Recent Reading

Music Database

Artist Search:

Browse

Website Search

Google:

Blog Entries [350 - 359]

Saturday, February 26, 2022

[PS: Added some further thoughts on sanctions to the Bennis comment.]

A couple days ago I thought I had figured a way out of the Ukraine crisis that should satisfy all but a handful of inveterate hawks and neo-nazis. The solution was so obvious I was wondering how I could get a prestige op-ed slot to change the course of history. Of course, it's practically impossible for someone with no credentials and barely 500 Twitter followers to get an airing. But without the benefit of my idea, history shifted the opposite direction, as Russia attacked Ukraine, transforming a threat of war into a cold fact. Or did it? All sides are so preoccupied with propagating their political stances that it's hard to find credible reports of what's actually happening. Nonetheless, while even limited war leaves wounds that are more anguishing and scars that linger longer than mere threats, short of total annihilation the only way this ends is in some sort of agreement. And while war may alter "facts on the ground," the only possible viable solutions are ones that are rooted in justice, and that hasn't changed.

For what it's worth, I didn't see Putin's recognition of the breakaway Ukraine oblasts of Donetsk and Lughansk as much of a problem. All that move did was signal that revival of the 2015 Minsk II Agreement, which neither side had implemented to the other's satisfaction, was not going to work. The idea behind Minsk was troublesome in the first place: the Donbas would in theory remain part of Ukraine but "autonomous," giving Russia a potentially subversive base inside Ukraine. A much simpler and cleaner solution would be to cut Donbas and Crimea free of Ukraine, and accept their annexation by Russia. That would leave Ukraine free both of Russian claims and of a substantial Russophile political base, allowing the rest of the country to align itself with Europe -- presumably what the rest of the country wants.

Of course, one shouldn't simply hand over territory because an aggressive neighboring regime demands it. That would justify charges of appeasement, and encourage further encroachments. However, the principle should be respect for self-determination: the people in a contested area should have the right to decide which nation to align with, or independence, by a fair and internationally supervised election. Moreover, people on the losing side of any such ballot should be able to move, on relatively favorable terms. Such disputes happen often enough that this mechanism should be established as a basic principle of international law, where nations which respect these procedures are recognized as law-abiding, and those who do not should be subject to sanctions.

Russia's motivation for acceding to such procedures would include the expectation that US-imposed sanctions would be lifted. It seems very likely that such a vote in Crimea and Donbass would favor annexation by Russia, while similar votes in other parts of Ukraine would not. It should be hard for anyone to argue against such an expression of popular will. Beyond that, the US, Russia, NATO, and Ukraine need to meet and work toward reducing threats, including nuclear and cyber. The US, as by far the world's most exorbitantly armed nation, has a lot to offer in terms of threat reduction, and all people and nations would benefit from such diplomacy. Of course, such talks should extend to other sectors, including US-China, India-Pakistan, Israel-Iran, Korea, etc., but substantial progress can be made in regional agreements. One can, for example, imagine NATO freezing its membership, unwinding deployments, and reducing exercises in tandem with Russia reducing its threats.

The principle of self-determination can be applied elsewhere: Georgia also has Russian-backed breakaway provinces; the former Yugoslavia still has issues over Kosovo and the Bosnian Serb enclave; Northern Ireland might wish to join Ireland to undo the effects of Brexit. The most dangerous territorial dispute is probably China's claim to Taiwan. This would give China a non-violent way of pursuing reunification, encouraging it to make itself more appealing, rather than more threatening.

Admittedly, all along I assumed that Putin was a rational leader pursuing limited goals in the face of increasingly virulent hostility from the US, whose foreign policy is largely driven by a huge arms industry and monstrous ideological conceits -- most conspicuously a desire to indulge Israel's settler-colonial project, with its roots resonating with America's own 19th century project. While I still reject blanket statements that Putin is evil, that he's engaged in a crusade to destroy democracy, and that he has designs on restoring and extending Russia's empire of yore, I must admit that he has some glaring flaws and blind spots, which have led him to overestimate the value of force and fail to appreciate how badly his use of force makes him look.

I've been critical of the Biden administration in the run up here: their unwillingness to consider limiting NATO and pressing Ukraine on Minsk II implementation, their use of scare tactics to rally public opinion (in Ukraine, Europe, and US), especially their "intelligence" leaks predicting imminent invasion that sounded more like taunts, their use of character assassination making eventual settlement even harder to achieve. Smart negotiators leave one with an honorable exit path, but they've boxed Putin into a corner where he had no choice but to strike back or admit defeat, so they've effectively provoked his bad behavior. On the other hand, the fault is ultimately his, and I suspect it will eventually topple him from power. I don't see that as a plus -- "the devil you know" and all that -- but I also don't see it as tragic either. Putin has done terrible things as leader of Russia, which is a big part of why he's gotten into this mess. The real question is whether the US can come out of this with a generous, constructive approach to world order -- something far removed from the arrogance that developed after the Cold War, that drove us into the manifest failures of the Global War on Terror. Looking around Washington it's hard to identify anyone with the good sense to change direction.

[Note that the area held by separatists is only about half of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, although it does contain the main cities. Delineating areas for such elections is bound to remain controversial.]

The following are some Ukraine links (note dates, as events move fast and people have a hard time separating fact from fiction from pure fantasy).

[2/14] David K Shipler: How America's Broken Promises May Lead to a New Cold War: What's with the future tense? It now appears that the US never stopped its scheming around the old Cold War: it only briefly shifted tactics to appear less threatening around 1990 when Gorbachev was desperately trying to reform the Soviet Union. The US didn't orchestrate everything that followed, but did repeatedly take advantage of disconnects and mishaps to isolate and impoverish Russia, not least by promoting anti-Russian sentiment in territories that been subservient and still had reason to be friendly. Expansion of NATO was a big part of the schema, not because NATO wanted to take advantage and finish Russia off but because NATO needed an enemy to justify itself (and all those purchases of American arms), and Russia was the easiest enemy to paint. It helps here to realize that NATO is basically a scheme for the US to assume control of Europe's armies (somewhat less than formally). The only way Russia can escape the NATO vise would be to give up its army, which means its independence -- a humiliation no Russian leader could survive. On [2/25], Shipler followed up with: A Russian Tragedy, noting that "Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine is also an assault on his own people." Shipler notes how a "sense of persecution echoes into Putin's current remarks." It may be impossible to imagine the world as seen through someone else's eyes, but it might help to try.

[2/15] Masha Gessen: How the Kosovo Air War Foreshadowed the Crisis in Ukraine: Sees 1999 as a turning point in post-Cold War US-Russia relations, one still remembered in Moscow as an affront, as well as a model for how one nation (or coalition, as the bombing was nominally the work of NATO) can terrorize another into submission. As the war started in earnest, Gessen followed up with: The Crushing Loss of Hope in Ukraine [2/23], and also: Russia's Last Independent TV Channel Covers the Invasion of Ukraine.

[2/21] David Remnick: Putin's Preparations for Ukraine: "The autocrat has been trying for decades to end what he sees as a prolonged period of Russian humiliation." Follows up Gessen's note on Belgrade, 1999, with a broader historical accounting. Putin's original motive may indeed have been the humiliation Russia faced following the breakup of the Soviet Union, but note how US politicians and media have striven to humiliate Putin personally, under Obama since 2009, and both for and against Trump since 2016. On [2/26] Remnick also published the more polemical Putin's Bloody Folly in Ukraine.

[2/21] Nonzero Newsletter: Why Biden didn't negotiate seriously with Putin. This is a good idea for an article, and his two major points are reasonable, but I think he messes up on some details. First is the Munich "appeasement" charge. It's been used hundreds of times since 1938 to derail negotiations, without examining what actually happened then and why, let alone what else could have been done about it. The author offers two differences between 1938 and now, which may be true but aren't the ones that matter (that Hitler was crazy but Putin is not, and that Hitler's demand was territorial, but Putin was more concerned with Ukraine's possible NATO membership). The more important difference is that in 1938 the world was dominated by global empires (which the UK, France, and effectively the US, had, with Japan gaining ground, and Germany shut out), whereas today such empires are politically and economically untenable. The consequence of that was that Hitler didn't just want the Sudetenland, he wanted a whole domino chain of additional territories. Sure, maybe Putin wants more than just the Donbas, but his appetite is necessarily limited in ways that Hitler's wasn't. Just because "appeasing" Hitler didn't work doesn't mean that a similar concession to Putin would only make him more voracious. It might not only have avoided this week's war, it would have given the world time to work on reducing the humiliation Russia has been subjected to since the end of the Soviet Union (a defeat in some minds as serious as Germany's war-and-empire loss). The counterfactual also fails: had Chamberlain held firm, would Hitler not have invaded Czechoslovakia? Or Poland? Or Russia? The UK had no troops that could defend Eastern Europe from Hitler. All they could have done was threatened to declare war, which in fact Chamberlain did after Poland. The only effect that declaration had was to move France up Hitler's checklist, force the evacuation of British forces at Dunkirk, and open Britain up to bombing. Yet, somehow the myth of Munich persists: that all it takes to stop an aggressor is a resolute show of strength. Thus the US showed its mettle by refusing to concede anything in negotiations, daring Putin to put his own strength on display. The second reason for not negotiating seriously is the "Putin can't be reasoned with" meme. Some people have psychological theories to support this, while others just rely on facile analogies (like Putin = Hitler, or Putin = Evil). But more likely is the arrogant notion that the US holds all the trump cards, so the only thing Russia can do is back down. After all, they've backed down at each NATO expansion. They've demurred at not implementing the Minsk II agreement. They've watched as the US has wooed Zelensky into becoming a puppet. And if ever they do object, just slap more sanctions on them, and they'll come begging for mercy. Diplomacy may be a lost art, but who needs it when you can get away with extortionate demands? Besides, isn't it comforting to know that when appeasement or its opposite doesn't work, it will be someone else suffering the costs?

[2/22] Patrick Cockburn: Russia-Ukraine is an Information War, So Government Intelligence Needs More Scrutiny Than Ever: More lessons from Iraq than current reporting on Ukraine, but lessons are advised -- and the full extent of deceits from all sides over Ukraine will take some time to work out. Another lesson from Iraq: Putin's Advance Into Ukraine Compares with Saddam Hussein's Invasion of Kuwait . . . a Disaster for Russia. This is a point I sympathize with, but needs to be taken with a couple caveats. First, Saddam was able to put down both popular uprisings and internal division to keep control over Iraq, and there is no reason to think that Putin is less skilled or ruthless in his exercise of power. Second, Saddam ultimately succumbed to a much greater foreign threat, but not even the US is at all ready to invade and occupy (or just blow to kingdom come) Russia. One more Cockburn piece: Russophobia Leads Us to Assume the Worst of Russians -- and Assuming They're Demonic Could be Dangerous.

[2/22] John Judis: A Dissenting View on US Policy toward Russia: He was right to worry that Ukraine "could signal the beginning of a Cold War II," but it would be more accurate to say that Cold War II brought us to the war in Ukraine, a pretty vivid reminder of why such Cold Wars should be avoided as assiduously as hot wars. Even during Cold War I, the Soviet Union sent troops into Hungary and Czechoslovakia to quash rebellion and shore up their control over their frontier provinces. What's different here is that it took Putin eight years to conclude that he had to act, making the final decision more unexpected. But after decades of painting him as an unreformed KGB agent, as a ruthless political dictator who kills his opponents, is it really so surprising that he would rise to the part?

[2/23] Ken Klippenstein: Saudi-Russia Collusion is driving up gas prices -- and worsening Ukraine crisis. Russia and Saudi Arabia are two of the world's three largest oil and gas producers, and unlike the US (the other one), their finances are strictly dependent on keeping prices high. So while the US has been cranking up anti-Russian propaganda, Russia has been ingratiating itself to the oil barons of the Persian Gulf. While Europe as fallen in line behind the US on Ukraine, support has been less forthcoming from supposed allies in the Middle East: see, [2/25] Matthew Petti: US-backed Middle East states cozy up to Russia during Ukraine invasion. Nor is it just the Saudis looking for a windfall. See Kate Aronoff: Vultures Are Circling the Ukraine Crisis.

[2/23] Eric Levitz: Which Russia-Ukraine Take Is Right for You?:] Useful primariy as a compendium of many of the dumb things people are saying as they try to fit events into their preconceived agendas. Note that none of these positions match mine, although I'm not so far from the "anti-war realist" position represented by Anatol Lieven (see articles below). He also refers to what he calls a "far left yet objectively pro-imperial oligarchy" position, and links to a 2014 piece on something called World Socialist Web Site which, well, I don't know who the hell they are, but it should be possible to be very critical of US/NATO foreign policy without supporting or defending Russia. For example, see [2/25] David Broder: Stop Pretending the Left Is on Putin's Side. Also [2/23] Branko Mercetic: With Putin's Ukraine Incursion, Hawks in Washington Got Exactly What They Wanted. Levitz has more on Trumpy-Right posturing, but also see Alex Shephard: Trump and His Putin Apologists Blame "Woke" Democrats for Invasion of Ukraine.

It wouldn't actually be hard for the right to construct a critique of how Biden's handling of Ukraine and Russia has cornered Russia into lashing out irrationally -- especially to link the conflict back to Obama's (and Hillary Clinton's) pivot against Russia, especially to the Democrats' anti-Russia scapegoating for the 2016 election and their subsequent impeachment of Trump. They could even try to argue that Trump tried to restore an element of respect and balance to the relationship, but that he was heckled at every turn by warmongering Democrats and their media allies. But that would require a modicum of critical thought, but their brain rot (and their reflexive demonology) prevents them from even approximating coherence.

[2/24] Zack Beauchamp: Putin's "Nazi" rhetoric reveals his terrifying war aims in Ukraine: As you know, Nazis are pure evil, so we can't have any of that. -- even though of late the term gets bandied about so often, over such trivial concerns as mask mandates, that it's on the verge of losing all meaning. But students of Ukraine recall that there were once real Nazis there -- at least, Ukrainian who hated Russians (and Jews) enough to collaborate with German invaders. One can't say how many Ukrainian nationalists are neo-Nazis these days, but it's an easy charge to hurl, and one invading Russians are likely to apply indiscriminately. Worse, it implies that they have designs not just on the rulers of Ukraine but on the people. Beauchamp also wrote [2/25]: Why the US won't send troops to Ukraine. Something about nuclear weapons, but one could also argue that US troops are incapable of not making any situation worse, even without resorting to WMD.

[2/24] Jen Kirby/Jonathan Guyer: Putin's invasion of Ukraine, explained. Not every point I would make, but a good general backgrounder, noting the confusion sowed by breakup of the Soviet Union, the renascent Cold War driven largely by the expansion of NATO, and the eight years of tensions following the anti-Russian coup in Ukraine and the subsequent pro-Russian revolt. Kirby also wrote [2/25]: US sanctions will squeeze Russia -- but they're unlikely to stop war in Ukraine. As many people have pointed out, Russia has considerable experience with US sanctions by now, and the new sanctions have been widely broadcast as threats, so they've had time to prepare and plan. Also, while sanctions have a "trickle down" effect hurting everyday lives, states that have largely insulated themselves from democratic control just tend to hunker down and redouble their convictions. In the great wave of anti-communist reform from 1989-91, the only regimes that didn't fall were the ones the the US had fought hot wars with and/or subjected to crippling sanctions and blockades -- something also true of non-communist states that had run afoul of US grudges, like Iraq and Iran. On the other hand, the mere threat of sanctions can unnerve countries with a large, globally-connected private sector, such as Apartheid South Africa. That's also why Israel is so agitated over the BDS movement, even though it has virtually no state support in the US and Europe, and even though it's a much more civil way to oppose the injustices of Israel's Apartheid regime than any others.

Sanctions against Russia right now are certainly preferable to more military options, but the US has a bad track record of understanding both what they are useful for and what their limitations are. One can only hope to achieve limited reforms -- which certainly do not include regime change -- with them, and they only have a chance of working if they can be repealed and lifted. But Americans tend to view them more as a way of expressing disapproval without risking military reprisal, and as such as a safe form of aggression (hence the threat rhetoric well in advance of Russia's "special operations"). And since disapproval is usually located in leaders (like Putin) and political systems, it's hard for Americans to rewind them. Hence they remain irritants, leading to future hostilities.

[2/24] Robin Wright: Putin's Historic Miscalculation May Make Him a War Criminal: Sure, as far as I'm concerned it does. I'd say pretty much every time any national leader starts shooting or bombing across borders they're committing war crimes or some sort. However, wouldn't that also apply to Saudi Arabia (bombing Yemen), the US (Somalia), and Israel (Syria), just to pick examples from the last few days I saw in a meme? But in the real world, nobody gets prosecuted for war crimes, unless they've been totally defeated, in which case the trials are regarded as mere "victor's justice." Even then, it's often more constructive to have some kind of "truth and reconciliation process" than something that simply looks like revenge. And in the case of Putin, it's possible that his own people might sack him, but until then the only way to bring this war to a close is to negotiate with him, and that is hardly helped by calling him names. This article has a bunch of examples, including the inevitable "others compared him to Hitler" -- lead example there is professional anti-Russia agitator Michael McFaul -- and an even more fanciful comparison to Stalin and Mao ("ruthless megalomaniac with a giant imperialist agenda" -- that from Nina Krushcheva, who really should know better).

[2/25] Anatol Lieven: Ukraine: What Russia wants, what the West can do: "For those who understand Moscow's establishment and view of their country's vital interests, none of this should be a surprise." Lieven has written numerous pieces on Russian/Ukraine over the last weeks and months: you can reach many of them through this link (and the "Load More" buttons). As he points out, Putin's appetite only grows with apparent victories on the ground, but prospects for occupying Ukraine beyond the Russian-speaking regions are fraught with danger, and there is little way to maintain a pliant government without enforcing troops. Hence, Ukraine is a trap for Russia, much like Afghanistan and Iraq were traps for the US, so the only way to secure gains is to negotiate for them. I've linked to this before, but Lieven's long paper from Jan. 4 remains immensely useful: Ending the Threat of War in Ukraine: A Negotiated Solution to the Donbass Conflict and the Crimean Dispute. Also see American Prospect's interview with Lieven: Worse Than a Crime; It's a Blunder.

[2/25] Phyllis Bennis: Respond to Putin's Illegal Invasion of Ukraine with Diplomacy, Not War. And remember that sanctions may be war by other means, but are acts of war nonetheless. Still, this is one instance where I don't mind them, and am even a bit hopeful that they might work. They give the US and other concerned nations a means of responding without adding to the conflagration, making matters even worse. I'm also curious to see effective they might be, given the extraordinary globalization of finance in the world. It may even be the case that Russia is especially vulnerable to sanctions on individual oligarchs, precisely because they've exported so much of their wealth. Also note [2/25] Marcus Stanley: Why sanctions on Russia are necessary.

[2/25] Ilya Matveev: The Putin Regime Is Straining Under Its Own Contradictions: Interview by Rafael Khachaturian with the editor of Openleft.ru. Not much on the war per sé, but quite a bit on the economic stagnation that has afflicted Russia since 2010 (after a decade of strong growth under Putin, following the disastrous Yeltsin 1990s). Matveev and Ilya Budraitskis also wrote: Ordinary Russians Don't Want This War.

[2/25] Jeffrey St. Clair: Roaming Charges: Insane in the Ukraine. Usual batch of scattered bullet points, many worth reading, as well as unrelenting scorn for American hypocrisy over other nations bombing and pillaging. He also cautions against reading too much into Putin's vow to "de-Nazify" Ukraine ("after all, he hasn't done much to de-Nazify Russia").

[2/26] Jason Horowitz: Putin's Aggression Leaves His Right-Wing Fan Club Squirming: A quick survey of world luminaries on the far right, folk like Nigel Farage, Marine Le Pen, Jair Bolsonaro, and Silvio Berlusconi, although Donald Trump only appears in a picture with Putin. Reminds you that despite the infantile red-baiting Americans habitually lapse into, Putin's international appeal has always been on the right, both for his "strong man" persona and for his knee-jerk conservatism. Also that when push comes to shove, nationalists tend to drift apart, as they discover that being from different nations matters. This is, by the way, one place where comparisons to Hitler are apt. People forget how widely the right admired Hitler in the first years after seizing power, before he launched the genocidal wars that he's now remembered for.

The New York Times has a piece Maps: Tracking the Russian Invasion of Ukraine. As of 11:55 pm ET, 2/26, Russian forces are shows as pushing close to Kyiv and Kharkiv and not quite in either. Unclear whether this is due to restraint or resistance. Russia appears to have moved faster in their breakout from Crimea, but the largest city they appeared to have captured is Kherson, an Oblast capital with less than 300,000 people. (At least that's the only one I recognized. Melitopol has a population of about 150,000.) There doesn't appear to have been any advance from the breakaway areas of Luhansk and Donetsk, although Russian troops have entered north of Luhansk.

I don't have much to report on antiwar protests within Russia, but there is a Wikipedia page on the subject, with extensive footnotes, and a box there with links to other pages on the conflict and war.

Normally, I'd follow this up with scattered links of interest, but the above has taken quite enough of my time, and the other stories can wait. Needless to say, events here are changing very rapidly. For instance, initial sanctions did not include barring Russia from the SWIFT financial system, but there are now reports of this happening.

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

February archive (in progress).

Tweet: Music Week: 53 albums, 8 A-list,

Music: Current count 37375 [37322] rated (+53), 139 [141] unrated (-2).

Music Week delayed a day this week, as I spent much of Sunday and Monday cooking birthday dinner for my wife (Laura) and nephew (Ram). I thought I had some scallops in the freezer, and I've been wanting to make coquille saint-jacques, so crafted a French-ish menu around that. I also noticed a brandade recipe, and had some salt cod in the refrigerator, and just enough lead time to soak it. I also had some chicken liver I needed to use, so decided I'd start the meal with spreads on crostini: the brandade (salt cod and potatoes), chopped liver, sardine rillettes, and eggplant-olive tapenade. For sides, I thought I'd go with simple for brightly-colored dishes: glazed carrots, baby spinach sauteed in butter, slow roasted cherry tomatoes, and mashed celery root. Plate looks like this. For dessert, a very intense flourless chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. Each dish was exquisite in its own way.

I didn't have much time (or, frankly, desire) to follow political matters last week, so missed Putin's speech where he announced Russian recognition of independent republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. But as I understand it, this still doesn't come close to the threat of invasion the Biden administration has been breathlessly hyping. Anatol Lieven reports: Putin's move on Donetsk, Lugansk is illegal but falls short of new 'invasion'. Given many precedents I can think of, I'm not sure that complaints about illegality are meaningful or helpful. This did lead me to a useful historical paper Lieven dated Jan. 4, 2022: Ending the Threat of War in Ukraine: A Negotiated Solution to the Donbass Conflict and the Crimean Dispute. I have two further comments on this: 1) I would personally be happy to resolve Donbass and Crimea by allowing either or both to be annexed by Russia, subject to a fair election (based on current population, which most probably tilts pro-Russian). 2) I regard Biden's aggressive and self-righteous rhetoric as reckless and dangerous, but I will allow that it may have made it harder for Russia to invade or to pressure Ukraine (while scaring the hell out of Ukrainians, in the hope of bullying them into being more pro-west and anti-Russian); one problem is that it risks exposing US "intelligence" as totally dishonest and incompetent; another is that it leaves Putin very few options to step back without being humiliated.

One political thing I'm more inclined to write about later this week is the manifesto Sen. Rick Scott is circulating about what to expect if Republicans win Congress in 2022. For a rundown, see If McConnell Disapproved of Rick Scott's Neo-Bircher Agenda, It Would Never Have Been Released. Consider how disconnected from reality one has to be to write something like this:

The militant left now controls the entire federal government, the news media, academia, Hollywood, and most corporate boardrooms -- but they want more. They are redefining America and silencing their opponents.

I've considered myself a (not-very-militant) member of the left since about 1967, when I found a book called The New Radicals (edited by Paul Jacobs and Saul Landau), and with it a label and context for much of what I believed. And for my whole life since then, I've never had reason to think that my fellow leftists had any power whatsoever in any of the forums Scott lists. Never once. Nor is redefining and silencing our style. The only way Scott's sentence makes any sense is if you read it as a complaint that the views of Scott and his cohort have become so completely unhinged that they've lost so much support in the halls of power that they now fear persecution. probably because in their bones they know that if they had that same power, that's what they would be doing.

The document continues with a list of things that the left wants "to change or destroy," so it would be easy (and possibly clarifying, or maybe just funny) to write up a point-by-point rebuttal. Of course, it would be a pointless exercise if Scott were really as marginal a figure as his rants suggest, but he is a US Senator from the 3rd most populous state in the US, and chairman of the US Senate Republican Campaign Committee, so it seems he should be taken seriously.

Despite losing a day from my usual week, we have a substantial list of records below, again mostly 2021 releases, many of which showed up on lately perused EOY lists. The blues albums came from AMG's genre lists (I previously had about half of them). I made a special search for hip-hop lists, which pushed Tyler the Creator into 3rd, displacing Olivia Rodrigo, and bumped Lil Nas X to 15th. I was surprised to find a lot of those lists touting Kanye West (up to 48) and Drake (up to 119) -- respectively, C+ and B for me. A set of lists at Wicked Sound helped, although none were labeled hip-hop or rap (closest was "beats").

The A- item in the "Old Music" section was offered up as a download by a reader, as a tangent to another discussion. Takes me back to my childhood, although it's actually better than I remembered. I guess that's one way to get me to write about something hard to find. (I'm still mostly using Napster, but also finding some things on Spotify that I can't find on Napster -- just not much.)

New records reviewed this week:

42 Dugg: Free Dem Boyz (2021, 4PF/CMG): Detroit rapper Dion Marquise Hayes, fourth mixtape. Like his voice, and the beats got some bounce. B+(*)

The Allergies: Promised Land (2021, Jalapeno): British electronic/remixing duo (DJ Moneyshot, Rackabeat) from Bristol, fifth album since 2016, by this evidence hip-hop, more vintage/funk than UK norms. Guest spots for rappers include Dynamite MC, Andy Cooper, Marietta Smith, and Lyrics Born. B+(***)

Wayne Alpern: Secular Rituals (2022, Henri Elkan): Composer, originally from Detroit, based in New York, "his musical scholarship and theoretical expertise focuses on Schenkerian analysis and 20th-century music." Music here is "digitally created," patterns somewhere between minimalism, new age, and Krautrock. B+(**) [cd]

Aminé: TwoPointFive (2021, Republic/CLBN): Rapper Adam Aminé Daniel, from Portland, parents from Ethiopia, several albums since 2017, title here reflects on OnePointFive (2018). Short album (12 tracks, 27:20), nice and tight. B+(***)

Pat Bianchi: Something to Say: The Music of Stevie Wonder (2021, Savant): Organ player, albums since 2006, leads a quartet with Paul Bollenback (guitar), Byron Landham (drums), and (sometimes) tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery. You'd think Wonder's songs would work out better, but they rarely do. B

Selwyn Birchwood: Living in a Burning House (2021, Alligator): Blues singer-songwriter, from Tampa, plays guitar and lap steel, fifth album (third on Alligator). B+(*)

Pi'erre Bourne: The Life of Pi'erre 5 (2021, SossHouse/Interscope): Rapper Jordan Jenks, born in Kansas but grew up in South Carolina, second studio album after a pile of mixtapes (including the first three in the Life of Pi'erre series). B+(***)

Leon Bridges: Gold-Diggers Sound (2021, Columbia): Retro-soul singer, third album since 2015. B+(*)

The Buttshakers: Arcadia (2021, Underdog): French retro soul group, led by American singer Ciara Thompson, fifth album since 2010, extra gritty. B+(**) [bc]

Daniel Carter/Avi Granite: Together Song: The Improvisations of Daniel Carter and Avi Granite Vol. 1 (2018 [2021], Pet Mantis): Duets, three improv pieces (35:59), Granite plays guitar, Carter various wind instruments (flute, clarinet, tenor/soprano sax, trumpet). B+(*)

Curly Castro: Little Robert Hutton (2021, Backwoodz Studioz): Philadelphia rapper, several albums since 2013, part of groups ShrapKnel and Wrecking Crew, tapped for featuring spots here. Looks back to the Black Panthers, and finds a long tradition of radicalism. B+(***)

Steve Cropper: Fire It Up (2021, Provogue): Famous r&b guitarist, backed Stax stars from the late 1960s, playing in their "house band," famous in their own right as Booker T. & the M.G.'s. His career as a leader has been spotty, although his 2011 Dedicated: A Salute to the 5 Royales is a high point. Solid original blues set here, where he shares most writing credits with Jon Tiven (bass/sax/keyboards) and Roger C. Reale (vocals). B+(**) [sp]

Damu the Fudgemunk: Conversation Peace (2021, Def Pressé): DC rapper Earl Davis, better known as a hip-hop producer, Discogs credits him with 23 albums since 2008, including one from 2020 that featured Archie Shepp. This is the first volume in the label's KPM Crate Diggers series, where various hip-hop producers are invited to rumage through the KPM Music library. Good choice, spinning the beats into a perfectly inconspicuous flow, adding thoughtful raps from Raw Poetic, Insight, Nitty Scott, Blu, and Damu himself. A-

Richard Dawson & Circle: Henki (2021, Weird World): English progressive/freak folk singer-songwriter, albums since 2005, plus long-running Finnish band Circle (for which Discogs lists 54 albums since 1992). I was more impressed before I realized the band they remind me of is Jethro Tull. B

Dijon: Absolutely (2021, R&R Digital/Warner): Singer-songwriter, last name Duenas, born in Germany, grew up in Maryland, first album after a couple EPs. Stressful. B

Drake: Certified Lover Boy (2021, OVO/Republic, 2CD): Canadian rapper Aubrey Graham, goes by his middle name, hit platinum with his debut and remains profitable, although seems like he gets little respect. Sure, this shows up in the middle-third of several hip-hop EOY lists, perhaps a nod to his sales, or to his liberal use of guests (12 of 21 songs here). Typical example: "Way 2 Sexy," built on the Right Said Fred sample handed over to Future and Young Thug. I like it, but it's not close to great. Same can be said often enough that one could imagine editing this down to a perfectly acceptable mid-B+ album. Still, one wonders what Drake's personal contribution is, other than signing the checks. B

Kahil El'Zabar Quartet: A Time for Healing (2021 [2022], Spiritmuse): "Chicago's legendary jazz shaman," a percussionist who sometimes sings too much, leads a group with Cory Wilkes (trumpet), Isaiah Collier (reeds), and Justin Dillard (keyboards), everyone also adding to the percussion. Some lovely music, but so subdued his "We'll Get Through This" doesn't come close to convincing me. B+(**) [bc]

EST Gee: Bigger Than Life or Death (2021, CMG/Warlike/Interscope): Rapper from Louisville, George Stone, has a couple mixtapes but this is his first big label shot. Whiff of gangsta, but steadying himself. B+(**)

Flying Lotus: Yasuke (2021, Warp): Steven Ellison, LA-based electronica producer, has had some crossover success, but this is soundtrack work, "music from the Netflix original anime series." Which means scattered, with dark and/or dramatic swells, not that the sounds aren't often remarkable. B+(**) [bc]

Sue Foley: Pinky's Blues (2021, Stony Plain): Blues singer-songwriter, originally from Canada, based in Austin when she released Young Girl Blues in 1992. Sixteenth album, leads with a pretty mean guitar instrumental, and keeps the heat up, especially on her "Hoochie Coochie Man" rewrite, "Hurricane Girl." Closes with another guitar romp: "When the Cat's Gone the Mice Play." A-

Four Tet: Parallel (2020, Text): Electronica producer Kieran Hebden, many albums since 1999, most under this name but he's also used his own name, particularly for collaborations with the late jazz drummer Steve Reid. Ten numbered pieces, one 26:46, two under 1 minute, adding up to something significant. B+(***)

GA-20: GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor: Try It . . . You Might Like It! (2021, Karma Chief/Alligator): Boston blues band, second album, guitarist Matthew Stubbs, singer-guitarist Pat Flaherty, and drummer Tim Carman, play 7 songs penned by Taylor plus 3 more. First impression is that they add not much. Second is that's fine. B+(**)

Micah Graves: Pawns (2021 [2022], self-released): Pianist from Philadelphia, also plays electric and synths, third album. Energetic fusion, not especially interesting, and the vocals don't help, but the saxophonists do: most likely Yesseh Furaha-Ali, or maybe Dick Oatts (the only name I recognize, but only one cut). B- [cd]

Curtis Harding: If Words Were Flowers (2021, Anti-): Soul singer-songwriter from Saginaw, Michigan, third album. B+(***)

H.E.R.: Back of My Mind (2021, RCA): Initial for Having Everything Revealed, real name Gabriella Wilson, first studio album after EPs and certified gold compilations of same. Major sprawl: 21 songs, 79:18. B+(**)

Heritage Orchestra/Jules Buckley/Ghost-Note: The Breaks (2021, Decca): British classical orchestra ("40 or so of the brightest and best young classical musicians in London"), with Buckley conducting, sometimes composing, and leading forays into "heavy jazz and funk." Ghost-Note is an American funk band, sharing several musicians with Snarky Puppy. Program includes pieces like "Get on the Good Foot" and "Dance to the Drummer's Beat," with various feature spots. The breaks themselves are sharp as ever, the orchestral background enthusiastic but a bit thick. B+(**) [sp]

Javon Jackson: The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni (2021 [2022], Solid Jackson): Tenor saxophonist, emerged in the 1990s, recording for mainstream Criss Cross, then Blue Note. The poet curated this collection of old gospel tunes, singing one, reading some poetry on another. B+(***)

Jazz Spastiks: Camera of Sound (2021, Jazz Plastic): Underground hip-hop beatmakers, based in Scotland, dozen-plus albums since 2010. Focus is on the beats and scratches, rather old school, but nearly half the pieces have guest rappers (most quite good, like Wee Bee Foolish), with skits sprinkled about like DJ Shadow fragments. Group name in appropriate on all counts. A- [bc]

Karkhana: Al Azraqayn (2021, Karlrecords): Jazz group with members from Beirut, Cairo, Istanbul, and Chicago (Michael Zerang), sixth album since 2015, includes some oud but more electric guitar and bass, with organ/synthesizer (Maurice Louca) signaling fusion which they then rip apart -- yes, they can break free and get noisy. Credits include Umut Caglar (reeds/flute) and Mazen Kerbaj (trumpet/electronics). A-

The Adam Larson Trio: With Love, From Chicago (2021 [2022], Outside In Music): Chicago tenor saxophonist, with bass (Clark Sommers) and drums (Dana Hall), with Sommers writing 4 songs, to 3 for Larson and 3 covers (including a Monk). B+(***) [cd]

Rick Margitza: Sacred Hearts (2021, Le Coq): Tenor saxophonist, a fairly major figure from his 1989 Blue Note debut to his last Palmetto album in 2001, rarely heard from after he moved to Paris in 2003. French group, with Manuel Rocheman (piano), guitar, bass, drums, percussion, some vocals and handclaps. Still has a lovely tone. B+(**)

Mas Aya: Mascaras (2021, Telephone Explosion): Solo project by Toronto percussionist-producer Brandon Miguel Valdivia, mostly electronics with vocal samples from Nicaragua, and one song written and sung by Lido Pimienta. B+(**)

Otis McDonald: Beats Vol. 3 (2021, Track Tribe): Name adopted, Elton John-style, from Shuggie Otis and Michael McDonald, which doesn't inspire me with confidence -- but neither does Joe Bagale. In 2015 he released 30 tracks copyright-free via YouTube, which have since been downloaded over 5 million times. Not sure if this is that or just more: his only album in Discogs is People Music from 2019, but he has more stuff on Spotify. Functional, and varied enough. B+(*)

Mathias Modica: Sonic Rohstoff (2021, Kryptox): German DJ/producer, seems to have a long list of groups and aliases (especially as Munk, from 2000-14). Plain keyb at first, changes gear around "Le Sud" with the entry of a saxophone and background vocals (but also a better beat). Too bad nothing else comes close. B+(*)

Gary Numan: The Intruder (2021, BMG): British synthpop pioneer, I remember his 1978-79 albums as a big deal, although I stopped paying attention after 1980's Telekon. But he kept releasing records, making this one his 21st. A bit overblown, but as catchy as ever. B+(**)

Joy Oladokun: In Defense of My Own Happiness (2021, Amigo/Verve Forecast/Republic): Singer-songwriter, grew up in Arizona, parents Nigerian immigrants, moved to Los Angeles, then Nashville. Not country, but her straightforward songwriting is at home there. Especially catchy: "I See America." A-

Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band: Dance Songs for Hard Times (2021, Family Owned): Country/blues band from Brown County, Indiana; 11th album since 2004, the "big" band a trio with Breezy Peyton on washboard and Max Senteney on drums and bucket, the Reverend playing antique guitars and singing. Rough and rambunctious, with "Too Cool to Dance" so perfect the Blasters could sue, and "Come Down Angels" a hymn that seeks not just to raise the rafters but rip them asunder. A-

Zilla Rocca: Vegas Vic (2021, Three Dollar Pistol Music): Philadelphia rapper, associated with Wrecking Crew, albums since 2008, called his 2019 album Future Former Rapper then went on a tear. Sounds a bit like Atmosphere, but more political. B+(***)

Jacob Sacks/David Ambrosio/Vinnie Sperrazza: Trio Trio Meets Sheila Jordan (2021 [2022], SteepleChase): Label founded in 1972 in Denmark by Nils Winther, drawing mainly on American bebop expats and tourists, and remains a major outlet for mainstream players, especially Americans. But they have virtually no web presence, so it's often hard to get discographical details. The singer is 92, and hasn't recorded much lately, so one wonders when this was recorded [March 2021]. One also wonders about the artist attribution, but Trio or "trioTrio" is so generic I decided to go with the musician names, also on the cover. Jordan is not in her best voice, and the songs are old ones, not that I mind her hearing her memoir of "The Bird" again, and I still get a kick out of "all God's children got bebop." The clincher is a brave and touching reading of her 1984 title song, "The Crossing." A-

Jared Sims: Against All Odds (2021 [2022], Origin): Tenor saxophonist, big sound, has several albums, this one a quartet with guitar (Steve Fell), bass (Keala Kaumeheiwa), and drums (Luther Gray). One cut features his wife, Amy M. Alvarez, with poetry. B+(**) [cd]

Steve Slagle: Ballads: Into the Heart of It (2021 [2022], Panorama): Alto saxophonist, albums since 1982, many in a group co-led by guitarist Dave Stryker. This one with Bruce Barth (piano), Ugonna Okegwo (bass), and Jason Tiemann (drums), with orchestrations by Richard Sussman and Randy Brecker guest spots. I'm iffy on the strings, and the fiery closer suggests that ballads might not be their forté. B+(*)

Sv1: Health (2021, Curiosity Shop, EP): Electronica producer Samuel Vaille, from Texas, singles since 2019, seems to be his longest effort to date (8 tracks, 24:13). Ambient tableaux with glitches, so not so ambient. B+(**) [yt]

Deanna Witkowski: Force of Nature (2021 [2022], MCG Jazz): Pianist, has several albums back to 1999, doesn't sing here but has been known to. She also wrote a book last year, about Mary Lou Williams, and this record is a tribute, offering a nice slice of her songbook (including parts of Zodiac Suite) as well as Witkowski's title piece. Mostly trio, with Clay Jenkins' trumpet a plus on 4 (of 12) tracks. Closes with "Stompin' at the Savoy" and "My Blue Heaven." B+(***) [cd]

Carolyn Wonderland: Tempting Fate (2021, Alligator): Blues singer-songwriter, originally from Houston, now in Austin, albums back to 2001, labels obscure, plays lots of instruments but her guitar really rips. She wrote six songs, including the political "Fragile Peace and Certain War." Covers from John Mayall, Billy Joe Shaver, Bob Dylan (featuring Jimmie Dale Gilmore), and Garcia/Hunter (which finally proved too much). Dave Alvin produced. B+(**)

W.R.D. [Robert Walter/Eddie Roberts/Adam Deitch]: The Hit (2021, Color Red): The name partners play organ, guitar, and drums, with side credits for sax (Nick Gerlach) and bass (Josh Fairman), but they aren't immediately obvious. B+(*) [bc]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Emmanuel Abdul-Rahim: Harlem (1988 [2021], Acid Jazz): American percussionist, born in New York, original name Juan Amalbert, living in Denmark since 1977, where this was recorded. With saxophonist Ed Epstein, piano (Karsten Sørensen), guitar, bass, more percussionists, so the Latin is more than a tinge. B+(**) [bc]

Doug Carn: Infant Eyes (1971 [2021], Black Jazz/Real Gone Music): Pianist, first album, resurfaced recently with a volume in the Jazz Is Dead series. Leads a sextet here, also playing organ. Draws on major jazz figures of the 1960s, writing one original plus lyrics to four more, sung by wife Jean Carn. After three albums together, she went on to a successful soul/disco career. Striking voice, though I find I'd rather listen to George Harper's saxophone. B+(**)

Rudolph Johnson: Spring Rain (1971 [2021], Black Jazz/Real Gone Music): Tenor saxophonist from Ohio, played with Jimmy McGriff, first album, nothing in his discography after 1976 (d. 2007). Backed by piano-bass-drums. After a wobbly start, finds a nice soul jazz groove. B+(*)

Roots: Roots (1975 [2021], Frederiksberg): South African jazz group, first of two albums released in 1975, with alto saxophonist Barney Rachabane, with Duke Makhasa (tenor sax), Dennis Mphale (trumpet), piano/organ (Jabu Nkosi), bass (Sipho Gumede), and drums (Peter Morake), with Gumede writing 3 (of 6) songs. B+(***) [bc]

Old music:

Charles Mingus: Mingus Plays Piano: Spontaneous Compositions and Improvisations (1963 [1997], Impulse): Deserves his rep as the leading bassist of his generation on chops alone, but he's possibly even more famous as a composer and bandleader. He's also, evidently, a fine pianist, not that his solo doodling is going to rank high in his discography. B+(*)

Charles Mingus: Mingus at the Bohemia (1955 [1990], Debut/OJC): I think of 1956 as being his watershed year, but he had accomplished a lot before then. He had played with Kid Ory, Red Norvo, Duke Ellington, and Charlie Parker. He founded Debut Records with Max Roach, and recorded enough material there to eventually fill up a 12-CD box. This is a live set, a quintet with George Barrow (tenor sax), Eddie Bert (trombone), piano (Mal Waldron), and drums (Roach or Willie Jones). His compositional style is already clear. CD adds two alternate takes. B+(***)

Roy Rogers: Roll On Texas Moon (1945-52 [1986], Bear Family): Leonard Slye (1911-98), from Cincinnati, gained fame as a singing cowboy in the 1930s, most notably in Sons of the Pioneers, and moved on to films and TV -- I remember his 1951-57 The Roy Rogers Show better than the dates suggests, and I saw him and Dale Evans performing at the Seattle World's Fair, in what was probably my first concert. So I've always had a soft spot for him, but the records I've found were spotty at best. Clifford Ocheltree recommended this one. The one place where he slows to a ballad reveals him as a fairly ordinary crooner, but as long as he keeps the pace up, he's very pleasing. A- [dl]

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Henry Franklin: Daggerboard & the Skipper (Wide Hive) [02-04]
• Tomas Fujiwara's Triple Double: March (Firehouse 12) [03-04]
• Kim Nalley Band With Houston Person: I Want a Little Boy (Kim Nalley Productions) []
• Josh Nelson/Bob Bowman Collective: Tomorrow Is Not Promised (Steel Bird Music) [04-01]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Monday, February 14, 2022

February archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 37322 [37256] rated (+66), 141 [142] unrated (-1).

Rating total probably reflects fixing some bookkeeping errors, but still list 62 records below, so I kept busy. Spent some time adding to the EOY Aggregate, picking up a pretty good country list from The Boot, and a bunch of lists from Bandcamp, where links to music were especially handy. Also got some fresh suggestions from Robert Christgau's February Consumer Guide (although the Yard Act EP was in Jason Gross's Ye Wei Blog list). Still confused whether it's Iamdoechii or just Doechii, and what the labels are (if any). Then there's another album I didn't get from anyone: Bean on Toast. But he's put out a record every year for quite some time, so I wondered whether he had another one -- and lo, he did.

Note that Saturday's Speaking of Which has an extra PS I wrote Sunday and posted today. I responded to a reader letter, and thought it made most sense to share what I wrote there rather than saving it up for a Questions & Answers.

I actually wrote a bit more at the time, but was satisfied with my ending as presented. Still, here's another useful iteration:

There is a much-commented on "blame America first syndrome," which I also don't think applies to me, but some of what I write can be read that way. I'd say it's not an irrational first approximation. I have a rather extensive catalog of American offenses at my disposal, including things like the CIA efforts to rig elections in Italy and France. The US took a monstrous wrong turn in starting the Cold War, and we've been paying for that mistake ever since -- Donald Trump being just one of many manifestations. It doesn't mean that I hate America. But it does mean that I think a little humility is in order. There are no humanitarian wars. To think otherwise is not only counterfactual, it's unspeakably arrogant.

It should be noted that the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft is one of the few media outlets doing consistently good work on Ukraine, and not just their area specialist, Anatol Lieven (though I'll point out that he's not nearly as critical of NATO as I am). His latest pieces are: Russia sanctions bill is a 'single barrel sawed-off shotgun', and Why are we evacuating diplomats from Ukraine? You might also scan through Branko Marcetic's interview with Volodymyr Ishchenko: A Ukrainian Sociologist Explains Why Everything You Know About Ukraine Is Probably Wrong.

They also have an important article on Biden's $7 billion Afghan heist. In the years right after WWII, America developed a reputation as a generous victor, investing money and (more importantly) allowing political freedom to its vanquished enemies in Germany and Japan (while turning on US allies in the Soviet Union, and leaving a mixed legacy in colonized Asia and Africa). In the years since, the US has rarely prevailed in wars, and has often held long and bitter grudges against those who had defied us and the people we once claimed to support. The US debacle in Afghanistan was so total that the only decent thing left to do would be to provide the new government of Afghanistan the means to help its people, but once again we see bitterness getting the upper hand.

Like many people, I wish American foreign policy could be a force for good in the world, but all we ever see is the bullying, cajoling, arrogance, and petty-mindedness. This calls for a time out. (Still, story after story rolls in showing the US military trying to flex its muscles: e.g., Israeli jets escort US bomber to Gulf in fresh show of force to Iran; also: Israeli offiials rushing to evacuate citizens from Ukraine by Tuesday, where by "citizens" they mean an estimated 10-15K Ukrainian Jews they're hoping the Russians will drive into their arms.)

One last thing I should note is that this marks my 3000th blog post, going back to when I initially set up Serendipity (aka s9y) -- was it 2003? I haven't used Serendipity for quite some while, but kept the numbering scheme when I started hand-crafting blog posts (at the time, I called it my "faux blog"). That would work out to 3/week, a rate I have rarely hit over the last 5-10 years, but there was a patch early on where I tried to post something new every day. Not all of those posts are available in the current archive (which starts at 2156), but the redundant copies in the notebook have survived, and I've compiled most of them into a number of book files. There's a lot of writing: a quick wc on the notebook shows 14,820,257 words. Too bad my sloppy organization makes them so hard to find.

New records reviewed this week:

Adeem the Artist: Cast Iron Pansexual (2021, self-released): "Seventh-generation Carolinian, a makeshift poet, singer-songwriter, storyteller, and blue-collar Artist." Was born Adem Bingham, songs signed Adeem Maria, uses they/them pronouns, has a wife named Hannah, picks and sings country, minus any of the conventional tropes. Mostly songs about gender, but more firmly rooted in humanity. Notable lyric: "everyone's looking for Jesus/ or anyone else they can hang." A- [bc]

Adia Victoria: A Southern Gothic (2021, Atlantic): Singer-songwriter from South Carolina, last name Paul, third album, T-Bone Burnett listed as executive producer, more atmospheric than rootsy. B+(**)

Arca: Kick II (2021, XL): Alejandra Ghersi, born in Venezuela, studied in NYU, based in Barcelona, albums since 2013, Kick I appeared in 2020, this is the first of four additional volumes that appeared in late 2021. Has a flair for the dramatic. B+(*)

Arca: Kick III (2021, XL): Second of four albums released in quick succession, after an initial album in 2020. Not without interest, but on the cusp of becoming really irritating. B

Arca: Kick IIII (2021, XL): Artwork progresses from a big surrounded by mechanical interventions to a machine shaped like a body with bits of skin suggesting sex. The music is less irritating, but coud be that Ghersi is working too fast to notice. B

Arca: Kick IIIII (2021, XL): Starts with a slow one, a bit of ambient music neither here nor there. It's not that a change of pace isn't welcome -- it could even lead to something substantial, as the artwork has shifted from mechanistic to monumental -- but it's hard to start caring once you don't. B

Angela Autumn: Frontiers Woman (2021, self-released, EP): Country singer-songwriter, from Pennsylvania, based in Nashville, Bandcamp page shows 2 singles and 2 EPs, although this one is getting close to album length (7 songs, 28:08). Plays banjo as well as guitar. B+(*) [bc]

Beans on Toast: Survival of the Friendliest (2021, Beans on Toast Music): British folksinger-songwriter Jay McAllister, has released an album every December 1 since 2009, except for 2020, when he figured we needed two. He loves "This Beautiful Place" and the "Humans" that inhabit it. His rues the loss of "The Commons" (wasn't that 19th century?), but insists "Not Everybody Thinks We're Doomed," and prescribes: "if you want to be happy/ you're going to have to learn to be kind." B+(**) [sp]

Leah Blevins: First Time Feeling (2021, Crabtree): Country singer-songwriter, first album after an EP. Boot review says: "voice reminiscent of Dolly, the eye for storytelling of Prine, and the caustic wit of fellow Kentuckian Kelsey Waldon." Doesn't quite live up to any of those plaudits, except maybe the voice. B+(*)

Andrew Boudreau: Neon (2021 [2022], Fresh Sound New Talent): Pianist, originally from Nova Scotia, grew up in Montreal, studied in Boston, based in New York. Debut, leads a quartet of his Boston chums, with Neta Raanan (tenor sax), bass, and drums. Nicely paced postbop. B+(***) [02-28]

Big Chief Monk Boudreux: Bloodstains & Teardrops (2021, Whiskey Bayou): From New Orleans, joined the Wild Magnolias in 1970, parted company in 2001, first album in a decade, fairly straight blues. B+(*)

Bo Burnham: Inside (The Songs) (2021, Imperial Distribution): Comedian, started in stand-up, expresses himself through songs. Fourth album, first three released through Comedy Central. This was a lockdown project, solo, with video if you care (I don't). Tackles some burning subjects, as well as some silly ones, but isn't that funny, nor all that musical. One line I jotted down: "I am a special kind of white guy." Not really. B-

Chapel Hart: The Girls Are Back in Town (2021, self-released): Two sisters, Danica and Devynn Hart, and cousin Trea Swindle, from Poplarville, Mississippi, a country vocal group who happen to be black, but have so much fiddle, twang, and yee-haw they couldn't be anything else. Second album, imbued enough in the culture to write a credible answer song ("You Can Have Him Jolene"). I doubt they'll enjoy singing "Grown Ass Woman" forever, but they can turn a phrase: "so stand up for what you believe on/ just don't stand up on me." B+(*)

Circuit Des Yeux: Io (2021, Matador): Alias for singer-songwriter Haley Fohr, born Indiana, based in Chicago, seventh album since 2008. Heavy, arty, operatic. C+

Crazy Doberman: "Everyone Is Rolling Down a Hill" or "The Journey to the Center of Some Arcane Mystery and the Entanglements of the Vines and Veins of the Cosmic and Unwieldy Millieu Encountered in the Midst of That Endeavor" (2020 [2021], Astral Spirits): Collaborative improv group, started as a quartet in Indiana but metastatized around 2017, with Discogs listing 38 albums since then. B [bc]

Dinosaur Jr.: Sweep It Into Space (2021, Jagjaguwar): Venerable indie band, not one I've ever found interesting (although I did like a solo album by leader J. Mascis), debut 1985, 15th studio album. B+(*)

Doss: 4 New Hit Songs (2021, LuckyMe, EP): Aimee Bowen, debut EP 2014, this is her second, nothing in between. Tiny, whispery vocals, big electopop beats. I don't quite hear hits, but "Puppy" comes close, and the rest could float an album. B+(***) [sp]

Rory Feek: Gentle Man (2021, Gaither Music Group): Country singer-songwriter from Atchison, KS. Formed a duo with his second wife, Joey + Rory, which ended when she died of cancer in 2016. First solo album, several touching songs about his late wife, a Dylan cover that sounds richer and more nuanced than the original, and a bit more, just trying to move on. B+(***)

Fiddlehead: Between the Richness (2021, Run for Cover): Indie garage band from Boston, Pat Flynn the singer, teaches high school history as his day job. Second album, dense, 1980s emo feel, short (10 songs, 25:06). B+(*) [sp]

Fred Again: Actual Life (April 14-December 17 2020) (2021, Atlantic): British singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, electronica producer. First album after singles and an EP. B+(**)

Fred Again: Actual Life (February 2-October 15 2021) (2021, Atlantic): Presumably the dates are when these pieces were recorded, so they act as some kind of journal. Probably progress too, but not quite to next level. B+(**)

Mark Fredson: Nothing but Night (2021, self-released): Singer-songwriter, originally from Washington, based in Nashville, sings high and lonesome, drawing more on soul than on country. B+(*)

Dori Freeman: Ten Thousand Roses (2021, Blue Hens Music): Folkie singer-songwriter from Virginia, fourth album. Seems like she's lost some roots. B+(*)

Amos Gillespie: Unstructured Time for Jazz Septet (2021 [2022], self-released): Alto saxophonist, based in Chicago, website claims six other albums since 2012, but some of the credits are unclear. Fair to say he's a composer first, and not afraid to try some unusual twists and turns. Way too fancy for me, though I'm impressed by several stretches, including most of the sax solos. Alexandra Olavsky's occasional vocals are another mixed bag. B+(*) [cd] [02-22]

Corey Harris: Insurrection Blues (2021, M.C.): Blues singer-songwriter, emerged 1995 in a Taj Mahal groove, probably peaked two years later with Fish Ain't Bitin'. I lost track of him after disliking his 2002 album, so I've missed out on a steady stream of albums as he got older and grizzlier. B+(**) [sp]

Iamdoechii: Oh the Places You'll Go (2020, Doechii, EP): Discogs identifies her as Jaylah Hickmon, from Tampa, but hasn't gotten to this 7-track 21:37 album, let alone a 4-track successor I'm having trouble locating. Not interested in Instagram much less Tik Tok, I have to make do with press like: "She is finest identified for her hottest monitor 'Yucky Blucky Fruitcake.'" And: "Iamdoechii's estimated internet price is $10 million." Dubious spot is a lecture on "God" that starts conceited and turns egalitarian. Real reservation is that it isn't real yet, but I wish it were. A-

Iamdoechii: Bra-Less (2021, Doechi, EP): Turns out Spotify filed this under Doechii, which probably makes more sense as artist name, but cover reads as above. Four tracks, 14:25. The harder raps are less distinctive, but remain credible. Wouldn't be a bad idea for some capitalist to combine these two (and possibly some more singles?) into a tangible product. B+(***) [sp]

IKOQWE: The Beginning, the Medium, the End and the Infinite (2021, Crammed Discs): Side project by Angola-born, Lisbon-based producer Pedro Coquenão (aka Batida), with Angolan rapper Luaty Beirão. B+(***)

Jaguar: Madremonte (2021, El Palmas Music): Duo, two Colombians based in Switzerland, Raúl Parra and Paulo Olarte, foundation is probably cumbia but they also "imbibe" salsa, rock, zouk, and champeta in their dance floor fusion. B+(*) [bc]

Darren Johnston: Life in Time (2021 [2022], Origin): Canadian trumpet player, based in San Francisco, albums since 2007, most previous ones on avant-labels. Quartet with Geof Bradfield (sax/bass clarinet), who wrote 4 (of 10) songs to Johnston's 6, plus bass and drums. The interaction of the horns is always fresh and spirited. A- [cd] [02-18]

Kalabrese: Let Love Rumpel: Part 1 (2021, Rumpelmusig): Swiss musician Sacha Winkler, credited with "drums, vox, synth" in touring group Rumpelorchestra but group is only credited on one cut here (video available). Touted as "unconventional dance music," which gets it misfiled as electronica. Beyond category, so they invented their own. B+(**) [bc]

Kondi Band: We Famous (2021, Strut): Sorie Kondi, singer and thumb piano player from Sierra Leone, with producers Chief Boima (also from Sierra Leone but based in US) and Will LV (UK-born). B+(**) [bc]

Howie Lee: Birdy Island (2021, Mais Um Discos): Chinese DJ, "future music from downtown Beijing," Discogs lists 5 albums and 7 singles/EPs since 2010. Draws widely, beats better than ambiance. B+(*) [bc]

LNS & DJ Sotofett: Sputters (2017-20 [2021], Tresor): Techno producers Laura Sparrow (from Vancouver, first album after some singles) and Stefan Mitterer (from Norway, prolific since 2011), with a guest shot by E-GZR. Described as "a hybrid of warped electro and psychedelic hypnosis," this reminds me of what I first liked about techno: dance beats, stretched and fucked with without ever losing step or sparkle. A- [bc]

L'Orange: The World Is Still Chaos, but I Feel Better (2021, Mello Music Group): Hip-hop producer Austin Hart, from and based in North Carolina, many albums since 2011, most co-credited with guest MCs. This uses narration by Andreea Dinag & Sora the Troll, and credits nine more for "additional vocals." Scattershot. B+(**) [bc]

Doug MacDonald and the L.A. All-Star Octet: Overtones (2021 [2022], DMAC Music): Guitarist, started in 1981, has been very active of late. Composed all eight pieces. I don't recognize most of the all-stars, but the saxophonists are notable (Kim Richmond, Ricky Woodard), as is pianist Bill Cunliffe. And they do get a big enseble sound with deceptively easy flow. B+(***) [cd] [02-15]

Ava Mendoza: New Spells (2021, Relative Pitch/Astral Spirits): Guitarist, based in Brooklyn, first appeared in 2008, got a lot of attention last year for her work on William Parker's Mayan Space Station. Solo here, metallic, rather brittle. B [bc]

Meridian Brothers/Conjunto Media Luna: Paz En La Tierra (2021, Bongo Joe): Expecting a meeting of cumbia groups, surprised to see this described as a duo of Eblis Alvarez (percussion, bass, vocals) and Iván Medellin (accordion, choir). B+(**) [bc]

Mesh: Mesh (2020 [2021], Born Yesterday, EP): Philadelphia post-punk group, EP has five tracks (12:04), songs like "CIA Mind Control" and "UR Dead." B+(*) [bc]

Mike.: The Highs. (2021, 4TheHomies): As far as I can figure, this is not the rapper Michael Bonema, who has at least six albums since 2016 as MIKE. According to AllMusic, this is Michael Francis Seander Jr., from Providence, RI, formerly known as Mike Stud (or Mike the Stud). At least it's not listed by Wikipedia or Discogs under "Mike(408)," and doesn't appear on Mike's Bandcamp. I suppose the periods (and lower case) are meant as differentiation enough, but since I first ran into him, I've found MIKE the most Google-unfriendly artist ever -- a complaint this only adds to. Still, a substantial (23-track) effort, flows nice, sings more than he raps. B+(**)

The Notwist: Vertigo Days (2021, Morr Music): German rock group, debut album 1991, ninth studio album, probably influenced by classic Krautrock bands but I also hear traces of New Order. B+(**)

Bill O'Connell: A Change Is Gonna Come (2021 [2022], Savant): Pianist, albums since 1978, some Latin-oriented, this one more hard bop, with saxophonist Craig Handy leading the way, backed with bass, drums, and (4 of 10 tracks) extra percussion. Seven originals, plus Coltrane, Cooke, and "My Foolish Heart." B+(**) [cd]

Mathis Picard: Live at the Museum (2019 [2021], Outside In Music): Pianist, French-Malagasy, based in New York, seems to be his first album, venue is the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, likes to mix up classical and stride. Five originals, two pieces by Willie "The Lion" Smith, one by John Lewis, bits by John Williams and Maurice Ravel. B+(**) [cd]

Queen Esther: Gild the Black Lily (2021, EL): Usual sources don't offer a birth name or date or location, but do note that she grew up with gospel, showtunes, countrypolitan, and opera, and has been working since 1996: not just singing but also writing for and acting on stage (including the libretto for The Billie Holiday Project). This is her fourth album since 2004, not counting sidework with James Blood Ulmer, JC Hopkins, Elliott Sharp. I filed her under blues because her first album was called Talkin' Fishbowl Blues, but this album starts with a banjo-driven cowgirl song, followed by an a cappella "John the Revelator," then came close to losing me with an Eagles cover, but won me back with songs like "Lonesome Road" and "She Thinks I Still Care." A-

R2Bees: Back 2 Basics (2021, Ziiki Media): Hip-hop duo from Ghana, where rapping over highlife beats is called hiplife. Fifth album since 2009. B+(*)

Scotch Rolex: Tewari (2021, Hakuna Kulala): Japanese electronica producer Shigeru Ishihara, based in Berlin, has used various aliases including DJ Scotch Bonnet and DJ Scotch Egg, hooks up with an Ugandan label not but similar to Nyege Nyege. Most cuts feature various MCs, meaning hip-hop with metal thrash, or metal tightly bolted to a beat. B [bc]

Shanique Marie: Gigi's House (2021, Equinoxx Musiq): Jamaican singer-songwriter, surname Sinclair, aka Shanz, first album after several singles and an EP, short one (8 songs, 30:18). B+(*) [bc]

Hayley Williams: Flowers for Vases/Descansos (2021, Atlantic): Pop singer, fronted the band Paramore, which released five albums 2005-2017. Second album on her own, solo, produced by Daniel Jammes. Spanish translates as "breaks." Introspective, comforting, seems like it might grow on you. B+(***)

Mars Williams: Mars Williams Presents an Ayler Xmas Vol. 5 (2020-21 [2021], Astral Spirits): Saxophonist, also credited with suona and toy instruments, leads a septet through three pieces (37:10) pieced together from Albert Ayler compositions sprinkled with more/less recognizable Christmas tunes. He's been doing one of these each year. Works because Ayler had a knack for turning free jazz into hymns. B+(**)

Yasmin Williams: Urban Driftwood (2021, Spinster): From Virginia, a "finger-style composer and guitarist," also playing harp-guitar, kalimba, and other instruments, "often with the guitar on her lap." Third album, written during lockdown and "influenced by the Black Lives Matter protests." B+(**)

Yard Act: The Overload (2022, Island): British indie band, from Leeds, first album, vocals declaimed, sometimes reading like a manifesto (not unlike Art Brut), but they're on the right side of politics and, one hopes, history. A-

Yard Act: Dark Days (2021, ZEN FC, EP): Initial 4-song, 13:14 EP, came out almost a year before their debut album, no songs repeated. Expect the title song to lead off a future greatest hits album, while the rest fill up a decent "odds and sods." B+(***)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Bush Tetras: Rhythm and Paranoia: The Best of Bush Tetras (1980-2019 [2021], Wharf Cat, 2CD): Repeats 11 (of 14) 1980-83 songs, adds 17-20 (depending on configuration) extra tracks, mostly from reunion bands, with their more conventional crunch. Package comes with a 40-page booklet, but hard to find the dates online. B+(**)

J Dilla: Welcome 2 Detroit [The 20th Anniversary Edition] (2001 [2021], BBE, 2CD): Hip-hop producer James Yancey (1974-2006), from Detroit. Starts with the original album's 16 tracks (40:56), padded out with extra beats, instrumentals, demos, mixes (30 tracks, 77:07). De trop, of course, the beats fading into background and the rappers rarely standing out, but it holds up well enough. B+(***) [bc]

Willie Dunn: Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies: The Willie Dunn Anthology (1968-84 [2021], Light in the Attic): Canadian singer-songwriter (1941-2013), mother was Mi'kmaq, and much of his work identifies with Canada's First Nations. He released three albums 1971-84, the latter two on the German Trikont label, which also released a live compilation in 2004. Few dates provided here, but 19 (of 22) songs appeared on those three albums, although later versions are possible. Seems like a subject for further research, and better documentation. B+(***)

Ron Everett: The Glitter of the City (1977 [2021], Jazzman): Trumpet player from Philadelphia, also credited with vocals (3 tracks) and piano (2 of the piano tracks). Ultra rare, part of the label's "Holy Grail" series, a mixed bag with Tahira singing the title song over a bossa beat, other pieces freer (or just rougher). Reissue adds three previously unreleased jams (34:58). B [bc]

The Notwist: The Notwist (1991 [2021], Subway): German group, first album, reissue remastered but no extras beyond the original 13-song album (32:57). Songs in English, written by guitarist-vocalist Markus Acher, with brother Micha on bass and Martin Messerschmid on drums. No Krautrock influence I can detect: post-punk, maybe proto-metal, but ultimately headed elsewhere. B+(*)

Bunny Scott: To Love Somebody (1975 [2021], Freestile): Jamaican singer William Clarke, better known as Bunny Rugs (although he's used other aliases), lead singer-songwriter for Third World -- one of the first wave of reggae groups to get US distribution, but also one of the least impressive. He released this one album as Scott, others after 1995 up to his death in 2014. At this point, reminds me of how fertile that period was, but leans heavily on covers, and I could really do without this "Sweet Caroline." Lee Perry produced, which especially helps with the dub-oriented bonus tracks. B+(*) [bc]

Spitboy: Body of Work (1990-1995): All the Songs (1990-95 [2021], Don Giovanni): All-female anarcho-punk band from (or near) San Francisco, released an LP in 1993, split another in 1995 with Los Crudos, scattered EPs and singles. This gathers up 26 tracks, full of anger and spirit, few if any great, but attitude counts. B+(*) [bc]

Sun Ra: Lanquidity [Definitive Edition] (1978 [2021], Strut, 2CD): Originally released 1978 on Philly Jazz, reissued 2000 on Evidence with the same 5 tracks (43:16). Not much new here, as the original "1978 Philly Jazz Commercial Pressing" is on the first disc, followed by "1978 Philly Jazz Alternate Version" -- main difference there is that "That's How I Feel" runs an extra 4:05. Arkestra with 15 musicians focused more on texture than showing off. B+(***) [bc]

Old music:

Bush Tetras: Boom in the Night: Original Studio Recordings 1980-1983 (1980-83 [1995], ROIR): New York post-punk/no wave band formed 1979 in New York, with Adele Bertei vocalist (soon replaced by Cynthia Sley), debut single "Too Many Creeps," band broke up without an album but reunited in 1995, again in 2005 and 2021. ROIR issued 14 early cuts in 1989 as Better Late Than Never, those same cuts appearing in different order here (coincident with the 1995 reunion). I recall owning at least one of their singles, but never saw them. Not a great band, but I'm finding this holds up quite well. B+(***)

Joey + Rory: The Singer and the Song: The Best of Joey + Rory (2008-16 [2018], Gaither Music Group): Married country duo, last name Feek, Rory had a background as a songwriter, and has a hand on 8 (of 20) songs here. They recorded four albums (one Xmas) on Vanguard/Sugar Hill, four more on Farmhouse/Gaither -- the latter include Country Classics and Hymns That Are Important to Us as time was running out. This compilation favors the latter, perhaps exclusively (a couple early songs are rendered live, leaving only one that appears to derive from their debut). Both have appealing voices, but could use better songs. E.g., "Jesus Lovees Me" shouldn't be sung by anyone over eight, and "The Bible and the Belt" deserves its own place in Hell. B

The Rough Guide to Blues Women: Reborn and Remastered (1920-35 [2016], World Music Network): Twenty-five songs, one each from all the major "classic female blues" stars of the 1920s, starting with Mamie Smith's "Crazy Blues" (1920), plus another dozen or so I've barely heard of. After 1930 their numbers thinned -- I count 4 1931-35 releases here -- as jazz and blues went their separate ways. No view of the booklet, which despite expert selection probably leaves a lot to be desired. A-

Grade (or other) changes:

Al Dexter: Pistol Packin' Mama (1942-49 [1999], ASV): Most people only ever hear his title hit (if that), but you really should hear more. I must have initially knicked this for filler or running out of gas, but it's one I've often returned to, so the grade should reflect that. [was: B+] A-

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• James Brown: Song Within the Story (NGP) [03-18]
• Satoko Fujii & Joe Fonda: Thread of Light (FSR) [02-25]
• Darren Johnston: Life in Time (Origin) [02-18]
• Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Disasters Vol. 1 (Hot Cup) [02-18]
• Jared Sims: Against All Odds (Origin) [02-18]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Saturday, February 12, 2022

PS: Added a further note on Ukraine, in response to a reader comment. It was written on Sunday, 2/13, and posted on Monday, to continued US hysterical warnings about imminent invasion, Ukrainian please to not panic, and Russian denials that it has any such plans.

I had no desire whatsoever to post anything today, even though my morning perusal of the Wichita Eagle has been a growing source of consternation. I started to write a Notes on Everyday Life piece yesterday on an extremely offensive op-ed from the Heritage Foundation, but stalled after two paragraphs. Today brought several more outrageous pieces, including a strong prediction that this will be the week Russia finally invades Ukraine. Reason and sanity says they won't, but the time framework -- which you may remember simply repeats what they said a week ago -- but it's clearly meant less as prophecy than as a taunt.

But what finally provoked me to start writing was a tweet: possibly the most dishonest and provocative I've ever seen, made worse (and brought to my attention) by being retweeted by a friend who should know better. It is by Michael McFaul, whose credentials I will get to in a minute. Here's what he said:

Completely unprovoked and with no justification, Putin is threatening to launch the largest invasion in Europe since 1939. Please stop treating this moment in history like some Twitter parlor game. If he invades, your snide, snarky tweets will not age well.

McFaul is an academic, a professor at Stanford and a fellow at the Hoover Institution, the Cold War think tank that gave us George Schultz and Condoleezza Rice. He spent 2012-14 as Obama's Ambassador to Russia, and is widely credited as "the architect of the Russia Reset." Which, regardless of intentions, left the relationship much more antagonistic than ever since the Soviet Union ended. In short, no one should know better than to claim that Putin is "completely unprovoked" and "with no justification" behind his threats -- not that he's ever actually said he intends to invade Ukraine.

I'm not saying I agree with Putin's complaints or think he's in any significant way justified, but it's foolish to deny that he has his reasons. It's also disingenuous to pretend that the US and its NATO/EU allies haven't done anything provocative. Admission of that much, and a willingness to acknowledge interests one can compromise on, are key to negotiating a solution, which is the only way this ever ends (with or without bloodletting, which would be far worse). As a diplomat, McFaul must realize that, but here he's clearly decided to be no more than a cheerleader and propagandist.

The "largest invasion in Europe since 1939" line is hyperbole, probably meant to pattern Putin on Hitler, while skipping over the later German invasions of Benelux, France, Norway, and the really big one in 1941, when the Germans marched through Ukraine and deep into Russia. It also skips over details like D-Day, and pertinently the Soviet interventions in Hungary and Czechoslovakia, as well as NATO's various forays into Yugoslavia. But it's also meant to imply that any Russian move into Ukraine will be massive. That's possible, but isn't necessarily true, and hasn't happened. I'm not one to minimize threats, but it would be smarter not to precipitate them.

The rest is psych warfare over Twitter, which should be beneath him. He's already dismissing disagreements as "snide and snarky," and his "may not age well" is a rather strange curse for something as perishable as tweets. As for "parlor games," he's the one trying to play it out on Twitter. What else could he mean?

I'm also disturbed by the stat line: 33.6K likes, 6,833 retreats, 1,177 responses. Those are large numbers I almost never see. Of course, the replies include some people pointing out his arrogance and recklessness and deceit, but they also include many further variations, like: "It's quite terrifying, especially when one considers that the aggressor has vast nuclear powers" (presumably Russia, but you can read it otherwise); and "We need to have the US military use brutal force if the Russian army crosses the border. No appeasement." (Probably means "no mercy," but stuck on one of the propaganda words.)

One story that has been underreported is here: Ben Freeman: Army of Ukraine lobbyists behind unprecedented Washington blitz. Ukrainian agents, some paid by oligarch Victor Pinchuk, have been flooding Washington with money to grease the skids for various deals, mostly involving sending arms to Ukraine. And this doesn't even touch on the money being spent in Europe and in Kyiv, where Zelensky was elected on a reconciliation platform but has since turned into some kind of anti-Russia hard-liner. Of course, no Washington politician is more committed to lobbyist aims than Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who says: I want all Russians to feel the pain. Perhaps it's deterrence to promise sanctions after a Russian invasion, but Menendez wants to do it now, in a peculiar mixture of provocation and sadism.

Some other Ukraine pieces that are helpful:

• Fred Kaplan: The Quiet Signs That Russia's Elites Are Deeply Divided on Ukraine.
• Jen Kirby/Jonathan Guyer: The Russia-Ukraine crisis, explained.
• Rajan Menon: War with Russia? "The strategic blunder of the 1990s that set the stage for today's Ukrainian crisis."
• Lawrence Wittner: What the Cuban Missile Crisis Can Teach Us About Today's Ukraine Crisis.

Since I'm here, a few more brief links:

Jacqueline Alemany: Some Trump records taken to Mar-a-Lago clearly marked as classified, including documents at 'top secret' level.

Zach Beauchamp: The Canadian trucker convoy is an unpopular uprising. In Canada, anyway, where the obvious involvement of right-wing Americans isn't winning any friends. On the other hand, it's very popular with the American right: Eric Levitz: Why conservatives celebrate the Canadian truckers. Side burn on Fox: "Few willing to recognize the network's bad faith remain unaware of it." Also: Alex Shephard: Fox News Can't Get Enough of Canada's Freedom-Loving Truckers. And then there's: Timothy Bella: Rand Paul urges truckers to disrupt Super Bowl and come to D.C.: 'I hope they clog up cities'. And dozens of them get shot in "road rage" incidents?

Garrett Epps: Donald Trump Promised He Wouldn't Nominate a Black Woman to the Supreme Court: I initially misread the title, as I wanted to note that I thought Biden's campaign promise to nominate a black woman was an unforced tactical mistake. I have no problem with him doing so, and there are clearly some much more qualified than the Federalist Society hacks Trump nominated. But why give Republicans a talking point, as opposed to their usual practice of inventing them from scratch? I'd also note that Republicans are every bit as inclined toward quota systems as Democrats, as was shown by their eagerness to appoint a black man to replace Thurgood Marshall, and a white (but not Jewish) woman to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg. But evidently the title was right: Trump made his own unforced tactical mistake. But as is so often the case, wasn't called for it.

Michael Hudson: America's Real Adversaries are Its European and Other Allies: "The US aim is to keep them from trading with China and Russia." I could have filed this under Ukraine, as it has a lot to do with the confrontation there. I suspect that China is already a lost cause: if forced to choose between trading with China and the US, a lot of countries would opt for China, and that number is likely to increase. Trade with Russia is much less diverse, but its concentration in oil and arms suggests why the US is agitated. Turkey is considering Russian arms. Germany wants a gas pipeline. Ukraine is a wedge for disrupting deal like that. But the more there are, the harder the bonds will be to break. As readers of Gabriel Kolko will recall, a big driver of the post-1945 Cold War was American desire to supplant British and French colonial regimes. We called them allies, but the main point was that they were under our thumb. Along these lines, see: Eve Ottenberg: Bigotry Unbound: The US Media's Anti-China Propaganda Blitz.

Fred Kaplan: Why Every President Is Terrible at Foreign Policy Now: Explains that foreign affairs have "become too chaotic for any White House to master," but I think the crux of the problem is that the US doesn't have any sense of the need to balance other people's interests, that the US is saddled with a military that is spread all around the world but isn't competent to do anything but blow shit up, and its heads are still stuck in the mindset that says they're "the indispensable nation" -- the one that should be able to tell everyone else what to do. This has produced all sorts of contradictions: e.g., the US is for democracy and human rights, but not when the violators are "allies" like Israel or Saudi Arabia; the US wants to limit climate change, but not at the expense of any profits; the list can go on practically forever.

Eric Levitz: The Democratic Party's "Mask Off" Moment. "The American people are sick of the pandemic and the public-health mandates. Unable to end the former, Democrats are now moving to roll back the latter." I'm not applauding this, but I'm not terribly bothered either. Personally, I'm one of the worst people in the world when it comes to following orders, so I generally hate mandates (though not on masks, and even less so on vaccines, which I've never had a problem with, going all the way back to Salk and Sabine). I suspect one problem with mandates is that they seem to push responsibility for a public crisis back on individuals, which is rarely effective let alone fair. The backlash against mandates is taking aim not just at coercion but at the whole concept of public health, and that's a collateral casualty I don't want to risk. One good thing about this piece is that it mentions a number of public policy changes that could help instead of taking it all out on recalcitrant people. Another problem is political vibes: Democrats are easily associated with an overweening "nanny state" -- a vast generalization on the trope of scolding you for not eating your broccoli. I don't think that's as bad as incarcerating, beating, and/or reducing people to penury, which are approaches Republicans seem inordinately fond of, but I generally don't like it either, and don't expect others to.

Liam Stack: A Jewish Teacher Criticized Israel. She Was Fired.

And here's the Heritage Foundation op-ed I was going to write about:

Kevin Roberts: It's Time to Win the War Against Big Tech: It may seem strange to see America's premier right-wing think tank, that bastion of capitalist cant, attacking America's most profitable business sector, but never underestimate right-winger's ability to get peeved over slights to their political omniscience. They liken the big tech companies to the Chinese Communist Party, repeatedly call them totalitarian, and even offer that antitrust laws should be enforced against them. But when you get down to details, the real rub seems to be:

There is Twitter and Facebook's selective enforcement of "standards" that has censored Republican members of Congress at a rate of 53-to-1 compared to Democrats, and suspended Trump supporters 21 times as often as Clinton supporters.

Those suspensions almost all have to do with disinformation about Covid and vaccines, a form of mental illness that indeed seems to afflict Republicans much more than Democrats. They go on to complain about Amazon banning a book and a video, and add that Spotify and others "have now joined their trillion-dollar industry leaders in discriminating against customers and entrepreneurs who insist on thinking for themselves. Just ask Joe Rogan." I'm not sure which is worst, the suggestion that Rogan "thinks for himself," or the ignorance of not knowing that Spotify is still paying Rogan millions to air his stupidity. Even more priceless is their characterization of their true enemies, the ones who have hoodwinked these companies through their "bullying abuses or totalitarian impulses": "the bigoted, bellicose progressivism now ascendant on the elite left." That's so wrong on so many levels you could emblazon it on a tee-shirt and wear it for a joke. I haven't heard anything so fatuous since Spiro Agnew slunk off in disgrace.

Heritage's solutions start with some reasonable antitrust planks, but don't go far enough, and wander off on tangents. Stripping the Section 230 liability protection would do nothing but allow rich people with political grudges to sue the companies, possibly creating enough of an annoyance to curtail reasonable free speech. What they don't suggest is the obvious real solution, which is to create free software and services for social media, which are prohibited from collecting and profiting from user data, and as such actually serve their users instead of nefarious entrepreneurs. For a while I thought I was the only person thinking along those lines, but such a scheme features in Kim Stanley Robinson's novel, The Ministry for the Future. Another important idea there is the shift to employee-owned companies. It seems like conservatives were right about one thing, anyway: the only solution to the world's major problems is a sharp political move to the left. Of course, they're against that. Much as they're against public health services protecting us from pandemics. When they exclaim "give me liberty or death," they aren't kidding.

PS: Regarding the McFaul tweet in the intro and my following digression, a reader wrote:

First, your 1939 point is silly. Obviously the 1939 invasions that began World War II were the first in a long series that includes those you name. Second, I regard Putin as the single most dangerous human in the world without whose support the almost equally odious but far more inept Trump would never have been elected. There do seem to be second- and third-generation leftists whose soft spot for Russia blinds them to this self-evident fact.

Perhaps my examples of post-1939 invasions were "silly," but we should understand that the only reason McFaul mentioned 1939 was to make Putin look like Hitler, implying that Putin has designs beyond Ukraine, as Hitler did beyond Poland -- and therefore, with Chamberlain's "appeasement" at Munich as the ever-present cautionary lesson, we had better stop him sooner than have no choice later.

The "completely unprovoked and with no justification" line dismisses any other possible interpretation: for instance, that Ukraine's pivot to Europe might hurt Russia's economy (Ukraine has long been a major trading partner, on terms that have tended to favor Russia), or that the increasing imposition of sanctions and trading limits aren't an even greater threat to Russia's security and welfare.

The line also absolves the US, its NATO allies, and various private sector entities engaged in Ukraine from any consideration let alone responsibility. I don't blame Ukrainians for looking to Europe for a more prosperous future, and I don't have a problem with businesses trying to exploit opportunities -- aside from arms industries with their political ties -- but one should consider how this looks to Russia, especially given past antipathy (which has proven remarkably easy for US propagandists to exploit).

I don't disagree with your assessment of Putin, although I have a more nuanced view of how to deal with him. Stalin was one of the worst actors in the 20th century, but Roosevelt managed to keep him happy enough to do most of the heavy lifting in defeating Germany. There's a Henry Stimson quote I'd have to look up about the importance of extending trust, which distinguished him as the wisest of Washington's famous "wise men." Later Americans consistently misunderstood and misjudged Russia, which led to wrecking the careers of reformers (Krushchev and Gorbachev) while, when they finally got the chance, installing a grossly incompetent (Yeltsin), resulting in a horrific decade (among other measures, life expectancy declined 10 years). Putin's main claim to fame was to have stabilized Russia after that debacle, which has included keeping even more reactionary politicians out of power. There are people in Russia who want to restore the borders of the Empire, but Putin is not one. And as right-wing authoritarians go, Putin has managed to keep a formal democracy intact, even though he has jealously guarded his power base, using tactics that I in no way condone much less approve.

What makes Putin dangerous is not his contempt for democracy, or his association with oligarchs, or his alliances with America's outcasts. It's that his rather limited indulgences in military power have thus far been relatively successful, making him all the more likely to bite off more conflict than he can handle. The most despicable thing he did was re-igniting the Chechen War, which was his ticket to power. I suspect that the charges that he was responsible for terrorist attacks on Moscow apartment buildings are credible. He certainly used those attacks as a pretext for going to war, much as McKinley, Wilson, LBJ, and GW Bush seized upon similar events as pretexts for wars they were already leaning into. (The difference being there was no reason to think the Americans had plotted the pretexts, although they often misrepresented them -- the "sinking of the Maine" was a self-inflicted accident, and the Tonkin Gulf "attacks" were nothing such.) After a year, Chechnya was demolished, with 20-0 thousand killed, but reintegrated into Russia.

Putin's interventions in Georgia and Crimea could also be counted as wins. Russia repelled Georgian efforts to re-capture the breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Osetia, but made no further efforts to occupy Georgia, leaving the status quo ante. They did annex Crimea after a local revolt seceded from Ukraine, but they didn't move to annex the breakaway Donbass region. It's not clear whether they simply took advantage of local disruptions or had a hand in orchestrating them, but their efforts in Ukraine have thus far been limited to territories with Russian ethnic majorities. One may question both their motives and scruples in these situations, but Putin's ambitions are limited and circumspect (unlike, say, Stalin's efforts to subdue Finland following the 1939 Pact with Hitler). As Hitler, Saddam Hussein and GW Bush have shown, nothing predicts future war disasters more than believing that past wars have been successful.

Meanwhile, the US and its agents and allies have been relentless with their anti-Putin propaganda, including sanctions mean to incur economic harm, both on select oligarchs and on the Russian people as a whole. This, in turn, has been helpful in expanding the US arms cartel, aka NATO.

Perhaps most disturbing to me has been the explosion of cyberwarfare, which both Russia and the US (and China and Iran and North Korea and Israel and others) seem to regard as carte blanche to fuck with each other -- the only risk seems to be more of the same, which they're already doing anyway. I don't much credit Putin for the US election of Donald Trump, which can be blamed on any number of factors (the dark money of the Koch network and the brazen lies of Fox are the most obvious, although I'm still most critical of the Democratic Party and their poor choice of candidate; what I am disgusted by is the latter's incessant whining, less because it's dishonest and evasive than because it helps the hawks drum up sentiment for more hostilities). As usual, consequences rarely match expectations. Putin got few favors from Trump, and much ill will from across the US political spectrum, which is one reason Democrats (like McFaul and Menendez) are leading the charge. Whether Putin's been chastised by the experience isn't clear, which is one reason he's so dangerous.

On the other hand, he doesn't become less dangerous by repeatedly kicking him and Russia while they're down. The US needs to fundamentally rethink how we do foreign policy. We need to find ways to work constructively with other nations -- in particular on problems like climate change, which we can't solve by partitioning the world -- which means we need to become less confrontational and more respectful.

I don't know of anyone with a soft spot for Putin. I do know people who consider him less of a threat to world peace than the leaders of the country that spends more than 50% of the world's total military expenditures, the country that has troops and 800+ bases scattered around the world, the country that has (or works for people who have) business interests everywhere, a country that does a piss poor job of taking care of its own people and has no conception of the welfare of others, a leadership that so stuck in its own head that it can't tell real threats from imaginary ones, that projects its own most rabid fears onto others and insists on its sole right to dictate terms to the world.

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Tuesday, February 8, 2022

February archive (in progress).

Tweet: Music Week: 55 albums, 5 A-list,

Music: Current count 37256 [37201] rated (+55), 142 [132] unrated (+10).

I wrote a little over 6,000 words last week for a Speaking of Which post. Several motivations behind it, other than the obvious political points (most of which should be obvious to you all, but often aren't). These pieces provide a catalog of links I might want to go back to. They provide markers in time for when events took place. And they're sort of a laboratory for breeding bits of prose for future use. Note that in terms of the later, I've never felt proprietary about my language. If you see something you wish to repeat, or feel you can improve on, by all means go ahead and do so.

Ran a day late posting this, mostly because I got distracted with the idea that I might make one last pass on the EOY Aggregate: I was about half through my straggler pass of Metacritic's Top Ten Lists, and I did manage to get to the bottom of it, as well as Acclaimed Music Forums: EOY 2021 (at least through Feb. 1), but I didn't get through my last bit of due diligence: a Google search for "best|favorite albums of 2021." (I'm down to page 8. In past years I usually go 20-30 deep before giving up.) I haven't been taking notes beyond my list index, but I can reconstruct a couple based on still-open tabs:

• The Best Music of 2021: NPR Staff Picks: I rarely do this, but wound up counting every ballot here. Among the larger samples, I counted about 80% of the Jazz Critics Poll ballots, maybe a bit more from Jazz Times' much smaller sample, but certainly less than 20% from Pazz & Jop Ripoff Poll (my rule there was to only count ballots by people I've counted before).
• I never could find the individual ballots for The 2021 Uproxx Music Critics Poll, which I have selectively counted in past year. I counted the poll itself down to 150, although the link goes all the way to the bottom (710).
• I have a still open tab for Beehype, a "best music from around the world" site which organizes its long list by country. I may or may not add it, but it's certainly of interest to world music afficionados.
• The short world music list that had the biggest impact on me this week was from NCPR's Beat Authority: led me to Fimber Bravo, Femi/Made Kuti, Ifé, and Okuté, and got me to reexamine Silk Sonic. Other A- records on the list: Arlo Parks, Mon Laferte, Mdou Moctar, and Sa-Roc.

Aside from a bit of new jazz, this week's records fell out of various EOY lists, although they started to dry up toward the weekend. Most of this week's A-list are revisits. All three are records I gave B+(***) to first time around. A couple records that started lower got a boost, but not to A-. Several more (not noted) stuck where they were.

One of the new records I belatedly got around to was by Caetano Veloso, a Brazilian star I've long admired but rarely understood. My sampling so far has been light, so I'm especially delighted to see this new consumer guide to Veloso by ace Brazil Beat critic Rod Taylor. [PS: New Yorker also has a long piece on Veloso: Jonathan Blitzer: How Caetano Veloso Revolutionized Brazil's Sound and Spirit.]

Still too early to summarize the EOY lists, but I can note: The 2021 music tracking file currently shows 1317 rated albums, combining 2021 releases with a few earlier ones from December 2020 (or earlier for records that missed the 2020 music tracking file). That seems like a lot, but is down from my 2020 count of 1627. I entered 2021 thinking I was bound to slow down, so I'm only surprised that the 2021 count isn't lower. Next year's will surely be less.

The EOY A-lists are currently at 74 for jazz and 68 for non-jazz (that adds up to 138, as 4 records are counted in both splits. I'd normally freeze the latter file by now, and call 2021 done, but haven't brought myself to do it. Only 10 (19% of 52) new records this week are 2021 releases. I will do the freeze by the end of February, but I'm not feeling any urgency to get into 2022. As the rated totals show, I'm in no danger of running up my 2021 stats.

New records reviewed this week:

Arca: Kick II (2021, XL): Alejandra Ghersi, born in Venezuela, studied in NYU, based in Barcelona, albums since 2013, Kick I appeared in 2020, this is the first of four additional volumes that appeared in late 2021. Has a flair for the dramatic. B+(*)

AZ: Doe or Die II (2021, Quiet Money): Rapper Anthony Cruz, from New York, at 50 returns with a sequel to his 1995 debut, his first album since 2009. B+(**)

Baby Keem: The Melodic Blue (2021, PgLang/Columbia): California rapper Hykeem Carter, first album after a couple mixtapes and EPs (mostly under his given name). B+(*) [sp]

James Blake: Friends That Break Your Heart (2021, Republic): British singer-songwriter, seemed like electronica when he broke in in 2010, fifth album plus a bunch of EPs. I've never quite felt the appeal. B

Nathan Borton: Each Step (2021 [2022], OA2): Guitarist, originally from Wichita, based in Michigan, studied under Randy Napoleon and Rodney Whitaker, who plays here, along with Xavier Davis (piano), and Keith Hall (drums). Four Borton originals, the last called "Grant's Groove," following Grant Green's "Grantstand." B+(**) [cd]

Fimber Bravo: Lunar Tredd (2021, Moshi Moshi): From Trinidad, based in London, plays steel pan, released a soca album back in 1990, most recent album Con-Fusion in 2013. Opens with "Can't Control We," placing steel pan in a tradition of defiance rooted in Africa and stoked by slavery and repression. But the steel pans don't star here: they're embedded in the very fabric of life. A-

Burial: Antidawn EP (2022, Hyperdub): William Bevan, British ambient producer since 2005, mostly produces EPs but with five songs stretched out to 43:27 this is EP in title only. Always the risk with ambient, but this one seems deliberate: "Antidawn reduces Burial's music to just the vapours." Maybe, but they don't waft away quickly enough. B-

Burial + Blackdown: Shock Power of Love EP (2021, Keysound, EP): William Bevan and Martin Clark, two pieces each, one a Blackdown remix of a Joseph Whittle (Heatmap) piece), total 27:33. Why am I not surprised that the Blackdown pieces have a lot more energy? Still, the Burial's closer has a bit of the old magic. B+(**)

Tré Burt: You, Yeah, You (2021, Oh Boy): Folkie singer-songwriter from Sacramento, second album, on John Prine's label, but his voice reminds me more of Dylan. B+(**)

Combo Lulo: Neotropic Dream (2021, Names You Can Trust): Brooklyn group, thirteen musicians plus singers on three tracks, play "Caribbean music," mixing cumbia instrumentals with dancehall reggae, or maybe they're just fucking with you. B+(***)

Common: A Beautiful Revolution Pt. 2 (2021, Loma Vista): Rapper Lonnie Rashied Lynn, 14th album since 1992, relegates his 2020 album to Pt. 1, although both are short enough (34:18 + 38:23) they've already been reissued together. B+(**)

Ifé: 0000+0000 (2021, Discos Ifá): Yoruba priest Otura Mun (originally Mark Alan Underwood, from Indiana), based in Puerto Rico (after moving there from Texas). B+(**)

Femi Kuti & Made Kuti: Legacy + (2021, Partisan, 2CD): Fela Kuti's Afrobeat lives on, with son Femi and grandson Made each leading a disc's worth of songs. Femi's songs are as political as ever: not just "Stop the Hate" and "Privatisation" but "Na Bigmanism Spoil Government" and "You Can't Fight Corruption With Corruption." Made is more into "Free Your Mind" and "We Are Strong," and takes the music in that direction. B+(***) [sp]

SG Lewis: Times (2021, PMR): British singer-songwriter, electropop producer, initials for Samuel George, singles/EPs since 2015, first full album. Nicely rooted in the disco era. B+(**)

Amber Mark: Three Dimensions Deep (2022, PMR): Singer-songwriter born in Tennessee, father Jamaican, mother German, lived in Miami, India, Germany, New York. First album after a mini and a well-regarded EP. This will probably get slotted as r&b, but it's both straighter and stranger than that. Complicated world we live in. B+(***)

Stephen Martin: High Plains (2021 [2022], OA2): Tenor saxophonist, based in Kansas City, appears to be his first album, quartet with Peter Schlamb (vibes/piano), bass (Ben Leifer), and drums (David Hawkins). Leads off with a piece by Leifer, with two originals by Martin, covers from other saxophone touchstones Benny Golson, Joe Henderson, and Frank Foster. B+(*) [cd]

Maxo Kream: Weight of the World (2021, Big Persona/RCA): Houston rapper, name Emekwane Ogugua Biosah Jr., father Nigerian, third album after several mixtapes. Easy rolling trap beats. B+(**)

Nas: Magic (2021, Mass Appeal, EP): Longtime rapper Nasir Jones, mine-tracks, 29:16, dropped on Xmas Eve as a stopgap or throwaway between King's Disease II and a promised "KD3." Old school: "we don't want money in a bag/we want it in a bank." B+(**)

Sebastian Noelle/Matt Mitchell/Chris Tordini/Dan Weiss: System One (2021, Fresh Sound New Talent): German guitarist, based in New York, fourth album since 2016, backed by well-known New York musicians on piano, bass, and drums. B+(**)

Okuté: Okuté (2021, Chulo): Afro-Cuban rumba group, drums and voices darting every which way, "raw and unfiltered." B+(***)

Dave Rempis/Avreeayl Ra Duo: Bennu (2021 [2022], Aerophonic): Alto/tenor sax and percussion, 21 minutes per side (21:04 for first two pieces, 20:58 for last one). First time either had played in person in several months, so they sort of ease into it, relishing the circumstances. There is a point where they turn it on, as you know they can, but they mostly take it easy, which make clear how consistently inventive they are. A- [dl]

Rüfüs Du Sol: Surrender (2021, Rose Avenue/Reprise): Australian electropop group -- Tyroe Lindqvist (guitar/vocals), Jon George (keyboards), James Hunt (drums) -- fourth studio album since 2013. Swelling sheets of sound, wraps you up. B+(**)

Samo Salamon: Dolphyology: Complete Eric Dolphy for Solo Guitar (2021 [2022], Samo, 2CD): Slovenian guitarist, has recorded a lot since 2004. Eric Dolphy, on the other hand, had his brilliant career limited to 1960-64. Same concept as several others have done with Monk, but his songs are nowhere near as distinctive, which in some ways just reduces this to a virtuosic solo ehxibition. B+(***) [cd]

The Smudges: Song and Call (2021 [2022], Cryptogramophone): String duo, Jeff Gauthier (violin) and Maggie Parkins (cello), a bit on the bracing side, which helps. B+(*) [cd] [02-18]

Martial Solal: Coming Yesterday: Live at Salle Gaveau 2019 (2019 [2021], Challenge): French pianist, b. 1927, one of the major players to put France on the jazz map in the 1950s, still interesting at 92, even solo. B+(***)

Omar Sosa/Seckou Keita: Suba (2021, Bendigedig): Cuban pianist, moved to Ecuador in 1990s, spent some time around San Francisco, wound up in Barcelona. Second duo album with the Senegalese singer and kora player. B+(**) [sp]

Earl Sweatshirt: Sick! (2022, Tan Cressida/Warner, EP): Rapper Thebe Neruda Kgositsile, born in Chicago, father a noted South African poet, mother a law professor ("critical race theorist"). Fourth studio album (but short: 10 tracks, 24:05). B+(*)

C. Tangana: El Madrileño (2021, Sony Music): Spanish rapper, real name Altón Álvarez Allaro, previously dba Crema, fifth album since 2011. B+(*)

Ben Thomas Tango Project: Eternal Aporia (2021 [2022], Origin): Vibraphone player, also plays bandoneon here, with clarinet, bass, cello on five tracks, piano and violin on two of those. All original compositions. Tango, of course. B+(*) [cd]

Torres: Thirstier (2021, Merge): Singer-songwriter Mackenzie Scott, fifth album since 2013. Latest gripe: "Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die to get there." B

Caetano Veloso: Meu Coco (2021, Sony Music Brasil): Brazilian singer-songwriter, started the tropicalismo movement in the late 1960s, politically charged and rhythmically daring, Discogs lists 64 albums since 1967. I've only heard a few, and usually need a strong shot of rhythm to get interested -- something a reknowned wordsmith doesn't always offer. But there is at least a scattershot of it here. B+(***)

Immanuel Wilkins: The 7th Hand (2022, Blue Note): Alto saxophonist, major debut in 2020, second album, quartet with Micah Thomas (piano), Daryl Johns (bass), and Kweku Sumbry (drums), plus guest spots. Even more ambitious: "hour-long suite comprised of seven movements that strive to bring the quartet closer to complete vesselhood." I'm underwhelmed, although he remains an impressive player. I also recall that I underrated his debut. B+(*) [sp]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Arv Garrison: Wizard of the Six String: Classic and Rare Recordings 1945-1948 (1945-48 [2021], Fresh Sound, 3CD): Jazz guitarist (1922-1960), recorded very little under his own name -- 6 tracks here, closing out the third disc, but several more tracks appeared under his wife's name, bassist-singer Vivien Garry. So this is mostly side credits, some famous ("Moose the Mooche," "Yardbird Suite," "Ornithology," and "A Night in Tunisia" from Charlie Parker Septet; other spots with Dizzy Gillespie, Howard McGhee, Lionel Hampton, Les Paul, Frankie Laine, and Leo Watson/Vic Dickenson -- my favorite), some air shots with iffy sound. Also available as separate volumes, where the second is probably the best, but together they offer a more compelling portrait of a young musician navigating an era of tumultuous change. B+(**)

Jimmy Gourley: The Cool Guitar of Jimmy Gourley: Quartet & Trio Sessions 1953-1961 (1953-61 [2021], Fresh Sound): Guitarist, born in St. Louis, played with Lee Konitz in a high school band in Chicago, moved to France in 1951 and stayed there. Early tracks here with Henri Renaud and Buddy Banks (a bassist, leading a quartet with Bob Dorough and Roy Haynes), ending with two quartets he led, the last two cuts recorded in Poland with Kryzstof Komeda on piano. B+(**)

It's a Good, Good Thing: The Latin Soul of Fania Records: The Singles (1967-75 [2021], Craft, 4CD): New York-based salsa label founded by Johnny Pacheco and Jerry Masucci in 1964 (Masucci bought Pacheco out in 1967, and died in 1997, the catalog eventually owned by Concord). Even in its 87-track, 4-CD version, this has got to be a small slice of Fania's singles: "soul" is the distinction sought here. Early on that refers to a sort of salsafied Motown sound. Later on they dig into r&b covers: I first noticed this with Ralph Robles doing "Maybe," which was pretty authentic, but they quickly got ridiculous with "Spinning Wheel" and "Stand." Still, the point seems to be the culture crash: if you want salsa, Fania can easily top this, and if you want soul, look elsewhere. Title also available as a 27-track, 2-LP set: a more sensible length, but maybe not the point. B+(**) [sp]

Michael Gregory Jackson: Frequency Equilibrium Koan (1977 [2021], self-released): Guitarist, best known for a 1976 album called Clarity (with David Murray, Oliver Lake, and Leo Smith, but not nearly as good as the names imply), which he used as a later trio name. Here he leads a quartet with Julius Hemphill (alto sax), Abdul Wadud (cello), and Pheeroan aKLaff (drums), which is as edgy but more together. B+(***) [bc]

Noertker's Moxie: Walking on Blue Eggshells in Billville (2001-20 [2021], Edgetone): Bassist Bill Noertker, has 13 previous albums under this group name, celebrating their 20th anniversary with three CDs selected from bi-monthly live performances at the Musicians' Union Hall in San Francisco. Specific dates aren't provided, but the lineups vary considerably: most common band member is Annelise Zamula (flute/tenor sax) at six (of 9) tracks; drummer Jason Levis appears on five, with three drummers dividing the rest. No other instrument appears on more than five tracks (piano and flute, two musicians each). B+(**) [cd]

Noertker's Moxie: More Fun in Billville (2001-20 [2021], Edgetone): Eight more pieces, similar lineups, similar results. B+(**) [cd]

Noertker's Moxie: Pantomime in Billville (2001-20 [2921], Edgetone): Eight more pieces, again widely scattered, not sure if the selection flags a bit, or I'm just losing a bit of interest. B+(*) [cd]

Peter Stampfel & the Dysfunctionells: Not in Our Wildest Dreams (1994-96 [2020], Don Giovanni): The band is a Chicago group led by Rich Krueger long before he became semi-famous. Evidently some of this was released in 1995, but this reissue has more, two sets each in Chicago and New York. Several songs from Have Moicy!, one "massacred," and a bunch of standards, massacred worse. B+(*) [sp]

Neil Young: Carnegie Hall 1970 (1970 [2021], Reprise): Seems like a long time ago, but coming off his third solo album, he already had lots of still-familiar songs. Solo, acoustic, folksinger mode. Struck me as tedious at first, but I softened up. In particular, I found "Ohio" very touching, and resonant at the moment. B+(**)

Old music:

The Al Cohn-Zoot Sims Quintet: You 'N Me (1960 [2002], Verve): Tenor saxophonists, half of Woody Herman's famous "Four Brothers" sax section, played together often in the late 1950s, occasionally later on. With Mose Allison (piano), Major Holley (bass), and Osie Johnson (drums), playing three Cohn tunes, one from Sims, and various standards. The saxophonists are typically fine, but on "Angel Eyes" they (or someone) tries to vocalize the horn parts, to not-even-comic effect. B+(*)

Al Cohn: Rifftide (1987 [1988], Timeless): Recorded in Holland, backed by a local piano-bass-drums trio (Rein de Graaff, Koos Serierse, and Eric Ineke). Six standards, including the title piece from Coleman Hawkins, ending up with two originals. B+(***)

Dennis Gonzalez/Yusef Komunyakaa: Herido: Live at St. James Cathedral, Chicago (1999 [2001], 8th Harmonic Breakdown): Avant trumpet player from Dallas, responsible for the music here, backing and complementing the Pulitzer-winning poets' meditations. Backed by Mark Deutsch (baantar/electric bass/sitar), Susie Ibarra (percussion), and Sugar Blue (harmonica). [Reissue 2021, details uncertain.] B+(***) [bc]

Grade (or other) changes:

Doja Cat: Planet Her (2021, Kemosabe/RCA): Amala Dlamini, rapper/singer from Los Angeles, third album, big, flashy pop production, first half (plus closer "Kiss Me More") as strong as any 2020 pop album. Sags a bit in the middle, and I'm not wild about the song delicately titled "Ain't Shit." [was: B+(*)] A-

Silk Sonic [Bruno Mars/Anderson .Paak]: An Evening With Silk Sonic (2021, Aftermath/Atlantic): A pop star in decline since his 2010 debut, and a rapper with a pop streak, a combination that must have seemed natural when they were hanging on the road. Not sure why it seemed so off when I first played it, but it showed up on a lot of otherwise solid EOY lists, and I found myself enjoying a video. Not as consistent as I'd like. Secret weapon: MC Bootsy Collins. [was: B-] B+(**)

Spillage Village: Spilligion (2020, Dreamville/SinceThe 80s/Inerscope): Atlanta-based hip-hop collective, several names I recognize from solo projects (EarthGang, JID, Mereba, 6lack), others I probably should. Christgau pick as the 3rd best album of the year after the one this was released in (September 25). I've replayed this several times, but doubt I'll ever get it, whatever it may be. [was: B+(*)] B+(***)

Morgan Wade: Reckless (2021, Ladylike): Country singer-songwriter from Virginia, second album. Great voice, solid (and then some) songs. I played this during a stretch with a lot of more idiosyncratic country albums, so its virtues stood out less. But it only gets better. [was: B+(***)] A-

Wild Up: Julius Eastman Vol. 1: Femenine (2021, New Amsterdam): Eastman was a commposer, pianist, vocalist, and dancer, who grew up in upstate New York, lived 1940-90, anticipated elements of minimalism but didn't dare make it boring. This major work first appeared in 1974, and was revived by two groups in 2021 (the other is by Ensemble O/Aum Grand Ensemble). Led by cellist Seth Parker Woods, handful of albums since 2014, I count 17 musicians plus voice, with less electronics and more horns (including sax solos), making it more dramatic, more fun. [was: B+(***)] A-

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Wayne Alpern: Secular Rituals (Henri Elkan)
• Aaron Bazzell: Aesthetic (self-released) [04-22]
• Michael Bisio Quartet: MBefore (Tao Forms) [03-25]
• Bouvier: Blanchant (self-released) [04-13]
• Dave Douglas: Secular Psalms (Greenleaf Music) [04-01]
• James Gaiters Soul Revival: Understanding Reimagined (self-released) [03-01]
• Micah Graves: Pawns (self-released)
• Hinda Hoffman Meets Soul Message: People (Know You Know)
• Javon Jackson: The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni (Solid Jackson) [02-18]
• Ryan Keberle Collectiv Do Brasil: Sonhos Da Esquina (Alternate Side) [03-18]
• The Adam Larson Trio: With Love, From Chicago (Outside In Music) [02-11]
• Doug MacDonald and the L.A. All-Star Octet: Overtones (DMAC Music) [02-15]
• Bill O'Connell: A Change Is Gonna Come (Savant) [01-28]
• Sergio Pereira: Finesse (Sedajazz)
• Dave Rempis/Elisabeth Harnik/Michael Zerang: Astragaloi (Aerophonic) [04-01]
• Kenny Shanker: Vortex (Wise Cat) [03-04]
• Natsuki Tamura: Summer Tree (Libra) [02-11]
• Deanna Witkowski: Force of Nature (MCG Jazz) [01-28]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Sunday, February 6, 2022

Once again, I had kept a few articles in tabs that I felt like commenting on, then made a round of my usual sources and found a few more.

I'm about half way through Barbara Walter's How Civil Wars Start, and How to Stop Them. Too early to say much, other than that her structure make sense, and her evidence of how other civil wars developed is persuasive. That even includes characterizing social media (Facebook in particular) as "the accelerant" -- a position I've been reluctant to endorse. It's easy enough to see that there are forces on the right that want to spark a civil war. And it's certain that said forces will resort to terrorism if they don't get their way. On the other hand, like most of the left, I trust the system to be resilient enough to curtail their offenses. I never for a moment thought that the Jan. 6 mob would succeed. But then I also wasn't shocked that they would try. Their character has been clear for years now -- certainly going back to the "Tea Party" reaction to Obama in 2009. The people most deeply offended by the mob are the ones who were most naive about them, and more generally about Trump and the Republicans, in the first place.

The question as to whether the left will fight back should the right seize power is moot at present, but should be considered by establishment powers as a risk should they be tempted to throw in with the Trump mob (as some have already done). The Weimar German ruling class thought they could control Hitler, but he eventually brought them to destruction. (The German people survived, albeit at great loss, but the aristocratic class of the Reichs didn't.) The basic fact is that it's very hard to sustain dictatorial rule indefinitely, and not very difficult to disrupt it. While in some ways the tools of repression have advanced, they still depend on popular acquiescence, which is hard to maintain when it violates people's innate sense of justice. In the long run this limits what either right or left can do politically -- not that I worry about the left, as we are motivated primarily by out sense of justice.

As I was trying to wrap this up, I ran across this tweet thread from Steve M. @nomoremister:

I hope everyone understands that the issue Republicans plan to run on in 2022 is the upcoming U.S. version of the anti-vaxx Canada trucker convoy, which will inevitably take place not just in D.C. but in multiple state capitals, particularly in purple states.

The U.S. version of the caravan will be even more menacing than the Canadian version, but Republicans will do much better messaging. (Democrats will try to ignore it and stick with boring talk about poll-tested subjects.)

GoFundMe wanted to close down a funding page for the truckers and refund donors' money, but Florida and Texas threatened to sue and GoFundMe backed off.

Republicans *always* know how to play the victim card. They'll do the same thing in the U.S. version of the caravan. Look at how their side threatened people at school board meetings and yet declared victim status when the feds said they'd be looking into the threats.

This is what politics in 2022 will look like. I'm 100% certain that Democrats aren't ready for it.

I ran across a piece (or two or three) on this and decided not to bother, as jerks will be jerks, and that's about all I have to say about vaccine and mask mandates and the jerks who whine about them. I happen to be related to a Trumpy trucker who was very psyched by this, but a commenter dampened his enthusiasm by pointing out that states have laws designed to prevent truck convoys -- otherwise they'd basically turn into rolling traffic jams -- so it couldn't happen here. But yeah, as a piece of political theater, this is right up the Republicans' alley, and harder for Democrats to laugh at than their yacht parades. And now Steve M. has a longer piece on this: The Canadian Truck Blockade Is Coming to America in Less Than a Month.

Coronavirus in the US: Latest Map and Case Count: Case counts are down 57% over 14 days, which still puts them higher than they ever were before Dec. 31, 2021. Hospitalized is down 228%, but deaths are up 21%, to 2,597 (pushing the total to 901,009), which is more than there ever were except for the January 2021 peak. The regional map shows most improvement from northeast Ohio and Maryland to Maine, except for middle Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the worst spots (aside from Alaska) are the belt from Oklahoma to the Carolinas, extending NE to West Virginia and SE to Florida. Unvaccinated remain 20X more likely to die than vaccinated. Also note: US Has Far Higher Covid Death Rate Than Other Wealthy Countries. The charts also show that the margin is widening, and that this can be attributed to lower vaccination rates. For more on this, see David Wallace-Wells: Why Are So Many Americans Still Dying of COVID?.

Barbara Caress: The Dark History of Medicare Privatization: This is mostly about "Medicare Advantage" ("a costly, unaccountable cash cow for private insurance companies that is swallowing traditional Medicare"), but it remind me that one problem with selling Medicare-for-All is that Medicare as currently constituted still leaves a lot to be desired. This is less of a problem for Bernie Sanders, as his bill seeks not just to extend Medicare but to fix most of its limitations, but it does make it harder to sell to people who don't know any better. As for the privatization schemes, I would have thought that their utter failure to deliver cost savings would have discredited them by now, but evidently they've become powerful profit centers: largely as government has increased their subsidies, even as they profit from shifting liabilities, both by cherry-picking patients and by denying more of their claims.

David Dayen/Rakeen Mabud: How We Broke the Supply Chain: "Ramp[ant outsourcing, financialization, monopolization, deregulation, and just-in-time logistics are the culprits." Or, more plainly, short term profits. Moreover, the people who broke it all profit both when their system works and when it doesn't. "Corporate profit margins are at their highest level in 70 years," "a little bit of inflation is always good in our business," and "inflation is being enhanced by exploitation, with companies seeing a 'once-in-a-generation opportunity' to raise prices." You might also take a look at Dayen's December, 2021 article: The Inflation-Fighting Bill You Don't Know About: "An overwhelmingly bipartisan effort would finally crack down on the ocean shipping cartel." Also Robert Kuttner: The Supply Chain Mess, which points out how "Biden is finding creative ways to get things unstuck." These are much more sensible reforms, much better targeted to the real problems, than the Fed's classic solution for inflation, which is to lay people off to reduce demand (while giving loaners a windfall, further suppressing demand by increasing debt).

Neel Dhanesha: Paleontologists study the past. This one has a warning for the future. Interview with Thomas Halliday, author of Otherlands: A Journey Through Earth's Extinct Worlds. I went through a period where most of what I read was books on paleontology and geology: John McPhee and Stephen Jay Gould were the "gateway drugs" but I got to the point where I could read pretty technical textbooks. After my first wife died, I found the idea of deep time comforting. But I moved on to other sciences in the 1990, and returned to politics and economics after 2001, so I haven't kept up -- other than the occasional paleoclimatology take on climate change. This book looks like an effort to systematize what scientists know about earth history for a readership accustomed to crisis and catastrophe. What's hard to tell at this distance is whether this record will calm or alarm current readers. But one thing you can bet on is that uniformitarianism, a doctrine that was just beginning to crack back when I was reading, is giving way to a new catastrophism, just right for the times. I may have to check this out.

Sean Illing: Why good messaging won't save Democrats: "Dan Pfeiffer on the Democratic brand and how to revive it." Another frustrating klatch on "why we suck so bad." For instance, Pfeiffer says: "I think we've spent too much time demonizing Fox News for its propaganda. There's this visceral reaction from a lot of people in our donor community. They don't want to be labeled propagandists in that way." Fox News is the single most important cog in the Republican machine, making sure that all the faithful have the right spin on all that matters. You don't have to demonize it to expose what they're doing, but you can't just ignore it because criticizing it makes "Democratic billionaires" uncomfortable. He goes on to complain that "the biggest problem with the [Terry] McAuliffe campaign was that it treated voters like idiots." I don't know where he got that analysis from, but sounds like Fox News. One of the main things they do is pounce on any blip to present it as a deep, unforgivable insult to their viewers (who often are idiots, and proud of it).

Murtaza Hussain: Killing of ISIS Leader Shows That US Forever Wars Will Never End: Biden probably sees this as his "Bin Laden killing" moment, still stuck in the mindset that trophy murders are a viable war metric, except that with US troops gone from Afghanistan and Iraq, all this really does is remind people that the US military is still engaged in dark, unreported corners, and hasn't learned much of anything from two decades of failures. We should remember that wars only end with armistice agreements. The US refusal to admit defeat and learn to work with de facto regimes in Syria and Afghanistan is pure spite, resolving nothing, continuing a long series of grudges, going back to North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Iran, and Iraq. Also see Fred Kaplan: Are We Winning Yet? "The big, often unaddressed question is how effective these operations are . . . The answer, it turns out, is that, most of the time, they're not very effective after all."

Umair Irfan: Will climate change melt the Winter Olympics? "It will be hard to host the Winter Games when winter isn't cold." It's been pretty cold here the last couple days, but it was over 50F less than a week ago, and will be again less than a week hence, so Wichita isn't much of a place for winter sports. (Of course, it never was a candidate, not so much because it didn't get cold as for lack of mountains.) Even now, Beijing looks like a pretty iffy proposition, with all skiing events dependent on artificial snow. There's a chart here that projects that only 5 (of 15) possible sites will be reliably cold in the 2080s (with Beijing and Vancouver, among recent sites, not even making the chart). Of course, they could consider more reliably colder spots, like Thule, Fairbanks, or Murmansk, but the main determinants of late seem to have been money and vanity.

Ed Kilgore: Trump's Long Campaign to Steal the Presidency: A Timeline: "The insurrection was a complex, yearslong plot, not a one-day event. And it isn't over." Starts in 2016 with Trump's complaints about counting votes, asserting his claim that he would have won the popular vote but for the crooked system, then the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which Kris Kobach led into oblivion. One could go back even further, and add a great many details. I'm not sure when Republicans first realized they could game the system, working it to advantage, but it certainly goes back as far as when Trump prankster Roger Stone apprenticed under Nixon. But they've become increasingly brazen about it of late, mostly because they've proven it works, and they haven't been held accountable. Republicans routinely win more House and Senate seats than their voting share, and that's sometimes been enough to tilt control of Congress. Four presidential elections went to losers of the popular vote, and all have been Republicans: two back in the 19th century as black people were being disenfranchised, and two in recent history (Bush in 2000 and Trump in 2016, the latter losing by three million votes). Those "wins" enabled the aggressive implementation of an unpopular right-wing political agenda, leading to endless war, greater inequality, and two major recessions. This was happening before Trump started his 2016 campaign, but Trump's unique contribution was his utterly shameless attack on the already hollow institutions of democracy. And the assault continues, as every Republican-controlled state has moved to make it harder to vote, and in several cases to exert greater political control over how votes are to be counted. Democrats have tried to respond by waxing eloquent over defending the traditional institutions of American democracy, but in looking only at the latest offenses, they've tended to overlook the real rot at the heart of politics: money. Their myopia over money can be explained by that fact that several successful Democrats (e.g., Obama and the Clintons) have excelled at raising money -- but fatally compromised their administrations in its pursuit, leaving theadbare legacies. This allows Republicans to attack Democrats for corruption and ineffectiveness, while offering more of the same, more shamelessly craven. As Republicans have normalized anti-democratic beliefs, they've freed themselves from having to pretend that they care about voters, leaving themselves exhilaratingly free to indulge their fantasies and prejudices. We should be clear that unless they are stopped, their victory will not merely spell the end of quaint institutions Americans have long taken pride in, but the very notion of "government of, by, and for the people."

Caroline Kitchener: Republican-led states rush to pass antiabortion bills before Supreme Court rules on Roe: "Lawmakers in at least 29 states, anticipating a new legal landscape, have filed measures to restrict abortion."

Eric Levitz: No, Democrats and Republicans Aren't Equally Anti-Democratic: This is framed as a response to a Ross Douthat column, which sought to muddy the waters by contending that "the modern Republican Party is also the heir to a strong pro-democracy impulse" and that "contemporary liberalism is fundamentally miscast as a defender of popular self-rule." This is at best shallow contrarianism rooted in rather dated sleight of hand. Sure, Nixon imagined a "silent majority," but he didn't exactly trust them to run the country. Rather, he connived to trick them into backing his own presidency, in the most blatant model of mass manipulation of the time, a practice all subsequent Republican leaders have followed. And sure, the idea of "liberal elites" has a long pedigree, at least to FDR's "brain trust" and JFK's "best and brightest." But even at their most paternalistic and condescending, the latter have always embraced the notion of a public interest, and sought to make government work more effectively for virtually everyone. Republicans disposed of such notions no later than the 1980s, substituting the creed that only self-interested individuals exist, that they are in competition, and that politics is a means for advancing the interests of some people (supporters of the Republican Party) against the rest. If playing on popular prejudices helps the GOP gain power, so much the better, Same for lying, cheating, stealing -- their manifesto reduced to three plain words. But parties are not fixed ideologies. They represent shifting alliances, and the period of elite domination of the Democratic Party seems to be if not ending at least opening up, mostly because the "New Democrat" faction failed on two major counts: to deliver programs much needed to help the party base, and to effectively counter Republican schemes. (It's possible that elite domination of the GOP is also waning as the Party sinks ever deeper into Trumpian incoherency, but thus far that has had little practical effect.) Despite Douthat's best efforts, the increasing dispute over the very essence of democracy is helping to divide the parties and clarify their differences, as Democrats realize they need to reform themselves to become more credible and effective defenders of democracy. Also:

• Zack Beauchamp: Is American democracy really in peril? A debate with Ross Douthat. Douthat tries to tiptoe around the peril, saying silly things like "Republicans are just not that ambitious," and urging Democrats "to move slightly to the right of where the median voter is."

• Alex Pareene: Abolish States: "Or defund them. Either way." On the Republican fondness for state government, explained variously but most importantly as a pinch point for controlling government and the graft associated with it. Best line here: "The right wants militarized federal police guarding the borders and local state bureaucrats denying welfare benefits, just as in the past they wanted federal enforcement of fugitive slave capture and county authority over New Deal spending." He goes on to provide links to two Nathan Newman articles: The Withering Away of the States Can't Happen Soon Enough, and Want Affordable Housing? Strengthen Regional Governments.

Anatol Lieven: Leaked drafts of NATO, US responses to Russia are surprisingly revealing: I said most of what I have to say on Ukraine and NATO in my January 27 piece, NATO Pushes Its Logic (and Luck). The main thing I would like to add is more detail on how the current threat was almost totally orchestrated by the US and UK through a series of "intelligence" leaks meant to embarrass and corner Putin. (I can hear Robert Sherrill from his grave intoning "military intelligence is to intelligence as military music is to music.") Since I wrote my review, nothing on the Russian side has escalated other than rhetoric at the UN, although on the US end we've seen a steady series of reports on arms and/or troops moving closer to the conflict zone, while Ukrainian citizens have been training in the latest tactics for fighting guerrilla warfare. Presumably that's being advertised as a deterrent, but the appearance of an armed (most likely right-wing) militia in Eastern Europe is never a good sign. Lieven's uncovered a few leaks of his own, which help separate the posturing from the real concerns. Not least, they show how the US is orchestrating NATO ("you should talk to the organ grinder, not his monkey"). But they also show an easily solvable problem, as long as cooler heads don't allow themselves to be painted into a corner. Also on Ukraine:

• Anne Applebaum: The Reason Putin Would Risk War: "He is threatening to invade Ukraine because he wants democracy to fail -- and not just in that country." Articles like this are why I don't subscribe to The Atlantic (well, that and the high price tag). I don't doubt that Putin has little regard for democracy, but he manages to game Russia's system well enough, and he no doubt appreciates that his election wins give him legitimacy that would be hard to otherwise claim. He may well regard other "democracies" as susceptible to similar manipulation, and may enjoy doing so in some cases, but is that any reason to risk war? Applebaum is not just projecting; she is hallucinating. Putin has real but limited aims in Ukraine. The only one trying to blow them up to ideological principles are a few hawks in the West, who are the real threats to peace.
• David Bromwich: Russia, Ukraine, and The New York Times: "The paper of record's coverage of the crisis has been a series of shameless provocative conjectures posing as facts." And not for the first time -- remember Iraq? what about the Spanish-American War? (or was that just The Hearald?) The Washington Post, by the way, is keeping pace with Russia could invade Ukraine within days, US assessments find (link headline from front page; actual title is "Russia could seize Kyiv in days and cause 50,000 civilian deaths in Ukraine, US assessments find," going on to predict: "Up to 5 million people likely to flee if Russia invades").
• Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux: War With Russia Has Pushed Ukrainians Toward the West: Suppose that's why the US started the panic?
• John Quiggin: Myths that stir trouble in the South China Sea: This is nominally about China, but the real subject is how the US and its "allies" are orchestrating a propaganda offensive to "promote the interests of nationalists and militarists." Sound familiar?

Carlos Lozada: How Trump's political style smothered the last substance left in the GOP: A review of this week's big Trump book, Jeremy W Peters' Insurgency: How Republicans Lost Their Party and Got Everything They Ever Wanted. Of course, the rot predates Trump, which is why the party was ready to embrace him. It occurred to me in reading this that the real architect of Trumpism was Roger Ailes, and Trump was just the actor picked to fill the part. One interesting point here is the update to the Republican three-legged party model: social conservatives, economic conservatives, and national defense, to which is added "stylistic conservatives": "voters cared just as much, if not more, about the way a candidate talked as they did about what specific issues the candidate supported. The more aggressive, unfiltered, and politically incorrect, the better." They saw transgressive speech as a sign of commitment, candor, and integrity, and Trump delivered. I got a sense of déjà vu here, recalling other conservatives that put style -- latent and in some cases actual violence -- above all else. They called themselves Fascists, and would have been disappointed in Trump (the epitome of "all hat and no cattle"), but proto-fascists these days delighted in Trump, and thanks to Fox News they lived in their own bubble world.

Viet Thanh Nguyen: My Young Mind Was Disturbed by a Book. It Changed My Life. A personal response to the recent spate of book banning (e.g., Maus in Tennessee). I'm old enough to recall a time when lots of books were banned. I know that as a teenager I often refused "required" readings (Huckleberry Finn was one -- I especially hated the misspellings meant to be colloquial), and sought out "banned" ones (mostly because I grew up with a severe deficit of info on sex and drugs). Maybe banning works for some people, but it's mostly about parents and self-important guardians feeling morally superior -- which they rarely are.

Ashley Parker, et al: 'He never stopped ripping things up': Inside Trump's relentless document destruction habits: "Trup's shredding of paper in the White House was far more widespread and indiscriminate than previously known and -- despite multiple admonishments -- extended throughout his presidency." I doubt this qualifies as a shocking revelation or as one of the grosser malfeasances of Trump's presidency, but in its extreme pettiness it reveals most clearly Trump's imperious conceit of being above and beyond the law. Might as well hang more Trump outrage here:

• Melissa Gira Grant: To Trump, the Law Is Always White: "There is a particular twist in Trump's latest rhetoric, the claim that only a corrupt country could elect Black people who would dare to investigate whites." There's also Trump's recent argument that black judges shouldn't be allowed to rule on his cases. After all, they could be prejudiced against racists. It's always interesting to watch the crowds assembled behind Trump when he does his rally stand up routine. They always include a smattering of black faces with "Blacks for Trump" shirts. I don't know whether they're hired for the occasion, but their faces can get awfully puzzled when he goes into some routine about how whites are being forced to the backs of lines.

Trita Parsi: Washington ignores Amnesty Israel 'apartheid' report at its peril: "Not holding partners to account for human rights abuses makes them burdens rather than assets to the US." This is, of course, standard operating procedure: cite the reports of Amnesty International and other human rights organizations that criticize countries you hold grudges against, while ignoring the same sources on "allies" -- the simplest definition of which is nations which buy US military arms. (By the way, it's increasingly obvious that the US military-industrial complex has become, as Tom Engelhart put it, "a scam operation." See William Hartung: Mission (Im)possible -- and You're Paying for It.)

Heather Cox Richardson: January 27, 2022: Seems like this should have a better title, like "The Best Economic Growth Since 1984." Of course, like 1984, the upsurge in 2021 has more than a little to do with the depression of the previous year (years for 1984). But while the 1984 growth, fueled by tax cuts and deficit spending, petered out as wages fell flat and the newly-deregulated savings and loans went bust, Biden's focus on infrastructure and labor development augurs well for the future (and would even more so if more of the program got passed).

Joshua Rothman: Can science fiction wake us up to our climate reality? A profile of Kim Stanley Robinson, author of many books, recently The Ministry for the Future on how responsible citizens (and a few eco-terrorists) solved the climate change crisis, with a new book (The High Sierra: A Love Story) coming out this summer.

David Siders/Natalie Allison: Trump's 'circular firing squad' threatens GOP midterm gains: Well, one hopes, but censoring Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger doesn't really rise to the metaphor here. As purges go, they're a mere drop in the bucket, and you don't have to be Joe Stalin to understand that their example will help keep many more others in line. The days of Reagan's "11th commandment" ("never speak ill of a fellow Republican") are long gone, as the powers in the party, perhaps just in fear of mass ferment at the party base, have decided the most important thing is to maintain message discipline, driving the Party ever farther to the right. Sure, that could, in theory, turn into a suicide pact, but they've already managed to push it so far without feeling major repercussions it's hard to see why this one little step should make any difference. Also see:

• Jonathan Weisman/Reid J Epstein: GOP Declares Jan. 6 Attack 'Legitimate Political Discourse'. That's taking weasel-wording to a whole new level. None of the mob broke into the Capitol because they wanted to have a nice, civil chat. Some of them wanted to intimidate Congress, and some simply wanted to disrupt it. But this gives you a hint where the GOP is heading. By 2024, you're going to see people who did jail time using that a credentials to run for Congress. Eventually, Jan. 6 will be remembered like the Alamo -- which may give some of us second thoughts about the Alamo.

Margaret Sullivan: Jeff Zucker's legacy is defined by his promotion of Donald Trump. The disgraced CNN President resigned last week, though not for the sensationalist idolatry that promoted Trump as a ratings bonanza even before Fox started sucking up to him. Also: Alex Shephard: Jeff Zucker Was the Most Craven TV Executive of the Trump Era.

Adriana Usero: How an out-of-context Jen Psaki clip led to days of Fox coverage. The point here isn't just that Fox distorts and lies. It also defends itself relentlessly by portraying any attempt to point out its lies and distortions as a scurrilous attack on Fox and their viewers. The first order result is that Fox viewers are trained to never believe anything they hear from mainstream media. The second order result is that no one should ever trust anything that Fox broadcasts. This credibility gap is the purest driver of polarization today.

David Von Drehle: George Packer's opus on Afghanistan is a scorching indictment of Biden: Review of Packer's essay in The Atlantic (which, behind a paywall, I haven't read). Packer was an early promoter of Bush's war in Iraq (which he later regretted), and now seems to have been even fonder of Obama's "the right war" in Afghanistan. Packer's opening line line was more balanced: "It took four presidencies for America to finish abandoning Afghanistan." (Actually, it took eight, starting with Jimmy Carter's decision to bankroll a "holy war" there.) Biden was the only one who got us out, and this is the thanks he gets? Sure, it wasn't pretty, and some part of that was because Biden tried to keep up the pretense that US intervention in Afghanistan had some redeeming virtue, but in the end he knew what he had to do, and did it. I'd call that courage. And I'd add that Packer has squandered whatever good will he earned from second-guessing himself on Iraq. He remains a soppy, fair-weather imperialist to the end.

Laura Vozzella: Youngkin campaign attacks high school student on Twitter. Big man, the governor.

Jenny Gross/Neil Vigdor: ABC Suspends Whoopi Goldberg Over Holocaust Comments: File this under "much ado about nothing." As usual, one has to wade through a lot of posturing to find the actual "wrong and hurtful comments." The first here was that Goldberg "said the Holocaust was about 'man's inhumanity to man' and 'not about race.'" Her first point was a little wishy-washy but plainly correct, so what's the problem? The second was technically wrong, but it turns on how one understands race. It is unlikely that any Nazis in the 1930s doubted that Jews belonged a different and inferior race. But is it really fair to fault an American black woman for race is about white-over-black instead? She made that clear when she added, "This is white people doing it to white people, so y'all going to fight among yourselves." OK, that wasn't helpful, but does her "wrong and hurtful comments" really just turn on identifying Jews as white? While Jews have been significantly more likely than Christian whites have been to recognize racism as a wrong and to support equal rights for all -- and have thereby become targets of white supremacists -- they've never had the same "skin in the game" as black people. But nowhere here is Goldberg denying or belittling the Holocaust. So why jump all over her? It's hard not to see this as a power grab, an effort to control language for political gain. That Goldberg was suspended, even after a full apology, suggests that the power is working. I could add that the reason it works is because the argument is structured in such a way that if you question it in any way, all you're doing is exposing yourself as an anti-semite.

The article quotes an ADL spokesman as scolding Goldberg: "the Holocaust was about the Nazi's systematic annihilation of the Jewish people -- who they deemed to be an inferior race. They dehumanized them and used this racist propaganda to justify slaughtering 6 million Jews. Holocaust distortion is dangerous." The problem here is that what's presented as a correction is itself a distortion. Sure, nothing stated is wrong, but this omits mention of millions of non-Jews killed by the Nazis. When I was growing up and first learning about Nazi Germany in the 1960s, the figure commonly cited was 10 million killed in Nazi concentration camps (out of about 50 million killed in the entirety of WWII). Over the next decade or two, the non-Jews were stripped from memory and everyone started using the six million figure. This shift in focus suited Israel, which used it (and its exclusive claim to represent the Jews of Europe) to claim reparations from a repentant Germany. It also suited US Cold War aims in that it minimized the leading role the left (including communists) had played in opposing and resisting the Nazi war machine. (On the other hand, not all Americans were pleased with the ploy. By rewriting German war aims as racist instead of imperialist -- the overarching ideology that promoted and was promoted by racism -- white supremacy in the US was cast into doubt.)

None of which should deflect one from understanding that the Nazi obsession with slaughtering every Jew possible was anything but one of the world's most spectacularly evil instances of "man's inhumanity to man." Nor does the fact that Germany accelerated the extermination in the waning days of the war lessen the extreme cruelty and viciousness the Nazi regime inflicted on Jews (and all other political opponents) in the early days of the regime -- a time when conservatives in the US, UK, and elsewhere were still much enamored with Herr Hitler. (That era's conservatives were, with few if any exceptions, much given to race theories, at least those that flattered their own sense of superiority. Their racism only gradually faded well after their champion had been disgraced, and in some cases still seems to linger.)

I'd also like to add that when I started reading into the history of WWII and Nazi Germany -- one particularly eye-opening book was Simon Wiesenthal's The Murderers Among Us, but also the concentration camp plays by Peter Weiss and Rolf Hochhuth -- I was instantly struck by the parallels between Nazi racism and the racist treatment of black and native people in America (although it took me a few more years to put them into the context of European imperialism). Only much later did I discover that Hitler based his racial theories on American models -- James Q Whitman's Hitler's American Model details this -- and that he viewed his drive for "Lebensraum" in the east as inspired by America's genocidal conquest of the old west. I should also note while Israel's dominant political faction has sought to capitalize on the Holocaust -- the book here is Norman Finkelstein's The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering -- no one should use that to generalize against all Jews (or even all Israelis). The threat of anti-semitism in today's world is indeed dire, and not lessened by co-existence with numerous other hateful, demeaning, and destructive beliefs.

When I first though of writing on this, I was thinking I'd use Tim Wise: Whoopi Goldberg's Suspension Is Ridiculous as a jumping off point, but while he has a number of valid points, I searched in vain for the offending quote. It also turned out that I disagreed with his main point, summed up in the subhed: "meanwhile, Ron DeSantis is out here refusing to condemn Nazis in his own state." I'm not really offended when a head of state refuses to take a podium and condemn any citizen group, and I'd be tempted to give them more credit when the media tries to goad them into it. Of course, the problem with De Santis (and Trump, who has also refused to disparage his own Nazi supporters) is that this isn't a principle of decency with them. They're more than eager to condemn people they dislike, and they've made it clear that they can't stand vast swathes of the public, so the real question is why they seem to think that Nazis should be the exception.

I also read Aja Romano: Can Whoopi Goldberg's public history lesson actually do some good?, which makes some interesting points, and adds context, both on the long history of anti-semitism and on Goldberg's generally constructive handling of past gaffes. Still much to nitpick here. Romano frames Goldberg's comments as "indicative of a growing cultural ignorance of the Holocaust," and notes sensibly this is "in part because of the passage of time and cultural memory loss," but continues "also in part due to the blatant manipulation of World War II history by the modern white supremacist movement and other bad actors who practice Holocaust revisionism and denial." Really? I understand that some such texts exist, but does any other historian take them at all seriously? No doubt there is a lot of ignorance on the subject, given time, geography, and political blinders, but no one who actually reads up on the history doubts the scale, intention, or methods of the Holocaust. What is up for debate is how the Holocaust fits in the broader context of history. Ironically, the ones most insistent that we never forget either the Holocaust or the long and disgraceful history of anti-semitism and racism that led up to it seem to have little interest in remembering the broader context of that legacy: and not just the millions of non-Jews the Nazis also killed, but the deep history of imperialism, of war, and of conservative repression of the left -- or as Goldberg put it, "man's inhumanity to man."

PS: I thought I was done with this, but have since found more insightful commentary worth citing:

• Jamelle Bouie: On Whoopi Goldberg's Comments and the Origins of Racism.
• Adam Serwer: Whoopi Goldberg's American Idea of Race.

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Sunday, January 31, 2021

January archive (final).

Music: Current count 37201 [37117] rated (+44), 132 [140] unrated (-8).

As I tweeted early last week, I got a big boost in my search for 2021 albums from Jason Gross's long Ye Wei Blog EOY lists. I also noticed a Brazilian artist/title I was previously unaware of that broke into the top 50 of the Expert Witnesses Poll (the Facebook post is here, but I've compiled a more succinct albums list (with my grades, also Christgau's, as they are most influential in this poll). I later found that Rod Taylor's Brazil Beat includes detailed reviews of several dozen recent Brazilian albums, including many he prefers to my pick. I've checked out a half-dozen or so, and nothing else struck me as favorably as Delta Estácio Blues, but what do I know? (For starters, one thing I don't know is Portuguese.)

Robert Christgau published his 2021 Dean's List last week. Most years he tips his hand by listing 3-5 unreviewed albums, but this year the only one was Doja Cat's Planet Her -- I had it at B+(*), so should give it another chance (same for his number 3 pick, Spilligion from 2020). I held off on posting his list and essay to his website, and still have a little more work to do before I can.

January 2022 Streamnotes is closed (link up top), but once again I haven't gotten my indexing done. I also haven't frozen my 2021 file, as I usually do around this time. Still, I might as well go ahead and post this much. Looks like this is going to be a difficult week.

Observed my late mother's birthday today by cooking one of her signature comfort food dishes: fried round steak in mushroom gravy. Small pleasures.

New records reviewed this week:

Black Pistol Fire: Look Alive (2021, Black Hill): Garage rock duo from Austin, Eric Owen and Kevin McKeown, half-dozen albums since 2011. Strike me as minor, but functional, the sort of band you can always enjoy but never remember. B+(*) [sp]

Solemn Brigham: South Sinner Street (2021, Mello Music Group): North Carolina rapper, has a couple good albums as Marlowe -- with L'Orange, a producer here. Rapid fire volleys most striking. B+(*) [bc]

The Brother Moves On: Tolika Mtoliki (2021, Matsuli Music): South African group, uses initials TBMO, opens with a politically charged rap ("You Think You Know Me") over a light township jive riff. Shades of Mzwakhe Mbuli, without the zing. B+(**) [bc]

Cheekface: Emphatically No (2021, New Professor Music): Indie rock trio from Los Angeles, with Greg Katz singing (also guitar), Amanda Tannen (bass), and Mark Edwards (drums). Second album. Fair mix of political ("it turns out the whole world will collapse/ but that's just a mistake"), personal ("I'm feeling good/ but I'm sure it will pass"), and a nod toward others ("there's always some reason to talk about yourself"). B+(***) [bc]

Chris Conde: Engulfed in the Marvelous Decay (2021, Fake Four): San Antonio-based rapper, previous album Growing Up Gay, "combines the classically detached spheres of hip hop, indie rock and avant-garde art punk of the drag variety." Has a metal edge not unlike Backxwash, but I'm not sure it helps. B+(*) [bc]

Andrew Cyrille/William Parker/Enrico Rava: 2 Blues for Cecil (2021 [2022], TUM): Drums, bass, flugelhorn. "Cecil," of course, is Taylor, the late pianist. The title tracks are jointly credited, as are two improvisations, with each contributing additional pieces, ending with a cover of "My Funny Valentine." None of which is especially reminiscent of Taylor. A- [cd]

Danger Dan: Das Ist Alles Von Der Kunstfreiheit Gedeckt (2021, Altilopen Geldwäsche): German rapper Daniel Pongratz, from Aachen, part of the Antilopen collective, third album. Title refers to artistic freedom, the suggestion that covering songs with alternate lyrics is what we call "fair use." Most are speak-singing over piano. The first sounds like Randy Newman, the title "Lauf Davon" close enough to "Sail Away." I can't place the others, and don't follow German well enough to get any subtle points. B+(*)

Jamael Dean: Primordial Waters (2021, Stones Throw): Pianist, third album. Sharada Shashidhar sings, effectively taking over. Bandcamp includes an extra 10-track hip-hop album, which has some plusses, but at that length it's kind of a wash. B+(*)

Kari Faux: Lowkey Superstar (2020 [2021], Don Giovanni): Rapper from Little Rock, second album, originally an 8-track EP, grows to 12 tracks here (still short: 29:03). B+(*)

FKA Twigs: Caprisongs (2022, Young/Atlantic): British pop star, Tahliah Debrett Barnett, two previous albums, well-regarded but left me unimpressed. This one is considered a mixtape, something to do with the long list of featured artists and possibly the array of writers and producers. Slips up in a couple spots, but at least has a beat, and the singer seems to be onto something. B+(**)

Ghost of Vroom: 1 (2021, Mod Y Vi): Collaboration by Mike Doughty (ex-Soul Coughing, vocals/sampler/guitar) and Andrew Livingston (cello/piano/organ). Talkie vocals over garage beats, some as singular as "More Bacon than the Pan Can Handle," some as timeless as "Revelator." A-

Lande Hekt: Going to Hell (2021, Get Better): Singer for British punk band Muncie Girls, first or second solo album (after a 2019 7-track mini). Starts with but doesn't sustain punk anger, reflecting: "You're doing fine and you're doing well/ but the Catholics think you're going to hell." B+(***)

Lande Hekt: Gigantic Disappointment (2019, self-released, EP): Solo debut, 7 songs, 18:23. Starts near-solo for its most striking song, falls back on a fairly average band. B+(*) [bc]

Kiefer: When There's Love Around (2021, Stones Throw): Last name Shackelford, plays piano/keyboards, fourth album, filed it under "pop jazz" because I don't quite buy it as instrumental hip-hop, and it got a couple Jazz Critics Poll votes. Pleasant enough, but who cares? B [bc]

Boris Kozlov: First Things First (2020 [2022], Posi-Tone): Bassist, from Russia, moved to New York in the 1990s, has a couple albums as leader, many side credits. With Donnie McCaslin (tenor sax/alto flute), Art Hirahara (piano), Behn Gillece (vibes), and Rudy Royston (drums). B+(**)

Alessandra Leão: Acesa (2021, self-released): Brazilian, several albums since 2006, don't know much more, can't even find a label for this one. Rhythm appeals here, fractured and complex. B+(***) [sp]

Carol Liebowitz/Adam Lane/Andrew Drury: Blue Shift (2019 [2022], Line Art): Piano-bass-drums trio. Pianist has albums back to 1994. B+(**) [cd] [03-04]

Roberto Magris: Match Point (2018 [2021], JMood): Italian pianist, many records, quartet Alfredo Chacon (vibes/congas), bass (Dion Kerr), and Rodolfo Zuniga (drums). Four originals, covers include Monk, Randy Weston, and McCoy Tyner. Nice and bright. B+(**) [bc]

Pete Malinverni: On the Town: Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein (2021 [2022], Planet Arts): Pianist, mostly trio albums since 1988, this one with Ugonna Okegwo and Jeff Hamilton, doing Bernstein songs, as Nate Chinen put it, "forthright and elegant." B+(***) [cd]

Aimee Mann: Queens of the Summer Hotel (2021, SuperEgo): Singer-songwriter, 10th studio album since 1993, not counting band projects (like Til Tuesday). Part of a stage adaptation of Susan Kaysen's 1993 memoir, Girl, Interrupted. That introduces an element of distance that leaves one uncertain how to gauge the songs. B+(*) [sp]

Juçara Marçal: Delta Estácio Blues (2021, QTV Selo/Mais Um): Brazilian singer, appeared in Vésper and Metá Metá before going solo in 2014. Second solo album. Combines a soft touch with sharp angles and unexpected rhythms. A-

Oz Noy/Ugonna Okegwo/Ray Marchica: Riverside (2020 [2022], Outside In Music): Guitarist, from Israel, based in New York since 1996, trio with Ugonna Okegwo (bass) and Ray Marchica (drums), usually tends toward fusion and funk but sticks with bebop standards here: not his fanciest, but pretty enjoyable. B+(***) [cd]

The OGJB Quartet: Ode to O (2019 [2022], TUM): Second album: Oliver Lake (alto sax), Graham Haynes (cornet/electronics), Joe Fonda (double bass), Barry Altschul (drums). Filed it under Lake, who dominated the previous Bamako, but Altschul wrote the title piece (where "O" stands for Ornette) and two more ("Da Bang" for Billy, and "Caring"). Those are high points, and Lake's free blowing impresses as ever, but nicked a bit for electronics that don't go anywhere. B+(***) [cd]

Emile Parisien: Louise (2021 [2022], ACT): French soprano saxophonist, tenth album since 2006, more postbop textures, a sextet with Theo Croker on trumpet, both piano and guitar, bass and drums. B+(**) [cd]

Pony: TV Baby (2021, Take This to Heart): Canadian pop group, Sam Bielanski singer-songwriter, first album after an EP. B

Masha Qrella: Woanders (2021, Staatsakt): German indie pop singer, originally Mariana (or Masha) Kurella, father Russian, started in bands before going solo in 2004, released an album of Loewe and Weill in Exile in 2009. In German, mine not good enough to follow but I catch words here and there, and find that comforting. One can hear bits of vintage krautrock in the electro, but they blend into something more . . . human? B+(***) [sp]

Raw Poetic Featuring Damu the Fudgemunk: Big Tiny Planet (2021, Redefinition, EP): DC rapper Jason Moore, albums since 2014, many with producer Earl Davis. Five tracks, 25:34. B+(*) [bc]

Samo Salamon/Cene Resnik/Jaka Berger: Takt Ars Sessions: Vol. 1 (2021, Samo): Guitar/tenor sax/drums trio, recorded on Oct. 29 and offered on Bandcamp on Oct. 31. Five pieces are jointly credited, all numbered "Free." Renik wrote one piece, Salamon four, and Paul Motian got covered. B+(***) [bc]

Samo Salamon/Cene Resnik/Jaka Berger: Takt Ars Sessions: Vol. 2 (2021, Samo): Four more "Free" pieces from the same session, long ones (76:38). B+(**) [bc]

Doug Scarborough: The Color of Angels (2021 [2022], Origin): Trombonist, has a couple previous albums (one from 2000), teaches in Walla Walla, WA. Original pieces, with piano (Jeremy Siskind) and violin (Akram Abdulfattah) prominent, also bass, drums, and darbuka (Mustafa Boztüy). B+(**) [cd]

Maria Sena: De Primeira (2021, Alá Comunicação E Cultura): Brazilian singer, first album. Dance beats with typical Brazilian sway, in other words pop. B+(***)

Piet Verbist: Secret Exit to Another Dimension (2020 [2022], Origin): Belgian bassist, several albums, leads a trio with Hendrik Braeckman (guitar) and Lionel Beuvens (drums), both of whom contribute songs, with covers of Monk and Charlie Parker tying this to the bop tradition. B+(*) [cd]

Viagra Boys: Welfare Jazz (2021, Year0001): Swedish post-punk group, second album, Sebastian Murphy the singer, original guitarist died after this album, sax is a nice touch. Ends with an estranged cover of John Prine's "In Spite of Ourselves," with Amy Taylor (Amyl and the Sniffers) reprising Iris DeMent. B+(***)

Ghalia Volt: One Woman Band (2021, Ruf): Last name Vauthier, singer-songwriter from Belgium, plays blues, looking to Tampa Red and Ike Turner for the two covers. Has a couple guest spots, but plays her own drums. B+(**)

Kanye West: Donda (2021, GOOD Music/Def Jam, 2CD): No rush to get into this 108:48 sprawl, with its 53 Metacritic score coming off the B- Jesus Is King, not to mention his dalliance with Trump and his feint at the 2020 presidential election. I figured I could wait for a sign, but none came. Still big enough to finish 19 on Billboard's Top R&:B/Hip-Hop Albums list, and 23 in the Hip-Hop breakout from my EOY Aggregate (highest unheard album until now). His minimalist raps over beats aren't all tedious, but his attempts at church music (see "24") are beyond awful. No, I didn't get to the 130:52 Deluxe Edition. C+

Joyce Wrice: Overgrown (2021, Joyce Wrice Music): R&B singer from Los Angeles, first album after an EP and singles, "grew up with the silky tones of R&B's golden era," by which she means the early '00s. B+(**)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

J Jazz: Deep Modern Jazz From Japan: Volume 3 (1970-85 [2021], BBE, 2CD): As with previous volumes, this shows that there's a lot more depth in Japanese jazz than we've known from the occasional musician who gets away to Europe or America. (Aki Takase, long resident in Berlin, is the most recognizable name here.) The most striking pieces are not just proficient postbop or free jazz but go places we're not used to: Hiroshi Murakami's party music, or Tatsuya Nakamura's samba, or Koichi Yamazaki's sax closer. B+(***) [bc]

Modern Love (2021, BBE): New covers of David Bowie songs, commissioned by the British label, initials standing for Barely Breaking Even. Not their usual fare, which focuses on 1970s funk and Japanese jazz, so they don't have a house roster of artists to draw on. They managed to round up many artists I've heard of, with Meshell Ndegeocello and Jeff Parker the longest-established, L'Rain the most au courrant (and least interesting). The most successful tactic is to slow it down a bit and let the melody sneak up on you (e.g., Léa Sen on "Golden Years"). B+(**) [bc]

George Otsuka Quintet: Loving You George (1975 [2021], Wewantsounds): Japanese drummer, Discogs has last name Ohtsuka. He joined Sadao Watanabe's quartet in the late 1950s, released albums on his own from 1967, mostly quintets. This one features Shozo Sasaki on soprano and tenor sax, with fusion keyboards: Fumio Karashima, who wrote the first piece, followed by covers from Steve Kuhn, John Coltrane, and Minnie Riperton. B+(**) [bc]

Pink Floyd: Live at Knebworth 1990 (1990 [2021], Pink Floyd): I saw them once, at Madison Square Garden, and thought they put on a fine show, but all they did was literally play their last two albums (Animals and Wish You Were Here), with a couple cuts from Dark Side of the Moon for the encore, all with then-state-of-the-art videos. Here, 12-13 years later, they're picking and choosing songs, the band beefed up with Michael Kamen (keyboards) and Candy Dulfer (sax), and backup singer Clare Torry taking over "The Great Gig in the Sky," and Roger Waters nowhere in the credits. It's all music I love, but not until "Run Like Hell" did I start to consider I might prefer it here. B+(***) [sp]

Shintaro Quintet: Evolution (1984 [2021], BBE): Japanese bassist Shintaro Nakamura, quintet recorded in New York with Jeff Jenkins (piano), Bob Kenmotsu on tenor sax, Shunzo Ohnn on trumpet, and Fukushi Tainaka (drums). B+(**) [bc]

The Thing [Mats Gustafsson/Joe McPhee/Ingebrigt Håker Flaten/Paal Nilseen-Love]: She Knows . . . (2001 [2021], Ezz-Thetics): Norwegian free jazz trio, started with eponymous group album in 2000, adds American free jazz legend McPhee (pocket trumpet/tenor sax) to pump up the volume. Previously released on Crazy Wisdom, and included in their Now and Forever box. B+(***) [bc]

Old music:

Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou Dahomey: The 1st Album (1973 [2011], Analog Africa): Long-running band from Cotonou in Benin (formerly Dahomey). Album originally credited to vocalist Ahehehinou Vincent as well as the and. Reissue adds two previously unreleased tracks, adding up to 4 tracks, 33:22. Keyboard pomp, horns, rhythms every which way. A-

Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou: The Vodoun Effect: Funk & Sato From Benin's Obscure Labels 1972-1975 (1972-75 [2008], Analog Africa): In my database as Vol. 4, which now appears to be the label's release number. The German label started excavating the music of the former German "protectorate" of Togo and the adjacent French Dahomey (Benin since 1990), with albums like African Scream Contest: Raw & Psychedelic Afro Sounds From Benin & Togo 70s. It was only a matter of time before they got to the signature band of Benin's largest city. B+(**) [bc]

Orchestre Poly Rythmo de Cotonou: Volume Two: Echos Hypnotiques: From the Vaults of Albarika Store 1969-1979 (1969-79 [2009], Analog Africa): Mostly produced by Adissa Seidou, for Benin's leading label, Albarika Store. B+(***) [bc]

Orchetre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou: The Skeletal Essences of Afro Funk 1969-1980 (1969-80 [2013], Analog Africa): Another substantial compilation of their work. B+(***)

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Martin Wind/New York Bass Quartet: Air (Laika) [02-25]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Monday, January 24, 2022

January archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 37154 [37117] rated (+37), 140 [137] unrated (+3).

I wrote quite a bit about political matters in yesterday's Speaking of Which. One point I want to emphasize because this isn't a commonly stated point: NATO was never about defending Europe from Russian aggressiveness. It was a tool for imposing American control over Western Europe without the risk and expense of maintaining an occupation force. The main effect was to force Europe to turn its colonies over to local oligarchs, opening them up for American (and ultimately other globalized) business interests. The "spectre of communism" was more worrisome in the "third world," but was necessary to sell NATO, and it helped conservative business interests control their labor problems and left-leaning publics.

The current demonization of Russia and China is every bit as manufactured as the Cold War was, and predictably falls into the same rhetoric and logic. Why it's happening is rather harder to understand, given that China and (especially) Russia are governed by the same sort of repressive oligarchs that the US has been happy to do business with all along. It's possible that it's no more than a scam by the politically influential arms industry to sell more arms. That was pretty clearly the point of NATO expansion into Eastern Europe, where nations were led to believe that if they joined NATO (and bought new weapons systems) they'd get a chance to join the EU. And that, in turn, has created a cycle of aggressive pettiness that seems to be coming to a head.

Another point that I didn't get into is that Putin (and Xi) are far from political geniuses. The US (and not just Trump) is leaving them a lot of moral high ground they aren't showing much consideration for. Part of this is that they misjudged Trump as someone they could deal with, oligarch to oligarch. Worse was Putin's election meddling, which served mostly to make Democrats more irrationally anti-Russian. The obvious thing would be to offer serious arms limitation talks, while trying to shift international conflict resolution back to the UN (which Russia and China would have to buy into, and which the US could still veto, but responsibility for failures there would be clearer). I could go on and on, especially if we allowed for some positive attitude adjustment on both sides. China doesn't need to treat the Uighurs as brutally as it does, and doesn't need to keep pressure on Taiwan. Russia doesn't need to help its clients repress democracy movements, or to annex bits of neighboring territory. The US doesn't need Ukraine in NATO or the EU. All sides need to cut back on the cyberwarfare. Russia did a good thing last week in arresting the REvil hacker group, but they're not getting any credit because the US propaganda machine only ratchets toward war. All three could benefit from a change of heart that prioritizes peace, openness, and mutual support over zero-sum antagonism.

Nothing much to say about this week's music. I've slowed down on the EOY list aggregate, but I'll probably continue a bit until the end of the month. I'm having a hard time finding things to play, which led to two strategies this week: I spent a bunch of time on the Ezz-Thetics Bandcamp page, including playing some things I had heard in earlier editions (like the Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman Blue Notes); and I went back to my list of unheard Christgau-graded albums, particularly as some I hadn't been able to find on Napster show up on Spotify (or sometimes YouTube).

Calendar shows one more Monday in January, so we'll wrap up the month, then -- effectively the year as well. Maybe I'll have some numbers to talk about then.

Note that I've added a couple of old Carola Dibbell pieces to her website, on Jeanne Moreau and Moe Tucker. Robert Christgau's latest Xgau Sez is also publicly available.

New records reviewed this week:

Alice Phoebe Lou: Glow (2021, self-released): Singer-songwriter from South Africa, surname Matthew, has lived in Paris and seems to be based in Berlin, third album (fourth later in 2021). B+(*)

Alice Phoebe Lou: Child's Play (2021, self-released): Fourth album. More ambient, which in a pop star should be a downer, but in this case isn't. B+(*)

Scott Burns/John Wojciechowski/Geof Bradfield: Tenor Time (2021 [2022], Afar Music): Three tenor saxophonists, backed by piano (Richard D. Johnson), bass (Clark Sommers), and drums (Greg Arby). Eight pieces, two each for the saxophonists and Johnson. B+(*) [cd] [01-21]

Chris Castino & Chicken Wire Empire: Fresh Pickles (2022, self-released): Singer-songwriter for a Minnesota jam band called the Big Wu, tries his hand as a leader, drawing on bluegrass guests like Jerry Douglas and Peter Rowan, but dropping a little Tex-Mex into the mix. B+(***) [cd] [02-04]

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Septet With Wynton Marsalis: The Democracy! Suite (2020 [2021], Blue Engine): "Jazz music is the perfect metaphor for democracy," sez Marsalis, who taps into vintage brass band traditions and adds considerable swing and swagger. B+(***)

The Killers: Pressure Machine (2021, Island): Rock band from Las Vegas, principally Brandon Flowers (vocals), early albums sold millions, and they sound more arena than indie to me. Seventh album since 2003. Not unappealing once it settled down. There's also an "abridged version," which knocks out 5 minutes of spoken introductions. B+(*)

Man on Man: Man on Man (2021, Polyvinyl): Pandemic lockdown recording by 58-year-old Imperial Teen Roddy Bottum, with boyfriend Joey Holman. B+(**) [sp]

Joe McPhee: Route 84 Quarantine Blues (2020 [2021], Corbett vs. Dempsey): Numbered 2 following Ken Vandermark's solo album, another pandemic solo outing, for tenor sax and found sounds. Odds and ends, most touching his Mingus-on-Lester-Young, "Goodbye Porky Pig Hat." B+(**)

Matt Olson: Open Spaces (2021 [2022], OA2): Tenor saxophonist, leads a sprightly postbop quintet with alto sax, guitar, bass, and drums. B+(**) [cd]

Hank Roberts Sextet: Science of Love (2021, Sunnyside): Cellist, one of the few in jazz following his 1987 debut, ten or so albums as a leader, three with Arcado String Trio, regular side credits with Tim Berne and Bill Frisell. Nicely balanced sextet with Mike McGinniss (clarinet/soprano sax), Brian Drye (trombone), Dara Lyn (violin), Jacob Sacks (piano), and Vinnie Sperrazza (drums). B+(**)

Rostam: Changeophobia (2021, Matsor Projects): Last name Batmanglij, US-born, parents Iranian, founding member of Vampire Weekend, second solo album. Has a good command of popcraft. B+(*)

Anna B Savage: A Commmon Turn (2021, City Slang): English singer-songwriter, first album. Remarkable voice, just one I don't particularly enjoy. B

Elvie Shane: Backslider (2021, Wheelhouse): Country singer from Kentucky, got the drawl, the testosterone, a "public education in the back of the bus," blind props to God and Country, an anthem that could be hateful or maybe just dumb: "Amazing Grace/how sweet the sound/of Sundays in the South." B+(*)

Ayanda Sikade: Umakhulu (2021, Afrosynth): South African drummer, second album, credit info hard to come by, but looks like: Nduduzo Makhathini (piano), Simon Manana (alto sax), Nhlanhla Radebe (bass). Early on barely hints at township jazz heritage, but as the album develops, first the piano then the sax come into focus. Manana is described as "young," but he impresses like Dudu Pukwana. A- [bc]

Ken Vandermark: The Field Within a Line (2020 [2021], Corbett vs. Dempsey): Pandemic project: "a new book of works for solo reed instruments." B+(***) [bc]

Vario 34-3: Free Improvised Music (2018 [2021], Corbett Vs. Dempsey): German free jazz musician Günter Christmann, plays cello and trombone, played in Globe Unity Orchestra, has organized fifty-some iterations of "Vario" since 1979. Vario 34 originally recorded in 1993, returns here with 5 (of 6) original members: Christmann, Mats Gustafsson (soprano sax), Thomas Lehn (electronics), Alexander Frangenheim (double bass), and Paul Lovens (percussion). B+(*) [bc]

Villagers: Fever Dreams (2021, Domino): Irish band, principally Conor J O'Brien, sixth album since 2010. B

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Albert Ayler: La Cave Live Cleveland 1966 Revisited (1966 [2022], Ezz-Thetics, 2CD): Previously unreleased (at least with any official imprimatur), three sets over two days in Ayler's home town, one a quintet with trumpet (Donald Ayler), violin (Michel Samson), bass, and drums; the other adds Frank Wright (tenor sax). B+(***) [bc]

Paul Bley Trios: Touching & Blood Revisited (1965-66 [2021], Ezz-Thetics): Canadian pianist, a decade into his career, had already played in Jimmy Giuffre's famous trio, led the quintet that first recorded Ornette Coleman, and had at least one dazzling trio album (his 1953 debut). This reissues the album Touching, recorded live in Copenhagen with Kent Carter (bass) and Barry Altschul (drums), plus the 18:45 title piece from the follow-up album Blood, with Mark Levinson taking over bass. Three of his own songs, one from first wife Carla, four from second wife Annette Peacock. Black Lion's 1994 CD of Touching includes the same bonus. B+(**) [bc]

Marion Brown: Why Not? Porto Novo! Revisited (1966-67 [2021], Ezz-thetics): Alto saxophonist, reissues two major albums: a quartet with Stanley Cowell, Sirone, and Rashied Ali, that originally appeared on ESP-Disk; and a trio recorded in the Netherlands with Maarten Van Regerten Altena and Han Bennink, that appeared on Polydor in 1969, and later on Freedom and Black Lion (the latter added two later cuts, not included here). A- [bc]

Don Cherry: Complete Communion & Symphony for Improvisers Revisited (1965-66 [2021], Ezz-Thetics): Cornet player, in with Ornette Coleman's legendary quartet, early appearances with Albert Ayler, Steve Lacy, George Russell, and John Coltrane. These were his first albums as leader, released on Blue Note, and squeezed down to 79:24 for this compilation. The quartet with Gato Barbieri (tenor sax), Henry Grimes, and Ed Blackwell is epic. The larger group, adding Pharoah Sanders (tenor sax), Karl Berger (vibes & piano), and a second bassist -- is more unruly. B+(***) [bc]

Ornette Coleman: New York Is Now & Love Call Revisited (1968 [2021], Ezz-Thetics): Two 1968 albums, the end of Coleman's brief 1960s fling with Blue Note, still best remember for his live trio sets, At the "Golden Circle" Stockholm: Volume One and Two. This was a quartet, with Dewey Redman (tenor sax) plus Coltrane's former bass-drums duo, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones. Not always top drawer material, but often amazing anyway. A- [bc]

Instant Composers Pool: Incipient ICP (1966-71 [2021], Corbett Vs. Dempsey): First tremors of the Dutch avant-garde, with Misha Mengelberg (piano), Willem Breuker (reeds), and Han Bennink (drums) in on the ground floor. The group eventually settled on ICP Orchestra, and recently released a 53-CD box set collecting their work -- the group continues today, although Breuker and Mengelberg have passed. A- [bc]

The New York Contemporary Five: Copenhagen 1963 Revisited (1963 [2021], Ezz-Thetics): Before Archie Shepp emerged as a leader, he spent some time in Copenhagen, with local alto saxophonist John Tchicai and a few fellow New Yorkers (notably cornetist Don Cherry). They went on to record two volumes in 1964, and reunited for a 1966 album. This early live set eventually appeared on Storyville in 1972, reissued on CD in 1992. This has same songs, but finally reordered in set sequence, with enough applause and chatter removed to squeeze it down to 79:30. Exciting music. A- [bc]

New York Contemporary Five: Consequences Revisited (1963-64 [2020], Ezz-Thetics): Reissue of their 1966 album, originally recorded in August 1963 in New York except for one cut from Copenhagen (October 1963), plus three more cuts (total 68:15) from a 1964 session in Newark, with Ronnie Boykins (bass) and Sunny Murray (drums) replacing Don Moore and J.C. Moses, and Ted Curson instead of Don Cherry on two tracks. B+(***)

Akira Sakata/Takeo Moriyama: Mitochondria (1986 [2022], Trost): Japanese duo, alto sax and drums, fairly intense free jazz, not least because the drummer is not just engaged but commands attention even on his solos. B+(***) [bc]

Old music:

The Robert Cray Band: Shame + a Sin (1993, Mercury): Blues singer-guitarist, touted as the next great hope but came up as the genre was going down. Still, got a lot of ridiculous hype for 1986's Strong Persuader, and sold impressively. I eventually decided I really disliked the album, and followed him long enough to note that he got worse. I gave up before this one, the last of five Christgau A-listed (not counting his Heavy Picks comp). This is less obnoxious, but still a few cringe-inducing moments, and not enough chops, let alone inspiration, to make me care. B

The Robert Cray Band: Heavy Picks: The Robert Cray Collection (1980-97 [1999], Mercury): Spans much of his career, including albums before he had his breakthrough on Mercury. Several I recognized, but even title songs don't stand out much. Not as annoying as I feared, but not close to great either. B

Shannon Jackson & the Decoding Society: Nasty (1981, Moers Music): Drummer from Texas (1940-2013), most of his records include his first name (Ronald), first recordings in late 1960s with Albert Ayler and Charles Tyler, worked with Ornette Coleman in mid-1970s, formed his own "free funk" group in 1980. This version has three saxes (Byard Lancaster, Charles Brackeen, Lee Rozie), electric guitar (Vernon Reid), electric bass (Melvin Gibbs and Bruce Johnson), and vibes (Khan Jamal). A- [yt]

Jaojoby: Malagasy (2004, Discorama): From Madagascar, proximate to Africa but geologically far removed, and populated initially by people from Indonesia, a unique terrain, overlaid with various waves of imperialism. The most celebrated music there is Salegy, and Eusèbe Jaojoby is their star, although interest from elsewhere has been spotty. B+(***)

Ladysmith Black Mambazo: Inala (1985 [1986], Shanachie): South African male choral group, founded by Joseph Shabalala in 1960 but unknown in America until Shanachie started reissuing their Gallo albums with 1984's Induku Zethu. So while this is well into their discography, it's only number three for Americans (or number one if you started with Paul Simon's Graceland, which featured them). Only problem is they're pretty much interchangeable, although I think Classic Tracks is especially well selected. B+(***) [sp]

Lifter Puller [LFTR PLLR]: Soft Rock (1996-2000 [2002], The Self Starter Foundation, 2CD): Minnesota rock group, immediately recognizable as singer-songwriter Craig Finn, before Hold Steady. Collects much of what they recorded, sprawling out to 2:19:39. And no, there's nothing soft to it. A- [yt]

Los Guanches: The Corpse Went Dancing Rumba (1996, Corason): Cuban ensemble, a son band from Santiago de Cuba, released three albums in the late 1990s, the third also under Armando Garzón's name. This was the second, a fine balance between folkie and fancy. A- [sp]

Orchestra Baobab: La Belle Époque: Volume 2 (1973-76 [2011], Syllart, 2CD): Senegalese band, established 1970 as house band of the Baobab Club in Dakar, drawing on Star Band of Dakar. During the mid-1970s, they were the nation's most popular band, but the Club closed in 1979, and they broke up in 1987 -- only to reunite in 2001, and go on to release new albums to international acclaim. This adds to a 2-CD first volume, somewhat haphazardly, although you edit it down to one landmark disc, or credit its historical import. [Digital splits this into Volume 2 and Volume 3.] B+(***) [sp]

Frederic Rzewski: Coming Together/Attica/Les Moutins de Panurge (1973 [1974], Opus One): Composer-pianist, died last year, made his mark early with this remarkable LP. Three pieces, the first two with Steve Ben Israel speaking texts by Sam Melville and Richard X. Clark over jazzy minimalist patterns. Third piece is for percussion group. A- [yt]

Frederic Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated! (1986 [1990], Hat Art): His most famous composition, "36 Variations on a Chilean Song," for solo piano, often recorded. The version I first encountered was played by Ursula Oppens and released by Vanguard in 1978, but there are others: by Stephen Drury on New Albion (1994); by Marc André Hamelin on Hyperion (1998); by Ralph van Raat on Naxos (2008), by Corey Hamm on Redshift (2014); by Lee Sangwook on Audioguy (2014; by Omri Shimron on New Focus (2014); by Igor Levit on Sony (2015); by Daan Vandewalle on Etcetera (2017); and a "four hands" version by Oppens and Jerome Lowenthal (2015). Rzewski has recorded it himself at least twice: for Edizioni di Cultura Popolare in 1977, and here. B+(***)

Frederic Rzewski: North American Ballads & Squares (1991, Hat Art): Piano pieces, the four ballads -- extended improvs on trad pieces like "Which Side Are You On" and "Down by the Riverside" -- run long (38:40). The four "Squares" are briefer (19:05). B+(***)

Frederic Rzewski: De Profundis (1993 [1994], Hat Art): Two compositions (36:32 + 31:38), performed solo by Rzewski, his 1991 "Sonata for Piano" and 1992 "De Profundis for a Speaking Pianist." B+(**)

Limited Sampling: Records I played parts of, but not enough to grade: -- means no interest, - not bad but not a prospect, + some chance, ++ likely prospect.

Darius Jones: Raw Demoon Alchemy (A Lone Operation) (2019 [2021], Northern Spy): Alto saxophonist, tends to run hot and rough, solo here, settles for plug ugly. [2/5 tracks] - [bc]

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Pete Malinverni: On the Town: Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein (Planet Arts)
• Noertker's Moxie: Walking on Blue Eggshells in Billville (Edgetone -21)
• Noertker's Moxie: More Fun in Billville (Edgetone -21)
• Noertker's Moxie: Pantomime in Billville (Edgetone -21)
• Samo Salamon: Dolphyology: Complete Eric Dolphy for Solo Guitar (Samo, 2CD)

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Sunday, January 23, 2022

I thought maybe I should do one of these columns last week. I had several pieces piled up in open tabs, but couldn't get started. Back when I started doing this things, I aimed for Fridays, but didn't get started this week until Friday afternoon, and then it just started sprawling. I will say that one incentive has been the cascade of reports on how Biden and the Congressional Democrats are losing the faith of the American people, and how Republicans are poised to make major gains in 2022. (I won't bother looking up the link, as I haven't actually read the piece, but Henry Olsen has something on how Republicans are gaining "majority party" status.) I think this is all bullshit, but it wouldn't hurt Democrats to be a bit paranoid, as the consequences of failure in 2022 and (especially) 2024 are dire. Meanwhile, here's what I did come up with.

One open tab I didn't write about below, but don't want to lose, is William Horne's Twitter thread on the Jan. 6 anniversary.

Here's the latest coronavirus map: looks like new cases have peaked, although the 14-day change is still up 11%, and hospitalized and deaths (which lag new cases) are up 30% and 44% respectively, the latter to 2,162 per day (864,182) total, which is higher than the September 2021 peak, a bit less than April 2020. The map is pretty uniform everywhere (except Maine). The unvaccinated death rate is back up to 20x the vaccinated rate.

Jedediah Britton-Purdy: The Republican Party Is Succeeding Because We Are Not a True Democracy: I came to this piece after writing most of the below, and could have filed it under any of several entries, but the point is worth underlining (and alphabetic order by author helps, too). For one example: "Trump could have tied Biden and forced the election into the House of Representatives by flipping just 43,000 votes in three states," which would have disqualified 7 million Biden voters for living in the wrong states. That's just one of many undemocratic advantages the party of wealth and privilege enjoys, so it shouldn't be surprising how harshly they've turned against democracy: their very success depends on upending or preventing it. Conclusion: "The way to save democracy is to make it more real." Article includes links to a number of articles collectively titled The Uncomfortable Lessons of Jan. 6. In particular, see Rebecca Solnit: Why Republicans Keep Falling for Trump's Lies.

Neel Dhanesha: Texas went big on oil. Earthquakes followed. "Thousands of earthquakes are shaking Texas. What the frack is going on?" Well, it's wastewater injection. The wastewater is pumped up with oil, especially from mature wells where much of the oil has already been pumped out. This isn't exactly caused by fracking, but fracking is used to increase yields in old wells, so they tend to go hand in hand. (Fracking is also used to break up shale to extract gas, and that's more problematical, in large part because the fracking compounds are more toxic, and more likely to leak into the water supply.) I wasn't aware of Texas having this problem, but it's no surprise. Oklahoma has experienced thousands of earthquakes, up to around 5.5, in the last decade, and we've had a few dozens in south-central Kansas (or maybe hundreds, depends on where you draw the line -- I get USGS reports on everything over 4.0, but there are many more closer to 3.0).

Jacob S Hacker: What does Jan. 6 say about American democracy -- and the prospects for war? Reviews two books: Mark Bowden/Matthew Teague: The Steal: The Attempt to Overturn the 2020 Election and the People Who Stopped It (Atlantic Monthly Press), and Barbara P. Walter: How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them (Viking). The former is detailed reporting which provides the broader (and critical) context behind the January 6 riot/insurrection. In focusing on the storming of the Capitol, we run the risk of turning that singular, inept, bumbling event into camouflage for the far more ominous Trump team schemes to steal the election via "legal" means, through the courts (which have been systematically packed with Republican loyalists) and ultimately by simply rejecting the certified electors from selected states (e.g., ones with gerrymandered Republican control of state offices). Trump's attempt to steal the election was always a multi-pronged effort, of which the mob was just one tool, a rather desperately employed one. (I've seen Peter Diamond grouching that the mob was counterproductive, disrupting the "real plan" of getting Pence and the Senate Republican majority to reject the electoral votes.) But one should bear in mind that the Republican assault on democracy has always been a multi-pronged affair, and has mostly been achieved through legally-sanctified means -- gerrymanders and voting restrictions get the most press, but the initial and paramount affront to democracy has been the overwhelming of politics by money (which Democrats of means, like Obama and the Clintons, even more blatantly Bloomberg, have contributed to).

Another danger of overly focusing on the riot/insurrection is that it suggests the Trump mob will turn increasingly violent if they don't get their way, plunging the nation into some kind of civil war. The Walter book provides a survey of civil wars around the world, like Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt in their much-touted How Democracies Die. I'm more tempted to order Walters' book, because I'm more interested in general patterns than in the details of which Trump flunkies came up with which harebrained excuses to rationalize a 7-million-vote deficit, but I also have reservations (which is why I didn't bother with Levitsky/Ziblatt or several similar tomes -- I did read Timothy Snyder's The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America, which was time wasted enough). It's not that I don't see value in comparative histories, but they slight the differences unique in our situation, while often falling back on prejudices. No surprise that most of these examples are steeped in German and East European examples, allowing the authors to be uncritical of what passes for democracy in America. We flatter ourselves as the world's oldest democracy, which leads one to think of decrepitude, but it's more accurate to say that democracy was an ideal that was embraced early but never fulfilled -- in large part because real democracy has always had domestic enemies. Looking afar for ominous examples abroad tends to overlook obvious ones at home. It also misses how often new threats to democracy focus on past fractures.

One chapter in Waters' book that seems especially relevant is "The Dark Consequences of Losing Status." That seems to describe the Trump mob, even if there is little objective support for their fears. The fears, of course, exist because they're drummed into people by the Fox propaganda machine, which is the only way to motivate people to follow such a counterproductive agenda.

A few more civil war/eclipse of democracy links:

• Zack Beauchamp: The intellectual right's war on America's institutions: This piece is old enough (11/19/2021) I must have cited it before, but I found it in an open tab, and it fits here. No evidence here that Chris Rufo and Patrick Deneen are very smart intellectuals, or that the Trump fan club cares about what their so-called intellectuals think, but those who are campaigning for a civil war shouldn't have any trouble lining up with guys who want to tear America down and start all over again. And why shouldn't they, if they really believe "the entire edifice of the American state has become a tool for repressing conservatives." I've long found it tiresome when liberals like Obama spout pious clichés about American virtue, but that seemed like part of the cost of doing retail politics. So I was shocked when I heard Trump mocking Obama for closing his speeches with "God bless America," and getting cheers for doing so.
• Thomas B Edsall: How to Tell When Your Country Is Past the Point of No Return: Long on poli-sci studies about things like "nonlinear feedback dynamics of asymmetric political polarization," but the bottom line is that R's and D's are polarized to different degrees and in different ways, which in the case of R's (but not D's) has mostly driven them over the deep end. I think it's significant that when the Trump mob turned out to violently overthrow the 2020 election results, they weren't met by a corresponding D (or even antifa) mob. They were met by police (and eventually national guard), whom D's trusted to uphold the rule of law.
• Michelle Goldberg: Are We Really Facing a Second Civil War? Writes about the Walter book, also Stephen Marche's more speculative The Next Civil War: Dispatches From the American Future. While Goldberg plays down the likelihood, she notes that "it's no secret that many on the right are both fantasizing about and planning civil war."

Jeff Hauser/Max Moran: What Biden's Message Should Be. I flagged this because I'm interested in messaging for the upcoming elections. I don't necessarily agree with everything here -- e.g., I doubt that political prosecutions against Facebook and Boeing would help much -- but I do think it's important to impress on people how much they have to lose if Republicans win. By the way, this is a little wonky, but is good messaging: Nathan Newman: How Dems Saved the Economy.

Michael Hudson: When Debts Become Unpayable, They Should Be Forgiven. Interview with the economist, pointing out that debt jubilees have been common throughout history. "Every economy that has interest-bearing debt has to restructure at some point, or else all of the economy will end up being owned by just a teeny group of people at the top, like you had in Rome." Or here and now. There's always been an element of pretense to debt. The rich get to pretend their money is working, protected by the promise of repayment which leaves them richer than ever, enjoying power over their debtors. Debtors, in turn, get to actually do something with money they don't own, but have to sacrifice to pay it back, and grovel along the way. As debt is a power relation, bankruptcy exacts a political as well as a financial reckoning.

Fred Kaplan: The End of the Afghanistan War Was Even Worse Than Anyone Realized: This summarizes a longer piece by Steve Coll/Adam Entous: The Secret History of the US Diplomatic Failure in Afghanistan, which I imagine will shortly turn into a book, following Coll's Directorate 5: The CIA and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan (2018), and, much earlier but essential background, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden (2004). I don't feel like writing about this in any depth, but the following quote from Kaplan sums up the war fairly well:

Duplicity reigned in this war from the very beginning. President George W. Bush and his crew thought the war was over when the anti-Taliban rebels conquered Kabul and a Western-chosen president, Hamid Karzai, was installed, thus allowing U.S. troops to thin out and invade Iraq. In fact, the Taliban, who had never left, resumed the fight. Under President Barack Obama, when the U.S. effort escalated and switched to a strategy of nation-building, the generals sent rosy-eyed assessments from the front, claiming progress and promising more, knowing that they were at the very least exaggerating. (Obama eventually caught on, drew down the troops, and switched to a less ambitious strategy.) Trump wanted to get out of Afghanistan; his negotiator tried to maneuver the Taliban into a deal that gave a win to all parties, but he was the one maneuvered. Biden's team thought -- or pretended to think (it's unclear which) -- that a semblance of victory could be pried from abject defeat. All of these players were dishonest, with their allies, their adversaries, and, most damagingly, themselves.

The line "pretended to think" belies a persistent problem which Obama suffered from even more than Biden: the belief that projecting confidence influences reality toward desired ends. Ron Suskind's book on Obama's handling of the recession was called Confidence Men, based on their belief that the recession could simply be wished away. Such magical thinking is even more prevalent among America's defense and foreign policy mandarins. For all his blunders, Biden at least deserves credit for breaking the cycle of self-delusion. It is sad and pathetic that his approval ratings started to crumble when the US departed Afghanistan. Leaving was the best thing he's done, and we should all applaud his resolution in doing that.

Ed Kilgore: Biden Didn't Have the power or Luck to Become FDR or LBJ: True on both counts. The Congressional margins in 1933 and 1965 are in the article (as are notes about recalcitrant Southern Democrats, but also Progressive Republicans who supported FDR and LBJ programs. In order for any significant legislative program to pass, the opposition party has to collapse, and that hasn't happened (yet). A big part of the problem is the persistence of Republicans in voting their party line regardless of how severely disgraced its candidates are. Kilgore also wrote a piece which tries to explain this: Never Mind the Facts. Trump Fans Feel Like a Majority. I get the sensation, but can't help but feel it's illusory. You're not seeing Democrats out marching in the streets or tearing their hair out on Facebook, because those aren't arenas where we need to be fighting right now.

Ezra Klein: Steve Bannon Is Onto Something: Better title, provided by Paul Woodward, is: To protect democracy, Democrats have to win more elections. Klein's mostly talking about the need to recruit Democrats to run for small, unglamorous offices, because that's where the roots of political movements lie. At least that's what Republicans got real good at back in the 1990s, leading Jim Hightower to publish a book called If the Gods Had Meant Us to Vote, They'd Have Given Us Candidates. While they may still have an advantage, the gap's closed some in recent years, and the quality of Republican candidates is often ridiculous. This led me to another Klein article on political strategy: David Shor Is Telling Democrats What They Don't Want to Hear. I don't see Shor as much of an oracle, but he's pointing out things like: "Senate Democrats could win 51 percent of the two-party vote in the next two elections and end up with only 43 seats in the Senate." The obvious conclusion there is that Democrats have to win big, and they especially have to learn to win in Red States. Given where Republicans stand, it shouldn't be hard to craft a winning program. Selling it is another story. Shor's opinion is that trimming the left would help, and that's an opinion widely shared among Democratic Party functionaries, even among some nominally left-leaning, but the left also offer things that former New Democrats fail miserably at, like ideas and integrity.

Chris Lehman: How the Fed Supercharged Inequality: Review of Christopher Leonard's book, The Lords of Easy Money: How the Federal Reserve Broke the American Economy, which "follows the unintended consequences of quantitative easing." I'm not following this perfectly, but I'm not surprised that trying to pump up the economy by pushing vast sums of money out through the banks would result in numerous asset bubbles, since that's what you get when people with too much money try to park it in investments bought from other people with too much money. One might contrast this with offering to replace consumer debt, including school and home, with long-term 0% loans, which would significantly reduce debt overhang, increased spending, and (probably) reduce asset bubbles. Just an idea, and one that could be further tuned.

Eric Levitz: Give Manchin What He Wants Already: Sure, why the hell not? He's proven he can block anything he doesn't want. I think it's good to have passed the "bipartisan" infrastructure bill (which wasn't very bipartisan at all in the House). Unless you have some runaround to get Murkowski or Collins to cross the line, Manchin is the only game in town, so take what you can get. And run for more in 2022. And if, heaven forbid, you lose in 2022, at least you'll have however much this is in the bank. Manchin's wrong about a lot of things here, starting with inflation and the deficit. But you're not going to convince him of that. And before long he's not going to matter.

Anatol Lieven: Did this week's US-NATO-Russia meetings push us closer to war? Also recently wrote: Don't kick the can: two key US proposals for upcoming Russia talks, and: Ukrainian neutrality: a 'golden bridge' out of the current geopolitical trap. All three articles point out that the seemingly escalating tensions between Russia and the US over Ukraine could be negotiated away simply enough: by agreeing that Ukraine should remain neutral, with no prospect of membership in NATO (similar to the 1955 agreement where Austria was recognized as neutral in the Cold War division of Europe), and by implementing a 2015 agreement to provide some degree of autonomy for the Russian-aided separatist Donbass region. Both of these seem like painless deals for the US, and offer Putin with a degree of face-saving political cover. That matters mostly because Russia overreacted to the 2014 "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine by supporting separatist groups, and got away with it in Crimea, much less successfully in Donbass. I don't quite understand why this is a big deal for Putin, but backing down is never easy. On the other hand, the US is the one that's seriously overstretched and deluded in this conflict. NATO should have been phased out after the fall of the Soviet Union, but instead sought to perpetuate itself through expansion, eventually provoking the hostility it was meant to defend against. The key question is whether Ukraine (or any other state) is safer in or independent of NATO. During the 1950s, Austria and Finland chose to stay out of NATO, and their neutrality was respected by the Soviet Union. Most Eastern European countries signed up for NATO not because they feared Russia but because NATO was presented to them as a stepping stone to entry in the European Union. The problem is that as NATO expanded, the US became more negative and more militant toward Russia -- especially in the use of sanctions targeting not just the state but prominent individuals. Why is harder to explain as anything other than self-delusion: we lie to ourselves about our foreign policy aims and desires.

It's worth remembering why NATO was created in the first place. The "Allies" (principally the US and the Soviet Union) had defeated Nazi Germany in WWII, with American and Russian armies meeting in and dividing Germany, both intent on pacifying Europe and favoring their own interests. But occupation of Europe was expensive and potentially alienating. Under NATO, the US effectively took command of all of the military resources of western Europe, assuring that as they were rebuilt they would remain subservient to US foreign policy. But to make NATO attractive, the US had to posit an external threat. The "spectre of communism" sufficed, what with Russian armies still occupying central and eastern Europe, and labor movements in the west (especially in Italy and France) still feeling solidarity with the Soviets. The Soviet Union responded by organizing the Warsaw Pact and locking down the "Iron Curtain," although Yugoslavia and Albania, ruled by indigenous anti-Nazi resistance movements, resisted control from Moscow.

The resulting "Cold War" served US business interests in several important ways. First, "red scares" in the US and elsewhere helped suppress and in some cases break labor movements. Second, it became clear after WWII that Britain and France could no longer afford their colonial empires -- especially with their militaries circumscribed by NATO -- plus there was the risk that continued colonial rule would fuel independence movements led by communists, much as communists had led anti-fascist resistance movements during (and even before) WWII. The result was that by 1960 nearly all European colonies had been handed over to pliable local oligarchies, bound to the US through business interests and arms deals. (There were, of course, variations along the way: the US encouraged Britain and France to fight against independence movements led by communists, especially in Malaya and Vietnam.)

One can debate whether NATO in 1949 was a good or bad idea -- I'd argue that it was profoundly bad, both for Americans and for everyone else -- but the more pertinent question is why NATO didn't close up shop when the Warsaw Pact disbanded and the Soviet Union split up. Aside from losing their pet enemy, by then decolonialism was complete, the whole world (except for a handful of "rogue states" -- ones that the US bore long-standing grudges against but that, unlike China, were small enough to ignore) was integrated into the neoliberal order, and Europe itself had lost all interest in militarism and empire, its many nation states melting into the EU. Nothing NATO did after 1991 had to be done by NATO -- the US-led coalition against Iraq in 1990 had been organized under the UN, with broad support, and that could just as well have been the model for subsequent NATO interventions in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and/or Libya (if supportable cases had been made; with NATO the US was the only decider, so could get away with flimsier excuses and callous acts that ultimately made matters worse; NATO managed to stay out of Iraq, as Germany, France, and Turkey refused to cooperate, but that didn't stop Bush from proclaiming his "Coalition of the Willing"). And, in due course, NATO has managed to push Russia around enough to create the enemy it needs to justify itself. That's a consequence that was totally unnecessary, yet today threatens the world, as anti-Putin propaganda merges with Cold War propaganda into a kind of brain freeze that affects many Democrats as much as it does Republicans (who at least profit from selling arms, fomenting hate, and smashing the working class).

For an example of that "brain freeze," see Alexander Vindman/Dominic Cruz Bustillos: The Day After Russia Attacks: What War in Ukraine Would Look Like -- and How America Should Respond. The most telling line here is the summary dismissal of Lieven's arguments: "Presuming that diplomacy fails, there are three scenarios that could play out." All of the imagined scenarios start with more-or-less-limited Russian advances into Ukrainian territory (much of which isn't currently controlled by the Kiev regime). Some other references in the piece: "Kremlin's network of malign influence"; "marshal a unified response to Russian aggression"; "if Russian military action is a given"; "impose additional costs on Russian invaders and contribute to deterrence when paired with other actions"; "avoiding a one-on-one military confrontation with Russia while punishing Russia for creating this harsh new reality." By the latter, they mean that Ukrainians should bear the pain of America's demonization and isolation of Russia, which the US can continue at no risk to its own interests. Isn't is rather late to still believe that American intentions are always benign? Let alone that events always break favorably for the US?

Americans have been feeding off their own propaganda since the early days of the Cold War (or maybe since the Monroe Doctrine, but the quantity and quality took a huge leap in the 1950s, and became increasingly deranged through Nixon and Reagan and Clinton and Bush, to the point where US foreign policy gyrates between schizophrenia and dementia. (Obama was a believer who still tried to rationalize fringe cases, leading to half-hearted openings to Cuba and Iran, but never questioning something as sacrosanct as NATO, so he wound up promoting conflict with Russia and China. Trump was a cynic, but his only real interest was in graft, so he effectively changed nothing, other than to make "US interests" look even more selfish and cynical.) This needs to change, but Biden's team is reflexively locked into the mythology, and the left has deprioritized foreign affairs given the need to advance domestic goals and oppose Republicans. But also note that the ability of the US to dictate craziness to its "allies" has long been diminishing, and could collapse. It's one thing to blackball inconsequential countries like North Korea and Cuba; quite another to bite off one as large and connected as China, where sanctions may push nations to isolate the US instead. Russia is dangerous because no one knows the limits of possible US bullying, least of all Washington.

By the way, Lieven also wrote: America must stay away from Kazakhstan's troubles. He probably has the same article somewhere on Belarus, and I wouldn't be surprised to find one forthcoming on Turkmenistan, maybe even Moldova -- countries that Americans have no understanding of and negligible interests in, but plenty of conceited opinions about -- a conceit peculiar to people who think they rule the world, but who don't. Some other pieces on Russia/Ukraine (including one more by Lieven that appeared after I wrote the section above):

• Anatol Lieven: Diplomats & experts: negotiate, or expect 'drastic escalation' by Russia. Also: How Emmanuel Macron can end the threat of war in Europe.
• Doug Bandow: The Farkas effect: When the Blob mobilizes for war: "A former State Department official pens an article calling for an 'international coalition of the willing' to go to battle with Russia." That from Evelyn Farkas, evidently a Democrat but not part of the Biden administration. Bandow also wrote: GOP war drummers demanding action against Russia.
• Fred Kaplan: Would Putin Really Invade Ukraine for This? Kaplan has been covering this story for a while, and offers a pretty good summary.

Jane Mayer: Is Ginni Thomas a threat to the Supreme Court? That's Justice Clarence Thomas's wife, who has long worked for right-wing think tanks and lobbying firms (currently one called Liberty Consulting). That not only provides her with untoward influence on the Court, it is an obvious vector for bribery and influence peddling. I've long thought that Thomas could and should be impeached for this relationship, but there's never been a political consensus behind doing so. (As I recall, Antonin Scalia had a similarly compromising spouse, and his son became a prominent member of the Bush and Trump administrations.)

Ian Millhiser: The Supreme Court can't get its story straight on vaccines: "The Court is barely even pretending to be engaged in legal reasoning." The Supreme Court overturned the Biden administration's OSHA rule requiring vaccination or testing for workers in covered businesses, but allowed another rule on health care workers. As a subhed put it: "The Court is fabricating legal doctrines that appear in neither statute nor Constitution." In other words, they're making this shit up as they go along, responding to a political agenda that that is rooted in nothing but their own presumed powers. When Trump packed the court, I thought it was premature to talk about rebalancing schemes. In order to be politically possible, people first have to be convinced that the current Court is out of control. That's what these rulings provide evidence of.

Millhiser also wrote: It was a great day in the Supreme Court for anyone who wants to bribe a lawmaker.

Rani Molla: A new era for the American worker: "American workers have power. That won't last forever." But it could last longer if Democrats got behind it. To some extent, they did: the first Covid-19 stimulus bill, which Trump was so desperate for he largely let Democrats craft it, was probably the most pro-worker legislation in this century (or well back into the last). The disease itself gave some workers leverage. Partial enactment of the $15 minimum wage also helped. But most important was the reluctance of workers to settle for the lowest paying jobs offered. That left many businesses moaning about labor shortages, but it also incentivized them to do what markets are supposed to do: adjust prices so supply can meet demand.

David Sirota: Voting Rights Alone Will Not Save the Democrats: One thing that Republicans and Democrats seem to agree on is that Democrats do better when the American voting public expands, while Republicans gain when the voting public contracts. That much is clearly expressed in myriad state bills Republicans have passed since 2020, and in the federal bill Democrats failed to pass last week. I doubt that's true. For one thing, increasing the voting share means that you get more ill-informed and even marginally interested voters, who are more likely to vote based on style than substance. We had an exceptionally high turnout in 2020, yet Democrats lost ground from 2018, and won the presidency by about half the expected margin, despite running against the most embarrassing fuckup imaginable. The key for Democratic wins is the same as it ever was: getting your people to come out en masse, which takes a combination of two fundamentals: making them fear the consequences of loss, and giving them some positive hope to vote for. Saving democracy offers something on both sides of that equation, but it would mean more if you can show that democracy is good for most people. Republicans are doing their part by showing that their corruption of democracy is pretty awful.

Michael Wines: Census Memo Cites 'Unprecedented' Meddling by Trump Administration: A fairly minor story, but another example of how obsessively thorough Republicans are when it comes to tilting the political playing field.

I saw this "Media Bias Chart" in a Facebook post. I don't know anything about its provenance, but it seems roughly plausible as far as it goes. (One common objection is that their center is farther to the right than they represent. Another is that what's blithely grouped together as "opinion pieces" divides between based on a deeper factual understanding of the world, common on the left, and opinions based on rank fallacies, so often found on the right. Even with so much effort at balancing, note that the right dips much further on the "News Value and Reliability" axis.)

I mention it mostly because I want to quote/preserve a comment by Peter Feldstein:

An early version of this chart had Natural News on the furthest left! Good they corrected that. That one mistake was highly influential on my understanding of right-wing media strategy five years back -- it hasn't changed -- which is to astroturf continually as "left" in order to woo political unsophisticates (if I may) traditionally claimed by the left on one of their favourite issues; in this case, natural foods. In each case (anti-feminism, taxation, belief in civil liberties, even reflexive anti-Americanism!), the message is, "Blame the (Democratic, (Liberal, Labour, etc.) establishment." Then offer a smorgasbord of other right-wing things to believe in.

I'm convinced this is why, as George Monbiot put it recently (and I've been observing for many years), "in the countercultural movements where my sympathies lie, people are dropping like flies." He means that hippies are turning into right-wing true believers. He goes on, "there has been an almost perfect language swap. Parties that once belonged on the left talk about security and stability while those on the right talk of liberation and revolt." Only those on the right aren't sincere about it, while those on the left are bound to dominant parties using the language of security and stability.

I've largely concluded that all sorts of countercultural interests -- like animal rights, dietary regimes like veganism, psychedelics, and various "spiritual" leanings -- have no bearing on the left-right axis, and trying to throw them into the mix just muddies the matter. There is no reason why people who believe in peace, justice, and equality should give up meat, just as there is no reason that people who relish hamburgers should fear the left. Right-wing propagandists, of course, try to have it both ways. I could add vaccination-phobia to the list: a lot of anti-vaxxers lean left politically, but it is the right that has sought to politicize the issue, further endangering public health.

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Monday, January 17, 2022

January archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 37117 [37068] rated (+49), 137 [133] unrated (+4).

First thing I should note here is the passing of Elsie Lee Pyeatt. At 88, she was my oldest living cousin -- a status she was fifth to hold, so perhaps one should stop keeping track -- the second child of Ted Brown (1902-81), who was in turn the second child (eldest son) of my mother's parents (Ben Brown, 1868-1936, and Mary Lou Lakey, 1877-1946, who both died before I was born; Elsie Lee was the last person with any direct memory of Ben Brown). My mother's family grew up on a farm near the long-defunct town of Vidette, Arkansas (east of Henderson, east of Mountain Home). After Ben died, Ted bought out his siblings and took over the family farm. The rest of the family scattered, some to Oklahoma and Kansas, some as far as Washington and California. Ted's other children left for Washington, with Max coming back to Kansas in 1956, but Elsie Lee stayed close to home.

When I was young, we visited Ted (and Hester) and Elsie Lee (and Pete Pyeatt) about once a year. Ted lived on a farm, in a stone house he had built, with a wood stove that Hester cooked masterfully on. Elsie Lee and Pete lived on a farm about 4 miles west (although the backroads route my father invariably took made it seem much farther), in a log cabin which had been encased in concrete -- the original interior walls were about 2 feet thick -- with extra rooms slapped on most sides. We would usually spend a week, split between the two houses. Elsie Lee and Pete were married in 1956, so I always remember them together in that house, with three little girls, and eventually a son. They were the people I felt closest to there.

I spent several decades running away from my family, then gradually started reacquainting myself. After moving back to Kansas in 1999, I started visiting Arkansas regularly, usually once a year. Pete had died, and Elsie Lee was living alone back in her old farmhouse -- she had spent much of the intervening years living in Mountain Home, close to her work, but kept her farm, and Ted's until its upkeep became too much. The farm remains in the family, but she left it over a decade ago: she lived with daughter Brenda in the Fayetteville area for a while, then moved back to Mountain Home, and spent her last years in a small house next to Rhonda, another daughter, with her other children also in or near Mountain Home. Last time I saw her was a stop off on a drive back from the East Coast, 3-4 years ago. I haven't been anywhere since. Elsie Lee has been in poor health for some time, and suffered from a bit of dimentia, so talking to her became increasingly difficult. But the family did a good job of keeping touch, and I greatly appreciate their efforts.

Since getting the news, I've been in some kind of depressed daze -- not unlike after Devoe Brown's death 18 months ago. At least I got a chance to talk to Devoe regularly in his waning days, when he worked harder to cheer me up than I did for him. More to this I don't want to talk about. Unless something changes for the better (and the other direction seems much more likely), I can see myself pulling back and fading away.

One special source of aggravation this week is Hewlett-Packard. Sometimes I think I should put a boycott page up to identify companies that I consider to be especially egregious. I bought a HP 9015 OfficeJet printer a few months back, largely based on the widespread view that the HP had particularly good Linux support. It doesn't. I'm unable to scan using Xsane (which recognizes the scanner and does test scans, but craps out during data transfer; SimpleScan works, barely). Then there's the proprietary ink problem. Their whole engineering operation seems to be built around locking you into their proprietary ink scam. I signed up for their subscription program (6 months free), and they sent me replacement ink, then also bumped the monthly price up 33%, while limiting the carryover allowance to 3 months. However, I ran out of initial cyan and magenta ink (despite printing approx. zero pages in color), and that locked the machine (despite having quite a bit of black left). For the last two weeks, I've been too upset to figure out how to change the cartridges (no obvious hints either on the machine or the cartridges). I bought my first HP printer c. 1981. I'll never buy anything else from them. (Myriad minor annoyances not noted above. Some of this is probably due to me not being hip to the new ap-based wireless world, but when I can't figure something techy out, I doubt it's all my fault.)

Meanwhile, I did manage to slog through a fair number of records this week. I got some tips from Robert Christgau's Consumer Guide. (I previously had Carly Pearce at A-; Kasai Allstars, Morgan Wade, Baiana System, McKinley Dixon, and Ka at ***.) I also spent a lot of time going through Saving Country Music's 2021 Essential Albums list, which yielded most of this week's A- records. By the way, previously reviewed A- records listed there: James McMurtry: The Horses and the Hounds; Hayes Carll: You Get It All; Carly Pearce: 29: Written in Stone; Sierra Ferrell: A Long Time Coming; John R. Miller: Depreciated; Margo Cilker: Pohorylle; Loretta Lynn: Still Woman Enough.

Added some EOY lists. I added a bunch of individual ballots from Jazz Critics Poll, which increased the pro-jazz skew of my EOY Aggregate: Floating Points bumped Little Simz from the number one spot; James Brandon Lewis rose to number nine; Sons of Kemet (15), Vijay Iyer (23), Henry Threadgill (34), Ches Smith (36), Charles Lloyd (38), William Parker's Mayan Space Station (44), and Wadada Leo Smith's Chicago Symphonies (47) cracked the top 50 (with Anna Webber next at 51). I expect most of those to settle down a bit if/as I keep adding non-jazz lists, but Floating Points seems to be pulling away. I'm not a big fan, but it seems to have hit a chord for the times, and I don't disapprove. (I do disapprove of Low's Hey What, in 6th place with grade C.) Also note that a jazz record is currently the highest ranked among those I haven't heard yet: William Parker's 10-CD box, Migration of Silence Into and Out of the Tone World. (I got a sampler but wasn't blown away by it, not that I don't love almost everything Parker does; by the way, see Britt Robson's A Guide to William Parker, also my own dated but still useful William Parker, Matthew Shipp & Friends: A Consumer Guide.) Alternatively, I've tended to ignore metal-only lists this year (even more than usual), so suspect an anti-metal skew. (The only other unheard albums down to 160 are: Every Time I Die; Gojira; Deafheaven; Mastodon; Converge. After that you get into perennial disappointments like James Blake and the Killers.) Among other lists, the long one at Aquarium Drunkard sent me off on some interesting searches.

New records reviewed this week:

Aeon Station: Observatory (2021, Sub Pop): Kevin Whelan, formerly of the Wrens -- three albums 1994-2003, the last got some critical acclaim, but a 2014 album was never released -- not sure if this is a new group or just a solo project. B+(**) [sp]

Alfa Mist: Bring Backs (2021, Anti-): British producer, real name (probably) Alfa Sekitoleko, part of "creative quartet" Are We Live, third album. I've seen it grouped as jazz, and it does have a bit of saxophone on it. B+(*)

Riddy Arman: Riddy Arman (2021, La Honda): Country singer-songwriter, from Ohio but went to Montana for a video, and Portland to record this short debut album. B+(***)

Blackberry Smoke: You Hear Georgia (2021, 3 Legged): Southern rock band, from Atlanta, 2003 debut called Bad Luck Ain't No Crime. True to form, but I jotted down two lines from the opener: "it's a helluva thing to break your back just to make another man rich" and the refrain, "let's live it up until we can't live it down." B+(*)

Garrett T. Capps: I Love San Antone (2021, Vinyl Ranch): Likes Austin but loves San Antonio, proclaimed in the first song then underscored with Tex-Mex accordion in the second. Seems almost too easy. B+(***)

Melissa Carper: Daddy's Country Gold (2021, self-released): Country singer-songwriter, also plays upright bass, second or third album, plus one as The Carper Family. B+(***)

Sharel Cassity/Rajiv Halim/Greg Ward: Altoizm (2021, Afar Music): Three alto saxophonists, from Chicago, I've seen them ordered every which way, with alphabetical making as much sense as any. Rhythm section: Richard D. Johnson (piano), Jeremiah Hunt (bass), Michael Piolet (drums). Seven tracks (2-3-2). Bebop throwback, like a Charlie Parker tag team. B+(***)

Anansy Cissé: Anoura (2021, Riverboat): Saharan blues groove from Mali, second album, nothing spectacular but true to form. B+(***)

Kiely Connell: Camulet Queen (2021, self-released): Singer-songwriter from Indiana, based in Nashville, first album. Strong voice, some grit to her songs. B+(**)

Jesse Daniel: Beyond These Walls (2021, Die True): Country singer-songwriter, third album. Fine trad sound picking and singing. One in Spanish is high-octane Tex-Mex. B+(***)

Bobby Dove: Hopeless Romantic (2021, self-released): Country singer-songwriter from Canada (Montreal), third album. Reviews display a curious lack of pronouns, but are right as to the classic form and depth of the songs (aside from the one in Spanish, which I still have doubts about). A-

Hope Dunbar: Sweetheartland (2021, self-released): Singer-songwriter from Utica, Nebraska (pop. 800), with a husband and three kids and enough housework to keep her down, but sometimes she'll write a few words and pick up her guitar and sing. Sometimes she oversings, coming off like Bruce Springsteen. B+(***)

Hope Dunbar: You Let the Light In (2021, self-released): Third album, recorded in Nashville. Powerful singer, songs strike me as a bit more generic. B+(**)

Vincent Neil Emerson: Vincent Neil Emerson (2021, La Honda): Singer-songwriter from Texas, third album after East Texas Blues and Fried Chicken and Evil Women, evidently had second thoughts about calling this one "High on Gettin' By" or "Saddled Up and Tamed." Flashes a bit of John Prine early, more Rodney Crowell (producer here) later. Part Choctaw-Apache, good for the deepest ballad here. A-

John Escreet/Pera Krstajic/Anthony Fung: Cresta (2022, self-released): Keyboards, electric bass, drums, eighth album for the leader since 2008. B+(*) [bc]

Flatland Cavalry: Welcome to Countryland (2021, self-released): Lubbock, Texas country group, singer-songwriter Cleto Cordero, fiddle hinting at western swing, third album. B+(*)

Béla Fleck: My Bluegrass Heart (2021, Renew, 2CD): Banjo player, born in New York, has long straddled jazz and bluegrass, with occasional forays elsewhere (one of his best albums is Throw Down Your Heart, recorded in Africa, and another features Zakir Hussain). Instrumental, aside from the occasional giggle, with a few recognizable bluegrass stars dropping in to jam. B+(*)

Linda Fredriksson: Juniper (2021, We Jazz): Finnish saxophonist (alto, baritone, bass clarinet, guitar, piano, synthesizer, voice), first album. With keyboards-bass-drums, soft edges, a bit of space ambiance. B+(**)

Charles Wesley Godwin: How the Mighty Fall (2021, self-released): Country singer-songwriter from West Virginia, second album. Saving Country Music's album of the year. Can't fault it for craft, but a bit too mighty for my taste. B+(*)

John Hébert: Sounds of LoveChanges-era Mingus, with Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet), Tim Berne (alto sax), Fred Hersch (piano), and Ches Smith (drums). B+(***)

Tom Jones: Surrounded by Time (2021, S-Curve): Welsh crooner, seemed like part of an earlier/obsolete tradition when he had his first hit in 1965, but 40 albums later it's fair to say he's proven resourceful and resilient. Past 80 he's found his blues voice, and backed it with a harsh mechanical grind. All covers, of which "Pop Star" (Cat Stevens) and "Talking Reality Television Blues (Todd Snider) are most striking. B+(*)

Koreless: Agor (2021, Young): Welsh electronica producer Lewis Roberts, first album after a couple EPs. B

Mac Leaphart: Music City Joke (2021, self-released): Nashville singer-songwriter auditioning for the next generation John Prine, aiming high and failing amiably. Aesthetes may seek originals, but many of the rest of us will settle for compatriots. And when you think about it, that's the rule for folksingers. Bob Dylan imitated all sorts of people before he became himself. A-

Rob Leines: Blood Sweat and Beers (2021, self-released): Country singer-songwriter, born in Georgia, bounced back and forth to California, second (or third) album. B+(**)

John McLaughlin: Liberation Time (2021, Abstract Logix): British fusion guitarist, pretty much invented the genre, returned to form after a sabbatical delving into Indian music. B+(*)

Mike and the Moonpies: One to Grow On (2021, Prairie Rose): Austin-based country band, albums since 2010 -- the first two announced their intentions: The Real Country and The Hard Way. B+(*)

Nation of Language: A Way Forward (2021, PIAS): Electropop trio from Brooklyn, second album. B+(**)

NTsKI: Orca (2021, Orange Milk/EM): Kyoto-based J-pop artist, debut album (although her website lists other albums, as well as EPs). B+(**) [bc]

Poppy: Flux (2021, Sumerian): Pop singer Moriah Rose Pereira, fourth album, started closer to bubblegum but moved on to flirt with metal, but the extra heft hasn't harmed her pop sense. B+(***)

Connie Smith: The Cry of the Heart (2021, Fat Possum): Popular country singer for RCA 1965-72, although I can't recommend a compilation from the period (The Essential Connie Smith is part of a generally exemplary series of single-CD compilations, but a B- for me). She moved on to Columbia through 1976 and Monument to 1978, and has recorded a few things since -- produced by Marty Stuart since they married in 1997. One I like a lot is 2011's Long Line of Heartaches, on Sugar Hill. At 80, she still has quite a voice, and more faith in Jesus than seems warranted. B+(**)

The Steel Woods: All of Your Stones (2021, Thirty Tigers): Southern rock group, founded by singer Wes Bayliss and guitarist Jason "Rowdy" Cope (d. 2021), based in Nashville, third album since 2017. Best line was about not being able to feel a broken heart, but that's a pretty low ceiling. B

Billy Strings: Renewal (2021, Rounder): Bluegrass picker William Apostol, main instrument is guitar but also plays banjo and mandolin, and sings. Third album. Classic sound. B+(**)

Aaron Lee Tasjan: Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan! (2021, New West): Singer-songwriter, filed under country but latest album listed as "power pop." Indeed, sounds a bit like Marshall Crenshaw, except, you know, not as good. Sample lyric: "cartoon music for plastic people, who don't know how to feel." B

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

The Beaters: Harari (1975 [2021], Matsuli Music): South African "Soweto soul" group, first album, changed their name to Harari thereafter, going on to record another dozen albums up to 1986. Not sure who plays sax on the closer. B+(**) [bc]

Chuck Berry: Live From Blueberry Hill (2005-06 [2021], Dualtone): I lived a couple years in St. Louis: one on Eastgate, across from a bagel bakery, at the east end of what was even then known as the Delmar Loop. Blueberry Hill was the local pub, and I spent a fair amount of time in there -- only Left Bank Books and Streetside Records saw more of me. I don't recall any music there, but Joe Edwards built his empire around it. His biggest coup was getting Chuck Berry to play monthly from 1996 to 2014. This picks 10 tracks from the middle of his run. His voice is shot, and the lean elegance of songs you certainly know has thickened, and the band/sound is far from spectacular, but his excitement is still palpable, and he throws in some ad libs you'll want to hear. After all, "if you love it, you ain't never too old." A- [sp]

Chuck Berry: Toronto Rock 'N' Roll Revival 1969 (1969 [2021], Sunset Blvd.): Remastered complete set of a live concert that's been variously available at least since 1978. The 9:41 "My Ding-A-Ling" is either a high- or a low-point. No debate over the 6:32 "Reelin' and Rockin'." B+(***)

Essiebons Special 1973-1984: Ghana Music Power House (1973-84 [2021], Analog Africa): A compilation of from Ghana's Essiebons label, long headed by producer Dick Essilfie-Bondzie, leans more toward Afrobeat than the earlier highlife style. I usually prefer the light grace of highlife, but this overwhelming deluge of rhythm works too. A- [bc]

Harari: Rufaro/Happiness (1976 [2021], Matsuli Music): Formerly the Beaters, second group album, kept the name of their debut album. B+(**) [bc]

I'll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to the Velvet Underground & Nico (2021, Verve): A project of the late Hal Willner, evidently his last, recreating the Velvet Underground's first album cut-by-cut, with different artists tackling each song, with widely varying degrees of inspiration. I got to the album late. I remember going to at least two people's homes, playing their copies, and having them come into the room and ask me "what is this shit?" The record soon enough became my kind of comfort food, so it's a bit unsettling to hear other people fuck around with it. B+(***)

Khan Jamal: Infinity (1982-84 [2021], Jazz Room): Vibraphone player, born in Florida but raised in Philadelphia, a founder of Sounds of Liberation in 1970. Died January 2022, at 75. Group includes Byard Lancaster (alto sax/flute), plus piano, bass, drums, extra percussion. B+(***)

Leo Nocentelli: Another Side (1971 [2021], Light in the Attic): Guitarist from New Orleans, played for the Meters back in their heyday, side credits include Labelle, Wild Tchoupitoulas, Albert King, Etta James, Taj Mahal, Trombone Shorty. Recorded this one solo album, unreleased until now. B+(*)

Tom Prehn Kvartet: Centrifuga (1964 [2021], Centrifuga): Danish pianist, recorded some remarkable free jazz as early as 1963 but I'm not sure he continued after 1970. John Corbett was a fan, reissuing some of his work in Atavistic's Unheard Music Series, and later on his Corbett Vs. Dempsey label. This is half of a 2021 reissue, but I've only been able to find the original self-released album so far. Quartet with tenor sax Fritz Krogh), bass (Poul Ehlers), and drums (Finn Slumstrup). One 44:09 piece. B+(***) [bc]

Ritmo Fantasía: Balearic Spanish Synth-Pop, Boogie & House (1982-1992) (1982-92 [2021], Soundway): From Spanish islands in the Mediterranean, most famously Ibiza, collected by Berlin-based DJ Trujillo. B+(**)

Star Lovers: Boafo Ne Nyame (1987 [2021], Hot Casa): High life group from Ghana, cover proclaims "Highlife Is Back with Star Lovers," and notes: "Frimpong Manso Production." B+(***) [bc]

The Velvet Underground: A Documentary Film by Todd Haynes (1954-70 [2021], Polydor, 2CD): Soundtrack, 11 group songs not all tied to the four studio albums, one from Nico's solo album, four more including a pre-VU Reed group (The Primitives), pieces from the Diablos, Bo Diddley, and La Monte Young -- the latter a 6:21 minimalist sax solo. The VU songs are mostly live, and often magnificent (especially the 19:04 "Sister Ray"), but they're available in other packages, so I wonder how useful this particular one has. I haven't seen the movie. [PS: Napster credits most of these songs to Amon Tobin, but other sources, including a scan of the booklet, cite the group. My ears concur.] B+(***)

Old music:

Precious Bryant: Feel Me Good (2002, Terminus): Blues singer from the Georgia side of the Alabama line, learned her guitar from an uncle, George Henry Bussey. Got recorded as early as 1967, but didn't release this debut until she turned 60. Live set, solo, just acoustic guitar and voice. B+(**)

Precious Bryant: The Truth (2004, Terminus): Second album, same sensibility but gets a lift from the extra depth of a band, not that you notice it much. Not sure of the provenance of the songs: some I thought I recognized, but not the titles. A-

Precious Bryant: My Name Is Precious (2005, Music Maker Relief Foundation): Label is a non-profit, got some recognition a couple years back with the compilation Hanging Guitar Doors, but it dates back to 1994, and started working with Bryant a decade before this album appeared. She runs through 26 songs here, nice and simple. B+(***)

Anansy Cissé: Mali Overdrive (2014, Riverboat): Guitarist-vocalist from Timbuktu in Mali, first album (at least known to the outside world), finds an undulating groove that many others have pioneered. B+(**)

Hope Dunbar: Three Black Crows (2017, self-released): First album, a dozen homespun songs, but she got some production (from Emily White), strings and percussion and backing vocals. B+(***)

Vincent Neil Emerson: Fried Chicken & Evil Women (2019, La Honda): Title song continues, "will be the death of me," and is followed by "The Bad Side of Luck." His songs flow as easy and natural as anyone's since Billy Joe Shaver. A-

Booker Ervin: Structurally Sound (1966 [2001], Blue Note): Tenor saxophonist from Texas, rarely included in the list of "Texas Tenors" but should be. Emerged as a dominant player with Prestige in the early 1960s, but less known for his late 1960s work, before his death in 1970 at 39. Standard quintet here, but Charles Tolliver (trumpet) and John Hicks (piano) were barely known at the time. Really kicked in for me on Ervin's one original, "Boo's Blues." Reissue adds four tracks. [PS: Allen Lowe included this in a list of life-changing records he first heard at 14. It was the only one I didn't know.] A-

Booker Ervin: The In Between (1968, Blue Note): Last release before Ervin's 1970 death, first actually on Blue Note (which later reissued his two Pacific Jazz albums; also this one in 2004 with no extra material). Richard Williams plays trumpet on 5 (of 6) tracks, with Bobby Few (piano), Cevera Jeffries Jr. (bass), and Lenny McBrowne (drums). Sounds very strong. B+(***)

Limited Sampling: Records I played parts of, but not enough to grade: -- means no interest, - not bad but not a prospect, + some chance, ++ likely prospect.

The Jeffrey Lewis & Peter Stampfel Band: Both Ways (2017 [2021], self-released): Holy Modal Rounders redux, download only and very skint on the samples. Bandcamp page touts this as "The Great Lost 2017 Double-Album." Christgau likes it. Maybe. [3/26 tracks] ++

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

• Scott Burns/John Wojciechowski/Geof Bradfield: Tenor Time (Afar Music) [01-21]
• Eugenie Jones: Players (Open Mic) [03-11]
• Oz Noy/Ugonna Okegwo/Ray Marchica: Riverside (Outside In Music) [01-22]
• Mathis Picard: Live at the Museum (Outside In Music) [01-28]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

prev -- next