Every three months or so, it goes something like this: a mountain of grading; exam prep and design; book orders; appointments and meetings; another mountain of grading; last-minute lecture tweaking; endless email; yet another mountain of grading. I often call all this the "deluge," that massive, unavoidable tidal wave that arrives at the end of an academic quarter. It partly explains the radio silence as of late, and it will definitely keep me from blogging in-depth, particularly about film, for about another week. But I'll return soon. In the meantime, I thought I'd resurrect my semi-regular playlist of recommend recent listening, joined this time around with several links to new material.
Playlist (all are 2009 recordings unless stated otherwise):
Bach, Violin Concertos. Julia Fischer, violin; Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.
Neko Case, Middle Cyclone.
Marilyn Crispell, Amaryllis (2001). A subtle work from one of jazz's leading avant-garde pianists. I think the recording is out-of-print, but it's available from various online vendors in an all-digital version.
Dave Holland Quintet, Points of View (2000)
Enrico Rava, New York Days.
M. Ward, Hold Time.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Is Is (2007). Though not a full-length album, perhaps my favorite effort by them -- or, at least, their most consistent work (perhaps not saying much, since Is Is contains only five songs). Looking back from 2009, I wonder if this was their swan song to their guitar-heavy, drum-pounding sound.
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Some worthwhile music online:
Chromewaves is streaming the entirety of Metric's new album (official U.S. release is April 7).
The National have a new single; Chromewaves provides the link (scroll to the bottom of the post).
Yeah Yeah Yeahs also have a new single: "Zero", from their forthcoming (March 31) album, It's Blitz. They've abandoned the loud guitars to go, well, disco, or at least in the direction of Giorgio Moroder. Either way, the new guise seems to suit them. "Zero" has quickly become one of my favorite tunes of this relatively young year. You can stream the tune at their site. Here's the official video (via Chromewaves).
Finally, might this be the best new band of 2009? The prolific Jack White teams with members of The Raconeteurs, Queens of the Stone Age, and -- get this -- Alison Mosshart of The Kills for a new group called The Dead Weather. They have an album arriving in June and have already released a single, "Hang You From the Heavens". My Old Kentucky Blog has the tune.
For several years, Mosshart has been competing with Liela Moss of The Duke Spirit as my favorite rock frontwoman, and moving into a supergroup with Jack White helps her case. Here she is performing The Kills' "Goodnight Bad Morning" at Abbey Road with bandmate Jamie Hince. He's out-of-tune (it might be intentional), but Mosshart sounds great. I particularly like the way this video is shot: the roving camera, the shallow and shifting depth-of-field.
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