Weekend Music Round-Up
Friday
- Eric Felten Jazz Orchestra. Blues Alley. $25.
- L.A. Guns w/ Mis-Fit, Tilt, Sinner’s Trail, Bitter Pill. Jaxx. $18/$20. +21.
- Sheryl Crow, Ari Hest. Filene Center at Wolf Trap. $30-$48.
- TheoryCast, ReVeL, Fight The Bear, Conshafter. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10. All ages.
- DC Summer Extravaganza w/ Tittsworth, Nadastrom, Will Eastman, Bobby Jae & Ken Lazee, Dmerit. 9:30 club. $10. All ages.
- Canda, Bobbie Allen, Mila Levine, Michelle Murray, Treevibes, Lulu Fall, Vox Pop, Lux Operon, Peter S. Pinocci, Liberated Muse, Rob Wolcott. Artomatic. (For more info, see our Artomatic Manual)
New Cornel West Theory Mp3
Twinkling rhodes piano. Ambient computer noise. A lightly funky acoustic guitar loop. If you were under the impression that The Cornel West Theory was all about fire and brimstone—a safe assumption, given the ski masks and angry vibes depicted in this video–, well, they can also take it down a notch. “An Angel For You,” a track that the band’s label, Sockets, just posted on its blog, is sort of hiphop nytol. In a good way, though. After all, it’s summer, and there’s no harm in invoking the ghost of Marvin Gaye.
Criticism ‘09
Apropos of nothing, a former Washington Post classical writer and a current Washington Post pop writer recently weighed in on the meaning of music criticism. J. Freedom du Lac claims that influence is no longer a widespread possibility—and hasn’t been since the era of Boston—but that it’s still possible put a subject under a new light. And Tim Page argues for professional criticism as a bulwark against factual errors and unnecessary meanness. Both are worth reading if only because, while technology has no doubt changed the pursuit (see: blogs and MP3s) and made it more difficult to do it professionally, music criticism predates recorded sound and will probably outlast its current low ebb.
On Michael Jackson: Kojo Is A Hater!
Today, soothing WAMU radio host Kojo Nnamdi prefaced a call-in hour by going off on all things Michael Jackson. He sorta boasted to listeners that his show had been a Michael Jackson Free Zone this past week. He then explained his confusion as to why African American leaders and African American Professor types would debase themselves on cable chat shows extolling the King of Pop’s Black Power credentials and deep ties to the African-American community. He said that anyone under 30 would have only known Jackson as Wacko—an alleged child molesting freak with a damaged nose. For a generation, Jackson’s talents were seen only in montage clips.
The man didn’t want to look like me, Nnamdi argued. And he went out of his way to not look like me. One of several callers took the bait and argued on MJ’s behalf citing psychological and biological trauma as the cause of the singer’s skin whitening and plastic surgery obsession. Nnamdi just argued back: “I can’t embrace him.”
When another caller chimed to bash WMATA on its failed safety proceedures and the metro crash, Nnamdi admitted to having no expertise on the subject. The metro crash was a mystery to him. Jackson was another matter.
*photo courtesy of WAMU.
The Smithsonian Folklife Fest (more than an educational experience)–a Mid-Fest Chat with Dan Sheehy
Over the years at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, I have seen and heard lots of great music—zydeco, DC sounds from Rare Essence and Fugazi, weird Bhutan horns, the Cambodian Ray Charles, amazing Malian music, country blues, rockabilly, and numerous Latin styles. I have also seen many fascinating craftspeople and eaten a fair amount of exciting food (and ya gotta have the real lemonade and the giant pieces of watermelon). For some reason though, a couple of people at another local DC website would have you believe that the event is nothing but a tedious ‘educational’ experience and a place to dump visiting relatives. Do not believe that theory.
The Festival is continuing through Sunday July 5. This year includes Latin music, songs and culture from Wales, and “Giving Voice”-African-American spoken word, poetry, and classic r’n’b dj chatter. I recently e-mailed one of the prime movers behind the fest, Daniel Sheehy, for a mid-fest update. Daniel Sheehy is acting director of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. He is also a musician– he founded Mariachi Los Amigos in 1978, the Washington, D.C., area’s longest-existing mariachi ensemble.
A Mouse Named Mickey From Out Of Town
In eight years of DC flea market and junk store hopping I’ve encountered all sorts of strangeness from jars of urine to bongs made from the skulls of monkeys (I am not even making this up) but as far as local muscial ephemera goes nothing can really top this this confusing pen drawing of Rare Essence’s Go-Go Mickey. Clipped from the “thank you’s” page of a 1993 Bishop Mcnamara yearbook young Damon Lowry depicts the heralded conga drummer as some sort of freakishly muscular and slightly sweaty Polo clad Mickey Mouse. I have no idea why this was at all relevant to a high school yearbook but it’s pretty incredible none the less. After the jump is some footage of the actual Go-Go Mickey backing up Backyard. Read More “A Mouse Named Mickey From Out Of Town” »
We All Dream of Being Part of Something Bigger
And by buying Thriller off iTunes last week, I am! I so am!
It will be sadder next paycheck when I buy Off the Wall and hope my wife doesn’t notice. But for now, success! Blanket, this one is for you.
A Bad Day to Die
One of the Post’s best blogs reminds us that Farrah Fawcett wasn’t the only person whose demise was blocked out by Michael Jackson’s—Sky Saxon, singer of the Seeds, died last Thursday as well. I’ll say—the publicist who emailed me on June 15 about a garage-rock tour featuring Love, the Electric Prunes, and Saxon, hasn’t uttered a peep about Saxon’s death. (Though considering that Arthur Lee, Love’s singer, died three years ago, that may not impact plans much.)
Here’s Saxon and the Seeds doing their best-known song, “Pushin’ Too Hard.” He’s on bass and singing.
And here’s how things ended up.
New Arrivals @ Red Onion
Red Onion just put out a list of its new arrivals which include some new Honest Jon’s releases (Trembling Bells, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, among others), the new Dinosaur Jr. LP, the Rondos reissue, White Hills, The Field, Deerhunter, Es, Earth, Major Lazer, Betty Davis, the new Papercuts, Blank Dogs and an amazing George Mitchell-produced blues LP.
Full list in annoying font/font size after the jump (apologies).
