Here's installment number two of of my new format for music-logging. One thing that is already clear is that given my listening habits, which are structured around the monthly cycle of my eMusic subscription, the weekly "top artists" lists are going to have a fair amount repetition in them from one week to the next. I don't know if that's a problem per se—in fact it might be interesting to see if my enthusiasm for a brand new acquisition sustains for several weeks or fades after the first blush—but I'll go ahead an apologize in advance for entries along the lines of "Still listening to [insert album name] a lot. Still rocks."
- Golem! - Still listening to Fresh off the Boat a lot. Still rocks (in its manic, klezmer way).
- Beat Happening - Still working through the six-month echo of my complete retrospective of the Beat Happening catalog. The only album of theirs I do not have in iTunes is their final one, You Turn me On (1992), which is sitting in vinyl purgatory. If I had to pick only one to have, though, it would be Jamboree (1988), nearly every song of which belongs on my imaginary Beat Happening Greatest Hits list, and one of which, "The This Many Boyfriends Club," has earned one of my very rare 5-star ratings. This last is Beat Happening distilled down to their "twee as fuck" essence: out of tune singing accompanied by nothing but meandering feedback and what sounds like distant screams; willfully childish lyrics suffused by anger and desire; all alchemically combined into something miraculous, so that when Calvin delivers the final line—the banal "And there's one thing, I forgot: / I love Lori... a lot!"—you believe this is one of the most romantic songs ever written.
- Tom Zé - Apparently a legend of the Brazilian music scene, I'd never heard of Tom Zé until noticing that Robert Christgau had given Brazil Classics 4: The Best of Tom Zé (1990) one of his coveted A+ grades. Even then, I did nothing with that knowledge until last July when I found that album on eMusic and downloaded it. I'm not sure I agree with Christgau on the A+ part, but the mixing of traditional Latin flavors with an avant-garde sensibility was intriguing enough for me to include the much newer Danç-Êh-Sá (2006) among my October eMusic downloads, which is how he appears on this list. Danç-Êh-Sá takes the experimentalism considerably further than his earlier work. I like it well enough, but it hasn't made me passionate yet.
- Sonic Youth - As with last week's appearance, this is an echo effect from bingeing on Sonic Youth this summer. This week was heavy on Daydream Nation (1988), which many consider to be their masterwork. I've always been more partial to its predecessor, Sister (1987), and successor and major-label debut, Goo (1990), but I've slowly come around to considering Daydream Nation the equal of those two. Certainly, considered as a 1-2-3 punch, I'd put them up with just about any other set of consecutive albums, except maybe Al Green's triumvirate of Call Me (1973), Livin' for You (1973), and Al Green Explores Your Mind (1974).
- Louis Armstrong - As previously reported, I downloaded the massive Hot Fives and Sevens compilation after a sudden windfall of eMusic bonus downloads last fall. That sudden injection of Satchmo has not distributed itself through my musical library, so I keep hitting patches where he seems to be the only thing in my playlists. Which is fine because he is, of course, a genius, but I don't think I could be blamed for saying that it all tends to be one big, jazzy blur to me.
- Yo La Tengo - I've said it before and I'll say it again: my favorite band ever. This week was dominated by Genius + Love = Yo La Tengo (1996), a compilation of out-takes and obscurities that is really only for the dedicated fan. I like it, of course, and I find even their failed experiments interesting, but this is not really the place to start for newcomers.
- Parliament - It took me years to really appreciate the brilliance of Funkentelechy vs. The Placebo Syndrome (1977), but it now functions for me as the standard by which all funk before and after should be judged ("Flashlight" is a perfect song, and "Bop Gun" is not far behind it). Both that album and Live: P-Funk Earth Tour (also 1977), which is far more uneven but has several highpoints ("Do That Stuff," "Children of Production," and the "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker Medley" would be my top cuts), got a good listen this week. I don't honestly remember why, but does one really need a reason?
- Ornette Coleman - Still working my way through the Beauty Is a Rare Thing box. Still enjoying the Coleman retrospective.
- Funkadelic - Maggot Brain (1971). My appreciation of Parliament has led me to explore other sectors of the George Clinton/P-funk universe, hence the appearance of Maggot Brain, which I downloaded from eMusic a bit over a year ago and which is making its third tour through the rotation. This album is fine, but nowhere near the class of Funkentelechy. I'm not sure if the world need two versions of the 10-minute title track (though I prefer the "alt mix" to the album-opener). I'd also recommend "Can You Get to That" and "Hit It and Quit It."
- Van Morrison - Still listening to Van. He's still The Man.
That's it. Gotta get this out before I start falling as behind with these as I was with the Acquisitions posts.
