Monday, April 24, 2006

Signifying flunky.

Inter alia:

I come not to bury Evans in praise, but to de-hype him. At Bagatellen, Tom Djll has penned a heartfelt and rich "nonbeliever's appreciation of Bill Evans," and in particular attempts to de-mythify the 1961 live set at the Village Vanguard that has become the widely accepted ne plus ultra of piano trio performance [see Adam Gopnick's 2001 New Yorker piece on this release]. Some alternatingly insightful and infuriating comments down below highlight in a nutshell all that is generous and petty about jazz writers and listeners today. Or perhaps it's just blog posters today. Listen to Evans here. Read about Djll's own music here.

One day, when I was browsing Soulseek folders of people with good tastes, I came across a compilation called "Lux and Ivy's Favorites." So begins yet another FMU blog post crammed full of pretention-free arcana---obsessiveness never seemed so sensible. Anyway, 174 songs with the Cramps garbage-scented seal of approval for you to discover on your own.

One of my best friends was really into the Ramones, the Talking Heads, the Violent Femmes, etc, but I thought he had terrible taste in music, and I kept going back to my beloved Mancini tape. New-to-me blogger and jazz composer/bandleader Darcy James Argue running the changes on influences and anxieties. DJA's group Secret Society recently played the Bowery Poetry Club, and this perf was written up by the indefatigable nightafternight blog. DJA generously (and rather quickly) posted mp3s of the outing; check the right-hand column of his blog, though for this most recent concert the year is listed incorrectly as 2005. I will enjoy getting to know this Secret Society, which at first blush claims something from the Gil Evans pile, the Muhal Orchestra pile, the Mingus pile, and the pop pile that contains everything referenced above. It's all about DJA here.

Wiki waki woo-hoo. Some trendspotting, Timo Thompson-style: indie-wiki. Wikis have sprouted for Mission of Burma [turn up PC volume before clicking], Destroyer, and Silver Jews. The aspiring music blogger can also find community via the simple magic of wikification. And for good measure: the wicca wiki.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

though for this most recent concert the year is listed incorrectly as 2005

"I didn't know what time it was... "

Thanks for the link, and the corrective, Drew. (Turns out I had the wrong year listed for the previous gig as well... )

Nice blog you got here, by the way. And named after a song from my favorite Elvis Costello record, to boot. Consider yourself blogrolled.

6:35 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home