Album of the Week

Beauty can be elusive, so says Captain Obvious. In music, our mood can swing and sway beauty so much so it becomes a pendulum-like target. At least for me.

I want to show you something

As the title says, these are the albums from 2018 that I enjoyed mostest. While I make no claims as to “best” outside of these Barn doors, you may enjoy some of them too, especially if there’s something new to you. Enjoy!

I first wrote about, and recommended, Asian Women on the Telephone (AWOTT) back in 2013. Here’s what I said:

Sometimes when I drive, magical things happen. 23 or so years ago Cathy and I were driving from the Maui airport to our hotel, on our honeymoon, and I tuned into a radio interview with Terence McKenna. This was my introduction to him and his […]

Antonin Artaud is someone we should all get to know. Unfortunately he’s been dead since 1948. Fortunately his works in literature, theater and art are timeless and his influence continues to be influential.

Boo! I love scary movies and scary movie music, especially when its convincingly creepy. Bernard Hermann’s Psycho comes immediately to mind, as does Edward Artemiev’s soundtrack for Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker, Krzysztof Komeda’s Rosemary’s Baby, and Goblin’s work on the original / Dario Argento Suspiria. Thom […]

Can we still say punk or post punk to convey subversive? I don’t know but I think not so I’ll call Bristol-based IDLES 2018 album Joy as an Act of Resistance hard-core (wink). High-energy machine-gun fire vocals backed by over driven guitar, bass, and drums. […]

So-called outsider art, or Art Brut, or naïve art, self-taught, etc, are terms used to describe artists who did not go to Yale’s Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. That’s a joke, sorta, but I always found these terms a bit cagey and to some […]

The music of French Canadian Marie Davidson was new to me when I caught the buzz buzzing around her new album, Working Class Woman released on Ninja Tune last October. Classified by some as INDUSTRIAL / WAVE / ELECTRO, I find humor mixed into the […]

Chan Marshall is back after a 6-year hiatus with her new album Wanderer. If you’re Cat Power fan, I am, you’ll want to wander along with Wanderer‘s slow unadorned beauty. If you’re not a Cat Power fan, you may to re-think that position.

“Dust” is the opening track on Melting Hand’s new album Faces Of Earth and it lead me to hit the pre-order button on Bandcamp faster than you can say Can. A seven minute plus psych drone funk feakout, “Dust” is the perfect way to start […]

Don’t tell anyone, but I follow Don Cherry wherever he goes. I’m like the paparazzi of his records and there are so many great records bearing his name as leader and side man. Just take a look! Some of my favorites, beyond the obvious, are […]

Ecce homo, “behold the man”, are the words spoken by Pontius Pilate as he presented a bound and crowned Jesus Christ to the angry masses before the Crucifixion. It has been referenced throughout history by painters, writers, poets, and philosophers. I owned a copy of […]

Kan Wakan is Gueorgui Linev, a Bulgarian born, LA-based composer and producer. Phantasmagoria Vol. 1 is his new record, the first of a planed trilogy, featuring vocalist Elle Olsun, drummers Ian Chang (Son Lux) and Gene Coye (Flying Lotus), and the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra. All […]