopMatters, I consider the top 10 performances of American Standards from Miles Davis Records:

Jazz musicians have long been taking the popular tunes of their day and revamping them for their own purposes. The tradition of covering “standards” began near the dawn of jazz and continues to this day. Groups like the Bad Plus and the Vijay Iyer Trio shape the pop songs of the last couple generations (i.e. Nirvana, Michael Jackson, the Pixies, etc.) into their own improvisational mini-masterpieces.

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Playlist: Midway 2012

Yeah, so this playlist has nothing to do with a famous battle or Chicagoland's second airport. It does have to do with the year in music, though. I'm late to the game posting my favorite records of the year so far and, frankly, I find the enterprise a bit tedious. This is a good list to check out, if you're into such things. 

But, I'm all about trying to spread the word on some of the year's best music. So, here's a playlist of some of my favorite songs of the year so far. This is by no means comprehensive. I choose 25 songs, but I could have easily chosen 100 more. I tried to represent the diversity of musical styles/artists I have loved this year, though that's never an easy task. There's obviously a ton of music I haven't heard yet, and the year is only a little more than half over. So, happy listening and all that.  

If you have Spotify, you can click here to hear all the songs.

1. "We Can't Be Beat," The Walkmen from Heaven

2. "Candy," The Men from Open Your Heart

3. "Give Out," Sharon Van Etten from Tramp

4. "2B2," Lambchop from Mr. M

5. "Love Interruption," Jack White from Blunderbuss

6. "Little Brother," Tallest Man on Earth from There's No Leaving Now

7. "You Ain't Alone," Alabama Shakes from Boys & Girls

8. "Sambo Joe From the Rainbow," Willis Earl Beal from Acousmatic Sorcery

9. "Show Me Everything," Tindersticks from The Something Rain

10. "Every Single Night," Fiona Apple from The Idler Wheel ...

11. "Cashback," Neneh Cherry & The Thing from The Cherry Thing

12. "God," THEESatisfaction from awE naturalE

13. "Freddie Freeloader," Chano Dominguez from Flamenco Sketches

14. "Saint Nothing," Daniel Rossen from Silent Hour/Golden Mile

15. "Pink Matter," Frank Ocean and Andre 3000 from Channel Orange

16. "Movement and Location," Punch Brothers from Who's Feeling Young Now?

17. "Myth," Beach House from Bloom

18. "Eigth Avenue," Hospitality from Hospitality

19. "No Future," Craig Finn from Clear Heart Full Eyes

20. "I Bought My Eyes," Ty Segal Band from Slaugherhouse

21. "Fall In," Cloud Nothings from Attack On Memory

22. "Younger Us," Japandroids from Celebration Rock

23. "Take a Walk," Passion Pit from Gossamer

24. "The Full Retard," El-P from Cancer 4 Cure

25. "Last Land," John Talabot from Fin

Spectrum Culture: POP ETC, POP ETC

New on Spectrum Culture, I consider the "debut" album by POP ETC (formerly known as Morning Benders). It's really a pretty awful record:

San Francisco indie outfit The Morning Benders recorded two very excellent records, the low-fi, folky Talking Through Tin Cans and the bigger, more psychedelic Big Echo. The band found out that their name has derogatory homophobic connotations in parts of the U.K. and didn’t want the meaning of “Morning Benders” to be misconstrued. The group, now consisting of bandleader Chris Chu, his brother Jon Chu and Julian Harmon, has transformed itself into POP ETC. It would be wonderful to report that the change is basically in name only, that the band has continued their streak of creative, authentic indie-pop. Instead, the outfit’s self-titled “debut” has fundamentally nothing in common with those earlier releases. POP ETC is an unabashed attempt to pander to all that is superficial and trite in contemporary, radio-friendly pop music. It’s a rather dismal, exasperating record to listen to. 

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