(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
3. Pink Siifu- Gumbo'!
Hey ya!
4. Shannon and the Clams- Year of the Spider
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
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.