Children of Misery: 2020 Sounds & Visuals

 

Didn’t get around to doing the annual summer mixes until year’s end, so they’re fairly indicative of what I was listening to. Only did two this time (a road trippin’ theme never felt right for obvious reasons): bbq and cruisin' jams.

Lots of stuff from the cutting room floor was in constant rotation. Listened to a ton of Nikki Giovanni and Audre Lorde. Plenty of ha has from Jay Jurden Y’all, Who the Hell is Dwayne Kennedy? & Weakness is the Brand. Open Mike Eagle lived my (and I’m sure many others’) dream by interviewing Prince Paul for an entire season of podcast eps. Was also great to learn about Toshi Reagon’s love of Octavia. And I’m always a sucker for fresh Mike Davis content, so this trillbilly chat was a treat.

The best thing I saw—not just in 2020, but in a while—is a generation of youths have a collective lightbulb moment about our carceral culture. Fucked up, f’sure, but happy they have a better sense of how off-course the ship is and where they need to steer it towards.

Otherwise, I didn’t see much worth writing about. We didn’t have the pandemic experience of tucking in and learning new skills or some shit. The main things I ‘watched’ were listenable (and, quite often, tried & true) videos that I would turn on as comfort listening while doing chores. So, loads of Desus & Mero (only the occasional wormhole detour) and talking to myself あっきーさん. john powell & bell hooks came correct. Ocean Vuong is ridiculously talented—and he’s sharing a stage w/ Jacqueline Woodson. Sophia Leung ftw. Btw, I still think Problem Areas season 1 should be required viewing for anyone that comes with that Defund the Police = socialism shit. And thank the content gods for giving us druncle ‘Kiss on the ‘gram.

Screentime generally meant family time, so we had lots of アルプスの少女ハイジ, しまじろうのわお, Molly of Denali, Dr. スランプ, 忍者ハットリくん, ドラえもん, テラスハウス, Hilda, ハイキュー!!, SLAM DUNK, Harvey Girls Forever!, はたらく細胞, からかい上手の高木さん. We exported びじゅチューン！ clips (all of Inoue Ryo’s work is highly amusing) to our constant delight.

ARRRGGGHHH 2017

[Posted Dec. 2018]

2017 was a fucking mess. I never finished my lists. I’m posting what I wrote, unfinished, unedited.

One exception: I added a list of albums/songs.

Visuals
Okja, Bong Joon-jo (Netflix)

Wonder Woman, Patty Jenkins

American Masters: Maya Angelou, (PBS)
Something for everyone in this pithy overview of Angelou. Strong balance of talking heads providing warm and detailed insights into her life and work -- particularly from her son Guy Johnson and friends/colleagues like Cicely Tyson, Louis Gossett, Jr. and Alfre Woodard -- as well as clips of her being interviewed, performing, and just being in front of a camera from throughout her robust life. I’m hardly an Angelou expert, but there are plenty of lovely insights, like the impact of Guy’s car accident on their lives, her love of cooking, her approach to running a film set. I hadn’t watched her reading of “On the Pulse of Morning,” probably since it aired over 20 years ago. The work is bone-chilling, especially in light of what happened about a month prior on those same steps.

I Am Not Your Negro, Raoul Peck (Amazon Studios, 2016)
I took the description of this film at face value -- as a literal telling of James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript, Remember This House. Structurally, the film does accomplish this, but it is so much better for being more about the feeling of Baldwin, rather than his work and life. Like many Baldwin fans, I’ve watched many Baldwin clips and was familiar with large chunks of the film’s archival footage. Peck edits these brilliantly with a tasteful balance of contemporary images and b-roll. The end result is one of the closest visual representations of Baldwin’s love, passion, frustration, fear, and sense of humanity.

Sidewalk Stories, Charles Lane (Island Pictures, 1989)
Hadn’t rushed the Kid into television or film-watching, so the Kid’s media endurance is pretty low. We watched a Doraemon movie, which was an hour and change. Then we watched Singin’ in the Rain in two or three parts. I felt conscious of the sorts of characters and faces the Kid was seeing, so the next option I introduced was either Chaplin’s The Kid or Lane’s Sidewalk Stories. I described Lane’s film as “the New York one,” which may have been the winning tag. We watched most of it in one sitting and the Kid was pretty rapt.

A Face in the Crowd, Elia Kazan (Warner Bros., 1957)
The most infuriating sentiment post-Election 2016 has been the incredulous hand-wringing . It reeks of exceptionalism to think, “How could America have done this?” The truth has been telegraphed for many years by the not obscure writings or Orwell and even the not-so underground films of Judge. Add Kazan and writer Budd Schulberg’s A Face in the Crowd to the very visible list of foreseers. The film’s distinction is, unlike 1984 and Idiocracy, AFITC focuses less on the mechanics of autocracy, but more on the individual who would ceases that power. Sure, the film is largely about the advent of television and how an entire ecosystem of A&R (Patricia Neal’s Marcia Jeffries), platform (TV) and content (Percy Waram’s Gen. Haynesworth) all conspire to make Andy Griffith’s “Lonesome” Rhodes a star. But Griffith’s cavernous laugh and suffocating personality are clearly the oxygen to their spark. Asking if this sounds familiar is simply offensive.

Moana, Ron Clements and John Musker (Walt Disney, 2016)

Eden, Mia Hansen-Løve (Broad Green Pictures, 2014)
Was real bummed to miss seeing this in the theater. A lovely love letter to music, youth and growing up. Any film that opens with “Plastic Dreams” and “Follow Me” already has me from the jump. Those tracks were my entry points to house.

The Revenant, Alejandro G. Iñárritu (20th Century Fox, 2016)
Really loved the sound design of this film. Refreshing to hear a modern film not saturated in soundtrack. The emphasis on breath and wind was more than enough. Very fitting to have Ryuichi Sakamoto do the score.

Chi-Raq, Spike Lee (Roadside Attractions, 2015)
Lysistrata is pretty dated. Updating it w/ 2-hours of shitty slam poetry is pretty unbearable.

Point Blank, John Boorman (MGM, 1967)
Another film I watched years ago and completely forgot. Disturbing (yes, it truly is a “leer and peer” film, hahaha) and brilliant. The commentary with John Boorman and Steven Soderbergh is really useful (minus the leering over Angie Dickinson’s quasi-nude scene). The ambiguity of Walker and Fairfax’s existence and relationship with each other adds layers of storytelling to an otherwise bland revenge tale. Is Walker actually dead? If so, is this a chickens-come-home-to-roost story? If it is, then the psychedelic and narrative hiccups become that much more surreal. Yes, the treatment of women and gay men is bad, but the rest of the film is overwhelmingly strong.

Captain Fantastic, Matt Ross (Bleecker Street Media, 2016)
Also not as bad as I thought it would be. The conceit tickled me plenty: a send-up of progressive values. The film did an excellent job of showing how the arc of both progressive and conservative extremism bends toward each other, to the point where the two connect and become indistinguishable. The ending was fucking sophomoric though. Wish they had skipped the fucking twee GNR karaoke and just skipped straight to the toilet flush.

Birth of a Nation, Nate Parker (Fox Searchlight, 2016)
Not as bad as I read it would be. But very strange storytelling choices. Considering Parker’s understanding and seeming interest in the vivid religious visions Turner allegedly confessed, there should have been ample dynamism in shooting largely off of the Confessions of Nat Turner. Why he took that detour into rape revenge is bizarre and makes unnecessary fantasy of Turner’s legacy.

Aural
Jay Som Everybody Works
This record got us through a rough year. We listened to it on our daily commute, riding around, at home… It’s romantic, weary, DIY, feminist, and hooky-as-fuck. Melina FTW.

SZA CTRL
Part of me thinks TDE should be embarrassed over all the delays behind this record, but it also came at just the right time for me. DAMN, f’real. Left Eye would be so into this.

Thundercat Drunk
The ghost of Austin Peralta still weighs heavy. Modern blues in bite-sized nougats.

SOB x RBE
Why’d it take so long for there to be a modern-day Wu-Tang?

Tyshawn Sorey Verisimilitude
So glad I got to see this young man perform before I left. What an amazing talent.

Scarface “Black Still”
Does this count as Conservative Rap Coalition muzack?

Open Mike Eagle Brick Body Kids
OME deserves an A for sticking to themes.

Joey “Coco” Diaz Sociably Unacceptable
He’s been around forever, but he made some content videos to get the new jacks onboard. This is him operating at about 60% and it’s still más fuego than most anything else out there.

Wadada Leo Smith Solo: Reflections and Meditations on Monk
Smith hasn’t slipped in years. What an incredible run of albums.

Jackie Kashian I Am Not the Hero of this Story
Like being wrapped in a warm blanket of hahas.

Cécile McLorin Salvant Dreams and Daggers
Down is up because I’m listening to vocal jazz.

Ella Fitzgerald Ella at Zardi’s
Twelve Nights in Hollywood already exists, so is there need for more small room Ella? STFU. This recording is from 5 years earlier. Nowhere near as much confidence and swagger, but it’s still peak Ella tossing off runs left and right.

G Perico 2 Tha Left
Needs to collabo w/ Quik.

Downtown Boys Cost of Living
Yeah, I really wish No Skills did this.

Mac DeMarco This Old Dog
Dad shit.

Ali Wong Baby Cobra
So, so, so happy for her. What a talent.

Hurray for the Riff Raff The Navigator
This is the Bruce Springsteen record I always wanted to hear.

Beaches Second of Spring
Perfect road trip music.

Neal Brennan 3 Mics
#beatlife

Buffy Sainte-Marie Medicine Songs
AARP punk.

Juana Molina Halo
Still pays to experiment with a few ideas at a time.

Farruko “Krippy Kush” (Feat. Bad Bunny and Rvssian)
Mi introducción al Conejo Malo.

Future Future
Pretty happy he’s slowed down in 2018, b/c keeping up at this pace is asking for burn-out.

J Hus Common Sense
As close to UK rap as I’ll get. And stop.

Demi Lovato “Sorry Not Sorry”
Pretty cool flip of the Brenda Russell riff. RIP Big Pun.

Lil B Black Ken
Probably the second-most unnecessary reissue/late-issue, but kinda welcome at the same time.

Prince and The Revolution Purple Rain reissue
The remastering wasn’t necessary, but official releases from the Vault are welcome.

Words
Doug Stanhope, Digging Up Mother: A Love Story

Kid Flicks
Trolls (both w/ Saul and at home while sick)
The Jungle Book > The Lion King
となりのトトロ (in theatre, albeit dubbed)

Kid Books
Cece Bell, El Deafo
Hena Khan, Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns
Andre Marois, The Sandwich Thief

2014 Listicles: Sound Edition

I’ve been on a steady march towards becoming the next Editor-in-Chief of Dad, so we can drop any pretense of these lists being models of cool journalistic research. They’re simply things the few things I glommed on to over the course of the year.

Catchy tunes from this year

Metro Boomin “Chanel Vintage” (Feat. Future and Young Thug)

Migos “Ounces”

2008 greatness (Zaytoven) + 2013 greatness (Metro Boomin) = 2014 greatness.

Lil Durk “Party” (Feat. Young Thug)

Ladies and gentlemen, here’s your 2014 wedding anthem.

Shy Glizzy “Awwsome”

Captures the last couple years pretty well.

Future “Benz Friend” (Feat. Andre 3000)

“Move That Dope” and “My Momma” should be on this list, if it weren’t for those fucking horrible guestlist. I’m still lukewarm on “Benz Friend” as a whole, but still hard for Stacks’ verse. And over Organized Noize? Can’t front.

Michael Jackson “Love Never Felt So Good”

Remember this record? Sure, Paul Anka is on it. And it doesn’t break any new ground. But it sure beats Akon and Kanye West “duets” or any of that garbage.

DJ Quik “Trapped on the Tracks”

Keeping alive the lineage of great train tracks.

Run the Jewels “Jeopardy”

Killer Mike’s juiced-up opening (“I’m going to bang this bitch the fuck out!”) is my favorite part. I’m not as excited about this LP as most -- doesn’t cover different sonic ground the first LP didn’t already cover, and, welp, didn’t need El-P to convince me of Killa’s talent -- but I appreciate any song that gives Mike Bigga nearly 2 minutes to just go off.

De La Soul “Goes With The Word”

Not even my favorite song off the Smell the D.A.I.S.Y. torrent LP, but probably best current example of why Dave and Pos remain in my Top 5. Very few MCs dance around the beat with such command. Sure, there’s little sonic novelty to their laid-back approach, but it’s like listening to an old hand blow something wonderful while leaning back at the end of a cutting session.

Future Islands “Seasons (Waiting On You)”

Eh, it’s the current generation’s New Order. And it’s catchy even without the GIFs.

especia “くるかな”

See, Ariana Grande isn’t the only one who has handlers with a firm grasp on that nostalgia aesthetic. 

Solid albums from this year you'll see on other lists
Theo Parrish American Intelligence
I’m getting older, Theo’s getting older. Hence, there’re joints for the club, as well as the headphones.

D’Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah
Plays real well alongside Voodoo. Lots of lovely harmonic ideas and effects. Mostly a wonder for simply existing. We wanted it for so long, it actually exists, and it’s damn fonky.

Azealia Banks Broke With Expensive Taste
As much as that Hot 97 interview brought back a necessary conversation that we never seem to complete, the ridiculous fallout is a distraction. Broke is a beast of a record. Best Beastie-esque mixtape record in a minute.

Flying Lotus You’re Dead!
Not a big departure from Until the Quiet Comes. Actually, not a big departure from Thundercat’s Apocalypse. Can’t front b/c I’m more into the proggy shit than the light-show shit he has to do in concert these days. Perfect for keeping kids off my lawn. 

St. Vincent St. Vincent
Been a while since I’ve encountered an artists where I like each new album more than the last. Constantly challenging herself to balance pushing boundaries and fitting within popular norms. And one of the best live acts out now. Annie, Prince is still alive, please stop gunning for his seat.

Angel Olsen Burn Your Fire For No Witness
I'm a sucker for dirty guitars playing along with little else.

Todd Barry The Crowd Work Tour
Aziz’s crowd work in the lead up to his most recent tour was a great reminder of the wealth of material that can be dug up from an audience. However, Aziz sells humor constantly with his delivery. Barry is a master to watch as he patiently and confidently allows broken psyches to gradually unfold. 

My Brightest Diamond This Is My Hand
Any working parent should aspire to this level of quality productivity. 

Solid albums from this year you may not see on other lists
Hari Kondabolu Waiting for 2042
All killer, no filler. 

Altered Tapes reworks
Ok, they're not an album. But, I’m that age. 

Old tunes I bumped
Underdog Edits Box Set
Jesus, Trident, I’m still going through all these. May we open up our own Paradise Garage Redux?

Cool Breeze “Watch for the Hook”
Couldn’t stop listening to this after hearing about the OutKast reunion show in Atlanta. A boy can wish, right?

Eightball and MJG “Listen to the Lyrics”
I was really determined to include them in my Duos setlist. Wrong crowd.

Mantronix and Just-Ice
Drum machines and lyric lickin’.

Malcolm’s 1963 Debate With James Baldwin
They weren’t that far from each other, in the end.

Spice 1 AmeriKKKa's Nightmare
Forgot about the ragga influence. 

Public Enemy b-sides, c. It Takes a Nation… and Fear of Black Planet
Yes, I’m happy about the reissues.

Low Profile We’re In This Together
Brutal cuts. And WC sounds nice.

Tuff Crew Phanjam
After spending time in Philly, had to dust this off.

Perfume ⊿
Daft Punk will never make pop as cool as Yasutaka Nakata.

Tony! Toni! Toné! House of Music
My grown and sexy shit.

Bumpy Knuckles “Part of My Life”
My college radio shit. 

Arrested Development soundtrack
Shit for my kid and me.

A Janet Jackson compilation
Solid bangers. Reminder to play her out more often.

Tracy + The Plastics
It’s been 10 years??

Faye Wong’s “Random Thoughts” and “Know Oneself and Each Other”
The influence of the Cocteau Twins is all over her Random Thoughts album, but the covers are really something else.

Tim Hecker Ravedeath, 1972 
I think I wrote a capsule review of this, but I came back around to his shit when he did that Red Bull thing.

The Apples in Stereo - first three albums
Prepping for a wedding reminded to dig into this band. What a wonder. Though I think I’m on team Hilarie.

CCR “Suzie Q”
Those drums kick so lovely... 

Anita O’Day At Mister Kelly’s
One wedding kicked up a lot of memories. I saw O’Day at the Derby shortly before she passed with this same friend. Late career O’Day obviously had a very different voice and range, but her charm and command was intact. I still swoon thinking about that night.

Rick Springfield’s “Comic Book Heroes”
Rivers Cuomo wishes he could write angsty nerd shit on this level.

Cannonball Adderley Country Preacher
Best rap album.

Steve Reich “Six Marimbas” and Susumu Yokota’s Symbol
Yet another instrument to learn.

Anna Calvi One Breath
I think Eno mentioned this in an interview, so I picked it up. Good, heavy rock.

Aldo Ciccolini’s Erik Satie albums
A classical gateway.

The Krzysztof Penderecki pieces from The Shining soundtrack
Pairs nicely with Mica Levi.

Gary Numan I, Assassin
While waiting for that new D’Angelo, I got down with some vintage Pino.

Montana Orchestra “It Looks Like Love (Feat. Goody Goody) (Club 89 Remix)”
I used to play out the original Goody Goody version a lot, so I had forgotten how much I loved this joint. I still prefer the original, but this was a novel way to revisit it.

The unreleased shit on Eddie Murphy’s 1997 Greatest Comedy Hits
Not great or essential, but this is a sign how much I’m fiending for new Eddie Murphy stand-up. The bit about being buried in platforms is pretty great visually.

Andre Nickatina Conversation With A Devil - CR 3 (Cocaine Raps 3) 
Solid slangin’ shit.

Henry Threadgill Very Very Circus Carry The Day
My NPR shit.

Jimmy Giuffre The Jimmy Giuffre 3
Thanks, Pops.

Most tolerable wedding songs
Pharrell “Happy (Cousin Cole Reggae Version)”
2NE1 “Happy”
Mark Ronson “Uptown Funk"

Best Digs
Saafir’s The Hit List (and two armfulls of hip-hop) for 50 cents

Because CDs are the new tapes. But better.

Claudine Longet’s Claudine 

Not a great record, but priceless for a cover that quickly became the kid’s first crush.

Chet Baker/Gerry Mulligan’s The Complete Pacific Jazz and Capitol Recordings
Copped this set at a steal. And in perfect condition, too. Gotta thank Pops for turning me on to this, because this level of chill is not my norm. I’ll always have a soft spot for Gerry, though; he was my first professional concert introduction to jazz.

Ramnad Krishnan’s Vidwan 

A random browse through NYPL’s catalogs turned up this seminal Carnatic recording. What takes this over-the-top is that my buddy’s pops, Jon “Higgins Bhagavatar” Higgins, wrote the liners. Not even a couple weeks later, I found the original LP, along with another Krishnan joint (also with liners from Higgins). 

Most Redundant Dig
Pharcyde’s Labcabincalifornia (Deluxe Edition) 

I have this record, but due in part to a high school memory of not being able to afford this album, in addition to a vague feeling that it would be nice to have the instrumentals on CD, I picked this up. I know. 

The Kid’s Top SpinsCat Stevens Harold and Maude Soundtrack
Bob Dylan “Little Sadie”
Crayon Pop “빠빠빠 2.0 (Bar Bar Bar 2.0)”
Ocean 11 “Housewive’s Choice”
Keith Hudson
Lee Perry 
Redbone “Come and Get Your Love” 
Arrested Development soundtrack 
Fantastic Mr. Fox soundtrack
Kate Bush Hounds of Love
Dusty Springfield

Shows that I went to
Cibo Matto @ Brooklyn Bowl (March 8)

Strangely not as nostalgic as I thought it would be. They played a fair amount of new material. And the old stuff sounded tweaked with the current line-up and gear. Almost forgot: Buffalo Daughter opened! And they burned! 

Chappelle @ Radio City Music Hall (June 22)

Pretty different than seeing him at the Punchline or those small spots in Oakland in the ‘90s, but what a well-deserved house for DC. Caught him on a night with Charlie Murphy and Donnell Rawlings. I could have done without them. Slight preference for one of the music nights, but got tickets before those shows were announced. And the focus was tightly on Chappelle. Really beautiful, gifted comedian. 

OOIOO @ Rough Trade (July 18)

Second-best show, hands down. Tore up their new LP, Gamel, along with some older nuggets. 

My Brightest Diamond @ Bowery Ballroom (September 25)

Best show. Also, the most music-packed concert I’d been to in quite a while. As soon as Doe Paoro finished her opening set, Batala NYC took the floor for about 45 minutes of rump shakin’ and drum routines. The drum corp also helped Shara & co. kick off the MBD portion of the evening by providing the percussive meat behind This Is My Hand lead single, “Pressure.” What’s more impressive is that Worden kept up the energy and momentum. 

Shows that should be on the above list, but I either got sick or fell asleep and missed 
Bill Callahan @ some Bowery Presents venue
Totally forgot I had these tickets.

Paradise Garage block party
Ditto.

Mahmoud Ahmed in Red Hook
Kid got me sick, dog ate my homework…

Angel Olsen @ Roulette
I tried calling and couldn’t get through. Visited Roulette, only to find out the tickets were being handled through Bowery Presents. Promptly forgot to follow-up and shit sold out.