2025 featured returning efforts from a number of artists I have enjoyed for years (including a new career highmark from one of my favorite groups), as well as some excellent outings from artists I only just got introduced to. Here’s my annual inventory of my favorite albums. 15) Taylor Swift, The Life of a Showgirl […]
By using asymmetrical meters, dividing beat and rhythm patterns into unexpected groupings, blurring meter definitions, and juxtaposing multiple meters against themselves simultaneously, Tool have built up their popularity despite all of their unpopular traits. Perhaps no song of theirs better emulates this than the title track from their Lateralus album, and let’s unpack this epic track in order to better understand the different levels on which Tool’s unique approach to meter works.
Let’s count down the hits from coast to coast. 15) David Gilmour, Luck and Strange – Recalling the anthemic, cavernous, and contemplative soundscapes of (Pink Floyd’s) The Division Bell, Gilmour’s most recent solo outing proudly declares itself to be much more than a legacy album. Gilmour’s voice explores deeper registers with all of the miles […]
Bass players get no respect. Unless the bass player of a band also happens to be its lead singer, people don’t generally know much about the bass player, let alone their name. For example, prior to the preparations for my History of Rock class, I could not have told you who Bill Wyman was (he’s […]
One note. The whole impetus for this blog entry comes from just one single note. The song “With Me Part II”, which is a track from the self-titled debut album by Destiny’s Child that features Master P, is an excellent R&B track. In many ways, it emblemizes the fusion of R&B with hip-hop that dominated […]
In which I throw words at my dozen favorite albums from the past year. 12) The Hives, The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons – On their first studio album since 2012, Swedish post-punk revival darlings The Hives sound, well, a lot like they did in 2012. There’s something very rewarding about hearing a great band come […]
Here are 10 albums that I rather enjoyed from 2021, ranked in reverse order for faux-dramatic effect. 10) BADBADNOTGOOD, Talk Memory – This Canadian outfit exists somewhere in the nether-region of jazz, soul, and neo-psychedelia, crafting songs that are brimming with spontaneous and unpredictable energy. Each track offers a rick palette of sounds, and their […]
2020: a terrible year for life, but a sneakily great year for music. 15) Music by Gestalt, Debussy’s Fawn – With a raucous propulsion of energy that recalls The Bad Plus, Music by Gestalt is a jazz trio that refuses to conform to genre expectations. In addition to formal adventurousness and aggressive timbres and grooves, […]
Out Through the In Door: Analyzing the Dissonance in Ingrid Jensen’s Solo from “Transit” Infernal Machines by Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society The title is ultimately a Led Zeppelin reference (not too surprising, seeing as how one of my previous blog entries was an analysis of the alluded album), but it is relevant here for a […]
There Will Always Be Another Scale: Bitonality in Woody Shaw’s Improvisation “If it sounds good, it is good.” – Duke Ellington Amongst the numerous goals of a jazz improviser, perhaps the most vital is to challenge people’s preconceived expectations of what sounds good. Any trained musician can play a blues scale over a blues progression, […]