Screenshot of Bahar Pars in the trailer for En man som heter Ove.
Top Ten Albums (released in July, not including July 30 titles)
1. Lise Davidsen and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra- Sibelius: Luonnotar, Op. 70 & Other Orchestral Works
Finnish fever dreams.
2. Cochemea- Vol. II: Baca Sewa
3. Rey Sapienz and the Congo Technical Ensemble- Na Zala Zala
African footwork.
4. Les Filles de Illighadad- At Pioneer Works
Tuareg trance.
5. Rodney Crowell- Triage
The truth hurts.
6. Maya Beiser- Maya Beiser x Philip Glass
Transparent cello.
7. Attacca Quartet- Real Life
8. Drakeo the Ruler- Ain't That the Truth
Truth to tell.
9. Alasdair Roberts and Völvur- The Old Fabled River
Scottish/Norwegian freak-folk.
10. Leon Bridges- Gold-Diggers Sound
Bridges’ best album by a country mile.
Top Ten Songs (released in July)
1. Little Simz- “I Love You, I Hate You”
Decisive.
2. IDK with the Neptunes, Swae Lee and Rico Nasty- "Keto"
On sight.
3. Snow Tha Product- "Que Oso"
Agua bendita.
4. Big30 featuring Yo Gotti- "Too Official"
Outlawed.
5. Lolo Zouaï- “Galipette”
Candy store.
6. Willow featuring Cherry Glazerr- “¡Breakout”
Ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!
7. Kevin Abstract featuring Snot and Slowthai- “Slugger”
“On my Lauryn Hill ish.”
8. Tinashe- “Bouncin’”
Elastic.
9. Billie Eilish- “NDA”
Creep.
10. Lorde- “Stoned at the Nail Salon”
Pure heroine.
Top Ten Concerts (attended in July)
1. Pistol Pete- recordBar
The rapper was accompanied by the rock band Various Blonde.
2. Te Deum- St. Mary's Episcopal Church
Latin vespers.
3. Eddie Moore, Ryan Lee and Zach Morrow- Charlotte Street Foundation
My review will be published at Plastic Sax on August 1.
4. Kyle Hutchins, Aaron Osborne, Seth Davis and Evan Verploegh- Charlotte Street Foundation
5. Summerfest- Atonement Lutheran Church
6. Trinity Jazz Ensemble- Rolling Hills Church
7. Jackie Myers, Matt Hopper and Ben Tervort- Market at Meadowbrook
Fresh readings of jazz standards.
8. Granger Smith- KC Live
Yee yee!
9. Rod Fleeman, Gerald Spaits and Ray DeMarchi- Green Lady Lounge
Spare the Rod, spoil the month.
10. Big Spin- 1400 Union
Explosive Fourth of July punk party.
Top Ten Films (viewed for the first time in July)
1. Z (1969)
Grotesque political thuggery in Greece.
2. The Steel Helmet (1951)
War is hell.
3. Der blau Engel/The Blue Angel (1930)
L-o-l-a, Lola.
4. Fruitvale Station (2013)
Oscar Grant III.
5. En man som heter Ove/A Man Called Ove (2015)
Saab story.
6. Journey into Fear (1943)
WWII noir.
7. Summer of Soul (2021)
So much talking.
8. Mahler (1974)
Wut.
9. The Wrath of God (1972)
Proto-Tarantino bloodbath.
10. The Hunt (2020)
Deplorable!
June’s recap and links to previous monthly surveys are here.