Wednesday, March 30, 2005
The National Bank
"Tolerate"
The National Bank
(Universal Norway, 2004)
Jaga Jazzist is about to release the beautiful, proggy, surprisingly guitar-swamped What We Must, and Scissorkick has posted the CD's "Stardust Hotel"---but just for a hot minute, so go ahead & rush over to get it. I'll wait here till you get back, alone with my thoughts...
...weather sure is nice...allergies sure are bad...I wonder what the weather's like in Trondheim?...do Norwegians have allergies?...I'm naming my first born Bjorn Mbaqanga Rastafari...
OK, cool, you're back?
When Jaga primaries the Horntveth Bros take breaks from the Jazzist they are releasing really great solo records such as Lar's Pooka or really freaky discs such as Martin's Fast Motion and Skull E.P.s. Or they are performing in the National Bank on guitar (Lars) and drums (Martin) with vocalist-guitarist Thomas Dybdahl, bassist Nikolai Eilertsen, and former Jaga keyboardist Morten Qvenild (also of In the Country and Susanna and the Magical Orchestra, two of the finest groups in Norway, and formerly of Shining).
This is what I know about the National Bank: Their self-titled debut topped the Norwegian charts, and the band recently won the Spellemannsprisen, the equivalent of a Grammy, for best pop group. And like the Horntveths, Qvenild, and Eilertsen (who was/is in the rock band BigBang), Dybdahl is successful in his own right, as a singer-songwriter (plenty of MP3s and videos on his personal site). So what does this supergroup sound like? Perhaps Jeff Buckley, free of Robert Plant-isms, fronting a lap-pop band that uses real instruments?
I wish I could tell you more, but my Norwegian doesn't go past saying takk and ein ol ver sa snill and eit offentleg toalett (thanks, beer, toilet), and the National Bank's Web site is mostly in the native tongue because, as far as I can tell, they haven't played outside the country and don't need to court the non-Norge as of yet. But the group is on Universal in Norway, and someone really should license their CD for distribution in the rest of the world. Dybdahl sings in English, and the band's songs are gorgeous and universal while still being quirky, no doubt due to the deep musical training and arrangement skills of Qvenlid and the Horntveth boys. I think they'd go over big in Williamsburg and France.
I'm not even sure where you can easily buy the CD at the moment. Norway's huge and really rather good chain store Platekompaniet carries it, as does Free Record Shop, but I dunno if either does mail order outside the country. CD-On also carries The National Bank, and it seems to do mail order all over Europe; plus, their site is in English, so maybe they can hook people outside Scandinavia & the EU as well. In the meantime, go to Oh, It's So Quiet Show to download the National Bank's "I Hear the Sparrow Sing."
[Edit: Avi, who runs the great Scandinavian music blog It's a Trap points out in the comments that Zailor.no also ships internationally.]Posted by CP | Link |
Friday, March 25, 2005
Good Morning, YOU TOO PAL!!!
Today's bus ride was totally worth the $1.25 I paid to ship myself to America's Jazz Magazine.
A disheveled man with a briefcase flung fists at imaginary opponents, swatted bugs out of his hair, punched seats and walls, intimidated and lorded over other riders, and shouted "FUCK!" several times. The bus driver didn't notice or care because he was too busy talking to the man next to me about how the U.S. government is letting the "Spanish" sneak into the country but they're keeping the black man out, especially Haitians.
The driver broke from his rant long enough to peep the street and see a well-dressed woman walking down the middle of Colesville Road, directly toward the grill of his rig. She refused to move, had a stone-cold look on her face, and braced for impact by leaning her torso forward and pushing her arms back. The driver braked in plenty of time, so she sidestepped the bus and continued down the busy six-lane road looking for another vehicle to plow into her. The man next to me said to his bus-driver friend, "I've seen her do that before," before returning to the political conversation.
Sadly, I got off Silver Spring's version of Ken Kesey's Further just a few stops later---but at least I stepped out with the violent rider, who continued to seethe and swing and scream as he crossed Colesville, freaking out the car commuters lined up at the light.
I would have paid at least $1.35 for today's experience.Posted by CP | Link |
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos
"Postizos"
Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos (The Prosthetic Cubans)
(Atlantic, 1998)
A few weeks ago, before work and allergies got the better of me, I was at the Chi-Cha Lounge in D.C. I had a Red Stripe in one hand, a Maker's in the other, and a plate of Peruvian grub staring me in the mug. What could be better? Then a song came on that I recognized but couldn't place; it sounded like Konono No. 1 in a descarga. I asked the waitress who it was, and she came back with "Mark Ribbit."
Hot damn everybody have a good time, Marc Reebo!
I hadn't listened to his first (and best) Cubanos Postizos CD in a long time, and it floored me how much the tune "Postizos" sounds like Konono stranded in Fidelville, with Ribot's pinched-up guitar disortion and all that clanky percussion. (And no, I hadn't even started in on my two-fisted beverage/s yet when I thought of the connection.)
This is a great, great CD, and worth every cent of the $4.99 you can buy it for used. The second Cubanos Postizos CD, 2000's Muy Divertido, is also a fine purchase, and you can buy a download of Ribot & Co's live performance from last year's Bonnaroo Festival.
Go to MarcRibot.com for info on tours & other recordings, but it doesn't look like the Cubano Postizos are doing either anytime soon---though Ribot is all over the place with other projects.
On a different, itchy, snot-headed note, Buddha bless Allegra-D.Posted by CP | Link |
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Fat Cat has put out a Konono No. 1 / Dead C split 12-inch. The Konono cuts are special versions of Congotronics tracks mixed by producer Vincent Kenis. (Read the e-mail he sent me about the history of Konono No. 1 and the recording of Congotronics.)
Konono No. 1 will be touring Europe in May with Tortoise, before doing a bunch of shows alone in June and July.
Boom Kat on the Konono / Dead C 12-inch.
Review of the 12-inch at Losing Today (have to scroll).
Congotronics reviews:
The Guardian
Stylus
Telegraph
Aquarius Records
Eleven Shadows
Paris Voice (have to scroll down)
Pitchfork
Jeff Chang
Now you can buy digital downloads of Congotronics from eMusic and Calabash Music.
Review of Lubuaku in SF Weekly.
Samuel Fosso, Tati Autoportraits, Le Chef, 1997, from Africa Remix
The BBC's page on Britain's massive "Africa 05" celebration features tons of great links and streaming audio.Posted by CP | Link |
Monday, March 21, 2005
Miss Tony
"Pull Ya Guns Out"
"How You Wanna Carry It?"
2 Hyped Bros
"DooDoo Brown"
Foe
"Stretchmarks"
Eternal Bass
"Reach Out"
Princess Di
"Who D Is This?"
from DJ Ice: Father Time Vol. One (Club Classics Mix)
(Iceland Organization, 2001)
Miss Tony repost from last year---now with bonus breakz for your pole-dancing pleasure. These are some of the most requested traxxx I've ever put up at the Suburbs. Y'all love ya Bodymore, Murderland booty bass.Posted by CP | Link |
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Cornerstone
Justin Hinds
"Carry Go, Bring Come"
Ska After Ska After Ska
(Heartbeat/Treasure Isle, 1998; rec. 1963)
"Botheration"
Deep Ska
(Proper, 1999; rec. 1964)
"The Ark"
Trojan Ska Box Set, Vol. 2
(Trojan, 2000; rec. 1963/64)
"Over the River"
Knockout Ska
(Trojan, 2004; rec. 1966/67)
"Natty Take Over"
Rockers soundtrack
(Island, 1978; rec. 1976)
Justin Hinds, one of the O.G. voices of ska, died on March 16 from lung cancer. He was 62.
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A 1998 interview in Wheaton, Md., my hoody.
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The Small Axe interview.
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Ernie B for buys.Posted by CP | Link |
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Washington City Paper
March 11, 2005
Word Wizard
A troupe of elementary-school kids clogs the entrance to Cada Vez on a Friday evening. You'd expect to see trendy 20-somethings grooving to the latest hiphop or R&B in the U Street restaurant and club, so it's a bit disconcerting to step over shorties to get to your gin and tonic.
The little ones are here for the same reason members of the New Black Panther Party, Washington Wizard guard/forward Laron Profit, and various other spectators have come: Etan Thomas, the Wiz's poetry-penning center/forward, is celebrating the release of his first book, More Than an Athlete. The 6-foot-9 baller, who writes in free verse, says he is inspired by the likes of the Last Poets, Nikki Giovanni, and Amiri Baraka.
Thomas invited the schoolkids because "I...use poetry to speak to young people," as he writes in his book's introduction. "This is a real passion of mine." When Thomas, 26, finally arrives, the children mob him, thrusting things in front of him to sign and gleefully posing for photos.
When the youngsters leave, it's time for the evening's tip-off. Area Poets Olu Butterfly and Tony Medina read from their works before Moore Black Press' Jessica Care Moore-Poole introduces Thomas. She compares him to other more-than-an-athlete types Bill Russell and Muhammad Ali.
The bespectacled Thomas, wearing black pants and a gray, baggy long-sleeved shirt, his long dreadlocks tucked into a tam, takes the stage to polite applause and animated whoops. In a soft voice that doesn't overly rely on singsongy poet-speak, he recites three poems from memory. "Wasted Talent" is about friends lost to the streets, "An Abusive Situation" deals with domestic violence, and "Republicans" rails against the GOP for, among other things, trying to end affirmative action: "You've started a race at a pace thousands of spaces in front of your opponent/How many advantages do you need?"
"The only reason why I memorize my poems," Thomas later says, "is because I go to open-mike nights a lot to perform. I like to listen to other people. I like the scene."
But Moore-Poole wants Thomas to read, not just recite. "We're not spoken-word artists," she says with a smile. "We're writers." Thomas dutifully picks up his book to read "The 'N' Word" and "Toys R Us Kid"---his words now, as they have been all evening, punctuated by a man in the back shouting, "Black power!"
When Thomas finishes his oratory, a gigantic cake featuring his book's cover image is brought out and placed in front of the stage. As people cut out sugary chunks of More Than an Athlete, Thomas signs the actual books for people who seem to be poetry fans, not sports nuts who braved some verse in order to meet a professional athlete.
The separation of his two worlds is fine by Thomas, who says he didn't even mention the book-release party to his teammates. "I don't talk about it a whole lot," he says as the open-mike part of the evening begins. "It's the middle of the season, you know. But the guys all show their support for me."
Thomas nearly signed with Milwaukee in the off-season but was more than relieved when the Wizards matched the Bucks' offer, he says. He prefers Chocolate City: "I like the political energy here, the way people are involved," Thomas says. "I love the cultural stuff."Posted by CP | Link |
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Blogrophone check, 1, 2, 1, 2. Is this thing on? Sibilance, sibilance.
Repost action below because of a ridiculously busy work schedule that's making me nauseous (anybody wanna edit a jazz mag?) and because I wanna highlight three all-time jammies we played at the basement dance party last night to make me less sick to my overworked stomach. (Did I mention that I interviewed Mike Wallace and Etan Thomas a mere hours apart last Thursday? Brag. A sad brag, yes, but one nonetheless.)
Derrick Harriott
"The Loser"
Those Reggae Oldies
(Crystal)
A Place Called Jamaica: Derrick Harriott's Productions '60s & '70s
(M10)
"Penny for Your Song"
"Penny for Your Dub" featuring U-Roy
Those Reggae Oldies
(Crystal)
Like Sam Cooke, Derrick Harriott has a tenor voice that's sweeter than yer honey. But unlike Cooke, Harriott is a Jamaican and not an American, hence relatively few folks outside of the reggae world know him, his work or his angelic voice.
Blogosphere peeps, meet Derrick Harriott.
The above photo is of Harriott in his record shop in Kingston, Jamaica. When I walked into Derrick Harriott's One Stop (Twin Gates Plaza, 25 1/2 Constant Spring Rd., Kingston 10), I was startled to see Mr. D sitting behind the counter, dubbing off some video cassettes as his store doubles as a DVD & VHS production house. (I wonder if he can score me some Beta copies of the entire Pink Lady and Jeff oeuvre.)
We started talking, and I told him about an article I was working on about jazz in Jamaica, and he told me that some of his favorite singers were Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine. Now, Eckstine had a voice that was lower than a slug's belly, so to hear Harriott crooning some of Baritone Billy's tunes in his absolutely crystalline tenor was one of the highlights of my trip.
These three tunes are among my favorites in the history of rock steady.
"The Loser" is probably Harriott's greatest work under his own name (he was also a super-fine producer for others; check this comp on Pressure Sounds). The song's greatness has as much to do with that slightly out-of-tune / out-of-time piano as it does his incredible vocals. Damn damn and a double damn: It's so damn good.
"Penny for Your Song" and its dub version, featuring one of JA's greatest deejays, U-Roy, are songs that I constantly sing around the house. I can't get the melody, Harriott's vox or U-Roy's toasts out of my cranium. Wifey-poo wants to shove a sock in my piehole, shut my tonedeafness up, mos def.
Since he doesn't have a Web site, call Harriott directly at 876-926-8027 to get Those Reggae Oldies on CD or LP, or go to the untouchable Ernie B's Reggae to snag the LP as well as many of his other recordings, including A Place Called Jamaica, and especially his early stuff with the Jiving Juniors, which is all but U.S. doo-wop. Big-Up Radio also sells a bunch of Harriott's musical chariots, including the Jiving Juniors' The Donkey Years comp for a mere $6.99.Posted by CP | Link |
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Dierdre Dubois used to be the singer in the world-electronica group Ekova. You can preview the foxy Frenchy's debut solo CD, One (Six Degrees), in its entirety, here. (You can also check out the "Firefly" video there.)
Double D is a distinctive yet chameleonic singer. (How's that for vacant reviewer-speak?) "A Maid in Love" sounds like Billie Holiday roaming through Anglais folk music that's been transformed into lite drum & bass. "Sweet and Sticky Perfume" recalls Laurie Anderson's herky-jerky sing-speak, and "A Way to Love" soars like the Cocteau Twins' Liz Fraser. (Like Liz, whose slightly crooked laser-blue eyes always creeped me the hell out, Dierdre ain't afraid to bust out a can of whoop-ass glossolalia.) And on "More Than the Ocean" I like how Miss D layers the squealy, wacky-woman vocals behind the sleepy, moaning, Tricky/Martina Topley-Bird-esque lead.
Here's the very cool video for One's opening track, "Waiting for Spring."
Comfort Radio has an MP3 of One's "Firefly."
A review of One over at EthnoTechno.
An NPR interview with Dierdre from 2000.
More Ekova sound samples & info at Six Degrees.
Dierdre's playing eight North American shows in March; info here.
Check here to see how you can win a whole lotta cool jank if you win a Dierdre remix contest.
Buy Dierdre's CD here.Posted by CP | Link |
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Vijay Iyer is one of the finest and smartest (dude has an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in music and cognitive science from U.C. Berkeley ) jazz musicians around. He's posted nine MP3s on his Web site, including, for you headz, two songs he did with Mike Ladd. Iyer's Savoy debut, Reimagining, comes out May 17.
Here's an NPR interview with Iyer & Ladd about their In What Language? CD. Here's a Studio 360 program on the same project. And here's a BBC interview with our Ladd-y alone.Posted by CP | Link |
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Who cork the dance?
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