The Un-
real Is
Real

Broadcast
and the
Focus
Group,
Inves-
tigate
Witch
Cults of the Radio Age, Warp Records

"You feel that this is all really happen-
ing, and you’re in it up to your neck."
-- Lee Arizuno, The Quietus review

Birmingham's Broadcast (Trish Keenan and James Cargill)
and artist/musician the Focus Group (Julian House, the foun-
der of Ghost Box Records) fill this collaboration with 23 tracks
of beautiful, sometimes scary weirdness (House has design-
ed every one of Broadcast's eye-catching album covers).

I love the beauty, which stems from the
union between Keenan's multi-tracked
mutterings and the chiming, cascading
lullaby-like melodies, but have mixed
feelings about the darker pieces. They
clatter and clamber like incidental music
from the films of John Carpenter or the
Brothers Quay, and the cinematic feel
is admirable, but also unsettling.

It's one thing to watch those kinds of
pictures, and move on, and another to
linger in the sinister worlds such filmmakers create. If your
collection includes the scores to Suspiria and Eraserhead, you
may feel otherwise. After a few listens, I proclaim it a mixed
success, but this one is growing on me by the second

11/28: After spending several weeks and dozens of spins with
this disc, I've come to adore it, but don't intend to change any
of the words above, since other listeners may have the same
experience, i.e. my initial concerns dissipated—and com-
pletely disappeared—through repeated exposure.

Note: Warp is advertising this release as an
EP, though it contains 50 minutes of music.



Brett Gleason, The Dissonance EP, self-titled [1/19/10]

"The unreal is real if you're a believer!"
-- Brett Gleason, "Futile and Fooled"

Long Island-born, Brooklyn-based Brett Gleason mixes dark
metal with post-bop and bright pop. As he pounds away on the
piano and keyboards, his detached voice floats above the din. The
somewhat plodding blend of light and heavy plays like result of
studying Nine Inch Nails at home and Duke Ellington at school.
Imagine a prog-rock outfit covering the entirety of Joe Jack-
son's Body and Soul, and you've got the general idea.



Audra Mae, Haunt EP, SideOneDummy

A smoky-voice alto, Audra Mae combines country-tinged torch
songs with tracks by the Decemberists ("Eli, the Barrow Boy") and
Marilyn Monroe (Lionel Anemone and Ken Darby's "One Silver
Dollar") and an adaptation of a letter by a Civil War soldier.



Along with mournful accordion, brushed drums, fingersnaps, and
whistles, the Oklahoma native works up a spacious, slow-burning
atmosphere that should appeal to fans of Patsy Cline, Julee Cruise,
and Eleni Mandell. David Lynch would do wise to give her a listen.

Bonus: Mae's cover of Dylan's "Forever Young" as feat-
ured in The Sons of Anarchy (and not included on this EP):


Endnote: For more information about Broadcast, please
click here; for Brett Gleason, here; and for Audra Mae,
click here. Expect a new full-length from Keegan and Car-
gill in 2010. Images from Fact Magazine and Last.fm.

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We Had Sylvester

Sylvester and the
Hot Band, The Blue
Thumb Collection,
Hip-O Select

San Francicso didn't need
me. They had Sylvester.
-- Bowie on his failure to
sell out the Bay in '73

This might be my fav-
orite release of 2009—
it's certainly in the top
five. No matter that
The Blue Thumb Collection contains material recorded between 1972-73.

The time is ripe for a Sylvester revival. And I'm not just talking
about the disco icon behind "(You Make Me Feel) Mighty Real,"
but the man as a whole: drag performer (see The Cockettes), Bay
Area icon (read The Fabulous Sylvester: The Legend, the Music,
the Seventies in San Francisco), and gospel-funk entertainer
(hear these two LPs: Sylvester and the Hot Band and Bazaar).

Click here for The Cockettes trailer

Of course, you've got to have a high tolerance for falsetto, since
that was Sylvester's thing. And I do mean thing—or specialty—
and not schtick. There's nothing comical about his use of the up-
per range (to paraphrase an old Southern saying: the higher the
note, the closer to God). Throughout, he shouts, soars, testifies,
and torches it up like a super-powered preacher-turned-diva.



According to Brian Chin's first-rate liner notes, Sylvester lik-
ed to think of himself as Billie Holiday reincarnated, hence the
scratch 'n' sniff gardenia sticker that emblazoned his self-titled
debut, AKA "Scratch My Flower"; he also used to claim Nina
Simone as a relation (my only complaint: the booklet repro-
duces the original artwork but drops the "sniff" option).

Despite his love for the ladies, Sylvester and his Caucasian co-
horts concentrate on material originally written and recorded
by men. In each case, he reinvents the number, rendering some
barely recognizable. What was macho or masculine before—ar-
guably even misogynist—becomes intensely androgynous.

Sylvester shapes his persona

You won't hear Neil Young's "Southern Man," James Taylor's "I'm
a Steam Roller," or Procul Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" the
same way once you've experienced Sylvester's radical reinterpret-
ations. Though I could do without the bitchy screech on "one of 16
vestal virgins," there's a certain poignance to the way he sings,
"wife and the family, kids playing in the driveway" (born in 19-
47, Sylvester died of AIDs-related complications in 1988).

That isn't to suggest that he doesn't rock the hell out of these
joints. On the contrary, Sylvester gives Bowie, Mick Jagger,
Elton John*, the New York Dolls, and Prince a run for the
money in the hard-rocking androgyne sweepstakes—
if such a thing existed, which, of course, it should.

* "Benny & the Jets" era.



Other covers of note: "God Bless the Child," "Nobody's Fault But
Mine," "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," and "Hey, That's No Way
to Say Goodbye." On the Leonard Cohen composition, from 1972's
Lights Out San Francisco, he's joined by Family Stone drummer
Gregg Errico, Santana guitarist Neil Schon on guitar (who would
find even greater fame through Journey), and the Pointer Sis-
ters (the Weather Girls backed Sylvester's disco incarnation).

Lest it seem as if I'm
giving the originals short
shrift, that's only because
there aren't as many of
them. And if they don't
surpass these classics,
they hold their own, par-
ticularly Kerry Hatch's
"Down on Your Knees"
and "All That I Need"
(Hatch played bass and
keys in the Hot Band).

If anything, the new tun-
es funk even harder than
the covers, but of the 19
tracks, my favorite is "My Country 'Tis of Thee," a
song that never meant much to me, at least musically.

Sylvester turns it into an epic Americana jam to rival Funk-
adelic's "One Nation Under a Groove." The instrumental in-
tro offers JBs-style horns, hyperactive harmonica, wacka-
wacka guitar, rubbery bass, and flutes galore. Then our lady
of the lungs enters the scene to bring it all home. (When a
black man sings, "Land where my fathers died," it's hard
not to pause for a moment of uncomfortable reflection.)

For fans of torch singers, glam rock, New Orleans R&B, P-
Funk, and Bay Area titans, like Tower of Power and Sly Stew-
art (San Francisco's other eccentric-genius Sylvester), this siz-
zling set isn't just worth a listen: it's absolutely essential.



Endnote: Images from Imageyenation and The Cockettes.

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Misty Water-
color Memories

Walla Walla wa-
tercolor sketches.












Anderson Hall interior.


















Anderson Hall Courtyard.


















Still life with mannequins.

Endnote: Cross-posted at Facebook (with more images).

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Memorable
Contrast

Starless
& Bible
Black,
Shape
of the
Shape,
Locust
Music



It's been three years since the last Starless & Bible Black re-
cord, so I expected them to return sounding somewhat differ-
ent than before. They have. Not that they've re-emerged as a-
nother creature entirely, but the opening track, "Say Donny Say,"
has more of a country feel than anything on their self-titled debut,
which combined French chanson with British folk (though Hélène
Gautier hails from France, the band calls Birmingham home).

That shift distinguishes their follow-up, though their approach
to traditional genres remains refreshingly untraditional. Center-
piece selection "Les Furies," for instance, is full-on space-rock
and yet the quintet avoid sounding like Stereolab copyists by
adding smatterings of Jimmy Page-style acoustic guitar.

In fact, the piece evokes old-
school prog-rock, like Pink
Floyd or King Crimson, more
than any recent inner-space
explorers. Crimson once nam-
ed an album Starless and Bib-
le Black, so it only seems fit-
ting that they would enter
the equation at some point.

Shape of the Shape is another fine effort from an unjustly
obscure outfit, though I'd love to see them rock out more next
time. As John Schacht puts it in his AMG review of their first al-
bum, "on occasion a synth roar creates memorable contrast,
like low-flying jets tearing over a green countryside," adding that
it's "the more robust cuts that leave the deepest impression." I
couldn't agree more. Starless's restraint is admirable, but "Les
Furies" proves what they can do when they set it aside.



Jay Bolotin, self-titled, Locust Music

"One of the three best songwriters in the country,"
-- Kris Kristofferson

According to his liner notes, Jay Bolotin recorded this LP in
1968 when he was "17—maybe 18" years old (though he sounds
more seasoned). A student at the Rhode Island School of Design,
he pursued an art career by day and a music career by night.

When he
signed a
contract
with ABC,
he thought
he was on
his way.
He record-
ed his de-
but in
NYC with
musicians
including drummer Bobby Mason from the Fugs (I particularly like David Mowry's lyrical lead playing). He writes, "People in the control room were inhaling amyl nitrate from little glass vials and smoking cigar sized joints. I had never seen anything like that."

At times, the Kentucky native sounds like Leonard Cohen; at
others, like Harry Nilsson. The 10 elegant tracks offer a pleas-
ing combination of poetry and pop (but without the pomp or
pretense that can attend to the former). At times, he even
predicts Britain's slow-burn Clientele, though it's unlikely they
could've heard this rare recording until its re-release this fall.

Bolotin now lives in Cincinatti. In the notes, he says that "some-
thing honestly upset me about those songs back then." They
were haunted by "a sense of yearning for grace that I feared
would not—could not—be fulfilled, either by me or by my gener-
ation." With the hindsight of 40 years, he concludes, "Yearning
for grace seems not to diminish with age." Suffice to say: grace in-
fuses his first record, no matter the psychic toll it took to make it.



Endnote: For more information about Starless & Bible Black,
please click here or here. Images from the band and Gimme Tin-
nitus. Jay Bolotin's "The Jack Leg Testament" from libbyrosof's
Flickr photostream (click here for more pictures from the series).

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November
Reviews

These are
the reviews
and other
pieces I'm
working on
this month.


Amazon DVD: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (with Michael Douglas and Amber Tamblyn), Moonshot (Apollo 11 doc), and
Lie to Me - Season One (with Tim Roth) [four-disc set].

Amazon Theatricals: Youth in Revolt (Miguel Arteta
directs Michael Cera), Me and Orson Welles (Richard Link-
later directs Zac Efron and Christian McKay as Welles).

Still playing: Black Dynamite, Coco Before Chanel, Law
Abiding Citizen, This Is It, and Where the Wild Things Are.

KCTS 9: These are some of the press releases I've written
or to which I've contributed: King County executive debate invite, Seattle mayoral debate, Nicholas Kristof invite, Veteran's Day programming, Ask the Governor invite, Ask the Governor broadcast, and Development Team announcement.

Siffblog: Claire Denis's 35 Shots of Rum.



Video Librarian: Beyond Wiseguys, Footsteps in Afri-
ca - A Nomadic Journey, Ask Not, Baghdad Twist, Free-
way Philharmonic, From Russia, For Love, La Corona, In-
tangible Asset Number 82, New World Order, Not Just a Bad
Day, The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins, Black Dynamite,
Egon & Donci, The Haunted Airman, Invisible Girlfriend, Not
Your Typical Bigfoot Movie, Otis Redding - The Best: See
& Hear [CD/DVD set], The Starting Line - Somebody's
Gonna Miss Us, Woodpecker, and Vega$ - Sea-
son One: Part One [three-disc set].



Endnote: Images from Screen Daily and IGN.

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Wild
Humans
for Sale









Gogol Bordello, Live from Axis Mundi, SideOneDummy Records

Be Donald Trump or be an anarchist.
-- Gogol Bordello, "American Wedding"

A few weeks ago, I reviewed an Otis Redding starter kit, Shout
Factory's The Best: See & Hear, a CD/DVD set. Live from Ax-
is Mundi serves a similar purpose for Gogol Bordello, even if
the 11-track CD consists of radio sessions, outtakes, and demos,
while Redding's consists of studio-recorded hit singles (in this
case, "finishing kit" might provide a more applicable term).

Though the New York City-based nine-piece doesn't other-
wise have much in common with the late Georgia soul sing-
er, they're also known for their intense live performances.

Like moustachioed singer and
guitarist Eugene Hütz, who
hails from the Ukraine, most
of the band immigrated from
Eastern Europe and Israel.
Since 1999 and over the
course of four full-lengths,
Roma-style violin and accor-
dion have provided a base for
his impassioned, heavily-accented vocals as guitars crunch and drums pound (as an actor, the charismatic Hütz has appeared in Everything Is Illuminated and Madonna's Filth & Wisdom).

On fan favorite "Trouble Friends," from 2005's Gypsy Punks
sessions, the nonet adds washboard—or something that sounds
just like it—to their arsenal, while on "You Gave Up (Roumania),"
recorded for BBC's Radio 1, the guitar-shredding could put Met-
allica to shame. There's a sense that if it sounds good, they'll try
it, hence the Afro-beat horns that decorate "Immigrant Punks,"
which recalls nothing so much as Combat Rock-era Clash.



Never having seen the band before, the DVD offers my first
exposure (by proxy). It captures Gogol Bordello in two sold-
out concerts at NYC's Irving Plaza in 2007. In their goulash of
worlds both old and new, they provide an Eastern Bloc answer
to the whiskey-soaked Pogues, except Hütz seems more, well,
focused than Shane McGowan...for lack of a better word.

As on the CD, the showstopper is the sinuous "Mishto!," even if
the accordion player goes a little off-pitch. The musicians seem
to have the most fun playing the number, which comes on like
DeVotchka fronted by a more rambunctious vocalist. The rest
of the DVD contains extra live tracks, videos, and featurettes.

Sweaty fun for the whole extended clan, Live at Axis Mundi
also works as a sort of thriller: Will Hütz's low-cut jeans stay
on or not? (You'll have to watch for yourself. I'll never tell.)



Cosmo Jarvis, self-titled, Wall of Sound Recordings

Wild humans for sale, but the souls will cost you extra.
-- Cosmo Jarvis, "Wild Humans"

Musically, 19-year-old New Jersey multi-instrumentalist Cos-
mo Jarvis (née Harrison Cosmo Krikoryan Jarvis) recalls Of
Montreal; vocally, he recalls former Pulp member Richard Haw-
ley. Lyrically, the situation become cloudier, because Jarvis
likes to sing about young actresses, Toy Story 2, and whatever
else strikes his fancy. Of British and Armenian descent, Jarvis has
written 250 songs, produced 100 recordings, and directed 40
short films. I could do without a few of his more adolescent lyrics,
but can forgive most anyone who adds stand-up bass to the mix.
Recommended to fans of MC 900 Foot Jesus and the Streets.



Joel Plaskett, Three, MapleMusic Recordings [4/21/09]

It's a long, long way to Winnipeg.
-- Joel Plaskett, "Wishful Thinking"

For the most part, Halifax native Joel Plaskett, who was 33-1/3
years old when he recorded Three, has his own sound, but at
times he brings Steve Earle, the Band, and a few other insurgent
country acts to mind (to swipe a term from Bloodshot Records).
So it comes as little surprise that he laid down the tracks on this
set in the US and Canada, specifically Ontario, Nova Scotia, Tex-
as, and Tennessee with Doug Easley (Tav Falco's Panther Burns).

As a singer, Plaskett isn't as distinctive as Earle or Levon Helm, but his voice is easy on the ears; comfortable and conversational, like a friend sharing stories rather than a troubadour trying to impress (to that list, the AMG adds Gram Parsons and Jeff Buckley).

Similarly, Plaskett's sixth CD, with or without the Emergency,
is an easygoing listen with electric and acoustic guitars, penny whistles, and fiddles, lending the proceedings a Celtic vibe. There
are no duds, but three discs is still a bit much. I never got bored
or irritated, but my mind wandered at times, which isn't a bad
thing, just a sign that a shorter set might've been sufficient.

Click here for my review of Ashtray Rock



Endnote: For more information about Gogol Bordello, please click here or here; for Cosmo Jarvis, here or here; and for Joel Plaskett, here or here. Photos from New York (Getty Images), Pat Angello Fan Club Music Blog, and Driven (Ingram Barss).

Read more »

I've Got Dreams to Remember

Otis Redding, The
Best: See & Hear,
Shout Factory!

I can't do what 10 people
tell me to do, so I guess
I'll remain the same.
-- Otis Redding, "(Sittin'
on) the Dock of the Bay"


Any music collection without an Otis Redding record, let alone
a Redding song on a compilation or soundtrack, is woefully incom-
plete. Granted, not everyone is into R&B, but some artists, like
Elvis or the Beatles, transcend genre conventions, and I see no
reason why rock and pop fans who don't normally listen to soul
wouldn't appreciate Otis, particularly his brass-blasted cover of
Jagger and Richards' "Satisfaction," which doesn't hit the sweet
spot quite like Stevie Wonder's version of Lennon and McCart-
ney's "We Can Work Out," but offers its own unique pleasures.

As Richie Unterberger points out, in his All Music Guide biography, the 'Stones, in turn, would cover Redding's
"That's How Strong My Love Is" and "Pain in My Heart."


There isn't a soul aficionado alive who isn't familiar with Redding,
so there's no point in preaching to the choir. Granted, some pur-
ists believe that crossover automatically equals sellout, but that's only fair when an artist compromises their integrity to reach a wider audience, and I'm not aware that Redding ever acted against his artistic impulses to attract white listeners. The proof lies in the fact that old fans didn't abandon him when he appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival or when Top 40 embraced "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay," the chart-topper released in the wake of the plane crash that took his life. A great song is a great song.

The Best: See & Hear operates
as a Redding Starter Kit with a 12-
track CD and a 12-track DVD. The
former includes the expected sing-
les, including Lowell Fulson's
"Tramp" with Carla Thomas, while
the latter captures Redding in 1967,
at Monterey and as part of a Euro-
pean Stax/Volt tour with Booker T.
and the MG's and Sam & Dave, who
perform some of their own sides.

I've been listening to the CD non-stop since I received it a few
weeks ago, and although it's tempting to proclaim Redding the
greatest soul singer of all time, I can't do that in good conscience,
not when I feel similarly about Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye. All
three died way too young, and under the most tragic of circum-
stances, but when I listen to Redding at his best, I find it easy to
forget all that: his warm and wonderful voice will live forever.

Click here for reviews of Cosmo Jarvis - S/T and Joel Plaskett - Three.



Endnote: Snaps from the AMG and Google Images.

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