March 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Original image of the curtain call of UMKC Conservatory’s Così fan tutte by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (Released in March)

1. Rosalía- Motomami

Unparalleled pop.

2. Jóhann Jóhannsson- Drone Mass

Lethal minimalism.

3. Nigo- I Know Nigo!

Elite rappers (and Kid Cudi) collaborate with the polymath.

4. Brad Mehldau- Jacob's Ladder

My review.

5. Benny the Butcher- Tana Talk 4

Buffalo barbarity.

6. Drug Church- Hygiene

Unclean.

7. François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles- Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande

A ravishing rendition of the mesmirizing opera.

8. Sélène Saint-Aimé- Potomitan

Expansive jazz from France.

9. Destroyer- ​​Labyrinthitis

A not entirely embarrassing form of yacht rock.

10. Cécile McLorin Salvant- Ghost Song

Spectral art music.

Top Ten Songs (Released in March)

1. Kae Tempest and Lianne La Havas- "No Prizes"

Gold.

2. Celeste- “To Love a Man”

Torched.

3. Fana Hues- "Bad Bad"

Wicked good.

4. Normani- "Fair"

Un-break my heart.

5. The Supremes- “Witchi-Tai-To”

Wut.

6. Your Old Droog- “Fela Kruti”

“Music for people who check their email in the club.”

7. Ibibio Sound Machine- “17 18 19”

Rock down to electric avenue.

8. Lous and the Yakuza- “Kisé”

Mosh pit? Mosh pit!

9. Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lupa- “Sweetest Pie”

Irresistible empty calories.

10. Ho9909 featuring Bun B- "Slo Bread"

Inspired collaboration.

Top Ten Performances of March

1. Sparks- Crystal Ballroom

My review.

2. Godspeed You! Black Emperor- Roseland Theater

My review.

3. UMKC Conservatory’s Così fan tutte- White Recital Hall

My Instagram snapshot.

4. Ted Poor and Cuong Vu- Jack London Revue

My review.

5. Steve Cardenas- recordBar

My review.

6. Arnold Young and the RoughTet- The Ship

My review.

7. Vanessa Rubin- Lincoln Hall

My review.

8. Timber Rattle- 9th & State

My review.

9. Angela Ward Trio- Blue Room

Herbie Hancock endorsed my Instagram video.

10. Pat Metheny in Kansas City: The Genesis of Genius- Polsky Theatre

My review.

Last month’s survey is here.

January 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer of The Face of Another by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in January)

1. The Weeknd- Dawn FM

My podcast analysis.

2. Andrew Cyrille, William Parker and Enrico Rava- 2 Blues for Cecil

My review.

3. Earl Sweatshirt- Sick!

My review.

4. Tony Malaby’s Sabino- The Cave of Winds

My review.

5. Silvana Estrada- Marchita

Not unlike peak k.d. lang.

6. Modern Nature- Island of Noise

Jazz-stained freak-folk.

7. Lise Davidsen and Leif Ove Andsnes- Edvard Grieg

My review.

8. John Mellencamp- Strictly a One-Eyed Jack

My review.

9. Pan Daijing- Tissues

Industrial opera.

10. FKA twigs- Caprisongs

Peculiar pop.

Top Ten Songs (released in January)

1. The Smile- "You Will Never Work in Television Again"

Static.

2. Big Boss Vette- "Heavy"

The weight.

3. Christina Aguilera- "La Reina"

I knew she had it in her.

4. Barbara Hannigan- "Youkali"

Well done Weill.

5. Che Noir- "Split the Bread"

Food for thought.

6. The Streets- "Wrong Answers Only"

“I am a God: I can turn wine into vomit.”

7. Banda Los Recoditos- "Me Siento a Todo Dar"

Drinking and dancing.

8. Love Regenerator featuring Sananda Maitreya- "Lonely"

Terence Trent D’Arby!

9. Sebastián Yatra featuring Rosario and Jorge Celedón- "Dharma"

Dance, laugh, cry.

10. Benny the Butcher and J. Cole- “Johnny P’s Caddy”

The Butcher arrives.

Top Ten Movies, Television Broadcasts and Streaming Programming (viewed for the first time in January, in lieu of live music)

1. The Face of Another/他人の顔 (1966)

Freaky Japanese psychological thriller.

2. Jeopardy! (2022)

Amy Schneider’s remarkable 40-game streak ends.

3. Handsome Serge/Le Beau Serge (1958)

Très barbare.

4. Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs (2022)

The NFL is made for TV.

5. Mary Lou Williams and Carline Ray- At Les Mouches (1978)

My associated review.

6. The Lost Daughter (2021)

Grief in Greece.

7. The Royal College of Music’s Die Zauberflöte (2021)

My review.

8. The Catered Affair (1956)

Ernest Borgnine, Bette Davis and Gore Vidal.

9. Winter JazzFest (2022)

A handful of the virtual performances are stunning.

10. From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2022

Life goal.

Links to previous monthly surveys begin here.

Take What You Want: The Top Albums, EPs and Reissues of 2021

The Top 50 Albums of 2021

1. Kanye West- Donda

My review.

2. Irreversible Entanglements- Open the Gates

My review.

3. Mathias Eick- When We Leave

My review.

4. Molly Herron- Through Lines

My review.

5. Pino Palladino and Blake Mills- Notes with Attachments

My review.

6. Tyler, The Creator- Call Me If You Get Lost

7. The Metropolitan Opera- Philip Glass’ Akhnaten

8. Nala Sinephro- Space 1.8

My review.

9. Lana Del Rey- Chemtrails Over the Country Club

My podcast analysis.

10. Lise Davidsen- Beethoven Wagner Verdi

My review.

11. Sleaford Mods- Spare Ribs

My review.

12. Sons of Kemet- Black to the Future

13. St. Vincent- Daddy's Home

14. Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion- Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part

15. Evan Parker Quartet- All Knavery & Collusion

16. Turnstile- Glow On

My podcast analysis.

17. Marianne Faithful and Warren Ellis- She Walks in Beauty

18. Fire-Toolz- Eternal Home

My podcast analysis.

19. Benoît Delbecq- The Weight of Light

My review.

20. Summer Walker- Still Over It

21. Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble- Now

22. Brockhampton- Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine 

23. Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson- Searching for the Disappeared Hour

24. Behzod Abduraimov- Debussy Chopin Mussorgsky 

My review.

25. Artifacts- …And Then There’s This

26. Max Richter- Exiles

27. Chris Thile- Laysongs

28. Danish String Quartet- Prism III

29. Alan Jackson- Where Have You Gone

30. Migos- Culture III

31. Les Filles de Illighadad- At Pioneer Works

32. Angel Bat Dawid- Hush Harbor Mixtape Vol. 1 Doxology

33. Morgan Wallen- Dangerous: The Double Album

34. Borderlands Trio- Wandersphere

My review.

35. Pat Metheny- Road to the Sun

My review.

36. Patricia Brennan- Maquishti

37. Yola- Stand For Myself

38. Roscoe Mitchell- Dots: Pieces for Percussion and Woodwinds

39. Karol G- KG01516

My podcast analysis.

40. Craig Taborn- Shadow Plays

41. Moor Mother- Black Encyclopedia of the Air

My podcast analysis.

42. Georgia Anne Muldrow- Vweto III

43. Dopolarians- The Bond

My review.

44. Sara Serpa- Intimate Strangers

45. Abstract Mindstate- Dreams Still Inspire

My review.

46. Chynna- Drug Opera

47. La Arrolladora Banda el Limón- En Contra De Mi Voluntad

48. Lana Del Rey- Blue Banisters

49. Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra- Promises

My review.

50. Drake- Certified Lover Boy

The Top 25 EPs of 2021

1. Benny the Butcher- The Plugs I Met 2

My podcast analysis.

2. Caroline Shaw- Narrow Sea

3. Vince Staples- Vince Staples

4. Lyle Mays- Eberhard

5. The Alchemist- This Thing of Ours

6. Aida Cuevas- Antología de la Música Ranchera, Vol. 2

7. F*cked Up- Year of the Horse (four installments)

8. Rachika Nayar- Fragments

9. Wanda Jackson- Encore

10. Burial- Shock Power of Love

11. Los Dos Carnales- Corrido Pa’ la Historia

12. Benny the Butcher- Pyrex Picasso

13. Bummer- Dead Horse

14. Dare- Against All Odds

15. YoungBoy Never Broke Again- Sincerely, Kentrell

16. Benjamin Mørk and Arve Henriksen- The Valleys

17. Rudimentary Peni- Great War

18. Portrayal of Guilt- We Are Always Alone

19. María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir- Kom Vinur

20. Gatecreeper- An Unexpected Reality

21. Melvin Gibbs- 4 +1 Equals 5 for May 25

22. A Place to Bury Strangers- Hologram

23. Ryoji Ikeda- EP

24. Charlie Hunter- Kick, Snare, Baritone Guitar

25. Rosie Lowe and Duval Timothy- Son

The Top 25 Reissues, Reimaginings and Compilations of 2021

1. Hasaan Ibn Ali- Retrospect In Retirement Of Delay: The Solo Recordings

My review.

2. John Coltrane- A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle

3. Sun Ra- Lanquidity (Definitive Edition)

4. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds- B-Sides & Rarities, Part II

5. Bob Dylan- Springtime in New York: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 16, 1980-1985

6. Nubya Garcia- Source ⧺ We Move

7. Toumani Diabaté and the London Symphony Orchestra- Kôrôlén

8. Alice Coltrane- Kirtan: Turiya Sings

9. Various- The Boys From Nairobi: 80s Benga & Rumba

10. The Beatles- Let It Be (Super Deluxe)

11. Wild Up- Julius Eastman, Vol. 1: Femenine

12. Lee Morgan- The Complete Live at the Lighthouse

My review.

13. Julius Hemphill- The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony 1977-2007

14. The Beach Boys- Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf’s Up Sessions, 1969-1971

15. Johnny Cash- Bear’s Sonic Journals: Live at the Carousel Ballroom, April 24, 1968

16. Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey- Winterwood Revealed: Live Vipers & Studio Doves

17. Hailu Mergia and the Walias Band- Tezeta

18. J Dilla- Welcome 2 Detroit: The 20th Anniversary Edition

19. Prince- Welcome 2 America

20. PJ Harvey- Is This Desire?: Demos

21. Dyke & The Blazers- I Got a Message Hollywood: 1968-1970

My review.

22. Hasaan Ibn Ali- Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Album

23. Neil Young and Crazy Horse- Way Down in the Rust Bucket

24. The Weeknd- The Highlights

25. The Rolling Stones- Tattoo You: 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition

Links to 16 previous annual There Stands the Glass surveys begin here.

August 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

(Screenshot of Bye Bye Braverman by There Stands the Glass.)

Top Ten Albums (released in August, not including August 27 titles)

1. Jana Rush- Painful Enlightenment

The art of noise.

2. Abstract Mindstate- Dreams Still Inspire 

My review.

3. Pink Siifu- Gumbo'!

Hey ya!

4. Shannon and the Clams- Year of the Spider

My review.

5. Tinashe- 333

Lucky numbers.

6. Max Richter- Exiles

Luminous.

7. Isaiah Rashad- The House Is Burning

Fire!

8. Bleachers- Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night

My review.

9. Boldy James and The Alchemist- Bo Jackson

Another hit.

10. Angelika Niescier and Alexander Hawkins- Soul in Plain Sight

European birds of a feather.

Top Ten Songs (Released in August)

1. Injury Reserve- "Knees"

“A tough pill to swallow.”

2. Jungle- "No Rules"

Anarchy on the dance floor.

3. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss- "Can't Let Go"

Ooby dooby.

4. Connie Smith- "I'm Not Over You"

Going under. 

5. Rachika Nayar- "Memory as Miniatures"

What if Pat Metheny signed to Windham Hill instead of ECM?

6. Benny the Butcher- "The Iron Curtain"

Imposing.

7. Irreversible Entanglements- "Open the Gates"

“It’s energy time.”

8. Blackstarkids- “Juno”

Summertime blues.

9. Christina Bell featuring Fred Hammond- "Still Faithful"

Conviction.

10. $uicideboy$- “If Self-Destruction Was an Olympic Event, I’d Be Tanya Harding”

Going for gold.

Top Ten Films (viewed for the first time in August)

1. あん/Sweet Bean (2015)

Deliciously transcendent.

2. Moonlight (2016)

Hello stranger.

3. Blue Jasmine (2013)

Family feud.

4. The Wild Bunch (1969)

Desperados waiting for a train.

5. Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot/Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953)

French slapstick.

6. Bye Bye Braverman (1968)

Funeral for a friend.

7. La Collectionneuse/The Collector (1967)

Attractive people do ugly things in beautiful places.

8. CODA (2021)

High school musical.

9. The Falcon in San Francisco (1945)

Conventional potboiler.

10. The Tomorrow War (2021)

Goofy sci-fi romp.

Live Music

I swore off electing to place myself amid crowds in Kansas City after a disheartening experience at the airport as August began.  The abhorrent behavior of halfwits and lunatics temporarily eradicated any possibility of enjoying myself at musical performances.

July’s recap and links to previous monthly surveys are here.

Album Review: Domenico Lancellotti- Raio

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

I’m slogging through Finian’s Rainbow as part of my increasingly irksome pledge to become fully conversant in musicals.  The gorgeous cinematography in the 1968 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola is the most compelling element of the jarringly dated Fred Astaire and Petula Clark vehicle.  Raio, the latest release from the Brazilian artist Domenico Lancellotti, is similarly anachronistic.  Tracks like "Vai a Serpente" sound as if the studio group Toto is further polishing the already refined songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim.  Just as Finian’s Rainbow is salvaged by stunning visuals, Raio is elevated by glittering wall-of-sound production.  Spectacular on headphones, the album has been added to my short list of audio reference recordings.  (Tip via S.A.)

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Aaron Rhodes and I yack about the latest releases from Lana Del Ray and Benny the Butcher and vehemently disagree about the merits of a 1988 album by the Business in the latest episode of our In My Headache podcast.

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Recently at the Kansas City jazz blog Plastic Sax: an audacious proposal for a specialized music streaming service and appreciation for a nice surprise from the Wild Women of Kansas City.

March 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of Dirk Bogarde in the trailer of Cast a Dark Shadow by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in March)

1. Pino Palladino and Blake Mills- Notes With Attachments

My review.

2. Nik Bärtsch- Entendre

Erik Satie in the NFT era.

3. Lana Del Rey- Chemtrails Over the Country Club

Flying high.

4. Pat Metheny- Road to the Sun

My review.

5. Charles Lloyd & The Marvels- Tone Poem

Urbane hillbilly jazz.

6. Danish String Quartet- Prism III

Beethoven, Bartók and Bach.

7. Camilo- Mis Manos

The soundtrack of my imaginary spring break.

8. Gretchen Parlato- Flor

My review.

9. Arab Strap- As Days Get Dark

Everything’s getting older.

10. DJ Muggs the Black Goat- Dies Occidendum

How I could just kill a man.

Top Ten Songs (released in March)

1. Jorja Smith- “Addicted”

Rehab.

2. Denzel Curry- “Track 07” (Georgia Anne Muldrow remix featuring Arlo Parks)

Third eye open.

3. Show Me the Body- “Rubberband”

Snapped.

4. The Streets- “Who’s Got the Bag (21st June)”

Please recycle.

5. St. Vincent- “Pay Your Way In Pain”

In arrears.

6. Benny the Butcher featuring Fat Joe- “Talkin’ Back”

Lean back.

7. Loretta Lynn- "I Don't Feel at Home Anymore"

I feel like going home.

8. SZA- "Good Days"

A time to be born, and a time to die.

9. Connor Leimer- "Little Rules"

Made to be broken.

10. J Balvin- “Tu Veneno”

Poison.

Top Ten Movies (viewed for the first time in March, in lieu of live music)

1. Wings of Desire/Der Himmel über Berlin (1987)

And to think Berlin once topped my list of dream destinations.

2. Nomadland (2020)

State of the union.

3. Juliet of the Spirits/Giulietta degli spiriti (1965)

Fellini’s psychedelic depiction of middle-aged angst.

4. Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis/Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt (1927)

Eerie documentation.

5. Paris, Texas (1984)

Ennui never looked so good.

6. Milford Graves: Full Mantis (2018)

Relevant vibrations.

7. Cast a Dark Shadow (1955)

Murder most noir.

8. Sparkle (1976)

Something I can feel.

9. Judas and the Black Messiah (2020)

Big shoulders.

10. The Exterminating Angel/El ángel exterminador (1962)

Death trap.

February’s recap and links to previous monthly surveys are here.