Blatherin' Bill

I perused several episodes of Blair Johnson’s Badass Records Podcast after he invited me to appear on the long-running endeavor. Aghast at the prodigious length of many episodes, I resolved to keep my remarks brief. In that regard, the embedded video is a spectacular failure.

Not even my friends and family will want to consume all two hours of my nonsense. I suspect my calculating detractors will be the only people parsing the entire discussion as they compile material to hold against me.

I disregarded Johnson’s mandate to highlight my five favorite albums. Instead, I selected releases representing different phases of my life. These are Stevie Wonder’s Fulfillingness’ First Finale (1974), Bruce Springsteen’s Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978), Alison Krauss’ Now That I’ve Found You (1995), Kanye West’s The College Dropout (2004) and Moor Mother’s Jazz Codes (2022).

Many people I admire are among the previous Badass Records guests. They include Mark Manning, Jackie Myers, Sid Sowder, Steve Tulipana and Rich Wheeler. If you don’t care to take in my visage on the YouTube video or my Midwestern twang on Apple or Spotify, I encourage you to check out those episodes.

Album Review: Zach Bryan- The Great American Bar Scene

The uninhibited behavior of a superfan captivated me at a Flatland Cavalry concert last month. Having previously worked out elaborate routines to the band’s repertoire, he acted out the lyrics to songs including "Sleeping Alone" with hand and body motions.

Like that earnest Flatland Cavalry fan, Zach Bryan has no use for irony. The star is as painfully sincere and unabashedly corny as he’s always been on the new album The Great American Bar Scene. Apparently, I’ve changed.

I’ve previously been disinterested in Bryan’s straightforward heartland rock. Yet The Great America Bar Scene’s recasting of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska and John Mellencamp’s The Lonesome Jubilee won me over. Now please excuse me while I work on my routine for "American Nights". I pity everyone seated near me at Bryan’s two concerts at my local arena next month.

Album Review: Seth Andrew Davis- Highways Jammed with Broken Heroes

A combination of errant airline logistics, inclement weather and a tight budget forced me to spend several hours on the floor of Denver International Airport last week.  I collapsed at a makeshift camp between walls and benches outside of an airport employee lounge from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.

A disruptive array of sounds rather than the dirty floor and frigid temperature prevented sleep.  The constant clicking of debris stuck in a nearby escalator, the drone of HVAC systems, the faint buzz of innumerable video monitors, the inescapable soundtrack of “soothing” pop music and mandatory security announcements kept me awake.  

The experimental Kansas City musician Seth Andrew Davis likely would have shared my aberrant fascination with the noise.  Much of his new release Highways Jammed with Broken Heroes is uncannily evocative of the ambient sound of Denver’s airport at four in the morning.

Billed as “a series of pieces for prepared guitar and live electronics,” the digital and cassette release is inspired by innovative artists like Glenn Branca who Davis suggests are “changing the timbral capabilities of acoustic and electronic instruments.”  The sincere affection Davis displays for Bruce Springsteen in his choice of album and song titles is deceptive.

Antecedents for the confrontational Highways Jammed with Broken Heroes in (semi)popular culture include Pat Metheny’s Zero Tolerance for Silence and Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music. Davis’s artistic audacity is admirable. Even so, anyone who’s never slept rough might think twice before allowing Davis to guard their "dreams and visions".

Album Review: John Mellencamp- Strictly a One-Eyed Jack

I worked at a newsstand for a couple years in the 1980s.  Between reading the merchandise and silently judging customers’ purchases, there was a lot to like about the minimum wage job.  John Mellencamp was one of the most famous people I rang up.  The  heartland rock heavyweight was characteristically aloof.

Even though I was a Bruce Springsteen guy, I recognized that Mellencamp’s misanthropic songs were more representative of the people I knew and the place I called home.  Springsteen appears on three tracks of Mellencamp’s astounding new album Strictly a One-Eyed Jack. The hard-knock tone is matched by Mellencamp’s smoke-ravaged voice.  Strictly a One-Eyed Jack often sounds as if Tom Waits is covering Mellencamp’s superlative 1987 album The Lonesome Jubilee.

I shouldn’t be surprised to find myself admiring a Mellencamp album in 2022.  The cynic’s advanced age finally matches his lifelong sensibility.  I feel much the same way about myself.  It’s simply stating the obvious to reveal that Mellencamp purchased a pack of cigarettes during our brief encounter 35 years ago.

Album Review: Bleachers- Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night

As an avid Bruce Springsteen fan forty years ago, I dutifully acquired every project affiliated with the star. Springsteen’s imprimatur compelled me to buy albums by the likes of Gary “U.S.” Bonds, Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers and Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes. Some were good; many were forgettable. Springsteen’s winning appearance on Bleachers’ Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night helps makes the new album superior to those bygone projects. Even though I’ve long been skeptical about the output of Bleachers mastermind Jack Antonoff, I’m finally won over by the unabashedly bombastic effort. Not only does the album rekindle the overwrought emotions behind the decisions I made as an incipient adult, it seems to momentarily resurrect a few of my departed friends. Springsteen insisted “I don’t want to be just another useless memory” on The River, an obvious touchstone for Antonoff’s unexpected stroke of genius. Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night is a spellbinding conduit for curative recollections.

October 2020 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of Galatea Ranzi in Zoroaster, Io, Giacomo Casanova.

Top Five Albums

1. Anja Lechner and François Couturier- Lontano

My review.

2. Sturgill Simpson- Cuttin’ Grass Vol. 1 (The Butcher Shoppe Sessions)

The first trustworthy album from the stylistic chameleon.

3. Marilyn Crispell and Angelica Sanchez- How to Turn the Moon

My review.

4. Blackstarkids- Whatever, Man

My review.

5. Sa-Roc- The Sharecropper’s Daughter

Old-school raps and throwback R&B.

Top Five Songs

1. Bruce Springsteen- “Janey Needs a Shooter”

Tramps like us.

2. Channel Tres- "Skate Depot"

Before I let go.

3. Blackpink- "Pretty Savage"

Green light.

4. Charlie Wilson featuring Smokey Robinson- "All of My Love"

Cruisin’.

5. Metz- "Pulse"

My review.

Top Five Livestreams

1. Bang on a Can Marathon #4 (George Crumb, Tyshawn Sorey, Anna Webber, etc.)

2. Danny Embrey, Bob Bowman and Brian Steever- Black Dolphin

3. James Francies, Matt Brewer, Jeremy Dutton and Ben Heim- Yamaha Artist Services

4. Veronica Swift with Emmet Cohen, Javier Nero, Julius Rodriguez, Philip Norris and Kush Abadey- Smalls

5. Beethoven 250th Anniversary Celebration- UMKC Conservatory

I conducted the same exercise in September, August, July, June, May, April, March, February and January.

Million Dollar Bash

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

I’ve reluctantly recommitted to the onerous task of organizing The Museum of Dead People and Obsolete Technology, the cluttered realm also known as my unfinished basement.  Consolidating old ticket stubs into a single box is one of the more enjoyable components of my job as chief curator.  As I sifted through thousands of bits of paper, it occurred to me that I’ve spent more money on Bob Dylan than any other musician.  Between concert tickets, physical recordings and books, I’ve almost certainly laid out more than a grand on the man.

Blood on the Tracks is one of several Dylan albums I’ve owned on cassette, vinyl and compact disc.  The relentless flood of must-have sets of rarities and live recordings plays a further role in emptying my wallet, as does mandatory attendance at area appearances of Dylan’s enigmatic Never Ending Tour.  I’ve even dragged my full brood to a couple shows.  And while I own six or seven Dylan-related books, I’m relieved I’ve never been tempted to buy a t-shirt.

Dylan isn’t my only substantial investment.  Here are nine additional artists who’ve separated me from inordinate amounts of money: 

• Mary J. Blige- Old-school R&B concert tickets are crazy expensive.

• Bill Frisell- I accumulate dozens of Frisell albums the way other people collect baseball cards.

• Thelonious Monk- I bought a Monk album at cost every Friday for nine months when I worked in a music distribution warehouse.

• Charlie Parker- So many books!  So many bootlegs!

• Prince- He was omnipresent in the pre-streaming era.

• Bruce Springsteen- Dylan redux.

• George Strait- All hail King George.

• Tech N9ne- I’ve seen more performances by the Kansas City rapper than all but a few dozen Technicians.

• Bobby Watson- Two or three $20 door charges every year for more than 25 years add up.