Top Ten Albums (released in June)
1. Migos- Culture III
My post-vaccination party soundtrack, 1/2.
2. Billy F Gibbons- Hardware
My post-vaccination party soundtrack, 2/2.
3. Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion- Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part
I love the elements I love more than I loathe the elements I loathe.
4. Anthony Braxton- 12 Comp (Zim)
My review.
5. Chris Thile- Laysongs
Anxious gospel.
6. Tyler, The Creator- Call Me If You Get Lost
Goblin grows up.
7. Julian Lage- Squint
A different type of power trio.
8. Wild Up- Julius Eastman, Vol. 1: Femenine
A vital conceptualization.
9. Mac Lethal- Winter Heartbreak II
My review.
10. Angel Bat Dawid- Hush Harbor Mixtape Vol. 1 Doxology
Ancient to the (lofi) future.
Top Ten Songs (released in June)
1. Megan Thee Stallion- “Thot Sh*t”
“Lit since brunch.”
2. Little Simz- "Rollin' Stone"
Quenched.
3. Rauw Alejandro and Anitta- "Brazilera"
Carnival.
4. Moor Mother- "Zami"
Traveling the spaceways.
5. Billie Eilish- "Lost Cause"’
Dead flowers.
6. Petra Haden- "Silence"
Song for her father.
7. Becky G and El Alfa- “Fulanito”
Rhythm nation.
8. Jennifer Hudson- "Here I Am"
Aria for Aretha.
9. Bfd Da Packman- “Wendy Williams”
“Back to Walmart.”
10. Brittney Spencer- “Sober & Skinny”
You got a fast car.
Top Ten Concerts (first monthly ranking since March 2020!)
1. Irreversible Entanglements- Stephens Lake Park Amphitheatre (Columbia, Missouri)
My review.
2. Johnny Rawls- Gladstone Summertime Bluesfest
My notes.
3. Bird Fleming and Bill Summers’ “Voyage of the Drum”- Dunbar Park
My review.
4. Second Nature Ensemble- Westport Coffee House
My review.
5. En Vogue- Hy-Vee Arena
My review.
6. Mike Dillon and Nikki Glaspie- 1900 Building
My review.
7. Adam Galblum Quartet- Market KC
Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli revived.
8. Kian Byrne- Second Presbyterian Church
A singer-songwriter sweats it out under the setting sun.
9. Roman Alexander- KC Live
My review.
10. The Kansas City Chorale- Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church
Docked several notches for a clergyman’s abhorrent mask-shaming.
Top Ten Movies (viewed for the first time in June)
1. Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Gesundheit!
2. Lili (1953)
A French twist on The Wizard of Oz.
3. La ciociara/Two Women (1960)
Sophia Loren and Eleonora Brown suffer unspeakable trauma.
4. Polish Wedding (1998)
Love in Hamtramck.
5. Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Psychotropic noir.
6. I Accuse! (1958)
Straightforward depiction of the Dreyfus affair.
7. Lisztomania (1975)
Richard Wagner is Satan in Ken Russell’s gonzo freakout.
8. Terri (2011)
Teen cringe.
9. The Shadow on the Window (1957)
And Jerry Mathers as the murder witness.
10. Small Town Crime (2017)
Negligible noir.
May’s recap and links to previous monthly surveys are here.
