September 2023 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of Opéra de Lille’s production of Verdi’s Falstaff by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of September (through 9/22)

1. Angelika Niescier- Beyond Dragons

Monstrous fire.

2. Yeule- softscars

Are friends electric?

3. Escher Quartet- Terra Incognita

Unexplored territory.

4. Tomas Fujiwara- Pith

With Patricia Brennan and Tomeka Reid.

5. Willie Nelson- Bluegrass

Pleasing redundancy.

6. James Brandon Lewis- For Mahalia, With Love

Wade in the water.

7. Mireya Ramos & the Poor Choices- Sin Fronteras

Possibly the year’s best non-jazz album out of Kansas City.

8. Irreversible Entanglements- Protect Your Light

My least favorite album by my favorite band.

9. Laufey- Bewitched

My review.

10. The Count Basie Orchestra- Swings the Blues

My review.

Top Ten Songs of September

1. Yahritza y su Esencia- "Rositas"

Cool kids.

2. Cultura Profética- "Para Mi"

My kind of Margaritaville.

3. Camilo and Diljit Dosanjh- "Palpita"

Culture clash.

4. James Blake- "Fall Back"

Tripping.

5. Tirzah- "Stars"

Outer space.

6. Tinashe- "Uh Huh"

Validated.

7. Earl Sweatshirt and the Alchemist featuring Vince Staples- "The Caliphate"

Haram.

8. DOE- "Holy Hands"

Sanctified.

9. Bad Bunny- "Un Preview"

Unstoppable.

10. Carrie Underwood- "Drunk and Hungover"

Formulaic fun.

Top Ten Performances of September

1. RP Boo at the Encore Room

My review.

2. Thee Sinseers, The Altons and Alanna Royale at Lemonade Park

My review.

3. Mahani Teave at the Folly Theater

My review.

4. Queens of the Stone Age, Viagra Boys and Jehnny Beth at Starlight Theatre

My review.

5. Alan Voss Quartet at Swope Park Pavilion

My review.

6. Dan Clucas at World Culture

My review.

7. OJT at the Prairie Village Jazz Festival

My Instagram clip.

8. Electric Blue Yonder at Tin Roof

My Instagram clip.

9. The Jazz Disciples at the Blue Room

My Instagram clip.

10. Hudspeth & Taylor at Ward Parkway Shopping Center

My Instagram clip.

The previous monthly survey is here.

A Tough Pill to Swallow: The Top 50 Songs of 2021

Screenshot of Injury Reserve’s “Knees” video by There Stands the Glass.

My ranking of the fifty new songs I loved most in 2021 bears little resemblance to There Stands the Glass’ Top Albums of 2021 list.  The disparity is intentional.  A forthcoming accounting of the 50 best live performances I caught in 2021 will contain further deviations.  Injury Reserve’s disquieting “Knees” meant the most to me in recent months.  The rest of the songs are sequenced by personal preference with a bit of flexibility for optimal playlist appeal.  Here’s the Spotify playlist.

1. Injury Reserve- "Knees"

2. Coi Leray- "No More Parties"

3. J Balvin and Skrillex- “"In Da Ghetto"

4. Tokischa and Rosalía- "Linda"

5. Priya Ragu- "Lockdown"

6. Little Simz- "Rollin' Stone"

7. Cake Pop, Pritty, Aaron Carter and Ravenna Golden- "Satin Bedsheets"

8. The Streets- "Who's Got the Bag"

9. Celeste- "Tonight Tonight"

10. Billie Eilish- "Lost Cause"

11. Badbadnotgood- "City of Mirrors"

12. Chlöe- "Have Mercy"

13. Sir the Baptist featuring Anthony Hamilton- "Jesus in the Ghetto"

14. Rod Wave- "Tombstone"

15. Remi Wolf- “Anthony Kiedis”

16. Blackstarkids- "Juno"

17. Shannon & The Clams- "Year of the Spider"

18. Olivia Rodrigo- "Brutal"

19. Amyl and the Sniffers- "Freaks to the Front"

20. Willow featuring Cherry Glazerr- “¡Breakout!”

21. Elle King and Miranda Lambert- “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)”

22. Roman Alexander featuring Ashley Cooke- "Between You & Me"

23. Tinashe- "Bouncin'"

24. Megan Thee Stallion- "Thot Sh*t"

25. IDK with Swae Lee and Rico Nasty- "Keto"

26. Jungle- "No Rules"

27. Jana Rush- "Disturbed"

28. Nightmares on Wax- "Miami 80"

29. Earl Sweatshirt- "2010"

30. Slowthai featuring James Blake and Mount Kimbie- "Feel Away"

31. Pooh Shiesty featuring Gucci Mane- "Ugly"

32. Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar- "Family Ties"

33. Saweetie featuring Doja Cat- "Best Friend"

34. City Girls- "Scared"

35. Kevin Gates- "Plug Daughter 2"

36. Maxo Kream- “Cripstian”

37. Tony Allen and Danny Brown- "Deer in Headlights"

38. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss- "High and Lonesome"

39. Samantha Fish featuring Tech N9ne- "Loud"

40. Rauw Alejandro and Anitta- “Brazilera”

41. Céu - “Chega Mais”

42. Adele- "All Night Parking"

43. Cécile McLorin Salvant - "Ghost Song"

44. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis- “Albuquerque”

45. Willie Nelson- "Too Sick to Pray"

46. Brittney Spencer- "Sober & Skinny"

47. Lauren Alaina- "It Was Me"

48. Moby, Mark Lanegan and Kris Kristofferson- "The Lonely Night"

49. Loretta Lynn- “I Don’t Feel at Home Anymore”

50. Sarah Brand- "Red Dress"

Links to 16 previous year-end 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.

July 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

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

My review.

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

My review.

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

My review.

5. Summerfest- Atonement Lutheran Church

My notes.

6. Trinity Jazz Ensemble- Rolling Hills Church

My review.

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.