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For this new year I will be putting emusic on hold and focusing a little more on Bandcamp. I still feel that artists on bandcamp price their albums too high. (i find it hard to justify anything more than $5 for an album; I don’t care how talented the musicians think they are.
Hyperswiftian? The onslaught of Taylor Swift news has reached a new peak. So I thought I should weigh in. I have checked out various Taylor Swift CDs and listened to her songs on Pandora. Also I’ve seen a few of her performances on talk shows. I’ve read about her legal disputes and certainly know about her politics. And so far my opinion about her music is that I don’t have any. Pleasantly pop, and her music videos seem really really well-produced. I suppose that maybe later I will actually decide if I like her music and why, but right now, I’m still neutral.
Pop-star wise, I’m still very gung ho about H.E.R., Janelle Monae, Jade Bird (fanatic!) Olivia Rodrigo (unexpectedly!), Brandi Carlile, boygenius, Alvvays, Maren Morris, Little Big, Kacey Musgraves, Nicole Atkins, Jordan Smith, Haelos, Sheryl Crow, Bjork, Tori Amos, Marty Stuart, Courtney Barrett, Потап и Настя, Onuka, Norah Jones, K’Naan,
I generally like: Jon Batiste, the Roots,
Old fogies I still love: Chemical Brothers, PJ Harvey, Sisqo, David Byrne, Kristen Hirsch, Hooverphonic, DJ Rap, Praga Khan, Weird Al Yankovic, Devo, Suzanne Vega, Laurie Anderson,
Friendly indifference to Foo Fighters, Metallica, Billie Eilish, Kelsea Ballerini,
Articles and Interviews
From watching a 1994 video where teenagers entering NYC Tower Records what album they planned to buy, I learned about a great 90s hiphop band called Gravediggaz.
Delighted to learn that the Somalian-Canadian rapper K’naan won a Grammy for best protest song Refugee. Great song and music video. His Wavin’ Flag celebration song (related to the World Cup) has a ton of YouTube views. The first song I heard by K’naan was the amazing America song, which is a bilingual rap song (joined by Mos Def and Chali 2na as well as samples from classic Ethiopian jazz. ) Here’s his Tiny Desk concert from 2010 and his Nardwuar interview (which reveals that K’naan is highly literate and is related to the singer Magool.
Emusic Purchases
I’m putting my account on hold again — possibly for the last time. I’ve definitely found some interesting stuff since last time, but I’d rather be finding gems at Bandcamp. Maybe in 90 days I’ll be willing to try emusic again.
- Ten More Turnips from the Tip by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, 10 tracks, 48 minutes. 4.49
- Two by Karkara. Crystal Gazer (41 minutes for 2.99!) and Nowhere Land (36 minutes for 2.99)
- Two by Ouzo Bazooka (Israeli heavy metal). Astral Sesson/Live at Teder (35 minutes, 2.49) and Transporter (45 minutes for 4.49)
- Duarte Lobo: Requiem for 6 Voices by Tallis Scholars. (65 minutes for 6.49). Tallis Scholars produce some super-high quality Renaissance era music performances.
- Castle Spell by Sunflowers. 51 minutes, 4.49
- Greatest Hits by the Levellers. 139 minutes, 6.49
- Bloom (Deluxe) by Emerger. 34 for 3.99
- Radiant Rhythms Vol 9 by Stan Kolev. 82 minutes for 4.99
Bandcamp Purchases
I’ve been exploring the freebies/low cost bandcamp items using Getmusic.fm.
- Begin
Youtubey Things
“I THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME.” This great silly performance created and narrated by PDQ Bach (who died this week) treats a symphony like a sports event. It’s a real classic (and performed in Houston by the way). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzXoVo16pTg
FUNNY DUET: About a decade ago, I stumbled upon some wonderful songs by Italian singer Caterina Valente (who is still alive and 93). I never realized that she did American TV in the 1960s. Here’s a delightful duet with Dean and another duet with Bing.
I’d seen a fantastic version of the Chicago musical in the 1980s, but the reason I never saw the movie was prosaic. I bought the DVD and lent it to a woman who later became my sworn enemy (it’s a long story). She claimed she lost it, and maybe she did. For some reason I never got around to watching it and only just now watched We Both Reached for the Gun musical number on YouTube. Wow!
SLOW COUNTRY LOVE BALLAD. Please Don’t Say Goodbye by Marty Stuart. Lately I’ve been getting into this country singer– why haven’t I heard about him before?! Very Jimmy Dale Gilmorish. The guitar solo at the end is beautiful! I just love this ether
Freegal and Library CDs
- Stuff by Louis Austen. (Austrian neo-disco). I mentioned him in the previous post.
- Several albums by Porcupine Tree (a British progressive band).
- A compilation of rock instrumentals from previous decades.
- Greatest Hits with a Twist by DMX. Unfortunately this version was simply an inferior re-recording of the original hits, but that’s the only album I could find!
- 6 Feet Under by Gravediggaz. Hey, they’re were considered cool to the cool teenage girls in the mid1990s.
Reviews (Rateyourmusic/Personal Reviews, etc)
See also my rateyourmusic profile and my review spreadsheet.in Google Docs.
Podcasty Things
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