HEARING BUT NOT LISTENING


Espers - II.
personally, this is like Black Sabbath in their Planet Caravan Zone if they had the female vocalist of Pentangle and were on heroin. Meaning guitar led, slow, deiberate, lush, mysterious. Judging from the photo on on the jacket everyone in this band has hair down to their ass. Yeah its like that. But with all the best things of the post hippy moody seventies folk and none of the wank. very beautiful record. I like this on vinyl because the cover art is beautiful and the c.d. printing does not do it justice.


Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Cursed Sleep.
Like all Bonnie 'Prince' Billy records, this yields more and more with each listen. At the outset what is striking is the use of a string section, the general lush production, and it's adherence to "classic" song structure/form (not that weird, but when one considers "arise therefore" or "hope", you realize how much things have changed). it sounds like a million bucks. But then you forget about the surface and what stays are the haunting lyrics, Dawn McCarthy's amazing voice that complements Oldham's voice probably better than any of his past duet partners, and the sheer emotional weight of the song. One of Oldham's greatest stengths is how he uses words. It seems any of his sentences can mean inumerable things in inumerable tones and still read devoid of any outerward effort for symbolism. It's straight forward AND elusive. He is like the Nabakov of music. Combine that with a talent for songwriting that seems timeless and formed out of the very ether, and you have some the best music being made now and ever.


Isley Bros. Featuring Ron Isley as Mr. Big - Body Kiss.
This whole record was produced and written by R.Kelly and its genius. just real perfect R&B. Ridiculously sexed up and catchy. A friend pointed out how each song is plotted in a way to tell an overall story. Track five, "Busted" is duet between Ron Isley and Lil Kim where has all the lyrics to song serve as dialogue to Isley's character, Mr. Big, confronting her cheating ways and her singing her rebutal. Totally beautiful and exciting. I hear since that the subsequent Isley/Kelley collabortations are just as great.


Witch.
Okay, I actually have not heard this record. and I sort of don't want to. That cover is just so beautiful. That measily jpeg does nothing for it. I look at that cover and think it has to house the best rock music ever. so why ruin it? it's a J. Mascis record, and I am not really a Dinosaur fan, at least not in any non-nostalgic real way. but dude, what a cover...
posted by sammy at 3:55 AM
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