Blog Entries [150 - 159]

Monday, June 26, 2023

Music Week

June archive (final).

Tweet: Music Week: 40 albums, 4 A-list,

Music: Current count 40476 [40436] rated (+40), 9 [12] unrated (-3).

Another big Speaking of Which yesterday: 6163 words, 98 links. I started on Thursday, so the Prigozhin putsch drive caught me midstream. Upon reflection, the critical detail that's rarely reported is that Putin had moved to force Wagner back under Russian military command, so the revolt was a reaction to an existential threat. Anti-Russian pundits enjoyed themselves immensely this weekend by taunting Putin as weak, but at several critical junctures it was Prigozhin whose hand was forced. Also, it was rather clever of Putin to allow Prigozhin an exit ramp to Belarus.

The big question now is how much of the Wagner army will join Prigozhin in Belarus. My guess is that it won't be much, so the net effect will be equivalent to house arrest. There Prigozhin will still remain as a potential political threat to Putin, but he's given up on being a military one. And while Putin is often regarded as a front man for the oligarchs, it's worth remembering that Prigozhin's not the first one Putin forced to heel. None of this strikes me weakness. Sure, the war is still a disastrous miscalculation, and Putin is likely to be judged for that mistake eventually. But not yet.

Looking around this morning, one link worth adding is Heather Digby Parton: Trump's messianic appeal can't be replicated. One thing I've never understood about these "Revelations" scholars is why none of them recognize Trump (or, before him, GW Bush) as the Antichrist. As one who doesn't believe in that crap, this isn't a point I'm inclined to belabor, but given the assumptions, doesn't it seem pretty obvious?

Parton also gets into a story I didn't bother with, which is how Moms for Liberty got caught quoting Hitler, then had to beat a retreat. Pro tip: you're much less likely to make this mistake if you don't believe in the same things Hitler believed in. Parton quotes "Ryan Helfenbein @ the Faith & Freedom Coalition Gala": "If you don't control education, you can't control the future. Stalin knew that. Mao knew it. Hitler knew it. We have to get that back for conservative values."

The problem with this isn't that he aligned conservatism with bad examples. The problem is thinking that the future is purely a creation of will, and as such subject to thought control (or more precisely, by keeping people from thinking for themselves). One of the most important truths about the world today is that we need lots of people who are capable of thinking critically and creatively when faced with new problems, because they're coming all the time. That's way up there with we have to learn to accept and respect people different from ourselves, because we can't afford to fight all the time.

It's not that conservatives have no good ideas -- some traditional values should be honored, and some change should be resisted -- but their inability to grasp such fundamental concepts, along with their defense and promotion of greater social and economic hierarchy, has made them not just wrong but dangerously so.

I've been pretty bummed about lack of progress, even on previously simple home projects. But while writing on book projects has been hard to get into, cranking out the weekly Speaking of Which still comes easy, and almost seems therapeutic. Same could be said for Music Week, but I'm more anxious to get it out of the way, thinking that will open up a new week of opportunity.

Those frustrations, along with trouble finding things to listen to, led me to start off the last couple days with something old from the cases (leading to a couple tweets). That threatened to suppress the ratings count, but turns out not by much. Peter Brötzmann died last week, at 82, ending a 56-year career that literally spans the entire German (and for that matter, European) avant-garde. I've often had trouble with his exuberant cacophony -- his Penguin Guide crown album, 1968's Machine Gun, is a mere B+(**) in my list -- but I've occasionally found items to A-list, including this year's set with Majid Bekkas and Hamid Drake, Catching Ghosts, and, to pick an example where the noise is transcendent, 2009's Hairy Bones. Chris Monsen got me going when he linked to Sprawl.

Among new releases, I've never cared much for Jason Isbell, and had the new one wrapped up at B+(***), until I gave it a couple more plays. Also benefiting from extra attention was Mother Earth, a side trip after checking out the latest Tracy Nelson album. I remembered having at least one of their albums, but hadn't filed a grade.

Jeffrey Callahan posted a request for mid-year lists on Expert Witness. Few returns as yet, but Clifford Ocheltree identified "only three items strike me as durable":

  • Black Gospel Ladies: I Walked Out Jesus Name (Narro-Way)
  • The War & Treaty: Lover's Game (Mercury Nashville)
  • Hermanos Gutierrez: El Bueno Y El Malo ('22)

I suppose you can derive my list from here, but I wouldn't put much stock in the order, which reflects initial slotting but little sorting.

Last Monday in the month, so I've opened a new monthly Streamnotes archive for July. But indexing for June will have to wait -- no need holding this post up for a bunch of busy work. I'll also do a post of notes on television shows, probably tomorrow. Diminishing returns have me given up on mid-year music lists, but similar lists exist for television (and probably movies, which I've lost all interest in). Not on any list so far is Deadloch, a mystery series set in Tasmania that still has a couple episodes to come. Body count is too high to really call it a comedy, but it often is very funny.

New records reviewed this week:

Charlie Apicella & Iron City Meet The Griots Speak: Destiny Calling (2022 [2023], OA2): Guitarist, eighth album, usually plays groove-oriented fusion/soul jazz (his 2019 album was called Groove Machine), surprises here by hooking up with "legends of the 1960s NYC loft scene": Daniel Carter (saxes, flute, clarinet, trumpet, piano), William Parker (bass, doson ngoni), and Juma Sultan (congas, percussion). He means 1970s (Sultan was born in 1942, Carter 1945, Parker 1952). B+(***) [cd]

Asake: Work of Art (2023, YBNL Nation): Nigerian singer-songwriter Ahmed Ololade, stage name is his mother's, second album. B+(**) [sp]

Atmosphere: So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously (2023, Rhymesayers Entertainment): Underground hip-hop duo from Minnesota, Sean Daley (Slug) and Anthony Davis (ANT), many albums since 1997. B+(***) [sp]

Blue Cranes: My Only Secret (2022 [2023], Jealous Butcher/Beacon Sound): Quintet from Portland: two saxes, keyboards, bass, and drums. Eighth album supposedly moves in new directions, but fusion that only intermittently passes as jazz has trouble sustaining interest. B [cd] [08-11]

Chris Byars Quartet: Look Ahead (2023, SteepleChase): Tenor saxophonist, largely invented what we might call "retro-bop," which he is likely to extend into a career comparable to what Scott Hamilton did with "retro-swing." Quartet with Pasquale Grasso (guitar), Ari Roland (bass), and Keith Balla (drums). Not as explicit as many of his albums, just comfortable in his secure worldview. B+(***) [sp]

The Ekphrastics: Special Delivery (2023, Harriet): Indie band picks obscure name, writes pleasant songs I don't quite get. B+(*) [sp]

Amanda Fields: What, When and Without (2023, Are and Be): Country singer-songwriter, first album, likes them slow and sweet, although it's not quite that simple. B+(**) [sp]

Béla Fleck/Zakir Hussain/Edgar Meyer: As We Speak (2023, Thirty Tigers): Banjo player, born in New York, debut 1979, expanded beyond bluegrass to jazz and world music. Second album with Hussain (tabla) and Meyer (bass), joined by (featuring credit on cover) Rakesh Chaurasia (bansuri, an Indian bamboo flute). B+(*) [sp]

Caesar Frazier: Tenacity (As We Speak) (2022, TrackMerchant): Organ player, from Indianapolis, recorded three albums 1972-78, then nothing until 2018. Gets a shot here with mainstreamers Eric Alexander (tenor sax), Peter Bernstein (guitar), and Vince Ector (drums). B+(*) [sp]

Caesar Frazier: Live at Jazzcup (2023, Stunt): The organ player goes to Sweden, where his pickup group includes Johannes Wamberg (guitar), Kresten Osgood (drums), and Jonas Kullhammar (tenor sax), whose extra edge is critical. B+(**) [sp]

Noah Haidu: Standards (2023, Sunnyside): Pianist, from New York, sixth album since 2011, last one was dedicated to Keith Jarrett, now this one is keyed to the 40th anniversary of Jarrett's Standards Trio. With bass (Buster Williams or Peter Washington) and drums (Lewis Nash), plus Steve Wilson (sax, but back cover says drums) on four tracks. B+(**) [cd]

Ben Howard: Is It? (2023, Island): British singer-songwriter, branded folk but leaning into electronics, which is more electropop than techno. B+(*) [sp]

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit: Weathervanes (2023, Southeastern): Singer-songwriter, started in Drive-By Truckers, went solo in 2007 and started co-crediting his band in 2009. Reputation precedes him, but I've never had the patience to figure out whether it's deserved. But he's singing as passionately as ever, and for once the sound is ingratiating enough to invite further inspection. For instance, consider: "I thank God you weren't brought up like me, with all that shame and certainty." A- [sp]

Christine Jensen: Day Moon (2023, Justin Time): Alto/soprano saxophonist, from Canada. Quartet with Steve Amirault (piano), Adrian Vedady (bass), Jim Doxas (drums). B+(**) [sp]

Stephen Jones & Ben Haugland: Road to No-Where (2021 [2023], OA2): Saxophone (soprano/tenor) and piano duets, plus trumpet/flugelhorn (Kevin Whalen) on two tracks. Originals divided 2-3 in favor of the pianist, with four standards. Opens with a lovely "Without a Song." B+(**) [cd]

Kaisa's Machine: Taking Shape (2022 [2023], Greenleaf Music): Finnish bassist Kaisa Mäensivu, second album, with new group members Tivon Pennicott (tenor sax on 5 tracks), Max Light (guitar), Sasha Berliner (vibes on 2), Eden Ladin (piano), and Joe Peri (drums). Postbop with spirit and edge. B+(**) [cd] [07-07]

Ryan Keberle's Collectiv Do Brasil: Considerando (2023, Alternate Side): Trombone player, from Indiana, based in New York, albums since 2007, second Collectiv Do Brasil album, this one recorded in Săo Paulo with Felipe Silveira (piano), Felipe Brisola (bass), and Paulinho Vicente (drums). Brazilian tilt is subtle. B+(**) [cd] [07-14]

Kill Bill: The Rapper: Fullmetal Kaiju (2023, Exociety): Rapper Dennis Nettles, half-dozen previous albums since 2014. Underground, with slack beats and sly jokes, and a bit of weirdness that hasn't fully registered yet. B+(**) [sp]

Gordon Lee Quartet: How Can It Be? (2022 [2023], PJCE): Pianist, based in Portland, been around a bit, with a 1990 Quartet album and his 2004 GLeeful Big Band. With Renato Caranto (tenor sax), Dennis Caiazza (bass), and Gary Hobbs (drums). B+(**) [cd]

Bill Lowe and the Signifyin' Natives Ensemble: Sweet Cane: Suites and Other Pedagogical Prompts (2021 [2023], Mandorla Music): Plays bass trombone and tuba, not much under his own name but side-credits back to 1975, played with Frank Foster early on, Henry Threadgill, Darrell Katz, has been a regular in the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. Group here has vocalist Naledi Masilo and a fairly stellar lineup: Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet/flugelhorn), Hafez Modirzadeh (alto sax/hoof-seed rattle/b'kongofon), Kevin Harris (piano), Ken Filiano (bass), and Luther Gray (drums). B+(***) [bc]

Greg Mendez: Greg Mendez (2023, Forged Artifacts, EP): Singer-songwriter from Philadelphia, third "album," I see him being compared to Alex G, which doesn't do much for me. Eight songs, 23:08. B- [sp]

Tracy Nelson: Life Don't Miss Nobody (2023, BMG): Started in the rock group Mother Earth (1967-71), aside from the 1980-93 stretch has recorded regularly since, slotted variously as folk, country, and/or blues without evolving much. Credibly covers some obvious songs, along with a couple of her own. And for a guest spot, Willie Nelson takes her "Honky Tonkin'." B+(**) [sp]

Linda May Han Oh: The Glass Hours (2023, Biophilia): Bassist, born in Malaysia, raised in Australia, based in New York, sings some but it's mostly Sara Serpa's scat here, crowding out Mark Turner's tenor sax, with Fabian Amalzan (piano + electronics) and Obed Calvaire (bass). B [sp]

Jacques Schwarz-Bart: The Harlem Suite (2021 [2023], Ropeadope): Saxophonist from Guadeloupe, parents were writers and family traveled widely; he studied at Berklee, but always worked elements from the French Caribbean into his music. Debut 1999. B+(*) [sp]

Dave Scott: Song for Alice (2022 [2023], SteepleChase): Trumpet player, debug 1996, sixth album on this label since 2007, a quintet with Rich Perry (tenor sax), Gary Versace (piano), Johannes Weidenmueller (bass), and Mark Ferber (drums). B+(**) [sp]

Don Toliver: Love Sick (2023, Cactus Jack/Atlantic): Second-generation rapper-singer from Houston, third album. Falls off when he sings. B [sp]

Ray Vega & Thomas Marriott: East West Trumpet Summit: Coast to Coast (2021 [2023], Origin): Trumpet players, long on the label but from opposite coasts, backed by Orrin Evans on piano, plus bass and drums. Three Marriott originals, the rest jazz standards, including Mingus and Cherry, although my favorite is their "Girl Talk." B+(***) [cd]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Dave Douglas and Elan Mehler: If There Are Mountains (2019 [2023], Greenleaf Music): Mehler's a pianist, based in New York, several albums back to 2007, split the compositions here with the trumpet player, many songs with lyrics sung by Dominique Eade. Group also includes John Gunther (sax, clarinet, bass clarinet), bass, and drums. Originally released on vinyl-only Newvelle in 2020. B+(*) [sp]

Johnny Hodges Septet: In Concert: Falkoner Central, Copenhagen, March 17, 1961 (1961 [2023], SteepleChase): The alto sax great, leading a septet of Ellington veterans -- Ray Nance, Lawrence Brown, Harry Carney, Al Williams, Aaron Bell, Sam Woodyard -- through his usual songbook. One treat is Nance singing "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and "Just Squeeze Me," and playing violin on the closer. B+(***) [sp]

Muddy Waters Blue Band Featuring Otis Spann: Live Paris 1968 (1968 [2023], Lantower): Live set from La Salle Pleyel (39:38), originally released on France's Concert in 1988. Spann, of course, is the pianist. B+(**) [sp]

Old music:

Peter Brötzmann/Alexander von Schlippenbach/Sven-Ĺke Johansson: Up and Down the Lion-Revised (1979 [2010], Olof Bright): Avant-sax with piano and drums, Johansson also opening on accordion, five improv pieces (57:13). The pianist is a big help here, inspiring some of Brötzmann's most thoughtful playing. A- [bc]

Peter Brötzmann/Maleem Mahmoud Gania/Hamid Drake: The Wels Concert (1996 [1997], Okka Disk): Recorded in Austria. Gania is a Moroccan guembri master, also sings, and Drake plays drums, tablas, and frame drum, with the alto/tenor saxophonist also playing tarogato and e-flat clarinet. B+(***) [bc]

Peter Brötzmann: Sprawl (1996 [1997], Trost): Discogs has artist name as Sprawl, based on no other print on the cover, but it's a one-shot quintet, and the Bandcamp page credits the German saxophonist, over Alex Buess (reeds/electronics), Stephen Wittwer (guitar), William Parker (bass), and Michael Wertmüller (drums). Brötzmann just died at 82, leaving a huge body of work, and this one was singled out by fans. I've often had trouble when he simply blasted away, but this one conveys its power through subtler means. A- [bc]

Peter Brötzmann/Peeter Uuskyla/Peter Friis Nielsen: Noise of Wings (1999-2001 [2009], Jazzwerkstatt): Tenor sax, drums, bass, the leader also playing tarogato and clarinet, which softens his screech just enough. B+(***) [sp]

Peter Brötzmann/William Parker/Hamid Drake: Never Too Late but Always Too Early: Dedicated to Peter Kowald (2001 [2003], Eremite, 2CD): Dedicated to the late German bassist (1944-2002), but recorded a year earlier, so subtitle is most likely an afterthought (but Brötzmann had a long association with Kowald, and Parker seems to have also developed a close relationship). Two long multipart pieces, and two extras, total 114:48. Good example of what they do. B+(***) [sp]

Peter Brötzmann/Michiyo Yagi/Paal Nilssen-Love: Head On (2007 [2008], Idiolect): Yagi plays koto, a Japanese string instrument, which moderates the alto/tenor sax, albeit only a little, and rarely when he charges ahead. The drummer helps out. B+(**) [bc]

Rory Gallagher: Big Guns: The Very Best of Rory Gallagher (1970-90 [2005], Capo, 2CD): Irish rocker (1948-95), started in blues-rock power trio called Taste, went solo in 1971, recorded eleven studio albums, released three live albums during his life, many more since. I never paid him any heed, and sat on this set until I scratched my last old unrateds from the database, but decided to give it a spin when I found it shelved. Nice package, with an ample booklet, and more music than anyone needs. Not bad, but nothing I'd pull out ahead of Stevie Ray Vaughan, or Cream. B+(*) [cd]

Mother Earth: Living With the Animals (1968, Mercury): Blues-rock band from California, first album, group name from the Memphis Slim song, title song (and a couple more) by R. Powell St. John, Jr., who sings some but is upstaged by Tracy Nelson. B+(*) [sp]

Mother Earth: Make a Joyful Noise (1969, Mercury): Second album, prophetic title, divided into a "City Side" and a "Country Side," Tracy Nelson shares lead vocals with three guys, the backups divided between Earthmen and Earthettes, the band including pedal steel guitar and a horn section. In short, they want to have it every which way. But oddly enough, they all work, even if this seems a bit heavier and more dated than some of their contemporary roots-rockers. A- [sp]

Mother Earth: Satisfied (1970, Mercury): Third album, Tracy Nelson fully in charge of the vocals, which I count as a plus. B+(***) [sp]

Mother Earth: Bring Me Home (1971, Reprise): Fourth album, singer stronger than ever, songs not so much. B+(*) [yt]

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

  • The Sofia Goodman Group: Secrets of the Shore (Joyous) [07-14]
  • Daniel Hersog Jazz Orchestra: Open Spaces: Folk Songs Reimagined (Cellar) [06-23]
  • Gabriela Martina: Homage to Grämilis (self-released) [07-14]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Sunday, June 25, 2023

Speaking of Which

The Washington Post Editorial Board headline today is actually rather sensible (and hopefully sobering): Putin's humiliation means new dangers for Russia -- and the world. Still, given the dangers, maybe "humiliation" isn't the word we should be using. While the odds that Putin would resort nuclear weapons were never very high, it should be understood that they do go up with every humiliation, with every time he gets pushed back into a corner. The only way out of this trap is a negotiated settlement based not on the balance of power but on generally recognized principles, notably self-determination. And to bring that about, we still need a stable Russia. Blowing it up and replacing Putin with even crazier leaders isn't the way.

The Washington Post Editorial Board also wrote another piece that should be sobering but probably isn't: [06-24] Is there enough money to rebuild Ukraine? In it, they fantasize about getting Russia to pay for the rebuilding, which may be "an unarguable moral case" but is also a total non-starter. (Remember when LBJ promised to pay for rebuilding Vietnam?) Meanwhile, the fact that Americans are asking these questions suggests that they don't intend to pay either.

One problem is probably that the Post editors are reading their own war propagandists, like David Ignatius: [06-24] Putin looked into the abyss Saturday -- and blinked. From what I can gather, it looked like Prigozhin was the one who took the easy way out. But then the former Iraq War apologist has been writing pieces like this all along: [06-06] D-Day dawns for Ukraine.

As usual, it's impossible to get to everything. I do hope this is the last time I ever devote a whole section to Hunter Biden. Even with this much, I doubt I really got adequately into the Republican reaction, or their continuing obsession with him. Sure, he could serve as an example of why nepotism and influence-peddling are wrong, but that's not a point Republicans are going to make. Tax cheating and gun buying are things they normally celebrate.

Top story threads:

Trump:

  • Adam Goldman/Traci Angel: [06-21] Former FBI analyst goes to prison for taking classified documents: "Like former President Trump, the former analyst was accused of violating the Espionage Act, taking home hundreds of classified documents and being unhelpful." Kendra Kingsbury was sentenced to 46 months jail for fewer charges than Trump is facing. Republicans like to say that if they can come for Trump, they can come for anyone. Looks like they got the order backwards.

  • Margaret Hartmann:

  • Fred Kaplan: [06-23] When Trump promises to end the Ukraine War, here's what he really means. I initially filed this under Ukraine, but Trump has no plan as such. Rather, all he has is tremendous faith in his genius as a dealmaker, which is supported by absolutely nothing from his previous term as president. Kaplan cites Iran, North Korea, Russia, and China as examples. One problem with those cases is that his closest advisers (e.g., Pompeo and Bolton) didn't want deals, so they sandbagged every prospect, leaving him with nothing. Not mentioned are a couple cases where Trump's people did negotiate deals, which Trump agreed to but really didn't have any direction over. The first is a minor revision of NAFTA, fulfilling a campaign promise. He got a new name, plus a couple of trivial concessions he could tout as a victory. The other was the deal with the Taliban for a ceasefire and withdrawal of US forces. The Taliban was still free to attack Afghan forces. More effectively, they recruited so the moment the US left, Afghanistan fell into their hands. By that point the US was helpless, having put all its faith into an army and government who by then worked for the other side. What would have been much better was to negotiate an orderly transition, with promises of future support in exchange for protections (including a right to exile) of Afghans who had worked for the US-backed regime). But no American, least of all "strongman" Trump, could admit to such a defeat, so they concocted this charade that the Afghans would be able to survive on their own.

  • Ed Kilgore: [06-20] Trump's Fox News interview exposed his real weakness: He "does not come across as a cunning predator avoiding the snares of his fearful liberal prey and plotting his revenge. He's more like a weak, confused old man worried about grubby law-enforcement personnel touching his golf clothes."

  • Eric Lipton: [06-20] Trump real estate deal in Oman underscores ethics concerns.

  • Ben Mathis-Lilley: [06-21] Donald Trump continues to twist what it means to be "conservative" into total incoherence: Good for him, too, because clear and lucid explications of "conservatism" are not just unappealing but repugnant to most people. However slipshod Trump might be on policy, he gets the appeal right: for him and his followers, conservativm is simply a matter of worshipping certain totems -- like God and country -- and hating people they deem unworthy. And while all conservatives agree with that much, no one else delivers hatred as unvarnished as Trump.

  • Greg Sargent: [06-21] Trump's confession on Fox News should prompt Democrats to step up. Contrasts this with Hunter Biden case.

  • Asawin Suebsaeng/Adam Rawnsley: [06-20] Team Trump suspects his former Chief of Staff is a 'rat': They're wondering what Mark Meadows is up to?

  • Li Zhou: [06-20] Trump's Fox News interview was a defense attorney's nightmare.

DeSantis, and other Republican lowlifes:

Hunter Biden: The president's son agreed to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and admitted to the facts of a rather dubious gun charge. The plea deal would give him three years of probation, plus a diversion on the gun charge, so it is expected that he will not go to jail. This should bring to a close one of the sillier outrages of the "lock her up" era, but Republicans have invested so much in it they can't bear the idea of letting go. Besides, what else to they have to run on? Certainly not policy ideas. On the other hand, it's hard to have much sympathy for him, even if you buy that he was railroaded. His influence-peddling schemes may not have been illegal, but probably should have been. (Had they been, that would wipe out a large swathe of Washington's upper crust, and good riddance to them.) And as a person, he seems to offer little to respect much less admire. But that, too, is hardly grounds for prosecution, and if it were, I can think of lots to put in line ahead of him.

Law and the courts: The Alito scandal broke last week, under Li Zhou below. It's beginning to look like Leonard Leo not only grooms conservatives for the Supreme Court, he hooks them up with billionaire patrons to keep them on the straight and narrow. And, let's face it, no one in recent history has been more narrowly partisan than Alito.

Environment:

Ukraine War: High hopes for Ukraine's counteroffensive have precluded any interest in diplomacy, but so far: [06-23] Early stages of Ukrainian counteroffensive 'not meeting expectations,' Western officials tell CNN. On the other hand, the head Wagner Group, a mercenary outfit Russia has employed especially at Bakhmut, has "declared war" on Russia's military command, which may signal a rebellion or even a coup against Putin. I cited this piece last week, by Anatol Lieven and George Beebe, which now looks prophetic. This is very much a developing situation. I'm citing some articles as it develops, but (as with the "counteroffensive") note that nobody knows very much. One thing that does seem clear is that Prigozhin's beef with the Russian command (and Putin?) isn't over whether to continue the war, but how to fight it more effectively. Lieven and Beebe ended their piece with: "however bad things are in Russia, they can always get worse."

PS: As of Sunday afternoon, the key events are: Wagner occupied Rostov (Russia's "southern command" center), and started to march on Moscow; Putin condemned them harshly ("Those behind the mutiny will pay"), then Belarus president Lukashenko negotiated a stand down, which will allow Prigozhin and those who revolted with him to relocate to Belarus.

  • Connor Echols: [06-23] Diplomacy Watch: Brinksmanship on grain deal could frustrate Russia's friends.

  • Isaac Chotiner: [06-15] Ukraine's counter-offensive, and what comes after. Interview with Marina Miron, a "postdoctoral researcher at the war-studies department, in King's College London." Not much detail here, but I'm not sure that details are that important. They key thing to understand is that this year's war is different from last year's war. Last year Russia was on offense, and Ukraine defense. Russia's blitz against Kyiv and Kharkiv failed, foiling Putin's hopes for a quick coup, leading to a strategic retreat. On the other hand, Russia's offensive from Crimea was fairly successful, including the hard-fought battle for Mariupol, securing a land corridor to Crimea (which otherwise is being supplied over the Kerch Bridge). This year, all Russia has to do is to defend against the much hyped Ukrainian offensive, and in doing so they have a fairly wide buffer territory they can afford to lose before Ukrainian forces approach the ethnically Russian enclaves that broke off from Ukraine in 2014. Most Ukrainians have fled this buffer zone, so the remaining inhabitants should be more favorable to Russia, as are the Donbas and Crimean zones. And most importantly, as Ukraine showed last year, it is easier to defend and disrupt than it is to attack. The prolonged battle of Bakhmut, where Russia prevailed, offers little hope that Ukraine will make major gains elsewhere.

    Zelensky has spent the winter promising NATO that if they give him enough weapons, Ukraine will win back all of the pre-2014 territory. That seems unlikely to happen, but few in the west were willing to sound a note of caution, least of all about the capabilities of their pricey weapons. The result is that the war will continue as long as the political orders on both sides remain entrenched, which could be a long time. Miron's main contribution here is to point out that even if Ukraine recovers territory, it will be nearly impossible to rebuild as long as hostilities ensue, and Russians would likely resort to some kind of guerrilla insurgency even if regular troops are withdrawn. Once again, the only solution is negotiation.

  • Chas Danner: [06-24] Wagner's Prigozhin backs off after marching on Moscow.

  • Valerie Hopkins: [06-25] One big winner of Kremlin-Wagner clash? The dictator next door. Don't bet on that. The last thing any dictator needs is an alien army with no one else to fight. (I imagine there are numerous examples, but the Vandals are the first to leap to mind.) Of course, it's also possible that Putin orchestrated the deal, and Lukashenko is just the patsy we always figured. Either way, he has little reason to sleep soundly, much less to gloat.

  • Ellen Ioanes: [06-25] Russia's wild last 24 hours and the Wagner group's march to Moscow, explained.

  • Jen Kirby:

  • Anatol Lieven/George Beebe:

  • David Remnick: [06-24] Putin's weakness unmasked: "How Yevgeny Prigozhin's rebellion exposed the Russian President." Well, not exactly. He draws on conversations with Mikhail Zygar, who wrote the 2016 book All the Kremlin's Men ("a best-seller in Russia and a well-sourced examination of Putin's rule and the inner dynamics of his ruling circle"), and has a forthcoming book, War and Punishment: Putin, Zelensky, and the Path to Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, which is fast becoming obsolete. It's worth remembering that the word "dictator" implies much more autonomy at the top than is often the case. (Biden's recent slur on Xi Jinping and the furor it aroused should be another reminder.)

  • Anton Troianovski: [06-25] Prigozhin revolt raises searing question: Did it harm Putin's staying power? Certainly the first question on the mind of American hawks dreaming of regime change, but way too early to answer. It looks to me like it does two things: one is that it immediately reduces Russian troops in Ukraine, at a time when Ukraine's "counteroffensive" is ramping up; the other is that it should shortly bring an end to the acrominiously divided Russian forces command. Any student of war will tell you that divided command is a recipe for disaster, so Russia may emerge in better shape -- though much still depends on whether Russian command is really as bad as Prigozhin alleged. My guess is that in the short term Putin can rally support, but the stakes of losing Ukraine are growing more severe.

  • Joshua Yaffa: [06-24] The Wagner Group is a crisis of Putin's own making.

Sunday morning, Max Blumenthal tweeted: "Everything we said about Russia yesterday was an insane lie or completely wrong, now check us out on the White House ex-propaganda minister's show today." He's referring to "Inside with Jen Psaki," where the guests constitute a war council: Michael McFaul (former Ambassador to Russia), James Stavridis (Admiral), Anne Applebaum, Elissa Slotkin (Representative), and Nancy Pelosi (House Speaker Emerata). So the "we" isn't meant to include Blumenthal, but most likely it applies to him as well -- he has spent the last year attacking Ukraine and military support from US/NATO so exhaustively it's hard to draw a line between his stand against the US-led empire and his willingness to repeat Russian propaganda. But it's easy to imagine these five going gaga over the prospect of a revolution against Putin, even from the right -- something they have little conception of, despite the fact that Putin's harshest critics have always come from that direction -- then their disappointment when Prigozhin called the whole thing off. Whiplash is a risk of cheerleaders for politicians who can spin on a dime. I'm always reminded of the poor Communists who woke up one day finding they had to defend the Hitler-Stalin Pact.

[1] Blumenthal quotes Applebaum as saying: "Yet even the worst successor imaginable, even the bloodiest general or most rabid propagandist, will immediately be preferable to Putin, because he will be weaker than Putin." Weaker, but still armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons.

Around the world: Indian president Narenda Modi visited Washington last week, which occasioned much agonizing over India's human rights record, and Biden's willingness to overlook it. That actually strikes me as respect due to leader of another nation -- respect that the US, with its compulsion to divided the world up between friends and foes -- rarely shows. Which doesn't mean that the parties weren't up to no good.

  • Ben Burgis: [06-22] Israelism is a powerful indictment of pro-apartheid indoctrination. Quotes a critic of the film complaining, "There is no mention, for instance, of the UN role in the creation of Israel, Arab aggression at the birth of the state," blah, blah, blah. True that the UN passed one resolution approving of the partition of the British protectorate of Palestine, but there is no reason to treat that as some sort of immaculate conception. While Israelis lobbied for the resolution, and cited it in their Declaration of Independence, they immediately discarded its borders, and moved to claim Jerusalem (an international zone per the resolution), as well as expelling Arabs from Jaffa (a Palestinian enclave surrounded by Israel). Then Israelis murdered the UN mediator. The UN never sanctioned the explusions that Palestinians know as the Nakba. The UN Security Council passed resolutions after the 1967 and 1973 wars that Israel gave lip-service to but never honored (although Egypt and Jordan eventually did, and Syria negotiated a peace deal that Israel ultimately rejected). The "peace offers" that Palestinians supposedly rejected were never made in good faith, but the Oslo Accords, which Arafat did accept, were wrecked by Israel. Still, I doubt the film dwells on all that history, when the case against Israel's denial of basic human and civic rights to Palestinians today is so clear cut, and really so shameless.

  • Melvin Goodman: [06-23] Netanyahu takes aim at US diplomacy again: Over the last several weeks, I've seen reports that Biden is close to an agreement with Iran to restore the JCPOA deal that Obama negotiated and Trump scuttled. I haven't bothered reporting them because they're meaningless until announced, and the likelihood of that happening is slim given that Israel remains opposed -- it beggars belief why, suggesting that Israel would much rather prop up Iran as a mortal enemy (something that has never been true, either under the Shah or the Ayatollahs) than see its stated concerns actually addressed -- and Israel exerts such influence over American politics that it's unlikely that Biden would dare. The thing is, while Israel can afford pricking at Iran, the US actually does have good reason for negotiating friendlier terms. Non-proliferation matters, but more immediately pressing is Iran's ability to block oil traffic through the Straits of Hormuz. There's also the matter of Iranian-backed militias in Syria and Iraq, which Israel periodically attacks, and could hit back at American troops there. Biden must also realize that pushing Iran into the embrace of Russia and China isn't helping. He also must realize that after the US military failed so badly in Iraq and Afghanistan, a military threat against Iran would be several steps beyond stupid. But to move forward Biden would have to reassert the importance of American interests over Israel's.

  • Jonathan Guyer: [06-23] Why the US is selling India so many weapons: "Prime Minister Modi visits the White House, and arms deals follow." It's almost like the sole determinant of US foreign policy is arms sales. India has most often bought arms from Russia, which is part of the reason India has refused to support US sanctions against Russia. But one can see the thinking as more than an immediate cash grab. But arms sales may be a lever both to divide India from Russia and to align India against China.

  • Ellen Ioanes: [06-25] Guatemala's elections can't undo years of government corruption: Not to mention coups, most directed or at least sanctioned by the US.

  • Achal Prabhala/Vitor Ido: [06-01] Next pandemic, let Cuba vaccinate the world. Uh, you think this pandemic is done yet? We're going to be taking boosters indefinitely. There's still plenty of world demand, especially if affordable. And Cuba's developments should remind us that we don't need billionaire patents to motivate people to develop life-saving pharmaceuticals. Even if the US companies shut down today, we could ride free on the rest of the world's research and development. Also the world could free ride on Cuba's investment. The embargo, which remains stupid and cruel, wouldn't stop others from manufacturing Cuban vaccines, assuming they got developed in the first place.

Other stories:

Dean Baker: [06-25] Why the RFK Jr., Rogan, Musk outrage machine doesn't bother Big Pharma. Also see Sarah Jones, below.

Tim Dickinson: [06-15] Is America already in a civil war? Interview with Bradley Onishi, author of Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism -- and What Comes Next. I have to admit that my eyes glaze over when I read these pieces about the Christian Right, given that my own faith is so lapsed that they seem to be from a completely different planet. The idea that anyone, much less than 30% of all Americans, believe in predispensationalism just boggles my mind -- even though I now realize that one of my more memorable conversations with my grandfather (1895-1965) was about exactly that. I never took him to be insane, but in that moment he was.

Andrea González-Ramirez: [06-23] One year without Roe: "All the ways abortion bans have affected pregnant people, providers, and clinics, by the numbers and in their own words." Also:

Constance Grady: [06-22] When you can't separate art from artist: Interview with Claire Dederer, author of Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma, a meditation on how to feel about art produced by people who turned out to have committed other reprehensible acts. (Michael Jackson, Woody Allen, and Bill Cosby are among the first-named, along with Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, and Roman Polanski.) I'm only bringing this up because my wife read the book, so it came up in conversations I never really answered. But I do have two core reactions: one is that I believe that works of art stand on their own the moment they are released (you might argue that copyrights and residuals argue differently, but I've never cared much for boycotts either); the other is that people are complicated but only turn monstrous when they take or are given power over others. So this isn't a dilemma I often engage in. I won't deny that some works of art embody their creator's damaged psyches in ways that merit little or no respect (e.g., Ayn Rand's novels). But the problem there is the art, not the artist (not that Rand, herself, wasn't quite some piece of work).

Greg Grandin: [06-21] Cormac McCarthy's unforgiving parables of American empire.

Sarah Jones: [06-24] Anti-vaxxers don't want a debate; they want a spectacle. Image here, with a mask reduced to the space of a Hitler moustache grafted onto a picture of Anthony Fauci, and the caption: "Stop! Faucism," is one way of saying, I'm so dumb, no point arguing with me! One of the most disturbing things about the Republicans (and one of the most Republican things about RFK Jr) is how completely, based on nothing but symbolism and bile, anti-vaxxers have taken over the collective consciousness of the GOP.

Naomi Klein: [05-08] AI machines aren't 'hallucinating'. But their makers are. Too broad a subject to simply endorse her take, although the core idea that AI will serve the powers that control it, which means that in a system of rapacious capitalism, that's what it will mostly be used for. The details are messier. The word "theft" gets thrown around a lot, which needs to be squared with a stiff critique of so-called "intellectual property" rights.

Eric Levitz: [06-23] The recession that didn't happen: Well, didn't happen yet -- Jerome Powell is still promising further rate increases, his pause explained by worry over failing more banks (the health and wealth of banks, after all, being the Fed's true raison d'ętre).

Nicole Narea: [06-22] What happens now that the Titanic submersible search has ended in tragedy. Not that you need more, but:

Joseph O'Neill: [03-21] One man's foray into the heartland of the far right: Review of Jeff Sharlet's The Undertow: Scenes From a Slow Civil War.

Alex Park: [06-16] 'Freakonomics' was neoliberal bullshit: "A look back at the bestselling book franchise that taught people to 'think like economists,' by which it meant 'think cynically and amorally.'" The bestseller was written by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner, and published in 2005, and sold over four million copies, spawning a sequel and other exploitations. I never read it, but I've read several other think-like-an-economist books (the most disturbing being Steven Landsburg's Armchair Economist, which left me haunted by "the principle of indifference"). I don't know about neoliberal, but I've been reading John Quiggin's Economics in Two Lessons, and I have little doubt that Freakonomics qualifies as what Quiggin calls "Lesson One economics": if it looks "cynical and amoral," that's because the theory doesn't allow for anything else.

Heidi Przybyla/Shia Kapos: [06-23] No Labels declines to reveal just who is funding its third party bid. I don't think I've mentioned this "centrist" group, with its plot to offer the distraction of a presidential candidate not aligned with either major party. I've had plenty of opportunities from Democrats who have been whining about third-party candidates on the left since Nader in 2000. This year their pet peeve is Cornell West -- for some reason they assume that they should pocket the votes of everyone on the left, even if they offer nothing in return. But this year, they're even more worried about No Labels siphoning away center votes they do bend over backwards to woo. After all, Biden in 2024 is the only possible protection against Trump (or some equally vicious MAGA maniac), and everyone should be willing to put up with a lot of waffling and compromise to keep that from happening. The fact that the money behind the operation is secret just adds to the air of conspiracy. As does the flirtation with conservative Democrats like Manchin and Sinema, which makes it look like they are prioritizing capturing Democratic votes. I suspect that, like most third party efforts, it won't ultimately amount to much, and is likely to serve as a protest outlet for more disaffected Republicans than Democrats, so may even help Biden. But in any case, the answer isn't to whine. It's to come up with a better campaign, and win so big the third parties are irrelevant.

Tweets:

Dr. David A. Lustig @drdave1999:

Ron DeSantis continues to drop in the polls, as Americans reject the chance to "make America more like Florida."

DeSantis miscalculated badly in believing that voters were looking for an authoritarian strongman with the social skills of a rabid wolverine.

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Monday, June 19, 2023

Music Week

June archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 40436 [40392] rated (+44), 12 [16] unrated (-4).

I published another fairly long (5592 words, 96 links) Speaking of Which last night. Lots of important points there.

I noticed a few more mid-year album lists:

A few more, like Boston Globe and Times of London, were paywalled, and others no doubt missed Google's net. I doubt if they change the listings I presented last week very much. They drove much of my listening this week, as did Robert Christgau's June Consumer Guide -- although in the latter case it mostly got me to relisten to albums that I possibly had shortchanged previously. Two of them I bumped up a couple notches, although even now I'm wondering if one might have been more correct. The rest I left as is, with Wednesday's Rat Saw God headed for a lower grade before the last couple cuts showed some promise. It's one of the five or so best-regarded albums of the year, which leaves me feeling wildly out of synch with current music trends.

Pretty out of synch with his Consumer Guide, too, although I will note that the África Negra compilation got an A- from me back in May 2022.

I updated the Consumer Guide database at Robert Christgau's website. It had gotten considerably in arrears, although the practice of withholding reviews nine months to give his Substack subscribers some exclusivity makes it seem more like a bookkeeping exercise. Still, something I should be doing more regularly, if only to keep from having to rediscover how to do it.

I've been playing the original Hairspray soundtrack a lot. While the dance songs are as great as I remembered, the real earworm is the slow dance number, Gene Pitney's Town Without Pity. The lyrics still resonate: "How can we keep love alive/ how can anything survive/ when these little minds tear you in two." Indeed, the "little minds" the film sends up in the early 1960s have returned to hector us, even more stunted and deformed than before.

New records reviewed this week:

Gracie Abrams: Good Riddance (2023, Interscope): Singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, first album, soft-spoken and very steady. Trails off a bit toward the end. B+(***) [sp]

Amaarae: Fountain Baby (2023, Interscope): R&B singer, Ama Genfi, born in New York, raised in Atlanta and Ghana, where she is based now. Second album. Interesting in various subtle ways until the punk "Sex, Violence, Suicide" erupts, which makes one wonder about the rest. A- [sp]

Roxana Amed/Frank Carlberg: Los Trabajos Y Las Noches (2022 [2023], Sony Music Latin): Argentinian singer, albums since 2004, has developed some jazz cred of late, which the pianist and a group that includes Adam Kolker (clarinets/tenor sax), Simon Willson (bass), and Michael Sarin (drums) adds to. Still goes slow, laden down with art song. B+(*) [cd]

Kelsea Ballerini: Rolling Up the Welcome Mat (2023, Black River, EP): Singer-songwriter, slotted as country but doesn't quite have the sound (Lana Del Rey is more her archetype). Dropped this on Valentine's Day, thinking about her recent divorce, which helps add some gravitas. Six songs, 15:54. B+(**) [sp]

Bar Italia: Tracey Denim (2023, Matador): British lo-fi group, third album, Italian-born Nina Cristante the main singer. Grows on me but no clear idea why. B+(***) [sp]

Michael Bisio/Timothy Hill: Inside Voice/Outside Voice (2022 [2023], Origin): Bassist, mostly associated with avant-garde, here in a rather spare duo with the guitarist-singer. Centerpiece is "I Fall in Love Too Easily," which isn't easy at all. B+(*) [cd]

Robert Sarazin Blake: One Summer Night: Live at the 2018 Subdued Stringband Jamboree (2023, Same Room): Folkie singer-songwriter, more than a dozen albums since 1996. B+(**) [sp]

Blondshell: Blondshell (2023, Partisan): Singer-songwriter Sabrina Teitelbaum, father a hedge fund mogul, recorded an EP and some singles as BAUM, first album under this alias. Wikipedia has a long section on "Personal Life," which I read as read as "rich people are fucked up too, but can afford fancier labels." B+(*) [sp]

Eddie Chacon: Sundown (2023, Stones Throw): Half of the 1990s neo-soul duo Charles & Eddie -- with Charles Pettigrew (1963-2001) -- returned to music with a 2020 album, now this one, an understated quiet storm. B+(*) [sp]

Davido: Timeless (2023, DMW/Columbia): Nigerian afropop star, David Adeleke, actually born in Atlanta, grew up in Lagos, studied business in Alabama, returned to launch his career -- no doubt helps that his father is one of the richest people in Nigeria. Fourth album. B+(**) [sp]

Indigo De Souza: All of This Will End (2023, Saddle Creek): Singer-songwriter, from North Carolina, father "a Brazilian guitarist who was absent during much of her childhood," third album. Half impressed me, scales up poorly. B+(*) [sp]

Jeremy Dutton: Anyone Is Better Than Here (2023, self-released): Drummer-composer, first album, side credits back to 2018 with James Francies (piano here) and Joel Ross (vibes). Also draws on spot help from Ben Wendel (sax on 8/12 tracks), Mike Moreno (guitar on 7), and Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet on 2), plus bass (Matt Brewer or Daryl Johns). B+(**) [cd]

En Attendant Ana: Principia (2023, Trouble in Mind): French group, third album, songs in English, Margaux Bouchaudon the singer. Reminds me a bit of Belle & Sebastian, but doesn't connect as readily. B [sp]

Alexander Hawkins Trio: Carnival Celestial (2022 [2023], Intakt): British pianist, cover notes "with" Neil Charles (bass) and Stephen Davis (drums). B+(*) [sp]

Phil Haynes/Drew Gress/David Liebman: Coda(s): No Fast Food III (2022 [2023], Corner Store Jazz, 2CD): Drummer, from Oregon, album credits since 1984, often with the late Paul Smoker. Released the first No Fast Food album, with Gress (bass) and Liebman (sax, usually soprano), in 2014. Nice free jazz play, the discs short enough they could have been combined (31 and 35 minutes). B+(***) [cd]

Keigo Hirakawa: Pixel (2022 [2023], Origin): Pianist, born in Japan, raised in Ohio, has at least one previous album. Postbop quintet with Rafael Statin (reeds), guitar, bass, and drums. Fast, with some particularly hot spots. B+(**) [cd]

Javon Jackson: With Peter Bradley: Soundtrack and Original Score (2021-22 [2023], Solid Jackson): Tenor saxophonist, nominally a soundtrack for a documentary on the painter/sculptor (b. 1940), but sounds like a fairly tight group set, with Greg Glassman (trumpet) on most tracks, backed by plain (Jeremy Manasia), bass (David Williams), and drums (Charles Goold or McClenty Hunter). B+(***) [cd]

JustVibez + Negro Justice: Art of the Craft (2023, self-released): Nashville hip-hop duo, Negro Justice the rapper, Justvibez the producer. B+(**) [bc]

Killer Mike: Michael (2023, Loma Vista): Atlanta rapper Michael Render, five albums 2003-12, since then has focused on his duo with El-P, Run the Jewels. Looks back here, with gospel effects. B+(**) [sp]

Larkin Poe: Blood Harmony (2022, Tricki-Woo): Southern roots-rock band, principally sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, originally from north Georgia but based in Nashville, regular albums since 2011. Guitars aplenty. B+(*) [sp]

Model/Actriz: Dogsbody (2023, True Panther Sounds): New York band, first album after several singles (first in 2017), Cole Haden the singer/auteur, his angst rising from sonic depths -- I wouldn't call it noise, but it does remind me of where that rose from in the early 1980s. B+(***) [sp]

Meshell Ndegeocello: The Omnichord Real Book (2023, Blue Note): Singer-songwriter, originally Michelle Lynn Johnson, adopted name (from Swahili) has been streamlined over the years. Thirteenth album since 1993, her credit "instrumentation, vocals, liner notes," with fifteen other musicians credited on one or two songs each. B+(*) [sp]

Pony: Velveteen (2023, Take This to Heart): Jangle-pop band fronted by Sam Bielanski, songs co-written with Matty Morand; second album. B+(*) [sp]

Smokey Robinson: Gasms (2023, TLR): Now 83, early Motown songwriter, fronted the Miracles, went solo in 1973, couple dozen albums since, this the first set of new material since 2009. Title refers to moments of pleasure, a concept that includes but extends beyond sex, not that he's lost interest in such things. B+(**) [sp]

Rust Dust: Twere but It Were so Simple (2023, Omad): Singer-songwriter Jason Stutts, based in Brooklyn, plays guitar, second album, contemplating the cosmos. B+(**) [sp]

Samia: Honey (2023, Grand Jury): Singer-songwriter from New York, last name Finnerty, second album. B+(*) [sp]

Shalom: Sublimation (2023, Saddle Creek): Singer-songwriter, raised in South Africa, based in Brooklyn, exotic credentials at odds with the very straightforward (but far from boring) rock framework. That lifts the introspection up enough to be notable, even a bit fun. B+(***) [sp]

Edward Simon: Femeninas: Songs of Latin American Women (2023, ArtistShare): Venezuelan pianist, moved to US when he was ten, studied in New York, based in San Francisco, couple dozen albums since 1994. Featuring credit for Mexican singer Magos Herrera, with the band also listed on the cover: Adam Cruz (drums), Reuben Rogers (bass), and Luis Quintero (percussion). Includes a three-part piece by Simon (lyrics by Herrera), plus eight songs as advertised (two from Brazil also feature guitar by Romero Lubambo). B+(*) [cdr]

Son Volt: Day of the Doug: The Songs of Doug Sahm (2023, Transmit Sound): Country-rock band led by Jay Farrer, after Uncle Tupelo broke up. Eleventh album since 1995. B+(*) [sp]

Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives: Altitude (2023, Snakefarm): Country singer, debut 1978, never a big star but had some success in the 1990s, as he started to build his reputation for bluegrass. Dubbed this band in 2003, this his ninth album under the name. Slow start, recovers toward the end. B [sp]

Stuck: Freak Frequency (2023, Born Yesterday): Postpunk band from Chicago, second album, Greg Obis the lead singer. What marks it as "post" is that the instrumentals get more energetic. B+(**) [sp]

Uncle Waffles: Asylum (2023, Kreativekornerr): South African amapiano dj, born in Eswatini (Swaziland for you old-timers), second album, reportedly a viral breakout. Beats. Lots of beats. B+(**) [sp]

Rufus Wainwright: Folkocracy (2023, BMG): Famous parents (Kate McGarrigle, Loudin Wainwright III), immortalized as a baby in one of the latter's more memorable songs, debut album 1998, ten albums later, a collection of covers (five traditional folk songs, one of his own, one by Schubert, others eclectic), most joined by guest singers, produced by Mitchell Froom. Has a few moments. B [sp]

Youth Lagoon: Heaven Is a Junkyard (2023, Fat Possum): Alias for Trevor Powers, three albums 2011-15, this is his fourth. [sp]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Roger Bekono: Roger Bekono (1989 [2023], Awesome Tapes From Africa): From Cameroon (1954-2016), played guitar and sang, Discogs only lists one more album beyond this minor four song, 30:15 gem. B+(**) [sp]

Ernesto Djédjé: Roi Du Ziglibithy (1978-82 [2022], Analog Africa): Singer from Côte D'Ivoire (1947-83), recorded from 1970 up to his "mysterious" death (Discogs lists six albums). Dates not given, but the four songs (25:52) can be tracked back to four albums. B+(**) [sp]

Sonny Rollins With Heikki Sarmanto Trio: Live at Finlandia Hall, Helsinki 1972 (1972 [2023], Svart): Live set with a pickup band, although the keyboardist (playing Fender Rhodes here) is a pretty big deal in Finland, with Pekka Sarmanto (bass) and Esko Rosnell (drums). After a spoken intro, they expand greatly on "Night and Day," "My One and Only Love," and "St. Thomas." It's impossible to hear the latter and not smile wide. A- [sp]

Nkono Teles: Love Vibration (1982-84 [2023], Soundway): From Cameroon (d. 2011), based in Nigeria, "one of a small handful of pioneers of the Nigerian electronic music scene in the 1980s." Six tracks (33:02), three from 1982-84 albums, which seems to have been his peak period. Would slot nicely into one of those Nigerian disco compilations. B+(**) [sp]

Ali Farka Touré: Voyageur (1991-2004 [2023], World Circuit): Legendary guitarist-singer from Mali (1939-2006), unveils nine previously unreleased jam tracks, as charming as ever. B+(***) [sp]

Neil Young and the Santa Monica Flyers: Somewhere Under the Rainbow: Nov. 5, 1973 (1973 [2023], Reprise, 2CD): First disc features Tonight's the Night, recorded earlier that year but unreleased until 1975. But note there's another -- if memory serves, better sounding -- live version, from Sept. 20-22 with the same band (Nils Lofgren, Ben Keith, Billy Talbot, Ralph Molina), released in 2018 as Roxy: Tonight's the Night Live. I've liked many of Young's live albums, but this one seems especially unnecessary. B [r]

Old music:

Big Joanie: Sistahs (2018, Daydream Library Series): Afro-British g-b-d trio, Stephanie Phillips the singer, first album (a second came out in 2022), advertised as postpunk but I don't really hear it -- did help get them opening slots for Sleater-Kinney and Parquet Courts and a label co-owned by Thurston Moore. B+(***) [sp]

Fokn Bois: Coz Ov Moni (2010, Pidgen Music): Hip-hop duo from Ghana, names given as M3NSA and Wanlov the Kubolor -- ok, Bondzie Mensa Ansah and Emmanuel Owusu Bonsu. First album, soundtrack to "the first pidgen musical film in the world." B+(**)

Fokn Bois: Fokn Wit Ewe (2012, Pidgen Music): Second album, more accessible in English. They get on track with a chant thanking God they're not Nigerians, then admitting that Liberians are even worse. Later they beg Somalians to "Help America," and luxuriate in extraterrestial sex. I take these, and not just the skits, to be jokes, like the title. A- [sp]

Fokn Bois: Coz Ov Moni 2 (Fokn Revenge) (2014, Pidgen Music): Another soundtrack, presumably a sequel to the original "pidgen musical" film. More jokes, no doubt, as they even permeate the music. B+(**) [sp]

Fokn Bois: Fokn Ode to Ghana (2016, Hobo Truffels/Yoyo Tinz): Effectively a remix of a various artists instrumental album Ode to Ghana (2014, Hobo Truffels), with the raps added and the original artists billed as producers. A mixed bag. One sobering piece claims Obama for Kenya and goes: "Thank God we're not an African-American." B+(**) [sp]

Grade (or other) changes:

Taj Mahal: Savoy (2023, Stony Plain): Eclectic roots bluesman Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, started in 1965 in a group with Ry Cooder called Rising Sons, reunited last year in a Sonny Terry/Brownie McGhee tribute. Goes back even earlier here, reminiscing about Chick Webb in the Savoy Ballroom (some years before he was born in 1942). He sticks to top shelf songs here, risking comparison to Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong, Louis Jordan, Jimmy Rushing -- even the sureshot Maria Muldaur duet, "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Of course, he has his own take, but I wonder how useful this really is. [was: B+(**)] A- [sp]

Water From Your Eyes: Everyone's Crushed (2023, Matador): New York duo, Nate Amos and Rachel Brown, specify pronouns but not instruments, several albums since 2017, although this is the first one to get any real notice. Disjointed, which seems to be the sound of the year -- one that makes me despair of ever being hip again, but much here that I do appreciate. [was: B+(**)] A- [sp]

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

  • JoVia Armstrong & Eunoia Society: Inception (Black Earth Music) [06-30]
  • Will Bernard & Beth Custer: Sky (Dreck to Disk) [09-05]
  • The Rempis Percussion Quartet: Harvesters (Aerophonic) [07-18]

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Sunday, June 18, 2023

Speaking of Which

Calling time on this, 10 PM Sunday evening. The most obviously missing story is something on the heat waves in Asia and Texas. Also, note that while the non-Trump Republican section is short, it's pretty ominous, and even worse things are lurking down in the miscellaneous section.

Top story threads:

Trump: He was arrested on Tuesday, pled innocent, and was allowed to leave. Republicans are so sure he's guilty they're already talking about pardoning him. Some "law and order" party they are!

DeSantis, and other Republican scum:

Climate and environment, disastrous and new-normal:

Courts and the law:

Ukraine War: The "counteroffensive" has officially started, but there's little reporting on it -- the best the cheerleaders of the New York Times can muster is: [06-18] Ukraine appears to make a small gain in the south as counteroffensive continues.

  • Blaise Malley: [06-16] Diplomacy Watch: Roiling disagreements over Ukraine path at NATO: There hasn't been much diplomacy to watch for at least six months, as Ukraine has been arming for its counteroffensive, in the expectation that gains on the ground will offer leverage when they finally start negotiating. Meanwhile, pressing for NATO membership just confirms Putin's gravest fears and shores up Russia's resolve.

  • Masha Gessen: [06-15] Putin's war hits close to home: "Russia has faced a series of recent attacks, but, in the absence of public space, military losses are personal tragedies, not collective experiences." More pointedly, attacks in Russian territory are more likely to rally support for Putin than to cause people to doubt his leadership. Includes some quotes from Jade McGlynn, author of the new book Russia's War.

  • James Glanz, et al: [06-16] An inside job: "The evidence suggests Russia blew it up from within." I was inclined to keep an open mind on the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, but this presents a reasonably convincing case that Russia blew up the dam, causing extensive flooding along the lower Dnipro, and denying Ukraine a large hydroelectric power plant. In doing so, Russia sacrificed the power plant, the major water source for Crimea, and its occupied territory along the east bank of the river. The destruction is fairly described as an ecological disaster, and as a war crime -- one more in a war full of them. [PS: Robert Wright, who's followed this war more carefully than most, tweeted: "I'm calling bullshit on this Times piece. It makes no sense for Russia to have blown that dam."]

  • Lev Golinkin: [06-13] The western media is whitewashing the Azov battalion: "Before Russia invaded Ukraine, these fighters were neo-Nazis. They still are." Not clear to me what "whitewashing" Nazis means, but this is an old story, one that got picked up by Putin as part of his rationale for invading, which is no more excuse for invasion than any of his others. It's much more accurate to say they're Ukrainian ultra-nationalists, which have practically everything in common with the Russian ultra-nationalists who fervently support Putin's war, except that they hate each other, going back to WWII, where the Russians fought the Nazis, and a faction of Ukrainians, Lithuanians, etc., saw Germany as their liberator from Russian rule. As long as Russia is fighting in Ukraine, I don't see any problem with them fighting for Ukraine. After the war, of course, they could be a problem, like the German Freikorps. Even in the run up to the war, Ukrainian nationalists made it harder to reach any sort of accommodation with the ethnic Russian minority, and thus helped trigger the invasion. After the war, they're likely to be a malign political force -- as ultra-nationalists are everywhere, but Ukraine is likely to emerge with a very powerful warrior caste.

  • Greg Lane: [06-16] The real reason why Putin put Russian nukes in Belarus: I'm afraid that the "real reason" isn't very clear here. Has Belarus offered itself up as a Russian hostage? Is Putin hinting at nuclear aggression without blowing anything up? Is he setting Belarus up to demonstrate use of a tactical weapon while preserving a slim thread of deniability?

  • Anatol Lieven: [06-14] Ukraine's paradoxical lessons for the future of warfare: Hard for me to comment on the technical military aspects Lieven focuses on, particularly "a kind of belated vindication of the 'Revolution in Military Affairs' (RMA) of the 1980s." (Fred Kaplan wrote about RMA in Daydream Believers: How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked American Power, published in 2008.) I think it's too early -- Ukraine's gains to date can just as easily be seen as strategic retreats by Russia -- to enthuse about the superiority of American weapons and methods. I have no doubt that Ukrainian soldiers are more motivated than Russian soldiers, but wonder whether that advantage will hold up when/if Ukraine enters ethnic Russian strongholds in Donbas and Crimea. Meanwhile, the territory between the front lines and the strongholds could easily change hands, as it's of little value to Russia (but also few Ukrainians remain there to welcome liberation). Lieven doesn't bother with what I think of as the bigger lessons: the strategy of deterrence has completely failed; the threat of sanctions has had little effect on Russia; and while European unity against Russia has never been stronger, few beyond the US and Europe share that instinct (suggesting that the US and Europe aren't widely trusted as sympathetic powers).

  • Branko Marcetic: [06-13] Is the US military more intent on ending Ukraine war than US diplomats? I think it probably is true that top military brass is more acutely aware of the limits of military power than the jingoistic neocons Biden has chosen to stock his State Department with.

  • Alfred McCoy: [06-15] Is China the only way for peace to come to Ukraine? "It's beginning to look as though Beijing has the means, motivation, and ultimate self-interest to end the war." [Originally on TomDispatch.]

  • David Sacks: [06-16] Will upcoming NATO summit launch forever war in Europe? "Pressure is mounting to make some sort of formal declaration over Ukraine's membership at meetings in Vilnius next month."

Around the world:

Other stories:

Dean Baker:

  • [06-07] Owning up to mistakes and pandemic deaths: As noted, the embargo of Cuba since 1962 has been an all-around failure. That it continues to hamper worldwide distribution of Cuba's affordable Covid-19 vaccines is one more problem, one that contrasts starkly with the massive subsidies the US has lavished on Moderna's pricey patents.

  • [06-15] Biden's restrictions on oil drilling have pushed prices back up to where they were in the Bush administration: Irony alert (what "restrictions"?), but look at the chart: oil prices reached their absolute peak late in the Bush administration, before the economy cratered and took the oil market with it. I've long maintained that the dip had more to do with the financial collapse killing futures speculation than with unemployment reducing demand. Same thing happened with the pandemic in 2020, and since the Fed started increasing interest rates in 2022.

  • [06-16] Will Biden's industrial policy create a lot more Moderna billionaires? It will unless it also addresses the gross inequality in power between companies and workers (unions would help; so would codetermination, which gives workers board representation; my favorite is worker-owned companies, which doesn't just tip the scales but blows them up).

Niccolo Barca/Tommaso Grossi: [06-15] The damage Silvio Berlusconi (1936-2023) leaves behind: "The notorious tycoon and former Italian prime minister is gone, but his toxic legacy remains." Before Trump, there was another billionaire who sought office to flamboyantly flount his ego. With his death (and his neo-fascist successor), I'm surprised not to see more on their analogies, including a stretch out of office before coming back, and various skirmishes with the law.

Ok, found one:

Zack Beauchamp: [06-15] What a new conservative call for "regime change" in America reveals about the culture war: Review of Patrick J Deneen's new book, Regime Change: Toward a Postliberal Future. Deneen, a political science professor at Notre Dame, previously wrote Why Liberalism Failed in 2018. I grew up reading fairly radical critiques of liberalism, and only softened my view as liberals lost power and prestige and stopped being the ones chiefly responsible for American imperialism and instead became fair-weather defenders of people with little power that conservatives like to pick on. So I can imagine writing books with titles like these, but not this crap, which boils down to a program of seizing power for self-appointed right people and using that power to marginalize or suppress everyone else, resulting in a well-ordered utopia of well-behaved automatons. One problem with liberals is they cut fascists too much slack.

Frederick Clarkson: [06-17] "Unfriending" America: The Christian right is coming for the enemies of God -- like you and me. Inside the "New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a movement at the cutting edge of Pentecostal and Charismatic evangelicism, which is now the second largest Christian faction in the world after the Roman Catholic Church and the largest growth sector in American and global Christianity."

Fabiola Cineas: [06-17] The "anti-intellectual attack" on higher ed will take years to undo: Interview with Irene Mulvey, president of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), noting more than 50 bills in 23 states aimed at "chilling academic freedom." Could have filed this under DeSantis.

David Cohen: [06-16] Daniel Ellsberg, who exposed the truth behind the Vietnam War, dies at 92. "Some called Ellsberg a hero and others branded him a traitor." Count me in the hero camp. As far as I know, there has never been any "top secret" document more in need of exposure than the deep history of mistruths and bad faith exposed in The Pentagon Papers. More on Ellsberg:

Michael Hiltzik: [06-13] A farewell to James G Watt, environmental vandal and proto-Trumpian: Reagan's infamous Interior Secretary (1981-83) has died, at 85. His most Trumpian attribute was a loose tongue that repeatedly offended everyone but mining company executives, although it's worth noting that eventually he was (per Wikipedia) "indicted on 18 counts of felony perjury and obstruction of justice and accused of making false statements before a federal grand jury investigating influence peddling at the Department of Housing and Urban Development," which was settled when he "pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of withholding documents." More:

Sarah Jones: [06-15] What the censors want. Same question raised by Jane Smiley: [05-30] What are the book banners afraid of? It's not just that they want to hermetically seal young people in a cocoon that celebrates the conservative order. "They are afraid of readers -- especially young readers -- learning the truth about humans, about American history, about, perhaps, their own lives." They talked less about banning books in my day, because it was effectively done before any schools could get their hands on contraband. My reaction was to seek out anything else I could find, and, well, look how I turned out.

Jay Caspian Kang: [06-13] What was Nate Silver's data revolution? I've sometimes wondered whether I should read Silver's book (The Signal and the Noise, 2014). I avoided statistics when I was a sociology major (much to my regret), but I've picked up a general understanding since then; even if I still lack technical skill, I have an interest in and feel for data. But scanning through the book sample on Amazon doesn't reveal much I don't already know. Nor is this piece especially enlightening, least of all about Silver's recent defenestration from FiveThirtyEight. On the other hand, it does highlight a new stats/gambling competitor, Split Ticket. Their Initial 2024 Presidential Ratings are almost exactly what you'd expect.

Ed Kilgore: [06-16] Why do so many Americans think Biden is doing a bad job? That's a good question. I'm afraid it boils down to Republicans never missed a beat in trashing Biden, Democrats rarely fighting back, and the media's predilection for bad news and/or controversy, and their lack of interest in context or complexity. It also hurts that Biden's not much good at speaking for himself. Context matters, because most of our current problems have been developing for decades, making change hard, especially given entrenched Republican power centers. Climate change is probably the clearest example, but workers have been losing ground since the 1980s, inequality has been increasing, the military has been growing (to no good effect), diversity has been increasing (along with a more virulent backlash). The net effect is a sense of decline, which Republicans rail against, blame and exacerbate, while Democrats craft weak reforms and try to exude confidence (without much conviction).

The easiest response here is to list the many ways Democrats are not as bad as Republicans, while glossing over the cases where there isn't much difference (foreign policy, especially the Ukraine War; support for the military; policing immigration; bailing out banks). Even there, it's possible to hope that Democrats will improve. But even where Biden has fallen short, the solution isn't to throw him out -- the only hope is to elect more Democrats. Related:

Ezra Klein: [06-18] 'What the hell happened to the California of the '50s and '60s?': Talks with California Gov. Gavin Newsom about permitting problems, especially environmental impact studies that are slowing down and often killing decarbonization projects needed to save the environment. While consideration of environmental impacts is important, it shouldn't be crippling, as is often the case. Republicans have made "permitting reform" a hot-button issue, with a view to pipelines and mines that are being held up, but it's also obstructing "green energy." Reading this, two thoughts came to mind: one is that California wouldn't exist as we know it had the water projects of the early 1900s had to pass environmental impact studies (one can argue whether that would be good or bad, but it's certainly big). The other is that the first principle of the New Deal was "do something." One looks back at the 1930s and marvels at how much they did, how fast and cheap it was. And sure, much of what they did was build dams, but they changed people's lives, mostly for the better. A progressive movement that can't do that is going to have a hard time surviving, much less flourishing.

Naomi Klein: [06-14] Beware: we ignore Robert F Kennedy Jr's candidacy at our peril: Useful if you're considering giving him a second thought. I read his 2005 book Crimes Against Nature: How George W Bush and His Corporate Pals Are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy, which seemed solid enough, but in retrospect was an easy target. He dedicated that book to his then-wife ("the real environmentalist in the family"). He filed for divorce in 2012, and four days later she killed herself. He moved to Los Angeles, married an actress, and within months was railing against vaccines. As Klein documents, he went crackers after that, including his hate book (The Real Anthony Fauci, published by right-wing Skyhorse Publishing). One more point I'd like to add is that I really hate the idea of dynastic politics (and more generally the whole nepotism dynamic, and for that matter inherited wealth -- which better describes Trump than entrepreneur, not that new money can't be obnoxious either). Also on Kennedy:

Eric Levitz: [06-14] Larry Summers was wrong about inflation. He argued that "we need two years of 7.5 percent unemployment or five years of 6 percent unemployment or one year of 10 percent unemployment" to contain inflation. Of course, he'd argue that it's still not contained, even if levels have dropped significantly. But the problem isn't just that Summers is often wrong. It's the ways in which he's wrong, and his obliviousness to the human toll that he argues for.

Jaclyn Peiser: [06-17] How Instant Pot went from coveted appliance to bankruptcy: Regardless of "post-pandemic trends," the real culprit is private equity, which robbed the company (Instant Brands) blind while saddling it with excessive debt.

Thomas Piketty: [06-15] The wealth of (some) nations: French economist, author of major works Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2013) and Capital and Ideology (2020) as well as more pointedly political collections of essays, interviewed by Felicia Wong and Michael Tomasky.

Kelsey Piper: [06-14] Four different ways of understanding AI -- and its risks: I'm surprised this isn't illustrated with a simple four quadrant chart, where one axis is how important AI will be (really big to fairly minor) and the other is how useful or troubling it will be. The piece does mention four quadrants, but only focuses on the "big and good" corner.

I think the more important questions are whether access to AI will be restricted to enhance corporate profits, and whether the AI itself will be engineered to further corporate interests. Of course, the same thing can be said about software in general, and the line between crude deterministic software and AI is already rather blurry (e.g., in shopping for an electric toothbrush I found models that advertise AI, which almost certainly is far short of I). There are also questions of whether AI is subordinate to human decision making or autonomous, and whether it is able to command mechanical power (self-driving cars are a case in point), and therefore how fast it can act, or how hard it is to halt. The author's "four quadrants" depend a lot on these questions. Related:

Alex Shephard: [06-12] The rise of independent voters is a myth: Well, it feels better to think of yourself as an independent, as opposed to someone who blindly follows party choices you have little or no control over. Also, both parties share one major negative: both spend much of their time chasing donors, offering to do their bidding. And both parties are bound to the military and the residues of imperialism, even though we have nothing but sorrow to show for their last twenty (or, hell, seventy-five) years of belligerence. Democrats have the extra burden of having repeatedly ignored and undercut the interests of most of their voters. Republicans have the extra burden of nearly everything they try backfiring. So it's easy to see why many people prefer to distance themselves from such a dysfunctional system. But the self-proclaimed centrists rarely offer any sort of alternative. Rather, they embrace the worst of both parties, a muddle of clichés.

Alex Skopic: [06-13] How the lottery became a substitute for hope: I knew a guy who signed all his email with a definition of lottery: "a tax on stupidity." My quick take was that it's a tax on hopelessness. It offers people an extremely small chance of becoming rich, which could be seen as a good deal if your actual real life chances were even slimmer. But it also depends on people believing that becoming rich is the answer to their problems.

Jeffrey St Clair: [06-16] Roaming Charges: All the girls around him say he had it coming. Starts with a quote from the late Cormac McCarthy: "Life is brief and to have to spend every day of it doing what somebody else wants you to do is not the way to live it." Then he mentions Trump, but just to point out he's no whistleblower (his counterexample is Julian Assange, who Trump's DOJ prosecuted, and Biden's is still after). Then: "When I think about the many victims of the Espionage Act, my thoughts immediately go to Ethel Rosenberg," who was convicted and executed not for treason but for "being engaged in a conspiracy to 'commit espionage.'" A crucial figure in that execution was Trump's old mentor, Roy Cohn, who personally lobbied the judge to sign the death warrant.

Trump fancies himself as the victim of a "witch hunt," but while he's earned a desire among many for vengeance, he doesn't grasp the most basic principle of actual witch hunts, which is less to punish the initial target than to smoke out more witches. Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible to point out how much McCarthyism had in common with the Salem witch trials -- two episodes in American paranoid thought that are now widely regretted (if not fully: one can imagine DeSantis setting up tribunals to interrogate witnesses -- "are you now or have you ever been woke?" -- and demand that they name names; and while none of the recent laws criminalizing aid and advice on getting an abortion specifically mention witches, the history there runs pretty deep; by the way, later down there's a Pat Robertson quote about the "feminist agenda" which lists "practice witchcraft" among other evils, like "leave their husbands" and "destroy capitalism").

St Clair shows a meme, where Trump says "In reality, they're not after me . . They're after you. I'm just in the way." But where was Trump when "the feds came for crack users, welfare mothers, immigrant families, striking workers, jaywalkers, whistleblowers, and medical pot users"? He was mostly cheering them on. "There are 2 million people currently incarcerated in US prisons and jails. There are 5 million formerly incarcerated people in the US. 20 million people have been convicted of felonies. 80 million have some kind of criminal record. They've already come for and gotten almost all the rest of us."

Then there's a quote from DeSantis vowing "We will fight the woke in education, we will fight the woke in corporations, we will fight the woke in the halls of congress." St Clair:

Who knew the war on corporations would finally be launched because they sold t-shirts and beer to gay and trans people and not because they gouged prices, poisoned your drinking water, evicted you from your home, killed the Gulf of Mexico, made life-saving drugs too expensive to buy and turned the atmosphere into an air fryer?

Colin Woodard: [06-16] The geography of gun violence: Most likely interesting for the map, which was the subject of Woodard's 2011 book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America. But the differences in gun deaths are striking (3.5 and 3.8 at the bottom, 12.2 in the Far West and 15.6 in the Deep South, and a few outliers even higher).

Notable tweet, from Dean Baker (linked to a Washington Post editorial you can chase down yourself):

Trump was completely right. He can shoot someone on 5th Avenue and the Washington Post would say that indicting him for murder endangered democracy.

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Monday, June 12, 2023

Music Week

June archive (in progress).

Tweet: Music Week: 54 albums, 2 A-list,

Music: Current count 40392 [40338] rated (+54), 16 [16] unrated (-0).

I wrote another long Speaking of Which (5822 words, 105 links). Started early to capture the tweets at the bottom, then had to restructure twice after Trump was indicted. Even pulling the Trump pieces out, I still had more pieces in the section on other Republicans. Anyone who fancies that DeSantis might be less bad than Trump should read the Ezra Klein piece.

The environment section is a bit skimpy, especially in my comments, but the pieces (and even the titles) speak for themselves. The Ukraine stories drew me out more, but I still never got around to making the most obvious point, which is that this week's horrible stories are the natural consequence of not negotiating an end to the war a year ago, and not preventing it two-to-eight years ago.

Further down, the Irin Carmon and Sarah Jones interviews remind us of the real world impacts of Republicans' obsession with controlling pregnancy. The Dean Baker and Ryan Cooper pieces remind us that Pharma profits are rigged by policy choices that can be changed. The James Galbraith piece works as a tombstone over the debt fiasco. As I recall, he wrote a similarly belated piece on the 2008-09 bank bailouts, which argued that we should have let the banks fail, and put the public money into helping those who got hurt, as opposed to those who were responsible for the recession. Given how little progress we've made on getting the banks to work for the general good, it's hard to say he's wrong. And the Zachary Carter piece points out current myths about inflation, and points to better solutions than the classic Volcker recession. (And yes, let's call it that, unless you can convince me that it's really Milton Friedman's fault -- not implausible, given his contribution to NAIRU.)

Lots of good-but-not-great records below. Stereogram seems to have been first out of the gate with a "best of 2023 so far" list. At least, that's the first one I saw. By the time I counted, I had heard 33 (of 50) albums on the list (probably closer to 40 now, but I've lost track). Then I started looking for more, and found the following:

I did a partial tabulation (probably 10 of 13 lists, skipping the last three added -- if memory serves, Mixmag, Pitchfork, and Saving Country Music). This gives the following frequency of mentions (almost none of the lists were ranked, so no point trying to weight them). The following records appeared three or more times (numbered by count; my grades in brackets):

  1. Lana Del Rey: Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (Interscope/Polydor) [B+(**)]
  2. Billy Woods & Kenny Segal: Maps (Backwoodz Studioz) [A-]
  3. JPEGMafia & Danny Brown: Scaring the Hoes (AWAL) [B+(*)]
    Kelela: Raven (Warp) [B+(**)]
    Caroline Polachek: Desire, I Want to Turn Into You (Perpetual Novice) [B+(*)]
    Jessie Ware: That! Feels Good! (PMR/EMI) [A-]
    Wednesday: Rat Saw God (Dead Oceans) [B+(*)]
  4. Boygenius: The Record (Interscope) [B]
    Paramore: This Is Why (Atlantic) [B+(*)]
    Yves Tumor: Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) (Warp) [B+(**)]
    Yo La Tengo: This Stupid World (Matador) [A-]
  5. Yaeji: With a Hammer (XL) [B+(*)
  6. Lil Yachty: Let's Start Here (Quality Control Music/UMG) [B+(*)]
    Kali Uchis: Red Moon in Venus (Interscope) [B+(**)]
  7. Black Country, New Road: Live at Bush Hall (Ninja Tune) [B+(*)]
    El Michels Affair & Black Thought: Glorious Game (Big Crown) [A-]
    Feist: Multitudes (Polydor) [B+(*)]
    Fever Ray: Radical Romantics (Rabid/Mute) [B+(**)]
    Debby Friday: Good Luck (Sub Pop) [A-]
    Boldy James/Rich Gains: Indiana Jones (self-released) [B+(**)]
    Kaytraminé [Amine/Kaytranada]: Kaytraminé (Venice Music) [B+(***)]
    Metallica: 72 Seasons (Blackened) []
    Model/Actriz: Dogsbody (True Panther Sounds) []
    Arlo Parks: My Soft Machine (Transgressive) [A-]
    Water From Your Eyes: Everyone's Crushed (Matador) [B+(**)]

I have six A- records there. Christgau has just two so far, and his (JPEGMafia and Boygenius, both full A) aren't in my six. Two I haven't heard yet. I'll probably fix that, but given that the only Metallica album I've heard so far landed at C-, it's hard to see much point.

This probably skews a bit more toward hip-hop than my recent EOY aggregates, but I count that as a plus. On the other hand, virtually no country (even "Americana") or jazz made the lists. I don't know of anyone who's done a "best jazz so far" list, but I can copy one out from my always-changing scratch list:

  1. Art Ensemble of Chicago: The Sixth Decade From Paris to Paris: Live at Sons D'Hiver (RogueArt, 2CD)
  2. George Coleman: Live at Smalls Jazz Club (Cellar)
  3. Mark Feldman/Dave Rempis/Tim Daisy: Sirocco (Aerophonic)
  4. Lakecia Benjamin: Phoenix (Whirlwind)
  5. Ivo Perelman/Ray Anderson/Joe Morris/Reggie Nicholson: Molten Gold (Fundacja Sluchaj) **
  6. Javier Red's Imagery Converter: Life & Umbrella (Desafio Candente)
  7. Jason Moran: From the Dancehall to the Battlefield (Yes) **
  8. Floy Krouchi/James Brandon Lewis/Benjamin Sanz: Cliffs (Off '22)
  9. Ivo Perelman/Joe Morris: Elliptic Time (Mahakala Music '22) **
  10. Wadada Leo Smith and Orange Wave Electric: Fire Illuminations (Kabell) **
  11. Peter Brötzmann/Majid Bekkas/Hamid Drake: Catching Ghosts (ACT) **
  12. Jim Black & the Schrimps: Ain't No Saint (Intakt) **
  13. Ivo Perelman/Dave Burrell/Bobby Kapp: Trichotomy (Mahakala Music) **
  14. Christian McBride's New Jawn: Prime (Mack Avenue) **
  15. Natural Information Society: Since Time Is Gravity (Aguirre/Eremite) **
  16. Das Kondensat: Andere Planeten (WhyPlayJazz)
  17. Allen Lowe and the Constant Sorrow Orchestra: In the Dark (ESP-Disk, 3CD)
  18. Dave Rempis/Elisabeth Harnik/Fred Lonberg-Holm/Tim Daisy: Earscratcher (Aerophonic) **
  19. Margherita Fava: Tatatu (self-released)
  20. Ivo Perelman/Elliott Sharp: Artificial Intelligence (Mahakala Music) **
  21. The Mark Lomax Trio: Tapestry (CFG Multimedia) **
  22. Anthony Branker & Imagine: What Place Can Be for Us? A Suite in Ten Movements (Origin)
  23. Henry Threadgill Ensemble: The Other One (Pi)
  24. Kaze & Ikue Mori: Crustal Movement (Libra)
  25. Daniel Bingert: Ariba (Moserobie)
  26. James Brandon Lewis Trio: Eye of I (Anti-) **
  27. Allen Lowe and the Constant Sorrow Orchestra: America: The Rough Cut (ESP-Disk)
  28. Jo Lawry: Acrobats (Whirlwind)

Don't put much stock in the order: this has been haphazardly assembled since January and I haven't done any editing, let alone rechecking. Not that it makes much difference these days, but ** indicates streamed or downloaded, with the rest on CD (pretty sure there's no vinyl here. Of this list, the only albums I'm more than 50:50 confident will end up in the top ten in year-end critics polls are McBride, Threadgill, and Lewis (on Anti-), although AEC, Benjamin, Moran, Smith, and/or Lowe could surprise; NIS is a real left field prospect. In most of these cases, the artists are sufficiently well-known, but the labels have little if any track record at getting the music out to critics.

PS: Three more links: The Week; Subjective Sounds; i-D.

New records reviewed this week:

6lack: Since I Have a Lover (2023, Interscope): Singer-rapper Ricardo Valentine, born in Baltimore but grew up in Atlanta. B+(**) [sp]

Amber Arcades: Barefoot on Diamond Road (2023, Fire): Alias for Dutch singer-songwriter Annelotte de Graaf, third album since 2016, following EPs going back to 2013. B+(*) [sp]

Vicente Archer: Short Stories (2022 [2023], Cellar): Bassist, first album as leader but has 70+ side credits, starting with Donald Harrison in 1999. He wrote three (of ten) pieces here, with pianist Gerald Clayton contributing one and drummer Bill Stewart two. B+(**) [cd]

Nanny Assis: Rovanio: The Music of Nanny Assis (2023, In + Out): Brazilian singer-songwriter, percussionist, has some forty years experience but not much on Discogs. Lines up a notable array of jazz musicians for this career review. B+(**) [cd] [06-23]

Baby Rose: Through and Through (2023, Secretly Canadian): Soul singer, born 1994 in Washington, DC; full name Jasmine Rose Wilson; second album after a mixtape and a couple EPs (one with J Dilla). Her default is a slow ballad, sometimes sultry, occasionally livened up by a guest rapper. B+(*) [sp]

Beach Fossils: Bunny (2023, Bayonet): Indie band from Brooklyn, fourth album since 2010. Fairly mild with a little jangle. [sp]

BigXthaPlug: Amar (2023, United Masters): Texas rapper, poppin' his "shit on a whole other level." B+(*) [sp]

Black Country, New Road: Live at Bush Hall (2023, Ninja Tune): British group, from Cambridgeshire, their first two albums (2021-22) much hyped and highly regarded -- I liked them well enough, but can't say I was much of a fan. Then lead singer Isaac Wood up and quit before the second appeared. The other six members persevered, promoting May Karshaw and Tyler Hyde to lead vocalists, going on the road to sort out a new batch of songs. This is the result, decent enough, though I'm still not much of a fan. B+(*) [sp]

Bully: Lucky for You (2023, Sub Pop): Band alias for singer-songwriter Alicia Bognanno, fourth album, looks back to 1990s grunge. B+(**) [sp]

Gail Caesar: Guitar Woman Blues (2023, Music Maker): From Virginia, b. 1984, probably her first album, an acoustic set singing over guitar. B+(**) [bc]

Conway the Machine: Won't He Do It (2023, Drumwork/Empire): Buffalo rapper, lots of mixtapes from 2014 on, third studio album. B+(**) [sp]

Clarence "Bluesman" Davis: Shake It for Me (2023, Music Maker): Born 1945 in or near Eufala, Alabama, where he still lives. Seems to be his first album, but has a steady sound, with a little extra jangle to the guitar -- reminiscent of the label's 2020 compilation Hanging Tree Guitars. A- [bc]

Ensemble 0: Jojoni [Made to Measure Vol. 49] (2023, Crammed Discs): Minimalist group from France, founded in 2004 and directed by Stéphane Garin and Sylvain Chauveau. Seven pieces here, built around drum machine and jangly percussion. B+(**) [sp]

Feeble Little Horse: Girl With Fish (2023, Saddle Creek): Indie pop band from Pittsburgh, second album, lo-fi and off-kilter and occasionally glitchy, the vocals only approximately in tune, which is close enough. B+(***) [sp]

Feist: Multitudes (2023, Polydor): Canadian singer-songwriter Leslie Feist, sixth studio album since 1999, two of which charted top-20. At her most solemn, sounds a bit like Joni Mitchell, but builds a bit more on top, and is more interesting when she does ("Borrow Trouble"). B+(*) [sp]

Tomas Fujiwara's Triple Double: March On (2019 [2023], self-released): Drummer, assembled this group -- his usual trio with Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet) and Mary Halvorson (guitar), plus a second one with Ralph Alessi (trumpet), Brandon Seabrook (guitar), and Gerald Cleaver (drums) -- for his 2022 album March. This download-only "EP" is an outtake: three tiny slivers of sound, plus the 31:27 title piece. B+(***) [dl]

Jack Harlow: Jackman (2023, Generation Now/Atlantic): Best-selling white rapper from Louisville, never heard of him until I saw him hosting Saturday Night Live, by which time he had two albums out: with this one, his AOTY scores are { 60(4), 48(10), 55(6) }, with tags: corny, overhated, white, mid, pop rap, bad. I'd say underwhelming, but pretty decent. B+(*) [sp]

Heinali: Kyiv Eternal (2023, Injazero): Ukrainian electronica producer Oleg Shpudeiko, over a dozen albums since 2010. Ambient drone, thankfully not interrupted by cruise missiles. B+(*) [sp]

Ian Hunter: Defiance Part 1 (2023, Sun): Some young dudes manage to get old, in this case 83. He hasn't been especially prolific, with this his first studio album since 2014. But he seems in good voice, and rounded up a famous dudes to help out, although not even Ringo Starr or Jeff Beck are older. B+(*) [sp]

Illegal Crowns: Unclosing (2022 [2023], Out of Your Heads): Quartet, major talents, in given order: Tomas Fujiwara (drums), Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet/flugelhorn), Mary Halvorson (guitar), Benoit Delbecq (piano). Three tracks each except Bynum. Seems like it should be sharper but everyone fits tightly in their chamber jazz concept. B+(**) [cd]

Império Pacifico: Clubs Hit (2023, Variz): Electronica duo from Portugal: Luan Bellussi and Pedro Tavares. Second album, neat beats and blips. Six tracks, 35:56. B+(**) [sp]

Boldy James & Rich Gains: Indiana Jones (2023, self-released): Rapper from Atlanta via Detroit, eleventh album since 2013, co-credited with various producers, this the first with Gains. Low-key delivery, bleak aesthetic, tucked in tight. B+(**) [sp]

Lil Yachty: Let's Start Here (2023, Quality Control Music/UMG): Atlanta rapper Miles McCollum, was barely still 19 when his debut, Teenage Emotions, dropped. Fifth album here, time for a reboot. The cover, with its mismatched face parts, is genuinely disturbing, suggesting AI run amok -- or psychedelic, which seems to be the default music tag, whatever that means (mostly clouds of guitar-and-keyboard wash). He's turned into a singer. Give him a beat and some edges and he might develop into a third-generation Prince. B+(*) [sp]

Mandy, Indiana: I've Seen a Way (2023, Fire Talk): Group from Manchester, UK, with French vocalist Valentine Caulfield and Scott Fair (guitar), with Simon Catling (synth) and Alex MacDougall (drums). Group name a variant on Gary, Indiana, presumably chosen for their post-industrial klang, although the steel industry abandoned Gary long ago. B+(**) [sp]

Gia Margaret: Romantic Piano (2021-22 [2023], Jagjaguwar): Pianist, from Chicago, two previous albums which generally slot as ambient. Twelve short pieces (26:42), most solo but occasionally picks up some help. B+(*) [sp]

Ryan Meagher: AftEarth (2021 [2023], Atroefy): Guitarist, based in Portland, sixth album, quartet with Tim Willcox (sax), Andrew Jones (bass), and Charlie Doggett (drums). Most impressive when they risk a little noise, but they offer a nice mix in any case. Packaged with a 62-page booklet of pen-and-ink drawings by Tina Granzo, themed to the pieces, or vice versa. B+(***) [cd]

Metro Boomin: Heroes & Villains (2022, Boominati/Republic): Hip-hop producer Leland Tyler Wayne, has co-credits with 21 Savage, and a previous album which exposed his superhero theme. This offers one side each way, but I'm more stuck by his steady hand. B+(**) [sp]

Metro Boomin: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse [Soundtrack From & Inspired by the Motion Picture] (2022, Boominati/Republic): Payoff for his superhero obsession, a Marvell soundtrack tie-in, with enough budget for a star-laden guest list. Still, the thirteen pieces are about what you'd expect in the hip-hop producer's third album: the music is a bit more varied, the lyrics every bit as forgettable. Meanwhile, a separate release credited to Daniel Pemberton collects 107 minutes of background score as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse [Original Score]. I'll pass on that one. B+(*) [r]

Janelle Monáe: The Age of Pleasure (2023, Bad Boy): Funk/pop star, from Kansas City (the one in Kansas), dropped last name Robinson, fourth album, a more modest effort than her last couple, clocking in at 31:49, but still a delight. A- [sp]

MSPAINT: Post-American (2023, Convulse): Postpunk band from Hattiesburg, Mississippi; substitutes a synthesizer for the usual guitar, backed by bass and drums, with a singer going as Deedee. B+(**) [sp]

Nakibembe Embaire Group: Nakibembe Embaire Group (2023, Nyege Nyege Tapes): Ugandan group, Nakibembe is their home town, embaire is large wooden xylophone. [sp]

Kevin O'Connell Quartet Featuring Adam Brenner: Hot New York Minutes (2023, Ignoramus Music): Pianist, started with Clifford Jordan in the late 1980s, although he doesn't have much under his own name. Brenner plays sax, the quartet rounded out with bass (Paul Gill) and drums (Mark Taylor). B+(**) [cd]

Oddisee: To What End (2023, Outer Note): DC rapper Amir Mohamed el Khalifa, father from Sudan, tenth album since 2008, underground beats, weaves a half-dozen mostly unknown guests into a tight tapestry. "What does it matter if it's less or more the same?" B+(***) [sp]

Dave Okumu & the Seven Generations: I Come From Love (2023, Transgressive): Singer-songwriter, born in Vienna, moved to UK when he was ten, fronted The Invisible (2009-16), solo album in 2021, also part of London Brew, production credits include Jessie Ware. Rather hard for me to follow, although the spoken word reminds me of Gil Scott-Heron, and the few words I catch reinforce the link. Some (slim) chance I'm massively underrating this. B+(*) [sp]

Panic Shack: Baby Shack (2022, Brace Yourself, EP): Postpunk group from Cardiff, Wales; Sarah Harvey the lead singer. Six songs, 18:20. B+(**) [sp]

P!nk: Trustfall (2023, RCA): Pop singer-songwriter, Alecia Moore, ninth studio album since 2000. A bit more ballad-heavy than I'd prefer. B+(**) [sp]

Shelton Powe: Shelton Powe (2022, Music Maker): Blues singer-guitarist, b. 1957, in the "Piedmont finger-style guitar tradition of his parents and elders." Also has a thing for religious songs, which he sings as casually as "Railroad Bill." B+(**) [bc]

Caroline Rose: The Art of Forgetting (2023, New West): Singer-songwriter from Long Island, tried her hand at folk/country, moved on to more pop/rock, fifth album since 2012. "Only the rich get second chances." And: "come on babe, take all this pain, and learn to love yourself again." B+(*) [sp]

Esther Rose: Safe to Run (2023, New West): Singer-songwriter, originally from Michigan, tried New Orleans before moving to New Mexico; first recorded (2013) with then-husband Luke Winslow-King, fourth solo album since. B+(**) [sp]

Frankie Rose: Love as Projection (2023, Slumberland): Singer-songwriter, was in several bands -- Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls -- before going with her name in Frankie Rose and the Outs in 2010. Sixth solo album since. B [sp]

Jeffrey Scott: Going Down to Georgia on a Hog (2023, Music Maker): Nephew of John Jackson (1924-2002), a Piedmont bluesman who gave up playing in 1949, then got "discovered" in the late 1960s, a readymade classic. Many details about Scott are unclear, but he runs a farm, raises hogs and Texas longhorns, does side work as a mortician and long-haul truck driver, and picks and sings his way through a dozen folk blues, some well known. Voice reminds me of a different Jackson, an even older Memphis songster, Jim Jackson (1876-1933). B+(***) [bc]

Screaming Females: Desire Pathway (2023, Don Giovanni): New Jersey band, eighth album since 2006, Marissa Paternoster the lead screamer and (presumably) only female. B [sp]

Paul Simon: Seven Psalms (2023, Owl/Legacy): Past 80, wrote this "meditation on faith and death" in the middle of the night, flowing out of dream time, then jammed all seven pieces into one 33:02 cut that seems much longer. B [sp]

Skech185 & Jeff Markey: He Left Nothing for the Swim Back (2023, Backwoodz Studioz): Rapper Willie McIntyre Jr. and producer Markey, vocals a harsh growl but the beats keep coming. B+(**) [sp]

Sparks: The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte (2023, Island): Brothers Ron and Russell Mael, brilliantly lampooned their jangly falsetto shtick with their sophomore title (A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing), tempted me with their next two albums, after which I grew annoyed and tuned out. But fifty years later, they're still at it, garnering more praise than ever, but still annoyiong. B- [sp]

Squid: O Monolith (2023, Warp): British band, from Brighton, second album, Ollie Judge the singer and drummer. This is gnarly enough I wonder if they have the potential to be something like Pavement. But I doubt it, and I'm not even sure that would be a good idea. B+(**) [sp]

Superviolet: Infinite Spring (2023, Lame-O): Columbus, Ohio group, first album, principally Steve Ciolek (vocals, guitar, keyboards). B+(*) [sp]

Tinariwen: Amatssou (2023, Wedge): Tuareg (Saharan) group, originally from northern Mali with ties to Algeria and Libya, date back to 1979 but first album available elsewhere didn't appear until 2001. This is their ninth, and least exciting -- not sure if the weariness is theirs or ours. B+(*) [sp]

U.S. Girls: Bless This Mess (2023, 4AD): Toronto-based band led by American expat Meghan Remy, eighth album since 2008. B+(**) [sp]

Water From Your Eyes: Everyone's Crushed (2023, Matador): New York duo, Nate Amos and Rachel Brown, specify pronouns but not instruments, several albums since 2017. B+(**) [sp]

Zulu: A New Tomorrow (2023, Flatspot): Hardcore band from Los Angeles, first album after a couple EPs, fifteen short tracks (28:45). Soul samples and spoken word pounded rough and ragged. B+(*) [sp]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Walter Bishop Jr.: Bish at the Bank: Live in Baltimore (1966-67 [2023], Reel to Real): Pianist (1927-98), father was a drummer of some note (played with Jabbo Smith in the 1920s; wrote several songs of note, including "Swing, Brother, Swing" and "Jack You're Dead"), started with Art Blakey in 1948, recorded with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Hank Mobley, and Gene Ammons, leading his own groups from 1961. Quartet here with Harold Vick (tenor/soprano sax, flute), Lou McIntosh (bass), and Dick Berk (drums). Two sets, separated by six months. Vick is especially solid here, at least on tenor. B+(***) [sp]

Alan Braxe/Fred Falke: The Upper Cuts [2023 Edition] (2005 [2023], Smugglers Way): French house pioneers, the famed album originally credited to Alan Braxe & Friends, with Falke sharing most song credits. B+(***) [sp]

Clifford Jordan: Drink Plenty Water (1974 [2023], Harvest Song): "Long-lost vocal jazz session," originally recorded for Strata-East, with Donna Jordan Harris and David Smyrl vocalists (plus three backup singers) and a nine-piece band including Bill Hardman (trumpet), Dick Griffin (trombone), Charlie Rose (tenor sax), and Stanley Cowell (piano), plus cello, drums, and two basses (Bill Lee credited for arrangements). I'm not wild about the more vocalese stuff, but Smyrl's "Talking Blues" is worth a listen, and the instrumental version holds up, too. B+(***) [cd]

RP Boo: Legacy Volume 2 (2002-07 [2023], Planet Mu): Chicago-based footwork producer Kavain Space, follows up his 2013 Legacy (his first album) with a second collection of early rhythm tracks. B+(*) [sp]

Tyler, the Creator: Call Me if You Get Lost: The Estate Sale (2021 [2023], Columbia): Los Angeles rapper Tyler Okonma, debut mixtape 2009, his sixth album Call Me if You Get Lost (2021) a big critical as well as commercial hit. I was surprised to see this pop up on a mid-year list; alternatively, I was surprised I hadn't heard of a new album before. But it turns out this is just a reissue, padded out with eight extra tracks from the same sessions, pushing the length to 77:02. I've never been much of a fan, but gave the original album a B+(***). The extra tracks aren't bad, but the main thing they add is length, so: B+(**) [sp]

Old music:

None.

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

  • Roxana Amed/Frank Carlberg: Los Trabajos Y Las Noches (Sony Music Latin) [06-09]
  • Charlie Apicella & Iron City Meet The Griots Speak: Destiny Calling (OA2) [06-16]
  • Blue Cranes: My Only Secret (Jealous Butcher/Beacon Sound) [08-11]
  • Kaisa's Machine: Taking Shape (Greenleaf Music) [07-07]
  • Ryan Keberle's Collectiv Do Brasil: Considerando (Alternate Side) [07-14]
  • Kevin O'Connell Quartet Featuring Adam Brenner: Hot New York Minutes (Ignoramus Music) [05-15]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Sunday, June 11, 2023

Speaking of Which

I see that Nathan Robinson's Current Affairs has launched a biweekly News Briefing via Substack. If the free first issue is anything to judge by, it's better than what I've been trying to do (e.g., below) over the last several years. Still, I stopped cold when confronted with the paywall (Substack's minimum $5 per month, or $50 per year). Nonetheless, I got an email within minutes saying, "You're receiving free posts from Current Affairs Biweekly News Briefing." (I did nothing more, but maybe they glommed onto a cookie, as I'm a non-paying subscriber to a couple other Substack newsletters. The way they do this makes it impossible for my wife and me to share Substack accounts, which disinclines me from doing anything with them at all.)

By the way, apologies for the paywalled content linked to below. My wife subscribes to a lot of stuff (New York Times, Washington Post, etc.), which I piggyback on, so I don't notice when it's not free. On the other hand, the titles usually work as an outline, and my comments are always visible, never joined to a shakedown or any other kind of scam. If Current Affairs (or anyone else) wants to fold stuff I write here into their own offerings, more power to them. Just don't charge me for it.

I continue to be bothered by my lack of progress on any other writing front, despite the relative ease with which this weekly compendium practically writes itself.

Top story threads:

Trump: I started collecting before the Trump indictments dropped, but that only partially obsoletes Andrew Prokop: [06-08] Trump's next indictment is looming -- and the evidence against him is trickling out. Prokop also wrote: [06-08] Trump says he's been indicted again: The Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, explained; and [06-09] The detailed, damning new Trump indictment, explained.

DeSantis, and other Republicans: I originally wanted to keep all the sociopaths together, but the Trump volume argued for a separate section. Still, the only significant difference seems to be that he got caught -- something that in happier times he derided John McCain for:

  • Jonathan Chait::

    • [06-05] The GOP's authoritarian acceleration: "Internal resistance to its anti-democratic turn has all but vanished." Kind of odd that the first illustration here (four paragraphs long) of the Republican embrace of "violations of democratic norms" is Trump's firing of James Comey: "Now every FBI director is eminently fireable," which sounds to me like an improvement over the untouchable J Edgar Hoover. (The idea that Hoover was above politics is a pretty lame and narrow view of politics.) Of course, the basic point is valid: Republicans have always had an exaggerated sense of their own indispensability, and conservatives have never trusted democracy, so the combination has proven especially eager to cut corners and rig power centers in their favor. Nixon's "dirty tricks" backfired when exposed, but Trump can be more brazen about his authoritarian aims, largely because, to quote David Kochel, "the conservative media ecosystem has built a giant wall of inoculation around everything Trump." Or everything Republican.

    • [06-08] Mike Pence says Trump can commit all the crimes he wishes: "Enforcing the law would be 'divisive.'"

  • Ana Marie Cox: [06-11] The war on drugs is getting meaner and dumber, and Texas and Florida show how bad it can get.

  • Zach Despart: [06-09] GOP donor at center of Ken Paxton scandal charged with 8 felonies as prosecutors seek $172 million: "Texas real estate investor Nate Paul charged with making false statements to financial institutions."

  • Margaret Hartmann: [06-08] Why I support Chris Christie's (doomed) 2024 presidential bid: More than a little tongue in cheek here, and "there's no chance he'll actually be president" isn't much of a reason. The one exception is that Christie's likely to be the only Republican candidate willing to talk about Trump's graft. Of course, Christie's such a sleazeball that could blow back on him.

  • Jack Hunter: [06-07] Neocon Nikki Haley rides again: Every now and then I worry that some Republican will try to outflank Biden on war, and that one issue will sway people. To some extent, Trump did that in 2016, although he was never very credible, in part because he was so inconsistent. On the other hand, Biden came into office determined to bring NATO back into American orbit, and thanks to Putin he succeeded way beyond his wildest dreams. Less noticed, he's also managed to reunite America's allies around the Pacific rim, again by pushing the spectre of threat from China. Still, one Republican I'm not worried about upsetting Biden with a turn toward world peace is Haley.

  • Ed Kilgore: [06-07] Doug Burgum bets that 2024 voters don't care about culture wars: Given the laws the North Dakota governor has signed recently, he's pretty well hedged on culture war issues. Hard to see what else he can run on, other than the once-successful "I'm a billionaire, so you know I'm honestly for you."

  • Ezra Klein: [06-11] Ron DeSantis thinks Trump didn't go far enough: A fairly close reading of the Florida governor's campaign tome, The Courage to Be Free: "It's not a good book, exactly. But it's a revealing one." What it mostly reveal is that DeSantis is a vindictive prick who will use every ounce of power he can seize to punish his supposed enemies, which very likely means you and me.

  • Mike Lofgren: [06-09] The party of pollution, disease and death: When Republicans tell you who they are, believe them. By the way, Lofgren previously wrote: [05-20] The GOP's heart of darkness: Why Ron DeSantis can never beat Donald Trump: "No Republicans can beat Trump, because no one else can command his coalition of damaged, discarded, marginal people." I've never been especially happy with deriding Trump's followers as mere miscreants, but he has something that brings to the fore those traits in lots of people, making them seem respectable and even special. (Lofgren, by the way, is a recovering Republican, author of The Party Is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted.)

  • Dana Milbank: [06-09] In the House, a spectacular flameout: Speaker Kevin McCarthy, after passing his debt limit deal with considerable help from Democrats, fails to get enough Republicans to pass his purely symbolic gas stoves initiative.

  • Nicole Narea: [06-09] Why are all these random Republicans running for president? Well, it's not, as the subhed argues, because "everybody still thinks they can win in 2024." Most candidates, as ever, see it as a way to raise their political profile (a category that obviously includes Doug Burgum, and extends past Tim Scott to Vivek Ramaswamy, who will be happy just to sell more books). What's more remarkable is the absence of 2016 contenders (Cruz, Rubio, Paul, Kasich, Carson), who have more to lose than to gain by losing again. (Christie is the one back, but he has a fairly unique martyr angle. DeSantis and Pence are in, because they'd look like cowards if they didn't run, and each has an angle to claim Trump's mantle should Trump fail. Same could be said for Haley, although her angle is more oblique. And, well, while it's unlikely any Republican can beat Trump in the primaries, he could still be forced out, or simply collapse, creating an opening. [Who did I leave out? Looks like Asa Hutchinson and Larry Elder. Feel free to slot them yourself.]

  • Katha Pollitt: [06-08] The Right's latest target: no-fault divorce: "Republicans have a new way of sticking their noses in other people's business." Not to mention that their favorite game is finding fault with everyone else for the myriad sins of the world. They can't fix anything, but at least they can assign blame.

  • Alex Thomas: [06-09] The right has a vigilante fetish: "Daniel Penny takes his place in conservatives' growing pantheon of violent 'heroes.'"

  • Ken Ward Jr: [06-01] West Virginia Governor's coal empire sued by the federal government -- again: "seeks millions in unpaid environmental fines."

  • Linda K Wertheimer: [05-30] Inside the Christian legal crusade to revive school prayer.

While the following articles aren't strictly about Republicans, this seems like a good place for them:

Fire and smoke:

And other environmental disasters:

Ukraine War: Most observers are reporting that Ukraine seems to have started their "counteroffensive," albeit with little fanfare. Their only discernible victory so far is in getting journalists to say "counteroffensive" instead of "[Spring] offensive" -- we still need to make clear that Russia is the aggressor in this war. It's been pretty clear all Winter that Zelensky has no intention of negotiating until he first gives his fancy new war weapons -- especially the tanks -- a chance to tip the scales. While I wouldn't be surprised if Ukraine manages to claw back much of the territory they lost in 2022, the only solution is still negotiation, and the only reasonable basis for negotiation is the self-determination of the people involved. Until both sides realize that, the destruction continues. And if you think this week's dam destruction was a disaster for everyone, wait until the fighting overwhelms the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant (already endangered, especially denied water from the dam).

  • Connor Echols: [06-09] Diplomacy Watch: S. Africa suggests moving BRICS summit to China: The change of venue would allow Putin to attend without fear of being arrested and handed over to the ICC. The BRICS nations have nearly all floated peace initiatives, as have (noted here) Indonesia and the Vatican. Meanwhile, Anthony Blinken dismisses any ceasefire as a "Potemkin peace."

  • Ben Armbruster: [06-09] How WWII nostalgia fuels media's impractical Ukraine aims: "Yes fighting the Russians is just and Putin is a very bad guy, but analogies to the Nazi era rarely if ever apply." The most obvious difference is that Roosevelt's insistence that Germany surrender unconditionally is impossible: even if Ukraine recovered its 2014 borders, a hostile Russia would remain a persistent threat. The only way to eliminate this threat is to negotiate a deal which leaves Russia satisfied -- if not with Ukrainian territory, then with other (possibly economic) concessions.

  • Chris Baraniuk: [06-08] The Kakhovka Dam collapse is an ecological disaster.

  • Max Boot: [06-09] The Ukrainian offensive is beginning. David Petraeus is optimistic. Now, that's what I call "pathetic."

  • Shane Harris/Souad Mekhennet: [06-06] US had intelligence of detailed Ukrainian plan to attack Nord Stream pipeline. Further information from the what's now being dubbed the Discord leaks, suggests that Ukraine, rather than the US (as Seymour Hersh reported) was responsible for blowing up the gas line between Russia and Germany. This follows an earlier Discord leaks piece by John Hudson/Isabelle Khurshudyan: [05-13] Zelensky, in private, plots bold attacks inside Russia, leak shows.

  • Matthew Hoh: [06-09] A war long wanted: Diplomatic malpractice in Ukraine: This provides a pretty detailed litany of the many acts seen as provocations by Russia since 1991, including the scuttling of the Minsk agreement and the military buildup in 2021 before Russia invaded in February, 2022. Part of the intent is "understanding the war through Russia's eyes," which should help open our own. Perhaps the article needs a stronger disclaimer that Putin in many cases misunderstood the provocations, and in any case had no right or even reason to invade as he did, but it's not like those are points we don't understand. Rather, they are chits that critics of US policy have to cash in order to be taken seriously on any other point. This ends with brief sections on "who profits?" and "the cost of war," as well as a couple paragraphs on the need for peace through diplomacy. All very sensible.

  • Fred Kaplan: [06-08] Ukraine's counteroffensive has begun. Now what? "Impossible to say."

  • Jen Kirby:

  • Najmedin Meshkati: [06-09] Kakhovka dam breach raises risk for Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant -- receding waters narrow options for cooling.

  • Samantha Schmidt/Isobel Koshiw/Natalia Abbakumova: [06-06] Damage to Russian-held hydroelectric plant floods south Ukraine battlefield. One possible factor is that Water level behind Russian-controlled Kakhkovka Dam was at historic high before it was destroyed. Of course, Russia and Ukraine are blaming each other for the destruction. While high water would have stressed the dam, making an accidental breach (somewhat) more likely, it more obviously made the flooding worse. Much depends here on whether Russia expected to lose the dam during Ukraine's counteroffensive, which last fall advanced to the Dnipro River. Blowing up the dam would presumably slow Ukrainian advance in the region, as well as adding to the rebuilding cost of the flooded areas. On the other hand, blowing the dam sacrifices the canal that diverts Dnipro water to Crimea -- a view that only makes sense if Russia expected to lose the dam and canal anyway. For Ukraine's spin, see Veronika Melkozerova: [06-06] Defiant Ukraine says dam carnage won't stop counteroffensive.

  • Robert Wright: [06-09] Timothy Snyder's pernicious influence: I've long admired Tony Judt, so I was inclined to give his protégé some slack. But I'm left wondering whether the influence went the other way, with Judt's late celebration of East European revolts against Soviet domination boosted by Snyder's vicious anti-Russian prejudices. In any case, Snyder has become one of the most uncritical anti-Russia hawks anywhere. I'm reminded of an old saw: that America's China experts usually fell in love with China, but the Russia experts inevitably hated Russia. Anne Applebaum has rivaled Snyder among public intellectuals turned warmongers.

  • Kelley Beaucar Vlahos: [06-08] Nord Stream revelations should chasten Ukraine dam 'hot takes': Rule of thumb: Ukraine always blames Russia, and Russia always blames Ukraine. Ukraine blamed Russia for the Nord Stream sabotage, but that never made sense, for lack of motivation. Ukraine had the motive, but how could they do it? The US and maybe Poland or Norway had lesser motives, which allowed Seymour Hersh to construct a plausible (albeit uncertain) scenario for a US operation (with help from Norway). We've since seen a plausible scenario for Ukraine (with help from Poland). Still not proven, but makes sense. As for the Kakhovka Dam disaster, I can imagine motives for both Ukraine and Russia, and while it would be easier for Russia to pull off, it certainly could have been Ukraine. Yet neither motive is convincing, as each depends on assumptions about how the counteroffensive will go under different scenarios. And, let's face it, neither side knows, no matter how confident they seem. Then there's the third possibility, that it was some kind of accident. I'd score that as Russia's fault, because they had no business being there. But also because war always leads to unpredicted disasters, and Russia -- even admitting much provocation -- launched this war.

World:

Other stories:

Dean Baker: [06-07] Owning up to mistakes and pandemic deaths: "It would be a huge step forward for both public health and US foreign policy if we could begin down the road of freely sharing health care technology rather than trying to bottle it up so that a small number of people can get very rich." Also see Ryan Cooper, below.

Zack Beauchamp: [06-11] How the right's defeats gave us the anti-LGBTQ moment: "The American right is returning to its homophobic roots." I figured the culture war over LGB was pretty much settled, but T opened it up again, largely, I think, because the right will embrace any non-economic grudge they can get any leverage on. (Gas stoves is an almost comical example.) Economic issues are trickier, because helping the rich get richer isn't all that popular, even among caste-conscious Republicans. Beauchamp's thesis is less convincing, but the right has few rivals when it comes to nursing grudges and stoking paranoia about vast left conspiracies. Otherwise, they might have to face responsibility for their repeated failures.

Irin Carmon: [06-06] When pregnancy is the crime: "An exit interview with Lynn Paltrow, who has spent decades representing women jailed for miscarriages and stillbirths."

Zachary Carter: [06-06] What if we're thinking about inflation all wrong? "Isabella Weber's heterodox ideas about government price controls are transforming policy in the United States and across Europe." With visions of magical markets dancing in their heads, economists hate price controls (even if coupled with wage controls, which softens the blow because economists also hate people), it's easy to see how they fell for the Volcker maneuver as the only proper remedy for inflation. But it's a very blunt, indiscriminate instrument, kind of like engineering a flood to put out a house fire. It may eventually work, but the collateral damage is immense, and may not even solve the real problem.

This recent round of inflation always struck me as caused by two things: the first is temporary supply chain kinks, which made it possible for companies to price gouge, some of which stuck given that most companies preferred profit to volume; which was possible due to increasing monopolization of damn near everything. Monopoly rents had trailed limits to competition because customers resist price increases, making companies reluctant to squeeze their every advantage, but the dam broke, companies could take whatever the market would bear. For proof, consider that most companies have been raking in record profits while others pay their premiums.

Weber has some interesting ideas for price controls -- often ones that avoid the bureaucratic overhead of the old OPA, although with modern computers you'd think that overhead could be slashed.

Ryan Cooper:

James K Galbraith: [06-09] Next time, dammit, just default: "Democrats feared a monster called 'default' -- but it's just another Washington scare story." Makes sense to me. In fact, makes me wonder why I didn't see something like this before the deal -- although parts of it are somewhat familiar. It's actually an old story where the Left (or its compromised proxies in parties like the Democratic) are called on to sacrifice their own goals in order to save capitalism, on the premise that not doing so would hurt worse.

Sarah Jones: [06-11] "It's not just the fringe who are committing these violent acts": Interview with Julie Burkhart, who runs the only clinic that provides surgical abortions in Wyoming. She formerly worked for the late George Tiller here in Wichita.

Peter Kafka: [06-07] Firing Chris Licht won't fix CNN. Licht drew flak for his efforts to move CNN toward the "center," especially the synthetic news event he billed as a "Trump town hall, but Kafka attributes his firing to the exposure in Tim Alberta: [06-02] Inside the meltdown at CNN. Alberta says "Licht felt he was on a mission to restore the network's reputation for serious journalism." I'm not sure that "serious journalism" is even possible on TV given diminished attention spans, but if one wanted to try, the obvious way to go about it would be to look beneath the headlines and start to notice the interests that corrupt and distort understanding.

Robert Kuttner: [06-09] Remembering William Spriggs: "A life devoted to pursuing economic justice." Died this week, at 68.

Dylan Matthews: [06-10] Labor unions aren't "booming." They're dying. "Unions won't come back without fundamental changes to bargaining."

Ian Millhiser:

Nathan Robinson:

  • [06-08] How the John Birch Society won the long game: Review of Matthew Dallek: Birchers: H ow the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right. Argues that "The American right doesn't need the John Birch Society these days, but that is because it's adopted the Birchers' extremism wholesale."

  • [06-05] We now know the full extent of Obama's disastrous apathy toward the climate crisis: Columbia University, with funding from the Obama Foundation, has compiled 470 interviews to form an "oral history of the Obama presidency." We also have what Robinson terms memoirs by sycophants and his own gargantuan self-exonerative autobiography, where even rose-tinted reflection fails to show Obama as concerned much less prophetic on the climate crisis (though maybe not contemptuous and imbicilic, which would be par for the Trump administration). I've always been dismayed at the lack of credit Obama got for expanding oil production (mostly through fracking, you may recall), but the media always assumed that Republicans were the oil party. Yet there is a bit here where Obama is speaking to a bunch of Texas oilmen and bragging: "You know how we became number one in the world in oil production? That was me." The oil men cheered. Then they voted for Trump.

  • [05-31] Introducing Murray Bookchin, the extraordinary originator of 'social ecology': Interview with Janet Biehl, who wrote a 2015 biography (Ecology or Catastrophe: The Life of Murray Bookchin) and edited The Murray Bookchin Reader (1999; looks like both of these are out of print). Bookchin's 1971 book Post-Scarcity Anarchism had a great deal of influence on my own thought. Of late, I've been thinking about how anarchist cooperation models could help us with international relations, given the impossibility of establishing a world order (no matter how much Washington, Beijing, etc., might try).

Greg Sargent: [06-08] How Pat Robertson created today's Christian nationalist GOP: The Christian Broadcasting Network founder died at 93. Interview with Rick Perlstein.

Jeffrey St Clair: [06-09] Infamy at sea, cover-up in DC: Israel's attack on the USS Liberty: In 1964, two American ships in the Gulf of Tonkin reported being fired on, which LBJ quickly blew up into the casus belli that justified America's escalation of war against Vietnam. Three years later, another American ship was attacked at sea, this time killing 34 US sailors and injuring 174. LBJ was still president, but the only thing he escalated this time was the amount of foreign aid sent to the attackers. This is an old piece, from a 2004 book, but perhaps the story is new to you?

Maureen Tkacik: [06-02] Days of plunder: A review of two recent books on the most malign force in modern capitalism: Gretchen Morgenson/Joshua Rosner: These Are the Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs -- and Wrecks -- America, and Brendan Ballou: Plunder: Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America. Opens with more than you want to know about PetSmart, but that's just one example.

Robert Wright: [06-07] AI is at a dangerous juncture: It's hard to know just where to hook into this argument, mostly because it's unclear what AI is going to do -- the most obvious thing is to increase speed and productivity of data-intensive operations -- or more pertinently what it could do that we don't want it to do. One thing that makes that alarming is that for many years speed has been viewed as the holy grail of war (from blitzkrieg to the decision to respond to a nuclear first strike). Still, the question we should ask isn't how AI can give us (or them) an advantage in waging war, but whether our model of defense through deterrence hasn't been thorough discredited (e.g., in Ukraine).

One comment here: "AI will not be regulated properly because companies will always put profits over everything else." For all the talk about the need to regulate AI, I've never seen a concrete proposal for doing so. My best guess is that the first movers want it regulated to keep future competitors out -- that's actually a common regulation strategem. What would make more sense to me is not to regulate what AI can do but to regulate the business you can do with it, starting with how it can be monetized. A good start would be to deny any patents on it, which would disincentivize developers, especially from doing unsavory things with it. One could go a step further and require that the source code be free (in the GNU sense). For starters, that would make it publicly inspectable (and again it would disincentivize bad actors). And certainly, the products of AI shouldn't be copyrightable. (Thus far, as I understand it, they are not.) Of course, if we start talking along these lines, the current companies' push to regulate is going to evaporate. As long as politics are driven by greedy parties, this isn't likely to happen, but if the threat is real, how can we afford not to?

Abby Zimet: [06-04] A rank immunity: Henry Kissinger is still a war criminal: I thought we had flogged this not-year-dead 100-year-old carcass enough over the last couple weeks, but couldn't resist tipping you to the Wonder Wart-Hog detail used as an illustration. If you can stand more, try Jonathan Guyer: [06-08] I crashed Henry Kissinger's 100th-birthday party: "The elite love him but for some reason won't say why."

Notable tweet from @sorrelquest:

it's insane how like half of all political "arguments" boil down to one side that's universally beneficial and that everyone agrees with and one side that we need to pretend is contentious because eight people with a lot of money feel strongly about it

From Zachary D Carter:

The vagueness around whether we "need" unemployment at 4.5 percent or 5.5 percent shows how imprecise enthusiasts of this model can be, but the really extraordinary line for me is: "That's why we have central banks, is to make tough choices."

The point Furman is making is that central banks exist to do unpopular things. Democracy left to its own devices will produce too much inflation. "Too much" here being defined as about 4 percent, the "though choices" solution being millions of layoffs.

Plenty of economists agree with Furman that this is the proper role of a central bank. But that has not always been the case. It's pretty easy to create unemployment without a central bank. The U.S. had decades of deflation and persistent financial crises from 1870 to 1913.

And one of the chief arguments for establishing a central bank was to create more economic flexibility so that these crashes didn't become depressions and that deflation didn't destroy American democracy.

The idea that the Fed was supposed to handle one aspect of a full employment program was pretty common until the Volcker era. Congress passed two laws to that end, one in 1946 and another in 1978.

Managing expertise and public opinion isn't obvious or easy. But the belief that the people want too many jobs for their own good, and need to be disciplined into unemployment is not inherent to central banking. It's a very particular worldview, and one that I think is wrong.

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Monday, June 5, 2023

Music Week

May archive (in progress).

Music: Current count 40338 [40292] rated (+46), 16 [38] unrated (-22: 16 new, 0 old).

I published a Speaking of Which Sunday evening. I collected a few links early, but didn't touch it for most of Friday and Saturday -- cooked a little dinner -- so it came up short (45 links, 2846 words, the shortest since Dec. 27 last year). Rated count should be down too, but I cheated, massively. It's a one-shot deal, and I'm happy it's done.

Ever since I've been blogging reviews, I've started each post off with a slug line, noting how many records I've rated (week and total), plus how many I had sitting around unrated. In the early days, I bought a lot more than I could listen to quickly, and then I started getting promos, including some I had little interest in, so the number combined those. In March, 2003, I rated 13 albums, bringing me to a total of 8080, but also added 78 unrated albums, which put me at 899. The unrated count continued to grow over the next couple years, hitting an all-time high of 1157 in July, 2004, before I finally started whittling away at it. By the end of 2008 I got it down to 757, but it shot up as high as 886 in 2011 and 882 in 2012, before finally dropping below 600 (Dec. 2012), 500 (Dec. 2014), 400 (Mar. 2015), 300 (Aug. 2018), 200 (Oct. 2021), and 100 (June 2022).

I finally got it down to 27 a couple months ago, and it's been stuck at that level since then. Aside from a couple boxes that I never found time for, the remaining albums were proving very hard to locate. Last week I dug through a neglected shelf of loose, unpackaged promos, and found four of them. On closer inspection, only one of the four was even worth cataloguing (a Campbell Bros. advance that turned out to be pretty good). The other three (two label samplers and a 14-minute live single that was probably never released as a product) I just commented out of the database. After that, and looking in some more desperate places to no avail, I decided to wipe the slate. Henceforth, unrated albums will only be items in the current demo queue (or new purchases).

A few things from the list that I either found or could stream show up in Old Music below. Everything else is noted in the Unrated Closeout section below. In some cases I went ahead and ascribed grades (pretty conservatively, I think): some were based on memories, some from sampling similar material, and a couple were minimal estimates based on general familiarity. In other cases, I was too unsure to bother. If/when I do manage to find and play any of those items, I'll revisit the grades, or add them as ordinary old music discoveries.

Probably meaningless to anyone else, but feels like a weight lifted.

Been having trouble thinking of new things to play. The Music Tracking file has grown to 881 items, of which I've rated (or have unrated) 414. I'm pretty sure that's behind last year's pace -- if you figure four months (forget January, which is catchup for 2022), we're a third of the way through. I won't be surprised if I slack off as the year progresses. Depends on how the non-music writing comes along.

I did manage to wrap up the May, 2023 Streamnotes file. Quite a bit of good music in it.

New records reviewed this week:

Christian Artmann: The Middle of Life (2021-22 [2023], Sunnyside): Flute player from Germany, studied at Berklee, Princeton, and Harvard Law, based near San Francisco, fourth album, backed with piano (Laszlo Gardony), bass, and drums, with vocals (Elena McEntire) on three tracks. B [cd] [06-02]

BC Camplight: The Last Rotation of Earth (2023, Bella Union): Alias for Brian Christinzio, sixth album since 2006. B [sp]

Buselli/Wallarab Jazz Orchestra: The Gennett Suite (2023, Patois, 2CD): Indiana-based big band, led by Mark Buselli (trumpet) and Brent Wallarab (trombone), with the latter handling most of the composer-arranger duties. Ninth album since 2002, starts with pieces from the Gennett early jazz label, punches them up, and builds some more. Comes with a hardcover booklet, which explains the history, including King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Hoagy Carmichael, and the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. B+(***) [cd]

André Carvalho: Lost in Translation Vol. II (2022 [2023], Clean Feed): Portuguese bassist, with André Matos (guitar) and José Soares (sax). Quiet, bordering on atmospheric. B+(*) [bc]

Clark: Sus Dog (2023, Throttle): British electronica producer Chris Clark, thirteenth album since 2001. B [sp]

Mario Costa/Cuong Vu/Benoît Delbecq/Bruno Chevillon: Chromosome (2022 [2023], Clean Feed): Portuguese drummer, leads a quartet with trumpet, piano, and bass. B+(*) [bc]

Depeche Mode: Memento Mori (2023, Columbia/Mute): Big UK synthpop band in the 1980s, have released a new album every 3-4 years since (up to 2017, so this one comes after a six year break), all 15 albums charting top-ten in UK (as did 8 in US) -- although this is the first I've bothered with since 1993. This one got exceptional reviews, but it's hard to discern what the fuss is about, or to imagine what my inattention missed. B- [sp]

Dropkick Murphys: Okemah Rising (2023, Dummy Luck Music): "Celtic punk" band from Boston, dozen albums since 1998, recorded this one in Tulsa. B+(*) [sp]

Bob Dylan: Shadow Kingdom (2021 [2023], Legacy): Soundtrack to a film of Dylan and a coterie of masked musicians in a studio, playing mostly 1960s-vintage songs, few hits but most recognizable enough, ending in a sly instrumental. I was struck by the furious way Dylan ripped into his songs on the solo side of Before the Flood. Well, this is the opposite of that: fond, light-hearted, scarcely nostalgic. B+(***) [sp]

Kari Faux: Real B*tches Don't Die! (2023, Drink Sum Wtr): Rapper Kari Rose Johnson, third studio album plus several mixtapes. B+(*) [sp]

Debby Friday: Good Luck (2023, Sub Pop): From Nigeria, raised in Montreal, moved on to Vancouver, then Toronto. First album, no agreement on genre (electronic, hip-hop, industrial). Only one this reminds me of is Patti Smith, but digging for music roots, substitute Cabaret Voltaire for MC5. A- [sp]

Ladytron: Time's Arrow (2023, Cooking Vinyl): English electropop group, seventh album since 2001. Helen Marnie the lead singer, backed by synthesizers and some guitar. B+(*) [sp]

SG Lewis: AudioLust & HigherLove (2023, PMR/EMI): Initials for Samuel George, British electropop/disco producer, second album, with singles going back to 2015. Structured as two LPs, fits onto a single 62-minute CD. Not a lot of vocal presence, but I'm just as happy with the vamps. B+(***) [sp]

The Mark Lomax Trio: Tapestry (2022 [2023], CFG Multimedia): Drummer, should be esteemed as one of the world's best but remains little known, offers "a four-movement tone poem inspired by four pieces in Johnson's Tapestry series." (Johnson?) The Trio includes the even more unjustly unknown Edwin Bayard (tenor sax) and an unidentified bassist (Tim Hullett?). A- [os]

M83: Fantasy (2023, Mute/Virgin): French synthpop band, principally Anthony Gonzalez, ninth album since 2001. B [sp]

Brian McCarthy Nonet: After|Life (2022 [2023], Truth Revolution): Alto/soprano saxophonist, has a couple previous albums. Group includes trumpet, trombone, three more saxophones, with piano, bass, drums. Some fine solo work, less distinctive ensemble. B+(**) [cd]

Noshir Mody: A Love Song (2023, self-released): Indian guitarist, based in New York, half-dozen albums since 2000. Short album (32:42), nice flow, flugelhorn solo (Benjamin Hankle), ends with a vocal (Kate Victor). B+(*) [cd]

Nourished by Time: Erotic Probiotic 2 (2023, Scenic Route): Marcus Brown, from Baltimore, debut album (after a 7-inch called Erotic Probiotic). Mixed bag of soul moves. B [sp]

Orbital: Optical Delusion (2023, London): Electronic music duo, from England, brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll, tenth album since 1991. B+(*) [sp]

Overmono: Good Lies (2023, XL): British electronica duo, brothers Ed and Tom Russell (aka Tessela and Truss/MPIA3). First album, after a dozen or more EPs and DJ mixes since 2017, although each has work back to 2011 under their aliases. B+(*) [sp]

Pere Ubu: Trouble on Big Beat Street (2023, Cherry Red): Punk progenitor from Cleveland, group named for Alfred Jarry's definitively pompous and callous pataphysician, first EP in 1975, David Thomas (now 70) the distinctive singer and weirdo. Sound and wit still sharp, but could be more tuneful. B+(**) [sp]

Rozi Plain: Prize (2023, Memphis Industries): Actual surname Leyden, English singer-songwriter, half-dozen albums since 2008. B+(*) [sp]

The Selva: Camarăo-Girafa (2021 [2023], Clean Feed): Portuguese trio: Ricard Jacinto (cello, electronics, harmonium); Gonçalo Almeida (bass, electronics), and Nuno Morăo (drums). Third album. B+(**) [bc]

MF Tomlinson: We Are Still Wild Horses (2023, Prah): Initials for Michael Francis, singer-songwriter, second album, title track runs long (21:01, after a three-track, 19:47 first side). Vocals seem slight, but develops some muscle tone toward the end. B+(*) [sp]

Juanma Trujillo: Contour (2021 [2023], Clean Feed): Guitarist from Venezuela, based in New York, fourth album, has some juice, backed here by Kenneth Jimenez (bass) and Gerald Cleaver (drums). B+(**) [bc]

Dara Starr Tucker: Dara Starr Tucker (2023, Green Hill Productions): Jazz singer-songwriter, originally from Tulsa, fifth album since 2009. Covers are most striking ("September Song," "Just a Closer Walk With Thee"). B+(**) [cd]

Tanya Tucker: Sweet Western Sound (2023, Fantasy): Country singer, seems like she's been around forever but she started very young, so she's barely 65. Western airs, ending with a song called "When the Rodeo Is Over (Where Does the Cowboy Go?)" -- not one of the three she co-wrote. B+(**) [sp]

Yves Tumor: Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) (2023, Warp): Sean Lee Bowie, originally from Knoxville, moved to California at 20, fifth album (at least under this alias). I filed him under electronic, but that's not (or no longer) right. B+(**) [sp]

Water From Your Eyes: Everyone's Crushed (2023, Matador): New York duo, Nate Amos and Rachel Brown, specify pronouns but not instruments, several albums since 2017. B+(**) [sp]

Young Nudy: Gumbo (2023, RCA): Atlanta rapper Quantavious Tavario Thomas, fourth studio album after a mess of Slimeball mixtapes. B+(*) [sp]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

  • None.

Old music:

The Campbell Brothers: Can You Feel It? (2005, Ropeadope): Steel guitar-playing gospel group, early records titles on Arhoolie were often plays on Sacred Steel (1997-2001). Jazz-funk-fusion label Ropeadope picked them up for this one album, where they deliver not just what you'd hope for but a good deal more: instrumental covers of classics with a steel guitar twist, plus some raise-the-rafters vocals for timely breaks. A- [cdr]

The Campbell Brothers Featuring Katie Jackson: Pass Me Not [Sacred Steel Guitars - Vol. 2] (1997, Arhoolie): First album for brothers Charles (pedal steel guitar; also primary arranger, and for that matter pastor of Rochester's House of God, Keith Dominion), Darick (lap steel guitar), Phillip (electric guitar/bass), and Carlton (drums), with Jackson singing, perhaps a bit much. B+(**) [sp]

Cesaria Evora: Distino Di Belita (1990, Lusafrica): Cape Verde's most famous pop singer (1941-2011), nicknamed Barefoot Diva, also Cise and Queen of Morna. Early album, draws on fado and I'd add a light touch of Weill, with a more lilting rhythm. B+(**) [r]

Cesaria Evora: Miss Perfumado (1992, Lusafrica): One of the Cape Verdean star's more famous albums, strikes me as steady, which is not an improvement. B+(*) [r]

Forever, for Always, for Luther: Volume II (2006, Rendezvous): Sequel to a 2004 subtitled A Tribute to Luther Vandross (GRP), leads off again with Kirk Whalum, followed by a comparable (but different) roster of smooth jazz luminaries (e.g., Norman Brown for Paul Jackson Jr., Najee for Mindi Abair), including vocals from Maysa, Patti Austin, and Will Downing. [Have promo cdr.] B [sp]

The Swimmers: Fighting Trees (2007, Mad Dragon): Indie rock group from Philadelphia, first of two albums, leans toward jangle pop, has some appeal. B [sp]

Unrated Closeout

Back when I bought lots of CDs, I added them to the database with grade 'U' -- unrated, waiting my attention. At one point the Unrated list topped 1100 albums. I've gradually whittled it down over the years to less than 30, which roughly speaking divide into two categories: records I can't find, and records I can locate but don't feel like listening to (some of these are big box sets that would take up major time). For my own sanity, I've decided to clean out the category here. Some I found and reviewed above. Some I've gone ahead and assigned grades to (based on my memory, not especially trustworthy here, but sometimes supplemented by sampling). Some of these I may find later and review as makes sense. Unless noted otherwise, I just commented out my 'U' grade and added a note-to-myself. ("Dropped from database" means I decided I shouldn't even track it as an album.)

Absolut Null Punkt: Absolut Null Punkt (2003 [2004], Important): Japanese band (1984-87), reformed in 2003. Album (almost certainly a CDR) not listed in Discogs, could possibly be Live in Japan. Dropped from database.

Derek Bailey/Pat Metheny/Gregg Bendian/Paul Wertico: The Sign of 4 (1996 [1997], Knitting Factory, 3CD): Improv clash of two guitarists and two drummers. Had CD, and remember having trouble with it. Penguin Guide 4-star, but others hated it. Fair grade: B

Berkeley Guitar 2006 (2006, Tompkins Square): Effectively a sampler; found CDR but dropped from database.

Big Stick: Drag Racing Underground (1989, Albertine): As best I recall, a noise rock band with a drag racing fetish. Discogs doesn't list, but AMG has this as a 23-track CD. Later compilation Some of the Best of Big Stick has some overlap. I have it at B+(**), so this is probably some kind of: B+

Boston Horns: Shibuya Gumbo (2008, Boston Horns): Funk-jazz group, seven albums 2001-11. No recall.

Brazil Today! Volume 2 ([1984], Polygram): Classic selection (16 tracks) of MPB, dates not provided. Label should be Philips. Not sure whether this or another album (not in database) was my introduction to Brazilian music.

Césaria Evora: Nova Sintra (1990 [1998], West Wind Latina): Cape Verdean singer, have four other albums rated (two at A-). This appears to be a reissue of Distino Di Belita, reviewed above, making this redundant (but since I have a copy somewhere under the other title, I'll count it twice). Grade: B+(**)

Funkatronic: Live at Discover Festival Burlington, VT (2002, self-released, EP): Three-song promo (length 14:28), found CDR, not in Discogs, band doesn't appear to have released anything else, so no harm dropping from database.

Rory Gallagher: Big Guns: The Very Best of Rory Gallagher (1970-90 [2005], Capo, 2CD): Irish rocker (1948-95), probably deserves a best-of, but I've never played any of his 14 records.

Iscathamiya: Zulu Worker Choirs in South Africa (1986, Heritage): Compilation recommended by Christgau, related to the mbube made famous by Ladysmith Black Mambazo, but tougher (or so I hear). Fairly safe guess: B+

Flaco Jimenez: El Sonido de San Antonio (1980, Arhoolie): Tex-Mex legend, tons of stuff in print but not this. Probably ex-LP: B+

JSL Records 20th Anniversary Sampler (1988-2006 [2008], JSL): Label sampler, found CDR but dropped from database.

Hazard/Fennesz/Biosphere: Light (2001 [2004], Touch, EP): Turns out I had this listed twice, once under various artists (each has his own section) and once as listed. The latter was graded: B

Mind Over Matter Music Over Mind: Matador (2004, Soundz Impossible): Not in Discogs, but aka MOM2, with Bobby Hill and Thomas Stanley. Probably got this because Stanley is a friend of a friend, and could kick myself for losing it. Bassist Luke Stewart played in a later iteration of group (Chris Downing was on this record). No idea.

Astor Piazzolla: Themes Originaux (1982, Jonathan): Probably ex-LP. Some early albums sound uncomfortably classical. I think this is one, but cannot be sure, and I'm reluctant to guess.

Astor Piazzolla: Tristezas de un Doble A (1987, Rounder): Could be LP or CD. Again, hard to guess. I have nine Piazzolla albums graded in database.

Leslie Pintchik: Live in Concert (2010, Pintch Hard, DVD+CD): Jazz pianist, probably got waylaid (and for that matter ignored) due to DVD packaging. Six other albums in database are various levels of B+, so most likely this is also some kind of: B+

Richard Pryor: . . . And It's Deep, Too! The Complete Warner Brothers Recordings (1968-92 [2000], Rhino, 9CD): Christgau graded this A+. I don't doubt that he was a genius, but I rarely listen to comedy albums, and don't feel like spending 9-10 hours -- even if I could bag extra credit by breaking out the original albums. But I do know where it is, and figure this is a lazy, minimal grade: B+

Elba Ramalho: Personalidade ([1987], Verve): Brazilian star, many records, this a sampler, only one in my database.

Hank Snow: The Singing Ranger, Vol. 4 (1969-84 [1994], Bear Family, 9CD): Country star from Canada. I was a big fan, and grabbed this big box when I could, but never got through it all. Maybe some day. The five Bear Family boxes (the first is called The Yodelling Ranger) total 39 CDs. This is the only one I have.

Spire: Live in Geneva Cathedral/Saint Pierre (2004 [2005], Touch, 2CD): Ambient/minimalist concert, pieces by seven artists, the most famous being Henryk Górecki and Fennesz, the first disc heavy on the organ.

Alan Stivell: Zoom 70/95 (1970-95, [1997], Dreyfus, 2CD): Legendary Celtic harpist from Breton in France. One other item in my database at B+. Almost certainly have CD somewhere. I don't have a lot of patience for this music, but minimal grade is: B

Mel Tormé: The Mel Torme Collection (1944-85 [1996], Rhino, 4CD): Career-spanning box set of one of the more important jazz singers of the 1950s. I feel negligent for not getting to this. Little chance that this is not some kind of: B+

Neil Young: Archives Vol. 1 (1963-1972) (1963-72 [2009], Reprise, 10CD): Another big box I never made it through. (Bought it when Borders was going out of business, and not sure I even tried.) Safe guess: B+

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

  • Vicente Archer: Short Stories (Cellar) [06-09]
  • Michael Bisio/Timothy Hill: Inside Voice/Outside Voice (Origin) [06-16]
  • Jeremy Dutton: Anyonen Is Better Than Here (self-released) [06-16]
  • Noah Haidu: Standards (Sunnyside) [06-23]
  • Kevin Harris & the Solution: Jazz Gumbo (Blujazz) [05-01]
  • Keigo Hirakawa: Pixel (Origin) [06-16]
  • Illegal Crowns: Unclosing (Out of Your Heads) [06-02]
  • Stephen Jones & Ben Haugland: Road to No-Where (OA2) [06-16]
  • Gordon Lee Quartet: How Can It Be? (PJCE) [06-16]
  • Dara Starr Tucker: Dara Starr Tucker (Green Hill Productions) [06-03]
  • Ray Vega & Thomas Marriott: East West Trumpet Summit: Coast to Coast (Origin) [06-16]

Ask a question, or send a comment.

Sunday, June 4, 2023

Speaking of Which

Abbreviated this week, as I basically lost Friday and Saturday to a cooking project. Anyhow, enough for a placeholder. The non-story of the week is the debt deal. (Glad that's over.) The story that really looms large is the insurance industry debacle. Also note the problems in Kosovo, which should remind us that temporary hacks don't last where long-term stable solutions are needed.

Top story threads:

Trump, DeSantis, and other Republican sociopaths:

  • Kate Aronoff: [05-30] Ron DeSantis threatens to "Make America Florida": "The GOP hopeful's climate denial papers over a horrifying reality in his home state." I've been to Florida a couple times, and it's a nice enough place to visit (in March, anyway). But is this really a workable sales pitch? Even if you ignore the considerable damage he's already inflicted on Florida, which is really more to the point. A while back, Aronoff wrote: [2022-10-12] Florida and the insurance industry weren't build to withstand a flooded world.

  • Devlin Barrett/Josh Dawsey/Carol D Leonnig: [05-31] Prosecutors have recording of Trump discussing sensitive Iran document: "could undercut key defense claims that Trump declassified or didn't know about the documents."

  • Ben Brasch/Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff: [06-01] Candidate charged with shooting at Democrats' homes after election loss. Solomon Pena (R-NM), lost state House seat nearly 2-to-1, blamed fraud, hired two more guys to help him with shootings.

  • Fabiola Cineas: [06-02] Florida has launched an "unparalleled" assault on higher education: "Ron DeSantis is threatening academic freedom everywhere." Illustration here is a sign that gets to the point: "Support real education, not DeSantis indoctrination."

  • Margaret Hartmann: [05-30] It turns out 'Trump Bucks' aren't actually legal tender.

  • Ed Kilgore: [06-01] 2024 presidential candidates side with far right on debt deal: No responsibilities, no consequences.

  • Eric Levitz: [05-29] The contradiction at the heart of DeSantis 2024: On the one hand, he wants to be seen as more electable than Trump; on the other, he also wants to be seen as doing everything Trump would do and then some, suggesting he intends to be more extreme. But that's only a contradiction if you assume that everything balances off the center -- a view that only centrists have these days, I suppose because they insist on being wrong about everything. DeSantis embraces both sides of this equation not because he's a centrist but because he's a cynic. In the Republican primaries, he'll run not as the saner Trump but as the more effective model: the guy who delivers things that Trump can only promise. If he's nominated, he'll pivot back to the middle, not because he's changed one iota but because the gullible media wants any excuse to cozy up to a Republican. If he's elected, he'll pull the same kind of stunts he's been doing all along in Florida, which will come as a complete surprise to all the centrists who rushed to support him. It's not a bad plan, and if he wasn't such a jerkwad (or at least could fake it) it might work, but there are lots of possible pitfalls. The first is that Trump's base don't want a subtler, more efficient strongman. They want one who acts up, who gets in their supposed enemies' faces and heads.

  • Yvonne Wingett Sanchez: [06-01] After harassment, Arizona county official won't run for reelection: The unfortunately named Maricopa County Supervisor, Bill Gates.

  • Li Zhou: [06-01] Mike Pence is a man without a constituency: That's not really fair. Pence has a constituency, just a very small one. It's wonks who liked Trump's policies but were ultimately taken aback by his personality. Billmon referred to the GW Bush years as the Cheney Administration, because the personnel and all the policies seemed to emanate from the VP. (Curiously, Cheney lost most of his influence in Bush's second term, especially after he lost Scooter Libby to indictment.) Same thing with the Trump years, except that Trump claimed all the glory. But even though Pence was central to policy direction, most people realize that any Republican flunky would have done the same, and most could have presented the same pious supplication.

Biden, Democrats, and the end of the debt crisis: For the record, I'm not unhappy with Biden's debt ceiling deal. He gave McCarthy a little victory and a bit of respect, which he probably didn't need to do, but it didn't cost much. And what Biden gained was to kill the issue until 2025, or longer if Democrats recover and win Congress. Anything else would be litigated endlessly, and while he'd probably win, that would have made the Supreme Court look a bit less fanatical than they are. It might have been different had he been able to rally the media to his viewpoint, but he's not that kind of guy. I wish Democrats could do better, but there's not much evidence of them even trying.

Ukraine War:

  • Blaise Malley: [06-02] Diplomacy Watch: A peace summit without Russia.

  • Andrew Bacevich: [06-01] The compulsion to intervene: "Why Washington underwrites violence in Ukraine.

  • Dave DeCamp: [06-01] SpaceX lands Pentagon contract for Starlink terminals for Ukraine: Add Elon Musk to the list of war profiteers.

  • John Feffer: [05-31] How Russia's war in Ukraine threatens the planet.

  • Anatol Lieven/George Beebe: [05-31] Prigozhin erupts: Has a Russian succession struggle begun? No reason to get excited here. "And if the choice of a successor to Putin really becomes that between President Prigozhin and President Patrushev, would either of these be an improvement on Putin himself?"

  • Suzanne Loftus: Kazakhstan's view of Ukraine is complicated because it, too, is complicated.

  • Neil MacFarquhar/Milana Mazaeva: [06-03] In Russian schools, it's recite your ABC's and 'Love your army': "The curriculum for young Russians is increasingly emphasizing patriotism and the heroism of Moscow's army, while demonizing the West as 'gangsters.' One school features a 'sniper'-themed math class." This just poisons the future.

  • Nicole Narea: The potential fallout from drone attacks in Moscow.

  • Timothy Noah: [05-08] Putin can't afford to lose in Ukraine -- but he can't afford to win, either: When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, it represented 10.5 percent of the global economy; by April 2022, Russia's share had shrunk to 3.5 percent, and GDP has shrunk by a quarter since 2013. Capitalism doesn't seem like much of a blessing.

  • Jordan Michael Smith: [06-02] How Russia got the Ukraine War wrong: Review of two recent books on the war: Owen Matthews: Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin's War Against Ukraine, and Serhii Plokhy: The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History. I've read Plokhy's 2021 The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine, which was pre-invasion but well into the 2014 division. No doubt he knows the history, but I have wonder how much inside scoop Matthews -- a British journalist based in Moscow in the late 1990s, and later in Istanbul -- actually has.

    Matthews offers three reasons behind Putin's decision to go to war. The first, that "Western influence was growing too powerful in a country vital to Russian influence," needs a lot more elaboration. It seems likely that Biden's administration took much more concern with Ukraine than Trump's had done, and that promise of support emboldened Zelensky to ditch the Minsk II accord and further threaten Russian separatists in Donbas. Why Putin should see Ukraine as a vital interest is deeply embedded in the history Plokhy explains, seeing it as a threat, and believing Russia could solve that threat with aggression, is a more complex problem.

    Matthew's second reason seems justified: Putin's belief that Russia could withstand sanctions has largely been vindicated, but like most conflict issues, it has a second side. It is just as possible that the US overestimated the sanctions threat. The third reason -- that the US was weakened by its clumsy retreat from Afghanistan -- makes the least sense. If anything, the US was more eager to confront Russia once it was no longer stuck in Afghanistan. If Putin thought otherwise, he was being foolish -- although it is just the sort of thing American hawks would say.

    I suspect much more research is needed to fill in the details, which is where the devil dwells. One pull quote deserves reiteration here: "A wounded Russia might be even more prone to extremism, paranoia, and aggression than it was before the war."

The rest of the world:

  • Ellen Ioanes: [05-30] Uganda's extreme anti-LGBTQ legislation, explained. Three other African states have similar laws (Kenya, Zambia, Ghana). But there is an argument that the driving force behind such laws is "American evangelicals through their local actors."

  • Marc Martorell Junyent: [06-01] Is the new Taliban reign less extreme than it was in 2001? Hassan Abbas has a new book on this, The Return of the Taliban: Afghanistan After the Americans Left, arguing that the question is open, but continued exclusion isn't helping.

  • Anatol Lieven: [06-02] Ethnic conflict in Kosovo: Cutting the Gordian Knot: This is yet another diplomatic failure, exacerbated by foreign powers picking sides in a local ethnic dispute. One might even argue that NATO's intervention in Kosovo was every bit as egregious as Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Other stories:

Christopher Flavelle/Jack Healy: [06-01] Arizona limits construction around Phoenix as its water supply dwindles.

Matthew Duss: [06-01] The bad thing Henry Kissinger did that you don't even know about: "the practice of turning vast global contacts into wealth has been horrible for American democracy." After leaving government, Kissinger set up shop and encouraged rich people to give him money. What he did for all that money was often unclear (and still is). But he turned GW Bush's invite to oversee a commission on 9/11 because he feared that taking the post would expose his business to public scrutiny. He wasn't the first person to do that sort of thing, and many more have followed in his footsteps.

Victoria Guida: [05-29] Historic gains: Low-income workers scored in the Covid economy. Something else for Republicans to try to destroy.

Umair Irfan:

  • [05-30] A big El Nińo is looming. Here's what it means for our weather. "How warm water in the Pacific shapes storms, droughts, and record heat around the world."

  • [06-02] Climate change is already making parts of America uninsurable: "We're steadily marching toward an uninsurable future." This is probably the biggest story of the week, and maybe the year. Two key problems with private insurance: the risk models haven't kept pace with increasing risks; and once you fix the risk models, the upshot is that few people can afford insurance. And if you can't insure property, how can you finance it? If we had understood this 20-30 years ago, maybe we could have done a realistic cost-benefit analysis on carbon reduction, but having ignored the real risks all this time, it's too late to catch up. I'm convinced that the solution will be for the federal government to provide insurance, either by backstopping the private companies or by offering some degree of insurance directly. If the latter seems hard to imagine, consider such current programs as flood insurance, crop insurance, FEMA disaster funding, and and too-big-to-fail banks. This will be a big political issue in the not-so-distant future, and needs to be thought about sooner rather than later.

Sarah Jones:

  • [05-30] The revolt of the other mothers: "Moms for Liberty learned motherhood is a potent force. So too have their opponents."

  • [05-30] A generation moves on: On a Washington Post feature about "Christina and Aaron Beall, parents who have abandoned the Christian homeschool movement." They themselves were home schooled, brought up to "discipline" their children as they had been "disciplined" (which is to say, beaten). As with all case studies, no way to tell how representative their stories are. Jones has a similar (though she suspects less extreme) background, which helps. By the way, I've kept Jones' [04-08] piece open, as it's one of the best I've seen all year: Children are not property. I find the notion that they are property, which is consistent with recent right-wing programming, horrifying. Even worse, I suppose, is the notion that your children should be their property too.

  • [05-29] The fantasies of Josh Hawley: "The senator's new book, Manhood, is an exercise in cowardice." I've cited several rejoinders to this book in recent weeks, less because we need to tear it down than because its its author is often taken as a serious Republican thinker-activist yet the book is such an easy target. By the way, on Facebook Greg Magarian noted: "Masculinity? That's a complicated idea, but I've never encountered any idea of manhood that looks like Josh Hawley."

Glenn Kessler: [05-16] And the president most to blame for the national debt problem is . . . Author cites one fairly arbitrary study to pin the blame on Lyndon Johnson, on the theory that "entitlements" like Medicare and Medicaid are the culprit, and ranks Nixon second for similar reasons, despite later admitting that "social programs, in fact, can provide more benefits than costs in the long run." Curiously, no mention here of the impact of war and defense spending on the balance sheet -- not even Johnson's (and Nixon's) largely unfunded Vietnam War, which was the source of most budget imbalances at the time.

Whizzy Kim: [05-26] What was Succession actually trying to tell us? The HBO series has been a rare unflattering portrait of the very rich, and the many ways their wealth warps their perceptions and actions. For its first three seasons, it managed to be watchable despite a total absence of sympathetic characters, but it finally got good in the fourth season, when Logan Roy's death raised the stakes. Kim also wrote [05-29] Succession ends exactly how it needed to. I'd say they did what they could after painting themselves into a corner. To say Tom Wambsgans came out the winner overlooks how totally hollow his new position will be. But I don't like Lukas Matsson's odds any better. He came out as a phony and bully way out of his league. Except that everyone involved comes out with unimaginable piles of money, conjured from rarefied bullshit. This is no way to run a world.

Ian Millhiser: [06-01] The Supreme Court deals another blow to labor unions.

Andrew Perez: [06-03] Right-wing dark money funded Kansas's failed anti-abortion campaign.

Jeffrey St Clair: [06-02] Roaming Charges: The shame of the game. Not happy with the debt deal: "The Democrats asked for nothing and got less. The Far Right demanded all they could think of, got it and now wants more."

Peter Turchin: [06-02] America is headed toward collapse: From the author's new book, End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration. Section here is a very sketchy outline of two previous crises -- the Civil War and the Great Depression -- with similarities to the current period highlighted. Turchin has several previous books. His War and Peace and War: The Rise and Fall of Empires, is summarized as follows:

Turchin argues that the key to the formation of an empire is a society's capacity for collective action. He demonstrates that high levels of cooperation are found where people have to band together to fight off a common enemy, and that this kind of cooperation led to the formation of the Roman and Russian empires, and the United States. But as empires grow, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, conflict replaces cooperation, and dissolution inevitably follows.

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Monday, May 29, 2023

Music Week

May archive (final).

Music: Current count 40292 [40245] rated (+47), 38 [42] unrated (-4: 11 new, 27 old).

I wrote another substantial (4963 words, 100 links) Speaking of Which yesterday. Two more pieces I would have included had I seen them:

I had a fairly productive week listening to new records, although I often struggled coming up with albums to play next. Only two clear A- records this week, and I apologize in advance for not even trying to write a serious note on Arlo Parks. I did play the record three times, and I liked her 2021 album Collapsed Into Sunbeams as much. About it, I wrote:

Arlo Parks: Collapsed Into Sunbeams (2021, Transgressive): Semi-pop singer-songwriter from London, given name Anaďs Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho, ancestors from Nigeria, Chad, and France, first album after two EPs. I, for one, find "Hope" remarkably reassuring, and less for the lyrics than for the music, something few others have been able to do (Stevie Wonder, I guess). I wouldn't have held it for the sixth single, but it probably wouldn't have been my first pick either. A-

Of the high B+ albums, the ones that came closest were those by Avalon Emerson and Asher Gamedze.

I've done the indexing on the May archive, but haven't added the introductions yet. The haul for May is 212 albums.

New records reviewed this week:

Bas Jan: Baby U Know (2022, Lost Map): British band, "experimental post-punk," four women, Serafina Steet the main lyricist, all four credited with vocals (which are often spoken, sometimes didactic). Second album plus a remix and a bunch of EPs. B+(***) [sp]

Patrick Brennan Sonic Openings: Tilting Curvaceous (2021 [2023], Clean Feed): Alto saxophonist, from Detroit, debut 1999, has a couple albums as/with Sonic Openings Under Pressure. This iteration has Brian Groder (trumpet), Rod Williams (piano), Hilliard Greene (bass), and Michael T.A. Thompson (drums). B+(**) [bc]

Brandy Clark: Brandy Clark (2023, Warner): Country singer-songwriter, made her reputation as a songwriter well before her 2013 debut. Fourth album, another solid bunch of songs, although the final ballad drags a bit much. B+(***) [sp]

Luke Combs: Gettin' Old (2023, River House Artists): Country singer-songwriter, called his third album Growin' Up, so probably figured this title comes next, but at 33 he ain't seen nuthin' yet. What he does have is a classic country voice, and more songs than he knows what to do with. They're not all his, either, as evinced by Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car." B+(*) [sp]

Rodney Crowell: The Chicago Sessions (2023, New West): Country singer, emerged as a thoughtful songwriter with his 1978 debut, seems like his albums have only gotten easier over the years. This was recorded in Jeff Tweedy's Chicago studio, and came so easy they didn't even bother thinking up a title for it. B+(**) [sp]

Fatoumata Diawara: London Ko (2023, Wagram Music): Singer-songwriter, born in Côte D'Ivoire, parents from Mali, fifth album since 2011, also has an acting career. B+(*) [sp]

Eluvium: (Whirring Marvels In) Consensus Reality (2023, Temporary Residence): Ambient electronica producer Matthew Cooper, originally from Tennessee, based in Portland, Oregon. More than a dozen records under this alias since 2003. Occasional frills suggest he'd like this to be taken seriously as classical music. I don't care about that, but they do give it a bit of character. B+(*) [sp]

Avalon Emerson: & the Charm (2023, Another Dove): Electronica DJ/producer, from San Francisco, moved on to Berlin, has a DJ-Kicks and bunches of EPs and remixes -- nothing I've heard, but reportedly makes this LP debut a changeup. B+(***) [sp]

Fred Again/Brian Eno: Secret Life (2023, Text): Fred Gibson, English DJ/electronica producer, has three volumes of Actual Life that are quite listenable, teams up with the godfather of ambient and dissolves into his black hole. Closes with a muffled but touching cover of "Come On Home." B [sp]

Fruit Bats: A River Running to Your Heart (2023, Merge): Indie band from Chicago, principally Eric D. Johnson, debut 2001, have a couple albums I've liked -- The Ruminant Band (2009), Tripper (2011) -- carry on with yet another tuneful, pleasing album. B+(*) [sp]

Asher Gamedze: Turbulence and Pulse (2020-21 [2023], International Anthem/Mushroom Hour): South African drummer, debut 2020. With Robin Fassie (trumpet), Buddy Wells (tenor sax, and Thembinoski Mavimbela (bass), plus some voice and guest spots -- enough to detract from an otherwise fine album. B+(***) [sp]

Devin Gray: Most Definitely (2023, Rataplan): Drummer, has a couple dozen credits since 2005, half on the top line, but this is his first solo. Runs long (over 71 minutes). B+(**) [cdr] [06-09]

Gordon Grdina/Mat Maneri/Christian Lillinger: Live at the Armoury (2023, Clean Feed): Guitar and oud player from Vancouver, where this trio with viola and drums was recorded. No recording date given, but trio first met in 2018. B+(*) [bc]

Wolfgang Haffner: Silent World (2022 [2023], ACT): German drummer, dozens of albums since 1989, many more side-credits. Core group of trumpet, keyboards, and bass, plus a dozen guest spots, for a rich and varied but rather gentle and quite lovely texture. B+(***) [sp]

Gerrit Hatcher: Solo Five (2021 [2023], Kettle Hole): Tenor saxophonist from Chicago, has produced quite a lot since 2017, but this is my first acquaintance. Solo, reportedly his fifth solo album. Comes out strong, playing up the struggle that the instrument embodies, then closes after 33:05. B+(***) [cd]

James Holden: Imagine This Is a High Dimensional Space of All Possibilities (2023, Border Community): British electronica producer, fifth album since 2006. Lot of shimmer and space. B+(*) [sp]

François Houle Genera Sextet: In Memoriam (2022 [2023], Clean Feed): Canadian clarinetist, from Quebec, several dozen albums since 1992, dedicates this one to his friend Ken Pickering (1952-2018), who organized concerts in Vancouver. Sextet with Marco von Orelli (cornet/trumpet), Samuel Blaser (trombone), Benoît Delbecq (piano), Michael Bates (bass), and Harris Eisenstadt (drums). B+(**) [bc]

Wesley Joseph: Glow (2023, Secretly Canadian, EP): UK rapper/producer, released a short debut album in 2021 (26:06), goes even shorter here (8 songs, 23:36). B [sp]

Kaytraminé [Aminé/Kaytranada]: Kaytraminé (2023, Venice Music): Two fairly well established solo artists mash their handles together, the former a rapper since 2015, the latter also known as a producer. Plenty of flow, plus some big name guests. B+(***) [sp]

Kesha: Gag Order (2023, Kemosabe): Pop singer, last name Sebert, fifth studio album since 2010, first four charted top 10. Too early to tell with this one, which strikes me as a mixed bag, a bit too slow to take off. B+(*) [sp]

Elle King: Come Get Your Wife (2023, RCA): Singer-songwriter from from Los Angeles or New York, daughter of comedian Rob Schneider, took her mother's name, started as an actress in 1999, recorded an EP in 2012, followed by an album in 2015, with this her third, and most country, right down to the trailer cliché. B+(**) [sp]

Russ Lossing: Alternate Side Parking Music (2019 [2023], Aqua Piazza): Pianist, from Ohio, based in New York, close to thirty albums since 1990, gives a fair amount of space to electronic keyboards. Quartet with Adam Kolker (tenor/soprano sax, bass clarinet), Matt Pavolka (bass), and Dayeon Seok (drums). This was reportedly composed while sitting in his car, waiting for parking spaces to open up -- an experience which, improbably enough, seems to have put him into a whimsical mood. B+(***) [cd] [07-07]

Sei Miguel Unit Core: Road Music (2016-21 [2023], Clean Feed): Pocket trumpet player, scattered pieces with Fala Mariam (alto trombone), Bruno Silva (electric guitar), and Pedro Castello Lopes (triangle, clave, pandeiro, kalengo -- one track each). B [bc]

Sei Miguel: The Original Drum (2015-21 [2023], Clean Feed): Four more scattered tracks, with various lineups -- aside from the leader's pocket trumpet, the only other constant is Fala Mariam's alto trombone. Third track includes more horns, including Rodrigo Amado on tenor sax, but it's no more beguiling than the final piece, with minimal trumpet and trombone winding over a basic drum track. B+(*) [bc]

Dominic Miller: Vagabond (2021 [2023], ECM): Guitarist, born in Argentina to Irish mother and American father, moved to London to study. Eighteen albums since 1984, numerous side-credits, especially with Sting. With piano/keyboards, bass, and drums. B+(*) [sp]

Graham Nash: Now (2023, BMG): Singer-songwriter from England, now 81, with Allan Clarke founded the Hollies in 1962, had a bunch of hit singles like "Bus Stop" in 1966, left to join David Crosby (Byrds) and Steve Stills (Buffalo Springfield) in one of the first supergroups (one that got better when Neil Young joined, and got worse when he left). Seventh solo album since 1971 -- none reputable enough that I bothered checking them out (his 1971 debut peaked at 15 on the US charts, followed by a 34 in 1974, and a 93 in 2016). Pleased to note that there are passable echoes of the Hollies. Just not very many. B- [sp]

Kassa Overall: Animals (2023, Warp): Drummer, has some jazz cred but his own records lean toward hip-hop, as this one does in scattered, sometimes interesting but rarely compelling ways. B+(*) [sp]

Afonso Pais/Tomás Marques: The Inner Colours of Bogin's Outline (2022 [2023], Clean Feed): Guitar and alto sax duo, Portuguese, the guitarist released a debut album in 2004. Five improvised pieces. B [sp]

Arlo Parks: My Soft Machine (2023, Transgressive): British neo-soul singer, parents Nigerian and French-Chadian, second album. A- [sp]

Iggy Pop: Every Loser (2023, Gold Tooth/Atlantic): Punk progenitor, Last name Oserberg, first band the Stooges, did his best work 1976-77 for David Bowie, has only once gone more than four years between records (six years to 2009). Still can rock, and still has a distinctive voice. B+(*) [sp]

Raye: My 21st Century Blues (2023, Human Re Sources): British pop singer-songwriter Rachel Keen, first album after several EPs and a mini, a substantial UK hit (2), less so in US (58). B+(**) [sp]

Whitney Rose: Rosie (2023, MCG): Singer-songwriter, from Prince Edward Island up in Canada, country since she moved to Austin. Fifth studio album since 2012 (plus an EP Christgau praised while skipping the rest). Nice set of songs, both minding pain and escaping from it. B+(***) [sp]

Brandon Seabrook: Brutalovechamp (2022 [2023], Pyroclastic): Guitarist, also plays mandolin and banjo, usually adds a little noise to the mix, but shows off as a composer here, with an eight-piece group, including cello, electronics, and a fair amount of arty voice. B+(**) [cd]

Lauritz Skeidsvoll & Isach Skeidsvoll Duo: Chanting Moon, Dancing Sun: Live at Molde International Jazz Festival (2020 [2023], Clean Feed): Norwegian saxophone and piano duo, brothers, have some side-credits, but this could count as a debut. B+(**) [bc]

Henry Threadgill Ensemble: The Other One (2022 [2023], Pi): Leader just composes and conducts here, directing a 12-piece group through three long movements (60:36) of a piece called "Of Valence." This setting fits into the jazz as advanced classical music model, a scaled up version of chamber jazz. The group includes three saxophones/clarinets, two bassoons, no brass (other than Jose Davila's tuba), piano (David Virelles), and strings (violin, viola, two cellos), but no bass or drums. Not a style I'm easily impressed with, nor one I'm every likely to get excited about, but within those limits, this is interesting all the way through, surprising even. A- [cd]

Yonic South: Devo Challenge Cup (2023, Wild Honey, EP): Garage punk group, principally Damiano Negrisoli, fourth EP, covers one DEVO song, writes a couple more in a similar vein, basically a medley split into six songs, 12:59. B+(*) [sp]

Brandee Younger: Brand New Life (2023, Impulse): Harp player, several previous albums, makes a crossover move here, with production by Makaya McCraven (plus 9th Wonder on one track), plus she sings a couple songs, in a soft r&b groove. Four songs co-written by Dorothy Ashby, who was the definitive jazz harpist before Younger came along. B+(*) [sp]

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

Galcher Lustwerk: 100% Galcher (2013 [2022], Ghostly International): DJ/producer Chris Sherron, first "promomix" -- all original pieces, basic beat tracks with scant adornment. B+(**) [sp]

Tolerance: Anonym (1979 [2023], Mesh-Key): First of two albums by Japanese keyboardist Junko Tange, with guitar by Masami Yoshikawa adding a metallic klang. B+(**) [sp]

Tolerance: Divin (1981 [2023], Mesh-Key): Second (and last) album. More focus on beats and groove, less extraneous noise, which strikes me as a good tradeoff. B+(***) [sp]

Old music:

Bas Jan: Yes I Jan (2018, Lost Map): First album, with original (and soon to be ex-) members Sarah Anderson and Jenny Moore backing Serafina Steer's songs, adding more vocal harmony, and often a lift to the music. At their best, they remind me of a short-lived, 1990s vocal group, the Shams. B+(***) [sp]

Bas Jan: Yes We Jan (2018, Lost Map): Remix of Yes I Jan, originally offered as a bonus, then sold separately. Mostly useless, although Gameshow Outpatient's "Dream of You" remix finds a way to fit its subject. B [sp]

Noah Howard: At Judson Hall (1966 [1968], ESP-Disk): Alto saxophonist (1943-2010), second of two early albums for this label, went on to record a couple dozen more but remained obscure. Sextet with Dave Burrell (piano), others less famous on trumpet, cello, bass, and percussion. B+(**) [sp]

Tuli Kupferberg: No Deposit No Return (1967, ESP-Disk): Beat poet (1923-2010), not an important one but part of the New York pacifist-anarchist scene, best known as a founder of the Fugs (with Ed Sanders). I remember him fondly for two short Grove Press books: 1001 Ways to Beat the Draft, and 1001 Ways to Live Without Working. He recorded two albums under his own name, one in 1989 called Tuli and Friends that is MIA from my collection, and this "album of popular poetry." Well, not that popular. B+(*) [sp]

Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

  • Phil Haynes/Drew Gress/David Liebman: Coda(s): No Fast Food III (Corner Store Jazz) [06-15]
  • Ryan Meagher: AftEarth (Atroefy) [05-19]

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Sunday, May 28, 2023

Speaking of Which

I started collecting this on Thursday, and was pretty much done on Saturday before the "debt ceiling deal" broke. Most of the links there are to now-forgettable, soon-forgotten thinking, which I sympathized at the time, but the thing I like best about the deal is that it kills the issue until well after the 2024 election, whereas the unorthodox fixes would be litigated that long, even if they're ultimately found valid. In the meantime, the Republican House is going to cut more spending and encumber it with more stupid rules than Biden agreed to this round. The only response to that is to kick their asses in 2024, and any cause they give you should be used back against them.

Top story threads:

Ron DeSantis: The Florida governor announced he's running for president, which got enough ughs and moans to temporarily bump Trump off the top spot here.

Trump and other Republicans:

The debt ceiling: Latest reports are that Biden and McCarthy came to some sort of deal, which still needs to be passed before the latest June 5 disaster date projection (see: Li Zhou/Dylan Matthews: [05-28] Biden and McCarthy's budget deal to lift the debt ceiling, explained). Nihilist Republicans will still try to trash the deal (e.g., see: Furious Freedom Caucus vows to scuttle debt deal), so it will need Democratic votes to pass Congress. Left Democrats will also be unhappy that Biden went back on his initial position and caved in negotiations with terrorists. But most Democrats are solidly pro-business, and will line up behind any deal to save capitalism -- even one that hurts many of their voters. Most of the links below are pre-deal (check dates).

Ukraine War: There is a report that first steps in counteroffensive have begun. Ukraine has been advertising its "spring offensive" all winter, while pleading for more and more weapons, and waiting their arrival.

  • Connor Echols: [05-26] Diplomacy watch: Denmark offers to hold Ukraine peace talks in July: That sounds kinda squishy, but expectations are high that Ukraine will launch a "spring offensive" soon, and they're unlikely to consider any form of talks until they first give war a chance -- after all, that is the point and the promise of all those tanks and planes they've been lobbying so hard for. Echols also wrote: [05-22] The West must prepare for Putin to use nukes in Ukraine. Interview with Brig. Gen. Kevin Ryan, whose prediction that Russia will use nukes seems intended on pushing them along. But how exactly does one prepare for such an attack? It's not like fallout shelters are a practical project at this time. The only real defense is negotiating a winding down of the war. Anything else is just fucking insane. Robert Wright: also writes about Ryan: [05-26] Why the chances of nuclear war grew this week.

  • Julian E Barnes: [05-26] Russian public appears to be souring on war casualties, analysis shows: I'd be inclined to file this under propaganda, not least because no one's reporting solid casualty figures. But sure, you can't totally hide these costs, so it makes sense that ordinary Russians would start to question the mission -- as happened with the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Just how that public perception can turn into policy is hard to imagine. Gorbachev gave his generals enough rope to hang themselves, then pulled the plug. Putin, on the other hand, is much more invested this time.

  • Isaac Chotiner: [05-24] Why Masha Gessen resigned from the PEN America board: An interview.

  • Eli Clifton: [05-24] Dedollarization is here, like it or not: The effective shift may have more to do with the US-China conflict, but Ukraine sanctions are convincing more and more nations not to trust the US. Few people talk about this, but the debt ceiling nonsense is further undermining world trust in the dollar. Clifton also wrote: [05-26] Jamie Raskin and Rachel Maddow, brought to you by Peter Thiel and Lockheed Martin.

  • David Cortright/Alexander Finiarel: [05-25] Russians' support for the war may be softer than you think. I've always suspected there was little public support for war, which is why Putin moved so decisively to quash dissent. Still, there is no evidence that Putin's grasp on power is precarious.

  • Daniel L Davis: [05-21] F-16s won't fundamentally alter the course of Ukraine War.

  • Gregory Foster: [05-26] How war is destroying Ukraine's environment.

  • Ellen Ioanes: [05-21] How Ukraine is trying to woo the Global South -- and why it's so hard: Ukraine has massive support from the US and Europe, but the rest of the world is a much tougher sell.

  • Fred Kaplan: [05-16] How the Russia-Ukraine war has changed Europe: Mostly on Germany, where Kaplan spent a month recently. Russia burned a lot of bridges when they invaded Ukraine, and this has pushed Europe back into a closer alliance with America. The link title suggested a broader topic: "The ripple effects from the Ukraine War are becoming clear now." That could have been a more interesting story. Kaplan also wrote: [05-20] The alarming reality of a coming nuclear arms race.

  • Michael Klare: [05-18] The G-3 and the post-Ukraine world: The Ukraine War dominated the latest G-7 confab, with all seven powers -- effectively the US and its six dwarfs -- firmly in the pro-Ukraine/anti-Russia camp. But it's impossible for such a group to mediate regional conflicts when they're busy fighting them. Back in the day, the US and USSR could quickly agree to impose a ceasefire on their clients (as they did in the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli Wars), yet no one today can do that -- even Klare's hypothetical G-2 of the US and China, or G-3 adding India (the world's most populous country; as Klare notes, the three of them would represent 40% of all people on the planet). Getting those three nations to work together for world peace will be much harder than lining up the G-7 to ratify Washington's wishes, but might actually work. This complements a piece by Juan Cole: [05-16] China and the Axis of the Sanctioned, occasioned by China taking the lead in reconciling Saudi Arabia and Iran.

  • Eric Levitz: [05-24] Will the Ukraine War become a 'frozen conflict'? By "frozen conflict" he seems to mean something like Korea, where fighting has halted but neither side admits defeat or can reconcile with the other. Apparently, this is an idea being circulated in Washington (see Nahal Toosi: [05-18] Ukraine could join ranks of 'frozen' conflicts, US official say). But that's no solution. The main thing that's allowed the Korean War "freeze" to persist is how isolated North Korea is from the rest of the world. Russia is a much larger country, with a much more complex set of trading partners and relationships, including a large portion of the world not currently on board with America's sanctions regime.

  • Anatol Lieven: [05-25] Ukraine attacks in Russia should be an alarm bell for Washington: Supposedly the US disapproves of such attacks, but that doesn't seem to be limiting the supply of weapons that could be used to attack beyond the Russian border. This is doubly dangerous as long as the US seems to be leaning against peace talks.

  • Kelley Beaucar Vlahos: [05-23] What does the fall of Bakhmut in Ukraine really mean? Interview with Anatol Lieven and George Beebe.

Around the world:

Other stories:

Dean Baker: [05-22] Should Jamie Dimon get a government salary? Points out that Dimon got $34.5 million last year as CEO of JP Morgan, and stands to get much more in coming years, despite much evidence of mismanagement. On the other hand, the head of FDIC makes $181 thousand, and the head of the Fed makes $190 thousand. I'm not really sure how the suggestion that bank heads should be put on civil service salaries would work, but it seems unlikely it would undermine the competency of management, and it might make the banks a bit less predatory. Then there's inequality: "We have let the right rig the market to generate the extremes of inequality we see. While government tax and transfer policy to reduce inequality is desirable, it is best not to structure the market to create so much inequality in the first place."

Zachary D Carter: [03-16] On Silicon Valley Bank, and finance as a public good: This is old as news goes, but worth the effort. One current thought is to wonder how many similar banks would have failed had the feds defaulted on the debt. I also like this line: "Nobody ever just came out and said it, but the basic attitude from the bill's Democratic supporters seemed to be that it was unfair to harp on Democrats doing something corrupt and stupid when Republicans were corrupt and stupid as a matter of principle."

Coral Davenport: [05-28] You've never heard of him, but he's remaking the pollution fight: "Richard Revesz is changing the way the government calculates the cost and benefits of regulation, with far-reaching implications for climate change."

David Dayen: [05-25] A liberalism that builds power: "The goals of domestic supply chains, good jobs, carbon reduction, and public input are inseparable." Related:

David French: [05-28] The right is all wrong about masculinity: Occasioned by Josh Hawley's silly new book, but no need to dwell there when the inanity is everywhere: "But conservative catastrophism is only one part of the equation. The other is meanspirited pettiness. Traditional masculinity says that people should meet a challenge with a level head and firm convictions. Right-wing culture says that everything is an emergency, and is to be combated with relentless trolling and hyperbolic insults."

Luke Goldstein: [05-24] How Washington bargained away rural America: How farm bills get made, usually a bipartisan grand bargain ensuring food (SNAP) for the poor and profits for agribusiness.

DD Guttenplan/John Nichols: [05-26] Biden must remake his candidacy: I doubt I'll bother with many of the articles I'm sure we'll be seeing as various Democrats debate strategy going into 2024. But the point these left-Democrats make about Biden's lousy polling numbers is valid. It means that he can't run a campaign based on his personal charisma while ignoring the needs of his party, as Clinton did in 1996, and as Obama did in 2012. To win, he needs a Democratic Party sweep, giving him sufficient margins in Congress to actually get things done. You'd think Republicans are making such a campaign easy, but the media landscape remain treacherous, and Democrats have little practice settling on a winning message.

Benji Jones: [05-23] Why the new Colorado River agreement is a big deal -- even if you don't live out West.

Peter Kafka: [05-23] Do Americans really want "unbiased" news? "CNN and the Messenger both say they're chasing the middle." Well, bias is inevitable, and just because its 'centrist" variation is often incoherent doesn't except it from the rule. You can, of course, muddy up the situation by providing countervailing points of view, but as a practical matter that rarely works. In theory, you could clarify the situation by taking an unflinchingly critical view of everything, but in today's political arena, that would get you tagged as "left-biased" because the right is almost always not just wrong but lying their asses off.

Ian Millhiser:

Timothy Noah: [05-26] Why workers will be treated better in the future. Researchers have noticed that in many cases higher wages pay for themselves, but it usually takes pressure to get companies to move in that direction. So much of what Noah predicts is based on the notion that political power will shift toward workers. It's clear enough what needs to happen, but harder to see how it happens. But the great suppression of wages can clearly be dated to the rise of Reagan Republicans in the 1980s.

McKenna Oxenden: [05-27] An 11-year-old boy called 911. Police then shot him.

Aja Romano: [05-24] Puritanism took over online fandom -- and then came for the rest of the internet: "Puriteens, anti-fans, and the culture war's most bonkers battleground." After reading Kurt Andersen's Fantasyland, I should have been prepared for this piece, but my basic reaction is to imagine that no one, even the author, could have anticipated how much more blurred the line between fantasy and reality could become in a mere six years. Less clear is how ominous all this fantasy is.

The temptation to inhabit imaginary worlds probably goes back to the oral folklore preserved as myths, and certainly encompasses the whole history of literature (usually explicitly labeled fiction). In recent years, three inventions have intensified this: television has immersed us in fiction, making it both easier to consume and more much vivid; gaming has added an interactive dimension; and the internet (social media) has made it trivially easy for people to react and expound upon the stories. As long as people recognize the line between fact and fiction, and as long as they maintain respect and decorum in their posts, it's hard to see much harm. But there have always been gray areas, especially where fantasy is presented as fact, even more so when it's driven by malign politics. Still, the problem here is less the art than the politics. As long as you can keep them straight, I don't see much problem. (For instance, we watch a lot of shows where cops are extraordinarily insightful and smart, have integrity and character, are profoundly committed to justice, and rarely if ever make gross mistakes -- traits uncommon among real cops.)

One thing that made this article difficult is the terminology. In particular, I had to go to Fanlore to find a definition of shipping: it is contracted from relationship, and used for promoting or derogating hypothetical relationships between fictional characters. This all seems to be tied to an increase in anti-sex attitudes -- no doubt this is amplified by the internet, but really? -- including an obsession with pedophilia and trafficking. Supposedly this has been made worse by the FOSTA-SESTA act, which originally sounded unobjectionable but its loudest advocates can turn it into cruel repression.

Jim Rutenberg/Michael S Schmidt/Jeremy W Peters: [05-27] Missteps and miscalculations: Inside Fox's legal and business debacle: "Fox's handling of the defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, which settled for $787.5 million, left many unanswered questions."

Lily Sánchez/Nathan J Robinson: [05-18] Robert F Kennedy Jr is a lying crank posing as a progressive alternative to Biden. Also:

Richard Sandomir: [05-27] Stanley Engerman, revisionist scholar of slavery, dies at 87: Engerman co-wrote, with Robert W Fogel, the 1974 book Time on the Cross: The Economics of Negro Slavery, which significantly changed our understanding of how slavery function within American capitalism. Fogel & Engerman were among the first prominent historians to base their work on extensive data analysis, as opposed to the standard practice of collecting stories from primary and secondary sources.

Jeffrey St Clair: [05-26] The Clintons and the rich women: No "roaming charges" this week, sad to say, so St Clair dusted off an oldie from his book, An Orgy of Thieves: Neoliberalism and Its Discontents (a compilation of short essays published in 2022). This one explores the lobbying effort (and the money behind it) that secured Marc Rich a pardon in 2000. One surprise name that pops up here is Jack Quinn.

Maureen Tkacik: [05-23] Quackonomics: "Medical Properties Trust spent billions buying community hospitals in bewildering deals that made private equity rich and working-class towns reel."

Nick Turse: [05-23] Blood on his hands: "Survivors of Kissinger's secret war in Cambodia reveal unreported mass killings." More occasioned by his 100th birthday:

  • Ben Burgis: [05-27] Henry Kissinger is a disgusting war criminal. And the rot goes deeper than him.

  • Greg Grandin: [05-15] Henry Kissinger, war criminal -- still at large at 100: "We now know a great about the crimes he committed while in office, . . . But we know little about his four decades with Kissinger Associates." Grandin has a 2015 book on Kissinger: Kissinger's Shadow: The Long Reach of America's Most Controversial Statesman. In that book, I found this quote, based on Seymour Hersh's 1983 Kissinger book, The Price of Power:

    Hersh gave us the defining portrait of Kissinger as a preening paranoid, tacking between ruthlessness and sycophancy to advance his career, cursing his fate and letting fly the B-52s. Small in his vanities and shabby in his motives, Kissinger, in Hersh's hands, is nonetheless Shakespearean because the pettiness gets played out on a world stage with epic consequences.

  • Jonathan Guyer: [05-27] Henry Kissinger is 100, but his legacy is still shaping how US foreign policy works. I've never tried to figure out how much US foreign policy in the pivotal 1969-75 period was Kissinger as opposed to Nixon. My guess was that Kissinger added intellectual filigree to Nixon's baser impulses, but Kissinger was callous enough to suit Nixon's needs. As for his later freelance efforts, I knew few specifics, so I'm most likely to chalk them up as ordinary graft. With all the criminality -- in some ways, Kissinger's most damaging legacy isn't what he did but that he made such things seem normal, expected even, for those who followed -- it's easy to overlook one of Nixon's most important moves, which was to end the Bretton-Woods system, during which the US was responsible for maintaining a stable capitalist world market. After, it was each nation for itself, which ultimately turned into the US (and the few "allies" it intimidated) against the world.

  • Fred Kaplan: [05-27] Henry Kissinger's bloody legacy: "The dark side of Kissinger's tradecraft left a deep stain on vast quarters of the globe -- and on America's own reputation."

  • Jerelle Kraus: [05-27] Henry Kissinger: A war criminal who has not once faced the bar of justice.

  • Bhaskar Sunkara/Jonah Walters: [05-27] Henry Kissinger turns 100 this week. He should be ashamed to be seen in public: The picture, from 2011, shows him with a rather giddy-looking Hillary Clinton.

You can also watch a piece from the Mehdi Hasan Show on Kissinger. You might also take a look at this chart of life expectancy in Cambodia, which falls off a cliff during the years Kissinger was in power (1969-77). Some commenters want to make a distinction between bombing deaths (150-500K) and the genocide unleashed by the Khmer Rouge (1.5-3M), but the the former destabilized the studiously neutral Sihanouk regime, allowing the Khmer Rouge to seize power.

Kayla M Williams: [05-28] Who should we honor on Memorial Day? The article argues that many veterans are unfairly not counted among the war dead heroes because they were felled by longer, slower maladies that only started in war, such as exposure to toxic chemicals (Agent Orange in Vietnam, burn pits in Iraq) or PTSD (the suicide rate among veterans if if anything even higher than the battlefield death rate). I have no quarrel with that argument, but my initial gut reaction to the title is that we shouldn't limit honor to war dead or even to veterans.

When I was young, the focus of Memorial Day was Fluty Cemetery down in Arkansas: either we went there, or my mother arranged for flowers to be placed there by relatives. Some served, but none of the people I knew of under the headstones were killed in war. But they worked the hardscrabble Ozark soil, and built homes and families, eventually leading to me (and, well, many others). As far as I know, they were all honorable people, and deserved remembrance. Of course, those who did die in war deserve remembrance as well, but less for their lives (however valiant) than for their waste, which we should be reminded of lest we blunder into even more wasteful wars.

Li Zhou: [05-23] Montana's TikTok ban -- and the legal challenge of it -- explained. My preferred solution is to ban all companies from collecting personal data, much less passing it on to others. If that impacts their business models, maybe that's a good thing.

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