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Music: Current count 25120 [25116] rated (+4), 462 [439] unrated (+23).
Got back from my west coast drive just before midnight Saturday. In retrospect I should have packed a boombox. I did bring along 200 old CDs which we played in the car, but most of most days went music-less. I did make a token effort to stream the new Miguel on Rhapsody, but couldn't tell much (other than that I didn't get into it -- saw him do an amusing skit on Jimmy Kimmel). So the "newly rated" above and below was just what I picked up Saturday (and early today, relatively speaking). Surprised I found an A-list item in that short time.
I did manage to get the mail unpacked, below. Even after rechecking everything, there is a minor discrepancy in the numbers: rated count is only +4 but I listed 5 newly rated records below; unrated count is +23, which matches 28 newly catalogued items minus 5 newly rated. It's hard to keep all of my interlocking lists in sync.
One thing I wanted to do during the trip was to rethink what I should be doing. It helped to talk through my various book proposals, particularly with my sister, and they all seem to make sense. Harder to tell about my music website RFC: thus far, I've received no serious comments and very little interest, despite the usual boost such project ideas get when Robert Christgau's consumer guide loses its patron (see Expert Witness at Cuepoint/Medium.
Recommended music links:
Chris Monsen: Fave Jazz of 2015, Jan. through June: 30 items. My breakdown: 7 A- (Chris Lightcap, Henry Threadgill, Mikko Innanen, Gard Nilssen, Tomas Fujiwara, Rich Halley, Rempis Percussion Quartet); 9 *** (Kirk Knuffke, Gebhard Ulmann, Mario Pavone, Ben Goldberg, Myra Melford, Jon Lundbom, Makaya McCraven, Steve Coleman, Vijay Iyer); 2 ** (Billy Mintz, Wooley/Rempis/Niggenkemper/Corsano); 1 * (Mahanthappa); 1 B (Charles Evans); 1 U (Devin Gray); 9 not received (Max Johnson, Detail, Team Hegdal, Jack DeJohnette, ObLik, Jeremy Pelt, Ran Blake, James Brandon Lewis, Skydive Trio).
Alfred Soto: Best of 2015: first half report: a list of 21 pop albums. My breakdown: 5 A- (Kendrick Lamar, Mountain Goats, Heems, Courtney Barnett, Bassekou Koyuaté); 1 *** (Jazmine Sullivan); 2 ** (Young Thug, Mavericks); 3 * (Earl Sweatshirt, Jason Derulo, Dead Sara); 2 B (Dawn Richard, Dwight Yoakam); 8 unheard (Speedy Ortiz, Florence, ASAP Rocky, Brandon Flowers, Miguel, Vince Staples, Ashley Monroe, Donnie Trumpet).
I also have a similar pop list from Dan Weiss (scraped from Facebook, don't know how to link to it), but longer (37): My breakdown: 7 A- (Kenrick Lamar, Heems, Mountain Goats, James McMurtry, Courtney Barnett, Shamir, Bassekou Kouyaté); 7 *** (Paranoid Style, Action Bronson, Rae Sremmurd, Jamie XX, Jack Ü, Young Guv, Ciara); 5 ** (Young Fathers, Waxahatchee, PC Music 1, Young Thug, I Love Makonnen); 4 * (Jason Derulo, Sleater-Kinney, Best Coast, Lupe Fiasco); 2 B (Dawn, Colleen Green); 11 unheard (Miguel, Desaparecidos, Vince Staples, DJ Rashad, Kacey Musgraves, Beach House, Titus Andronicus, Bully, Bilal, Fifth Harmony, Metz).
Normally, the unheard items on lists by these particular critics would be priorities for my own listening. Indeed, many of the unheard items on the Soto and Weiss lists are June-July releases. Unfortunately, the machine I use for streaming has been flaky today and just crashed (for the second time). Could be a major setback for me.
Mid-year best-of lists are becoming increasingly common. I checked out one from Rolling Stone, and found pretty much what I expected: more not-so-good records, and more stuff I didn't know about or hadn't bothered with. The breakdown: 4 A- (Kendrick Lamar, Courtney Barnett, D'Angelo [they're a bit slow], Mbongwana Star); 7 *** (Madonna, Jack Ü, Jamie XX, Rae Sremmurd, Sufjan Stevens, Joey Badass, Jazmine Sullivan); 4 ** (Pops Staples, Blur, Kamasi Washington, Rhiannon Giddens); 4 * (Sleater-Kinney, Alabama Shakes, Earl Sweatshirt, Death Grips); 2 B (Drake, Father John Misty); 1 C (Bob Dylan); 22 unheard (Björk, Mark Ronson, Mumford & Sons, Kacey Musgraves, Florence, Muse, Kid Rock, Marilyn Manson, Leonard Cohen, Faith No More, Zac Brown, Sonics, Chris Stapleton, Future Brown, Fifth Harmony, Refused, Metz, Leon Bridges, Steven Wilson, Bosse-de-Nege, Downtown Boys, Hop Along).
New records rated this week:
Unpacking: Found in the mail when I got back: