I can still remember the pleasure I had in first listening to Robert Glasper's concept album Double-Booked back in '09. Since then I've kept my eyes and ears open for more of his work, as well as delving into his back catalog. My appreciation of the man and his music has not waned since. His artistry is ever widening, and it's clear that the rigid boundaries which have previously defined genres have no hold on him.
His latest album Black Radio, which dropped this last week, takes the exploration he's always espoused and multiplies it ten fold. Honestly, while I first introduced him on the pages of this blog under the label of jazz, Glasper has left that feeble container in the dust. His latest work, while having a toe or two still touching ground in the jazz realm, goes so much farther, expanding into hip hop (something he's clearly shown an affinity for before in the 2nd half of Double-Booked as well as his work with Pete Rock and appreciation of the late great J Dilla, which I talked about back here, but unfortunately is no longer available), neo-soul, contemporary R&B, and even a dash of rock here and there.
Besides the keyboards of Glasper and his accompanying band (the additional elements that compose the Robert Glasper Experiment), there is a veritable treasure trove of guest musicians providing their unique tastes, including Sa-Ra's Shafiq Husayn, Erykah Badu, Lalah Hathaway, Lupe Fiasco, Bilal, King, Musiq (Soulchild), Chrisette Michele, Me'Shell Ndégeocello, Mos Def (now going by Yasiin Bay), and Ledisi. There is such a wide range of sounds represented on the album (although skillfully rooted together through the presence of Glasper and his band) that it almost feels like a compilation as opposed to a singular entity of its own, and it pushes boundaries of what "black radio" is in multiple directions. If this doesn't get Glasper noticed and on the map of contemporary popular music, then we are in a shit ton of trouble. To put his stamp on his disdain for borders, Glasper closes the album with a truly original take on Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit.
For "Jazz" to remain a viable art form that grows and doesn't altogether disappear into musical history books, it needs more Glaspers in its pocket. Order your copy of Black Radio HERE.
I've long been a fan of Josh Ritter, so when word started circulating about a new EP (titled Bringing In the Darkness and available here in download, CD, and vinyl versions), I was eager to experience it. The first peek of it was the above video for its second track, Love Is Making Its Way Back Home, and a lovely video it is. Created with 12,000 pieces of construction paper using stop motion animation, you can tell that a whole heaping full of love was put into its creation. I was so entranced with the artistry that I had to watch/listen to it a few times before I could shift my attention to enjoying the song as well.
The EP's six songs are soft and melodious, with finely crafted lyrics; exactly what Josh's strengths were from the beginning. It's light acoustic honey that shies away from the larger, complex sounds of some of the material on his last few albums.
So this week was a big one for vinyl in my house. And not because this guy from LMFAO's video showed up in his studded vinyl underwear:
No, instead the new needle (aka stylus for those record snobs out there) that I ordered for my turntable showed up. I've been turntableless for far too long due to a well past worn out needle that just needed to be replaced. Here it is pimpin' out my record player:
And speaking of turntables, I got a new one tonight!!!! Wicked exciting to say the least. Here she is:
She is the latest in 1920's technology! Yes, she's one of those new-fangled Columbia Graphophones! I can't wait to spin some "race" music on it perhaps!
Anyway, here's a little more current 45 (from the late 50's, almost futuristic in comparison...ha!) that I picked up up in Quebec while celebrating New Years:
So the one or two of you still reading might have noticed that after nearly four months absence, MISB has resurfaced, at least temporarily, for a gasp of air. It is by far the longest I've gone without sharing a song or two since it began almost six years ago (yikes, that's something like the equivalent of the Triassic period in blog years I think). Asking a magic 8 ball about its survival would reveal an answer such as "reply hazy, try again," which is to say I'm not so certain of it myself. In the meantime though, it's got a new look and a new short-term lease on life.
I settled upon a few New Year's resolutions for 2012, and when sharing them with others I prefaced them with a quote from one of my favorite authors, Henry David Thoreau: "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them."
I suppose I still have a few songs left in me to share. Happy New Years.
