I Swear I've Been Writing

Contrary to appearances I've been keeping busy. I really do want to maintain this site. I really want to keep writing. I really do want to provide new content.

Believe it or not I've been doing that. It just doesn't end up in the main blog feed.

With a busy schedule I only have time to write about one entry per week. For the last three months that has been happening over at First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham's blog. I've been providing a reflection every Thursday. If you're so interested you can read this week's entry here. I tackle the question of demon possession and redemption.

I've also been providing an entry point for my weekly contributions found in the right hand column of the page. It's under the heading "Other Writings." If you stop by and haven't seen an update in awhile there is a good chance you'll find something new by heading there.

Thanks for reading.

Twenty for 2012: 1–5

5. Esperanza Spalding :: Radio Music Society

I wrote earlier in the year that 2012 has been one of shifting tastes. Slightly bored with the insular world of indie rock I ended 2011 by experimenting with different genres of music such as Raphael Saadiq's Stone Rollin' and The Roots' undun. After those two albums found a permanent spot in my listening rotation I was open to a whole new stream of new music. By March of this year my tastes took an even more drastic shift. Around that time I rediscovered Erykah Badu's Baduizm and New Amerykah, Pt. 1, began listening to the soundtrack for David Simon's Treme, and picked up Esperanza Spalding's Radio Music Society. In many ways it was Radio Music Society that represented the extent of the shift that had taken place. For starters it was a new album that made me begin looking forward to things that might sound like it and hadn't been released yet. This was a far cry from looking forward to the next Pains of Being Pure in Heart 7".*

It's easy to understand why Esperanza Spalding would be a good gateway drug. Opener "Radio Song" will crawl into your ear and lodge itself there for weeks. It evokes the boisterous pleasure of any Stevie Wonder song. When she describes it (i.e. the radio song) as "the one" that will "life your spirits" and "you can't help singing along" it's not wishful thinking on her part. It's a catchy sing-along that does all those things and more. It's irresistible. But it's also no vapid pop song either. Midway through she cuts to an extended tenor sax solo before cutting to the catchy chorus and fading out with modern jazz piano. This isn't your simplistic radio cut. It's an exercise of contradictions. On the one hand it's a simple pop number. On the other hand it's full of complex movements that don't fit in the standard pop song tool box. And it is because of those contradictions why Radio Music Society has been so effective in pushing me forward as a listener of music. It's relentlessly pleasurable (AND has a song about Portland, OR) created by an accomplished performer and composer. She forces me to deal with all the different angles the album moves yet does it without sacrificing the endless delight of the radio song. In the end she's created a highly accomplished piece of work that meets every need for repeat listens.

*No disrespect to Pains of Being Pure in Heart. I like them very much.

4. Carolina Chocolate Drops :: Leaving Eden

For the first time since 2002 and the enormous popularity of the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack we are witnessing a folk revival. Whereas 2002 was much more of a ressourcement 2012 has been an example of rapprochement. The young bearded ones are putting away their Gibson and reaching for that banjo. But rather than update the 19th century Appalachian songbook these bands are really combining modern musical forms with older instrumentation. To these ears Mumford and Sons are a rock band playing different instruments.

This is where Carolina Chocolate Drops come in. It's not really fair to call them revivalists. They're too innovative for that. Yet more so than any popular modern folk act they are steeped in the roots songbook. They are musicologists. Nor is it fair to call them opportunistic either. Leaving Eden is their fifth album and I think its fair to say that if there were no folk revival happening they'd still be out playing the Black Banjo Gatherings. But at the same time they bring an unrivaled updating of the folk tradition. Unrivaled I say because unlike their compatriots who bring with them an indie/rock aesthetic, Carolina Chocolate Drops are unabashedly urban in their sounds. On 2010's Genuine Negro Jig they did a devastating cover of Blu Cantrell's "Hit 'Em up Style" that hit hard. Here they do that to even better effect on the traditional "Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man?" and the original "Country Girl". Both those songs pull the power and the fury of modern R&B and hip-hop cast in a decidedly ancient form. The results are staggering. With Leaving Eden the Drops have created a genuinely American record in that it pulls from and re-interprets the great American songbook.

3. Dwight Yoakam :: 3 Pears

More than one listener of modern country has told me they like the genre of country but they don't like the twangy vocals of guys like Dwight Yoakam. This baffles me. For starters Yoakam has a one of a kind voice. It's instantly recognizable. There is no one like him. When he comes on the speakers you know it's him. Second, his voice has range. Yoakam is able to slide into whatever influence is tickling his fancy at the moment. On 3 Pears he weaves Bakersfield honkey tonk, British invasion, Motown, soul, rock and roll into whatever direction he sees fit. It takes a better than average vocalist to pull off that trick. Finally, even if it has nothing to do with that voice, the guy knows how to write and re-interpret a song. (Check out his 2004 Greatest Hits compilation. You'll hear what I'm talking about. Or just check out the highway ballad "A Thousand Miles from Nowhere." You can thank me later.) Thus it's high praise when I say that 3 Pears might just be his best collection of songs he's ever recorded. There is not a bad song in the bunch. It features probably a half-dozen songs that might just be the best thing an average artist might record in their entire career. At the center of the album is the Beck-produced hard rocking and swinging "A Heart Like Mine." It's a fitting epitaph to place at the center of a deeply personal album. On 3 Pears Yoakam lays it all on the line and shows why he's one of the best in the business.

2. Robert Glasper Experiment :: Black Radio

I wrote earlier that this has been a good year for the piano. No less than five of my top twenty albums use the piano as its musical center. (And this doesn't even touch the many other albums that didn't make my list. Like I said: it has been a good year for the piano.) No other album rises higher than Black Radio. Band leader Robert Glasper is best known for his work as a modern jazz pianist capable of creating some of today's best genre work. Already well known for his innovations he took it to the next level on the back half of 2009's Double Booked. There Glasper led the quartet of himself, Chris Dave, Derrick Hodge, and Casey Benjamin into an original meld of modern R&B and classic jazz with a dose of hip-hop thrown in for good measure. It served notice to anyone who believed jazz had nothing left to offer the modern ear or had been fully eclipsed by other forms of music. The success of Double Booked helps explain the magnitude of names on the guest list of Black Radio. It is a regular "who's who" of the modern R&B. Clearly people are onto what Glasper is trying to do here. He's a man with a vision and has the know how to bring it into fruition.

Black Radio begins with the great Shafiq Husayn doing his spoken word thing and setting the theme. If you're familiar with Husayn's Shafiq En' A-Free-Ka you're already salivating. "Lift Off" slides into to the effortless Cuban jazz classic "Afro Blue" and features the peerless Erykah Badu's neo-soul lead turn. Those first ten minutes set the listener up for hearing one of the best mixed-tapes in recent memory. I could probably stop there and be incredibly content. It keeps getting better. Picking the high point is fruitless. They're all high points. We hear the hip-hop of Lupe Fiasco and Mos Def. The brilliant R&B of Lala Hathaway and Me'Shell Ndegeocello. It even closes with a cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for goodness sake. But this is no mix-tape of pre-recorded material. It's all held together by Robert Glasper's use of the piano jazz template and using his quartet to flesh out a meld of jazz, hip-hop, neo-soul, and contemporary R&B. The end result is a moody masterpiece that blurs boundaries of genres and makes a definitive statement of the collective power of this experiment. It's success isn't just a triumph for Glasper but a piece of work that should be studied and built upon for years to come.

1. Tift Merritt :: Traveling Alone

Tift Merritt has already established herself as one of the leading voices in the alt-country movement. She's proven herself over and over again that she is one of the most compelling voices in the scene. It should be exceedingly clear that she has already placed herself in the rarefied air of the Emmylou Harrises, Allison Krausses, and Gillian Welches of this world. Traveling Alone's first single is the appropriately titled "Sweet Spot." Merritt pines for the most reasonable of all requests: not too much, not too little, just the right amount. It's not exactly the most rock and roll of sentiments but it resonates just the same. On Traveling Alone she really hits that sweet spot. Between heart wrenching duets with Andrew Bird, smoke-filled rock songs, or plaintive piano numbers Merritt brings it all together into one cohesive whole. As the title suggests, Traveling Alone is an album about movement. It is an album of pilgrims on their way. Its protagonists are characters who either are going somewhere or wish they were. These are people desperate for change and Merritt gives them a voice. In doing so she gives any of us who have felt paralyzed our own voice to venture out boldly. She give words to those of us who are on our way and don't quite know where that path will lead. According to Merritt the "alone" portion of the title is personally important to her. She had reached a point in her career where she felt it necessary to step out and do what she needed to do on her own. (Even if that meant recruiting a cracker jack band.) But looking a little bit deeper Merritt articulates another deeper dilemma: the balance between the one and the many. On one level we're responsible to our self alone. There are certain things that only I can do for myself. But at the same time there is no escaping those around us. The protagonists of Traveling Alone may feel they're by themselves but that journey always leads somewhere and to someone. More so than any album this year Merritt has written a piece of work that hits me at every level. It's an album I can turn to in all moods and at all times of the day. It's an album I can put on repeat and never grow tired of its sounds. I haven't seen Traveling Alone on too many end of the year lists. That's too bad because Tift Merritt has gone and written a classic.

Original Review.

View the Rest of the List: 20–16 | 15–11 | 10–6

Twenty for 2012: 6–10

10. Cody ChesnuTT :: Landing on a Hundred

You would be forgiven if you assumed Cody ChesnuTT went the way of Lauryn Hill or D'Angelo. Back in 2002 ChesnuTT came out of nowhere and self-produces an indulgent and genius debut double album that touched on just about every popular genre of the last 40 years. Just like that a star was born. R&B had their next cross-over star that would keep one foot in the past while bravely pushing the genre into the next millennium. It never happened. ChesnuTT went underground and we heard very little from him for nearly a decade.

Considering both the splash The Headphone Masterpiece made and the amount of time spent waiting for a follow-up, expectations for Landing on a Hundred have tended to be a bit high. Obviously I can only conjecture but I think many were expecting another double album of genre hopping mad genius. Instead we've received a focused work of neo-soul and R&B that sounds an awful lot like an update of Marvin Gaye or Stevie Wonder. We all love Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye but perhaps we wanted more? If this is true I do not believe it is fair to ChesnuTT. When evaluating music I've always believed refinement can be just as good, if not better, than innovation. I appreciate novelty but there is something to be said for a man spending a lifetime studying the classics of a genre and re-working him to his own ends. With that we should be thankful for albums like this: it's a big bold blast of horns, back-up singers, keyboards, hooks, choruses, and exuberance. 

9. Bonnie Raitt :: Slipstream

As a child of the 90's Bonnie Raitt always struck me as a bit cheesy. She was parent rock par excellence*. "Let's Give 'em Something to Talk About" may have spoken to parents but not an angry kid with not much to be angry about. Naturally I wrote her off without giving her much of a chance. Moving to college and beyond it was easy to ignore Raitt. She had her audience. I wasn't it. It wasn't until I heard her duet of "Angel with Montgomery" with John Prine that I begin to think my opinion of her might have been a bit misinformed.

Upon learning that Joe Henry produced a third of the album AND it featured two of his best songs off his mindblowingly good Civilians—"You Can't Fail Me Now" (perhaps the best love song of the decade) and "God Only Knows" I figured this would be a good opportunity to put past biases behind me and give it a chance. (Did I mention it also has two Dylan covers? It does. Trust me when I say Slipstream was set up to succeed.) Even though it shouldn't have surprised me Slipstream is consistently good throughout (even if the songs with the Henry touch rise above the rest.) Raitt utilizes her ace band of industry veterans to mix rock, blues, and funk with her soulfully rich voice. In an industry that worships at the altar of youth it takes albums like this recognize the wisdom of age. The production is too good, the playing is too tight, and there is too much truth in her words to overlook this one.

*I'm a parent now. Maybe the shoe fits.

8. Allo Darlin' :: Europe

In 2010 I watched Allo Darlin' play the back room of a Seattle restaurant to all of 50 people as the second band on a three band bill. Those four members played like it was Madison Square Garden. They played as if there was no place they'd rather be. They played because they had to. Not out of obligation but because that's just what they do. In 2012 I watched Allo Darlin' again. Those same four people once again made the long journey from London to Seattle. They once again crammed themselves in a van and lugged their own equipment. This time they played for maybe 100 people. I'd have to imagine this would be discouraging for most bands. If they were discouraged it didn't show. Once again they played with verve, joy, and reckless abandon. They played because they loved it.

Allo Darlin' has made their (smallish) claim to fame by playing cheeky lo-fi indie-pop. The emerged from the still bustling DIY anorak scene of the United Kingdom and have risen to the top of the heap. Of course rising to the top of a scene who rewards novelty singles and where fame has the shortest of half lives is sort of a dubious honor. But an honor just the same. Even better Allo Darlin' has been able to rise to the top through quantity. A band might be able to make one song as good as Europe's "Capricornia"--a jangly Go-Betweens influenced ode to lead singer Elizabeth Morris' friends she left behind in native Australia. Allo Darlin' just happen to have written dozens of them. On Europe we find the band doing what is anathama in the indie pop scene: growing up. Instead of fetishizing youthful kitsch Allo Darlin' took the daring leap to write about the isolation one feels in a global village while maintaining their exuberant playfulness. For Allo Darlin' it becomes the little things: stars in the sky, postcards in the mail, drinking with friends, reggae bars, and girl bands that keep them from floating away. And it's these little details that give Allo Darlin' their populist appeal. It's their minute particularity that allows them to so touchingly name the universal.

7. Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson :: Wreck & Ruin

Of the two names on the album cover, the Australian country singer Kasey Chambers is the better known of the two. She's a musical veteran boasting six albums under her own name. Her solo work leans towards the sounds of modern Nashville country (via Australia of course) with a voice that leans closer to the richness of a Gillian Welch as opposed to the ballads of a Carrie Underwood. Shane Nicholson has also recorded his own name and is no slouch in his own right. Although the two have been romantically involved and married since the mid 2000's Wreck & Ruin is only the second album that they have recorded together. It makes you wonder why they waited so long. In a musical year dominated by roots revivalism this stands near the top of the heap. Thematically most of the songs dwell on how awesome it is to be married (see the subdued yet playful "Quiet Life"--an gently plucked number where the duo harmonize over the subtle beauty of ... the quiet life). To their credit Chambers and Nicholson forgo trading in schmaltz. As someone happily married I appreciate the effort to celebrate little things that make living with the love of your life so dang great without selling it out to sentimentality. Perhaps it is because on Wreck & Ruin they do it by celebrating things like drinking together ("Sick as a Dog") or fancying themselves as Bonnie and Clyde figures re-invented as Adam and Eve and on the run from God ("Adam and Eve"). It doesn't hurt that they use the banjo, acoustic guitar, fiddle, harmonica, and other like-minded instrument to write a dust-kicking slice of American folk that will leave you stomping along for days.

6. Justin Townes Earle :: Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel about Me Now

In an attempt to make a big business feel a bit smaller, my employer had all employees fill out little bios that would be shared via the break room marquees.One of the fields asked for what you've been listening to lately. I answered Justin Townes Earle.

More than a fair number of music critics have been down on this album. I can't figure out why but here's my best guess: Justin Townes Earle's dad is musician Steve Earle. If you're wanting Justin Townes Earle to fill those enormous shoes the probability of disappointment grows. Steve Earle has the benefit of a long and illustrious career. To compare his son to him at this point just isn't fair. But if you wanted to compare their first four albums, go to town. They'll compare favorably on a case by case basis. My second guess is that Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel about Me Now just isn't quite as good as its predecessor Harlem River Blues. It's possible that Harlem set the bar just a bit too high. Be that as it may it's no reason to punish this album. Further, if Earle is faced with comparing strength to strength I'd say he's doing fairly well for himself thank you very muche. My third guess is that's he's been punished for overreaching. Earle moves between Memphis blues, rockabilly, R&B, down tempo country, rock, country ballads, and americana folk. (And not always sequenced well. That's a weakness I can't explain away.) With no musical center to grasp it sounds as if he's trying to hard. Fair enough. To me this overreaching is a strength. Nothing's Gonna Change is an unpredictable jaunt through jealousy, desperation, addiction, honesty, and hope for recovery. To me it points to the work of a highly talented musician who isn't content to rest on talent. To me it points to a restless innovator who is only scratching the surface of what he is capable and just so happened to make an eclectic and dynamic offering on the way.



View the Rest of the List: 20–16 | 15–11 | 5–1

Twenty for 2012: 11–15

15. Elizabeth Cook :: Gospel Plow

I'm not a big fan of most modern country. Ever since The Dixie Chicks went on indefinite hiatus I have yet to find a voice from Nashville that I could appreciate on an artistic level. Except Elizabeth Cook. Even then, Cook isn't exactly the pliable princess you might think of when considering mainstream country. Cook tends to dwell in the dark humor and rough edges that has kept the Lorretta Lynns and Wanda Jacksons of the country world remarkably resilient to the winds of change. (Cook has this in common with the Dixie Chicks as well.) In short, Elizabeth Cook isn't a character you can paint with broad strokes. Nor is she a barbie doll to poise as you will. Cook is a distinct voice in a genre that doesn't always reward innovation. If you need proof of Cook's rebel streak her choice of gospel tunes should suffice. She closes this short LP (or is it a long EP?) by sanctifying the Lou Reed penned "Jesus". This is a far cry from "Sweetly and Tenderly". In fact none of the seven songs here are mainstream gospel tunes. Musically this is more honkey-tonk than plaintive organs. When Patty Griffin recorded and released Downtown Church (a record I've grown to deeply appreciate), I was initially disappointed because this is what I wanted it to sound like: piss and vinegar, sass and stomp, with reverence, wonder, and awe in spades.

14. Dr. John :: Locked Down

It's the rare artist who picks up new fans on a new album 40 years into his career. So lets all give the great Dr. John a tip of our hat for doing exactly that in 2012. Locked Down is a 12 song collection of original material and his Nonesuch debut. It showcases exactly why Dr. John could persevere for so long: he's an incredible talent as a composer and performer whose psych-tinged New Orleans rhythm and blues should always find listeners. On this album he re-interprets some of his own murky R&B and dirty blues into a voodoo concoction of songs that stand near the top of his own vast stack of albums. Boasting lyrics such as "kids with Uzis/icing suckers" this isn't exactly a happy go lucky affair. It slinks through the dark hollows of the French Quarter and comes out the other side celebrating that "God's so Good." Musically Dr. John sounds remarkably similar to the great Tom Waits. It's not always easy listening but it's always interesting. It's not entirely dark affair either. Locked Down is capable of good times. Bonnaroo was named after one of his albums for goodness sake. At its core Locked Down is a party record that refuses to sacrifice its gritty realism.

13. Richard Hawley :: Standing at the Sky's Edge

After toiling in relative anonymity as a touring guitarist for the late great Pulp and the lesser known mid-nineties Britpop group Longpigs, Richard Hawley went solo in 2001. We should all be thankful. Hawley has done no less then release six straight steller albums. Let that one sink in for a moment. How many groups can say they've even released three straight great albums? Not even Pulp could match what Hawley has done here. From 2002's Late Night Final to 2009's Truelove's Gutter, Hawley used his Scott Walker-esque baritone to create his own songbook fitting of Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison or even Chris Isaac. These were timeless songs of romance, love, and loss. They addressed the great theme of love without the pious sentimentality that plagues so many other works. Hawley writes songs that are both nostalgic and modern. They're lush expressions of a romantic heart. He takes a genre of music that is fading in popularity and breathes new life into it. My only quibble with Hawley (and it is a minor one) is that you knew what you were getting into. With every knew album you had a fair idea of how it would sound.

It is only with this year's Standing at the Sky's Edge does Hawley move into new directions. Here he eschews both rockabilly and ballads for a neo-psychedelia that's more Morrison than Morrissey. But such a comparison is not entirely apt. The hopeless romanticism that permeates his past work simply receives a new vehicle to express the ups and downs of the broken and downtrodden. Because the themes of Hawley's songs are universal the blistering psychadelic launches his characters toward the transcendent. It was as if Hawley was trying to recreate the ineffable and controlled chaos that it is life and found his old patters would break under its weight. On "Don't Stare at the Sun," Hawley chronicles characters enjoying the small pleasures of life such as flying a kite, seeing the moon during the day, or using a telescope to explore the night sky. To those who enjoy these pleasures Hawley gives a warning: you might scare people more accustomed to less nostalgic pleasures. The song ends with Hawley chanting "don't stare at the sun" over a blistering progression of chords that feels like that is exactly where you are heading. And it's this image that captures what this album is doing. Following Hawley's muse is dangerous business. But as for me: I'll follow him wherever he goes.

12. Damien Jurado :: Maraqopa

After 15 years, 10 LPs, and countless EPs and 7"s (not to mention the scores of unreleased material just sitting there waiting to see a proper release) we should stop being surprised by Damien Jurado. Originally written off as a lightweight Elliot Smith or Nick Drake, Jurado has evolved into a (the?) father-figure of the new urban folk movement. Newer northwest folkies like The Head and the Heart speak his name in hushed tones. I for one am glad for him. My estimation of his work has always been much higher than greater critical consensus (which is starting to see things my way.) Be that as it may, I'd argue the neo-urban folk tag is a box too small for Jurado. Such a label does great disservice to the variety of Jurado's music. Here's a man who has fit comfortably in experimental lo-fi, acoustic pop, 60's folk, slowcore, americana, and rock. To his credit I don't believe he's made the same album twice in a row. Sure he has his stock narrative tropes of jealous husbands, the mentally insane, and violent criminals but as the world of literary fiction reminds us there are plenty of tales to be told there. Tropes or not Jurado has been a restless spirit when it comes to recording his short fiction. On Maraqopa he slides into the sounds of the Jesus' movement, children's choirs, and dusty psychedelia. For some this is a revelation. For others this is a victory lap. It's simply confirmed what we've known for some time: Jurado is a restless storyteller searching for new genres to spin his tales.

Original Review

11. First Aid Kid :: The Lion's Roar

If sisters Johanna and Klara Soderberg were baseball players I would accuse them of doping. The Swedish duo's first two albums were largely forgettable classicist folk. They were young and had obvious room for growth but there wasn't anything that prepared me for this. On The Lion's Roar First Aid Kid brings to the table instantly memorable songs and impeccably executed powerhouse harmonies. Kudos to producer Mike Mogis for taking the incredibly rich raw material and molding it into a dense tapestry of heartbreakingly beautify new-folk and dusty alt-country. The little flourishes like a steel guitar here or a french horn there to give the songs a richness that moves this album beyond the works of their peers. They have arrived. It doesn't take long to realize it either. Take the killer opening one-two punch "The Lion's Roar" and "Emmylou" as examples. "The Lion's Roar" is a riotous call to arms: "I'm a goddamned fool but then again so are you". "Emmylou" takes it to both tender and tragic places: "I'll be your Emmylou and I'll be your June/You'll be my Graham and my Johnny too/I don't ask alot from you/Just sing little darling, sing with me." You don't need to be a musical historian to be swept into its lilting melody and sweetly bitter refrain. Thankfully The Lion's Roar doesn't suffer from an influx of filler as the rest of the album continues to leap from high point to high point. With an album like this under their belt I think we're looking at an exciting career unfolding before us.



View the Rest of the List: 20-16 | 10-6 | 5-1