Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Music Week

February archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 43642 [43611) rated (+31), 30 [30] unrated (+0).

I saw the eye doctor yesterday, which left me in no shape to do any work whatsoever. We picked up some food on the way home, and I spent the rest of the day watching TV, which seems to be my lowest energy setting. We started watching season one of Funny Woman, which hit the spot nicely -- not least for exceptional music. Upshot of the appointment is that I have cataract surgery scheduled for Feb. 27, with the other eye a month or so later, so I'm expecting much more similar disruption and despair.

Before my appointment, I had decided not to publish Music Week until I got my server mess sorted out. I had expected to figure that out last week, but wasted a couple days blogging, and didn't make much progress until Friday, by which point I figured I had the weekend to write some letters, and Monday-Tuesday to gauge responses. But I didn't get any letters written, and Monday was a wash. But it takes a while for me to get going, so I thought I might as well go ahead and post what I have, and get it out of the way. So that's all this will be.

I suppose I can point to my server notes, if you have any technical curiosity. I've pretty much given up on replacing my current dedicated server with another: the low-end hardware is as expensive as ever, and cPanel's software prices have been jacked way up. (DirectAdmin is a cheaper alternative, and may well be as good, but it still adds a $30/month premium.) VPS deals are somewhat more affordable, and can be expanded pretty much on demand, but they're harder to evaluate.

So for the moment, I'm looking for a "reseller hosting" deal, which is a shared server slice that can support multiple domains, each with its own account interface. Some of these plans are quite cheap (suspiciously so), but they seem to fill my basic needs: hosting 10-15 websites, most hand-coded or WordPress, with email the only other real consideration. I'd be giving up some measure of detailed control over the server configuration and software, but I also could be saving myself headaches, as server management these days is mostly a matter of defending against external attacks and internal defects -- skills I find myself increasingly lacking.

Still, I'm going to be looking for deals that seem to come with decent support, and that don't lock me into something if it turns out to be a mistake. I've identified at least 60 vendors. While many of them look dubious -- especially the ones with long terms and/or automatic price hikes -- even the most expensive plans are about half what I've been paying. While the resource quotes often look paltry to me, they're probably more realistic for my needs. The big advantage of having a dedicated server is having all the resources to yourself, but my load levels are actually very light, on hardware that is six years old. So while it's hard to be certain, it's likely that the new deal will come out cheaper, faster, and less demanding of my management time. It also looks like most vendors will jump in and do the migration work, so once I make a decision, this could move very fast.

I finished that last paragraph six hours ago, and spent the time since tacking more notes onto the server file. As I still need to put up the news notice (although probably not the archive file) for Robert Christgau's Dean's List: 2024 -- "The 74 best albums of the past year (or so)", emphasis on "or so" -- I probably won't get around to writing my first letters until tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll have these things sorted by next week. If not, I can't imagine how depressed I'm going to be.

New records reviewed this week:

_thesmoothcat & Wino Willy: Ready, Set (2024, Sinking City): New Orleans rapper Josh Henderson, with beatmaker Charles Corpening. B+(*) [bc]

Being Dead: Eels (2024, Bayonet): Garage rock band from Austin, second album, title usually capitalized -- no idea why, perhaps to distance themselves from the group Eels, which I initially assumed was responsible for this album. This got enough praise to his 82 in my EOY Aggregate, but all I hear is tuneless and senseless. B- [sp]

Kimmi Bitter: Old School (2024, self-released): Discogs says that's her real name. Country singer-songwriter, from San Diego, second album, aims for retro, which means Patsy Cline and Wanda Jackson. B+(**) [sp]

Body Count: Merciless (2024, Century Media): Gangsta rapper Ice-T's metal band, eighth album since their eponymous 1992 debut, back cover promises: "Start to finish, with Merciless, Body Count is back for an even bloodier murder spree than anything they've done before." Fourth of that series I've heard, which I've generally found tolerable, perhaps because the fusion seems even more comic than their unadulterated roots. B+(***) [sp]

Kaitlin Butts: Roadrunner! (2024, Soundly Music): Country singer-songwriter from Oklahoma, based in Nashville, third album. Some high concept here, which doesn't always work. B+(*) [sp]

Luke Combs: Fathers & Sons (2024, Columbia Nashville): Country singer-songwriter, from North Carolina, fifth album since 2017, all charted 1-2 country, 1-6 pop. Super voice, songs themed to the title are sensitive and considered enough my personal indifference must be just that. B+(**) [sp]

Ernest: Nashville, Tennessee (2024, Big Loud): Last name Smith, had some success as a songwriter before he got his own contract, third album since 2019. B+(**) [sp]

Jake Xerxes Fussell: When I'm Called (2024, Fat Possum): Folksinger from North Carolina, fifth album since 2015, built from music "that holds lifelong sentimental meaning, contemplating the passage of time and procession of life's unexpected offerings." James Elkington produced, adding bits that still feel pretty minimal. B+(**) [sp]

Homeboy Sandman: Nor Can These Be Sold (At Least by Me) (2024, self-released): Brooklyn underground rapper, many albums, third variation on this title, presumably for uncleared samples, but on Bandcamp with a "name your price." B+(**) [sp]

Ale Hop & Titi Bakorta: Mapambazuko (2025, Nyege Nyege Tapes): Peruvian composer Alejandra Luciana Cárdenas, based in Berlin, half-dozen albums since 2017, first one I've heards, so I have little sense of how this collaboration with a Congolese guitarist fits in. Actually, he seems dominant. B+(***) [sp]

Inert: 2Inert (2024, self-released): Rock singer-songwriter from Cincinnati, Mark Messerly, almost all of his previous credits are with the band Wussy, where he's played bass since 2005. Second album on his own, plays guitar here, in a group with violin, cello, and pedal steel guitar. Has a bit of Dylan in his voice. B+(**) [sp]

Sarah Jarosz: Polaroid Lovers (2024, Rounder): Singer-songwriter, originally from Austin, based in Nashville, plays guitar/banjo/mandolin, seventh album since 2009, has some Grammy awards, and seems less and less like a niche artist. B+(**) [sp]

Cody Jinks: Cody Jinks Sings Lefty Frizzell (2024, Late August): Singer-songwriter from Texas, started in a thrash metal band called Unchecked Aggression before switching to outlaw country, where he has a dozen-plus albums since 2006, and moderate success since 2016. Needless to say, no one sings Frizzell like Lefty, but this is pleasant enough on its own terms. B+(*) [sp]

Merce Lemon: Watch Me Drive Them Dogs Wild (2024, Darling): Singer-songwriter, from Pittsburgh, second album, shows up on my country list but why isn't obvious. B+(*) [sp]

Post Malone: F-1 Trillion (2024, Mercury/Republic): Actual name Austin Post, stage name adopted at 15 reportedly came out of "rap name generator," his first albums got him slotted in my "rap" file, but here at least he sings much more than he raps, and gets tagged as country, which may or may not include his Super Bowl duet with Beyoncé. Or maybe it's just this album, his sixth, all big hits, which with fifteen certified all-star duets crashed the country charts harder than Beyoncé did. Some decent stuff here, but runs long. B [sp]

MC Lyte: 1 of 1 (2024, Sunni Gyrl/My Block/Vydia): Rapper Lana Moorer, her 1988 debut is remembered as the first by a female rapper, released five more albums through 1998, only three since. B+(**) [sp]

Scotty McCreery: Rise & Fall (2024, Triple Tigers): Country singer-songwriter, started by winning American Idol season, quickly cashing in with a 2011 album. This is his sixth, his songwriting and voice above average without ever suggesting he might ever break out of the mold. Sample line: "done a lot of good living, just sitting on the porch." B+(*) [sp]

Lizzie No: Halfsies (2024, Miss Freedomland/Thirty Tigers): Singer-songwriter, last name Quinlan, second album, plays guitar and harp, slotted folk, shows up in some country lists, but I'm not hearing why -- she doesn't even have a Nashville connection, having grown up in NJ and moved to NYC. Well, if not the sound, maybe the songs? B+(**) [sp]

Joy Oladokun: Observations From a Crowded Room (2024, Amigo): Singer-songwriter from Arizona, parents Nigerian, moved to Los Angeles, then to Nashville. Several albums, the last two quite good. B+(***) [sp]

PyPy: Sacred Times (2024, Goner): "Psych-punk garage pop band from Montreal," which is nichey enough for their densely hooked crunch. Third album, the others from 2007 and 2014. B+(***) [sp]

Red Clay Strays: Made by These Moments (2024, RCA): Country rock band from Alabama, second studio album. B+(*) [sp]

Reyna Tropical: Malegría (2024, Psychic Hotline): Band from McAllen, Texas, principally singer-songwriter Fabi Reyna with miniaturist beats by Neclail Diaz. The value of the spoken word is hard to discern (and not just the Spanish), but I love the musical stretches, even when the whispers seem too insignificant to credit. B+(***) [sp]

Chase Rice: Go Down Singin' (2024, Broken Bow): Country singer-songwriter from Florida, fifth album since 2012. Sometimes seems like the perfect country singer, but more when he eases back than when he pushes hard. Includes a duet with Lori McKenna. B+(***) [sp]

Serengeti: Palookaville (2024, CC King): Underground rapper from Chicago, dropped this late December, dispenses with his usual characters, who I never cared that much about anyway, for a deeper focus on vibe and nuance, which is where he's always shined. A- [sp]

Brittney Spencer: My Stupid Life (2024, Elektra): Singer-songwriter from Baltimore, started singing in church but moved to Nashville to try her hand at country music. First album after a couple of EPs. B+(**) [sp]

St. Lenox: Ten Modern American Work Songs: In Honor of the 10-Year Reunion of the NYU Law Class of 2014 (2024, Don Giovanni/Anyway): Folk singer-songwriter Andrew Choi, day job attorney, has four previous Ten Songs albums (back to 2015), starting with more generic themes (e.g., Memory and Hope, Young Ambition and Passionate Love), but eventually the work grind gets you down. B+(***) [sp]

Billy Strings: Highway Prayers (2024, Reprse): Bluegrass singer-songwriter, actual name Apostol, dozen-plus albums since 2013. B+(*) [sp]

Jesse Terry: Arcadia (2024, Wander): A singer-songwriter I hadn't noticed before, seventh album since 2009. Gets some guitar help, which often saves you from having to pay attention, but sometimes it's better when you have to. B+(***) [sp]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Homeboy Sandman: Rich 2.5 (2023-24 [2025], self-released): Brooklyn rapper Angel Del Villar II, lots of records since 2007, this appears to be a compilation of two recent albums -- Rich (2023) and Rich II (2024) -- "Plus Four Butters Remixes!" B+(***) [sp]

My Black Country: The Songs of Alice Randall (2024, Oh Boy): Randall was born in Detroit, grew up in DC, graduated from Harvard, has written six novels starting with a "reinterpretation and parody' of Gone With the Wind, got a job teaching writing at Vanderbilt (in Nashville), where she ran into Steve Earle, who pointed her toward songwriting. This tribute offers 11 of her songs, by as many artists -- most (possibly all) roots-oriented black women. Doesn't grab hard, but impresses with staying power. B+(***) [sp]

Super Disco Pirata: De Tepito Para El Mundo 1965-1980 (1965-80 [2024], Analog Africa): Seems to be mostly Colombian cumbia, bootlegged and reprocessed in Mexico. Starts with some cheesy disco keyboards, but goes hard on the rhythm. B+(***) [sp]

Old music:

None.

Grade (or other) changes:

Loud, Fast & Out of Control: The Wild Sounds of '50s Rock (1951-59 [1999], Rhino, 4CD): I rescued this from my long-ignored archival shelves a couple weeks ago, and it's been my staple for the last 2-3 weeks, both as a morning pick me up and in the car. Structured as a randomized jukebox, draws on three main components: a core of rockabilly classics -- the big names (including Elvis, right after "My Boy Elvis"), some strategic covers (like Ronnie Hawkins' "Forty Days" and Johnny Burnette's "Honey Hush"), and less-famous novelties (like "Red Hot" and "Action Packed"); major rockers (Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, the Coasters, and Eddie Cochran -- who leads off two discs); and older jump blues that fit in seamlessly (like "Jump, Jive and Wail" and "Rocket 88"). Sure, anyone could score high with such obvious picks, but close to a quarter of these were under my radar, and few if any feel out of place -- e.g., the sequence of "Frenzy," "Koko Joe," and "King Kong" before the more familiar "Ubangi Stomp" and "Flying Saucers Rock & Roll." [was: B+] A

Corb Lund: El Viejo (2024, New West): Canadian country singer-songwriter, twelfth album since 1995, last year's reservations about "hit and miss" songs hard to recall after a revisit, where I found a "Deluxe Edition" with three extra songs (two new) finishing strong. [was: B+(***)] A- [sp]

Megan Moroney: Am I Okay? (2024, Columbia Nashville): Country singer-songwriter, second album, seemed consistently good when I first sampled this, qualities I appreciate even more now. [was: B+(***)] A- [sp]

Unpacking: Two packages, still unopened.

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