Music Discoveries May-June 2024 #32

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I have challenged myself to buy as many albums on emusic in as fast as time as possible.

Articles and Interviews

Nice profile of iconic feminist punk musician Kathleen Hanna — to coincide with the release of her turbulent memoir. “There’s an art to turning personal tragedies and brushes with oppression into your own, sometimes funny narratives. It’s like pulling a sliver out of your foot and fashioning it into a tiny little sword.” I have known about KH’s creations (Julie Ruin, Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, etc) for some time now and I even bought the Julie Ruin album, but I haven’t really listened to Bikini Kill that much. It was news to me that Joanie Jett provided an early break to Hanna.

CHEAP & FUN MUSIC KINDLE EBOOKS: “Record Collecting For Girls: Unleashing Your Inner Music Nerd, One Album at a Time” ($0.50) by Courtney E. Smith is a fun look at chick music, music culture and how nerdy chicks get into music (2011)
“60 Songs That Explain the ’90s” (2.99) is a wildly entertaining series of rants from rock critic Rob Harvilla (who does a podcast with the same name). (2023). Both are great deals and fun reading.

Nice article about John Lennon’s first wife and her attempt to sell old love letters with John.

Wikipedia has a fun list of answer songs in American pop music.

Emusic Purchases

• = recordings from a bland-sounding label called “All Time Favorites” but actually contains a nice mix of low-cost albums from the 1980s to the present. Most of the bands are little known except in their region (and practically impossible to google), but these compilations are Roaratorio (which were dirt cheap and really out there sonically. I’ve been downloading lots of Greatest Hits from Brit bands of the 1980s. Beware!

1. Ani Di Franco. I knew that Di Franco is an amazing kind of gal, but I never really dived into her albums. I loved her 2014 Allergic to Water album 5.49/49 minutes and also bought a low-priced double live album called Living in Clip (1997) 6.49/125 min. Here’s her 2020 interview on Democracy Now and a stirring live performance of Amazing Grace.
2. Black Light (Manchester Version) by Ting Tings 3.99/34 min. Nice EP by one of the most kickass British power pop groups. (actually shocked to find it on emusic) It doesn’t have the fury of their first album, but it’s very expressive and showcases the range of the vocalist’s voice. (Emusic has the regular version and the Manchester Version. The latter is a more stripped down version, , with less reverb, focused more on the voice.
3. (Soundtrack) No Man’s Sky: Music for an Infinite Universe by 65daysofstatic. 5.49 / 110 min . Widely beloved soundtradk to a videogame.
4. * s/t by Andrew Broder & George Cartwight. 0.49/40 minutes. Minimal jazz improvisations from the Roaratorio label in Minnesota.
5. * Symphony #3 Siddhartha Gautama O El Poder De La Nada by Nelson Gastaldi. 0.49/45 minutes. Outsider Argentinian composer using samples and sounds from strange sources. Article
6. * Anamnestic Tincture. 99 cents/58 min
7. Various albums by Third Eye Foundation (aka Matt Elliott) . . Semtex, Also 2 0.99 cent albums: The Dark, Wake the Dead. Solo songs: Broken Man, 5.99/47 minute
8. On a Whim by A Different Thread. Country duet of Brit guy with North Carolina woman. Some of these songs are outstanding! 5.49/50 min. Also Call of the Road 4.99/42 min.
9. Nonsequence by Mike Gibbs. 4.49/52 min. Gibbs is a trombonist/composer who has made these rich and textured brass melodies.
10. For Your Sins by Dea Matrona. 5.49/32 minutes. Belfast girls rock band who sing traditional guitar-driven rock songs with restrained harmony. Not too bold or rowdy, but still listenable, especially because the guitars are so interesting. Songs like Glory, glory, (I am free) show that the band can also do gentle folk songs.
11. Swirls and Eddies by Ivo Neame Trio. 3,48/46 min. Nice and swinging piano jazz ensemble.
12. Salt, Ashes, Goat Skin by David Maranha Ensemble. 39 minutes/0.99
13. Muance by Chapelier Fou. 4.99/50 min.
14. Holy Pictures by David Holmes. Cool jazzy rock soundtrack with some vocals by this Belfast-based music producer.
15. Two albums by Deathtrippers: self-titled (38 minutes/2.99) and Passion & FIre ($3.50/42 min)
16. Power of One by Michie One. British reggae singer from the 1990s and 2000s. Catchy lyrics and some tracks are with her main collaborator Louchie Lou.
17. Consequences by Louie Austen. Hip Austrian lounge singer who did a great novelty song One Night in Rio.
18. Afro & Latin House (Groovehouse Compilation) Volume 1 and Volume 2
19. Exactly as it seems by Home Counties. 4.50/37 minutes. Light and zippy Brit dancepop, compare to Smiths, B52s, Ting Tings, Blondie. 5 dudes and a singing gal.
20. Fires and Floods by Eddie Martin Band. 66 minutes, 6.40. British blues guitar plays Texas style.
21. About Time by Debbie Campbell. 3.99/31 min.
22. Verso by Maria Pia De Vito, John Taylor, Ralph Towner. 56 minutes, 4.49. Italian jazz singer from Provocateur Records.
23. Various things by Vick Lavender: The Nature EP,
24. Where the Rest of the World Begins by Gian Slater and Hieronymus Trio. 44 minutes/4.99 This Australian jazz album is a slow and easygoing collaboration between pianist/composer Emma Grace Stephenson and female singer Gian Slater Songs like Love is Patient have a meandering and ethereal quality, and Slater’s wistful singing gives it a beautiful magic. Strangely, the vocals and lyrics take a backseat to the piano melodies, but Slater has an incredible voice which captures every nuance with subtlety and skill. A nice review.
25. Skylines by Evan Harris. 4.49/48 minutes.
26. Energy Flow by Clementine Blue. 3.49/47 minutes.
27. Slow Apocalypse by Sleepy Gonzales.
28. Ten Best by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. 37 min/4.99 Britiish dancepop from early 2000s.
29. Ten Best by T’Pau . 42 minutes/ 4.99.
30. Dromoi Horis Telos by Thanos Eglezis. 5.49/43 min. Greek rock and roll. Apparently an unknown.
31. Love, Gloom, Cash, Love by Herbie Nichols Trio. 41 min/4.49. historic 1957 recording by jazz pianist and composer, whose reputation has soared over time. Read reviews.
32. All time Favorites: Sunny & the Sunglows. 31 minutes/5.49 . Texas Latino/Tejano band popular in the 1950s.
33. Macedonian Dance and Belly Dance by Orchestra Agushevi. I’m 80% sure that this is an early collection of brass pieces by the hot Macedonian brass band leader Dzambo Agusevi (who is pretty famous in the West). Probably re-released from another label.
34. s/t by Ajagore.
35. The Gentle War by Trichotomy. 50 minutes/ 3.49 Nice album by an Australian jazz trio. Read this album review. Though it’s mostly gentle, this piano jazz has an unexpected amount of rhythm and force.
36. The Mongolian by Haya. 49 minutes/0.99 Lovely folk-pop band, with unusual instruments, throat-singing
37. Booker Little and Friend by Booker Little. 58 minutes/3.99 Last album by trumpetist Booker Little. Released in 1961.
38. Round Midnight by Jan Pluta Band. 65 minutes/3.99 Pluta is a Polish percussionist who plays jazzy pop tunes, sometimes with vocals, sometimes with a hard beat. Feels like neo-soul or jazzy lounge music. These English-language tunes are less interesting than their musical arrangements, vocal harmonies and Quincy Jones-like punchiness.
39. Griechische Impressionen by Aris Aristofanous. 39 minutes/3.99 1989 live recording of this Greek singer.
40. Down in Houston by Pierre and the Zydeco Dots. 37 minutes, 3.99 Early Houston zydeco band — I probably have seen them in concert! (am unsure). Probably not as fierce as Buckwheat Zydeco, but still good stuff.
41. Irish Punky by Boreash. Obscure Irish instrumental music. 56 minutes/0.99
42. Trouble Blues by Mietek Blues Band. 51 minutes/0.99 Longtime Polish blues/jazz band recordings. Originally recorded as “Tribute to the Blues” in 1994. Contains several blues standards, some with daffy interpretations (“Thrill is Gone” is upbeat and perky… well, that’s special). Worth grabbing.
43. Natural Born Lover by Lou Ann Barton. 12 tracks, 3.99 Texas blues singer from the 1980s and 1990s who hung around Stevie Ray Vaughan when he was alive. Truncated version of 1988 album Sugar Coated Love. 12 tracks instead of the original 17.
44. Spirit of Tibet by Nawang Khechog (Tibetan composer & flutist). 49 minutes/0.99. Good meditative music by a self-taught musician, otherworldly and profound. This performer has performed with several A-list US musicians (Paul Simon, Philip Glass, Natalie Merchant, etc).
45. * Welcome to the Florida Keys by Cedrick Luces. 0.99/39 min. Florida steel drum player.
46. * Colorful Dream by Wen Bin. 50 minutes/0.99 Strange ambient music mixed with warbling vocals. I’m guessing it is Sudanese/Central African.
47. Mirandola’s Blues by Orbis Tertius. 100 minutes/3.99 Long-running Mexican jazz group. Also Oracion Caribe 55 minutes/3.99
48. 30 Aniversario by Trio Tlayoltiyane. 50 minutes/3.99.
49. 30 Cantos populares de Chile by Violeta Parra. 65 minutes/6.49 Famous Chilean folk singer from the 1960s who committed suicide.
50. Grandes Exitos by Mercedes Sosa. 43 minutes/ 6.49. 12 hits from the career of this Argentine singer, including her famous version of Violeta Parra’s Gracias a la vida. (Check this duet she did with Joan Baez on YouTube for Violea Parra’s song.
51. Arzoo by Somia Khan. 47 minutes/4.49 Contemporary Pakistani singer sings Bollywood-style songs.
52. Primeras Grabaciones by Tlen Huicani. 68 minutes/3.99. Folk singers from Veracruz, Mexico.
53. Ten Best by Status Quo. 38 minutes/4.99 This generic-looking compilation contains their original 1970s hits from this long-running UK hard rock band. Wish it had more songs (and later stuff), but still it’s a great intro to a band virtually unknown in the USA.
54. Ten Best by Lynsey DePaul. 37 minutes/4.99 Terrific compilation by British singer/songwriter whose song “Rock Bottom” won 2nd in 1977 Eurovision. Her lovely delicate voice sounds like Jeanette or Carly Simon or Olivia Newton John, but there’s a little bit of disco in the background, recalling Toni Tenille or maybe Diana Ross. Update: this compilation is incredible and makes me long for more!
55. Talib Hussain Dard Vol 1. Pakistani/Hindustani music.
56. Outliers by Syrabite5. Slow and dainty chamber music pieces by a NY-based classical music group.
57. Ex Machina by Donald Sinta Quartet. 76 minutes, 6.49
58. In Light by Moonwalks. 30/3.49
59. Sum of our Fears by the Howlers. 99 cents/15 minutes.
60. Kaampala by Gondhawa. 37 minutes, 2.49
61. Abida Parveen Classics Live, 5.49/82 minutes. Classic performance by Pakistani female singer of ghazals.
62. Nightleaf by Boytoy. 34 minutes/4.49 Vermont psychedelic band which sounds like Black Moth Super Rainbow.
63. s/t by Evil Usses. 39 minutes/3.99. Off-balance jazz/pop pieces that range in mood and energy, but still surprise. Sax/electric guitar, bass and drums.

Bandcamp Purchases

1. Begin

Youtubey/Podcasty Things

This wonderfully raucous music vid is a cover version of a Nirvana song which appeared in the BIG SHORT (one of my fave movies ever). Polyphonic Spree is such a strange group. Here’s longer excerpts from that same concert tour apparently.

Here’s a great Youtube compilation of high notes by the female singer in the Rolling Stones’ song Gimme Shelter. The consensus seems to be that although Merry Clayton’s original version simply cannot be topped, Lisa Fischer knocks it out of the park as well (and toured with the Stones for a decade). Both were featured in the 20 Feet from Stardom movie. Here’s Fischer’s full performance from the 1990s and for comparison’s sake, the also excellent version by Chanel Haynes. (which was recorded live in Houston a few weeks ago — wow!)

Freegal and Library CDs

1. CD Version of 1st 2 Records by Bikini Kill. Early compilation by Kathleen Hannas’ riot grrrl band.

Reviews (Rateyourmusic/Personal Reviews, etc)

See also my rateyourmusic profile and my review spreadsheet.in Google Docs.