January 2025 Notebook
Index
Latest

2025
  Feb
  Jan
2024
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2023
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2022
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2021
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2020
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2019
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2018
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2017
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2016
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2015
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2014
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2013
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2012
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2011
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2010
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2009
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2008
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2007
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2006
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2005
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2004
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2003
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2002
  Dec
  Nov
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb
  Jan
2001
  Dec
  Oct
  Sep
  Aug
  Jul
  Jun
  May
  Apr
  Mar
  Feb

Friday, January 31, 2025

Daily Log

Woke up without any idea of the date, but now that I've looked it up, I recognize it as Mom's Birthday, 112 years ago. Aside from that, this was my deadline to resolve the server crisis, which I've clearly failed to do. As I have little hope of making any real progress today, perhaps I should just cook something?


Meanwhile, I thought I'd copy a letter I wrote this morning to Bob Christgau:

Octogenarians placing high in FD JCP:

  • Charles Lloyd (3), b. 1938
  • Wadada Leo Smith (5), b. 1941
  • Amina Claudine Myers (5), b. 1943
  • Kenny Barron (13), b. 1943

I don't see any more in the top 100, so the distribution isn't very random. Anthony Braxton (75) is 79. Wayne Shorter (83) is dead, and the record was recorded in 2014. Abdullah Ibrahim and Houston Person released lesser albums last year. (Person's record with Peter Beets was on my A-list.) Henry Threadgill is 80 now, so his 2023 album (which got a late vote) doesn't quite count.

As best I recall, you don't like Lloyd, but I'd say he's been very good for a very long time, going back to Of Course, Of Course in 1964-65, with some of his best albums on ECM c. 2000. I like this one a lot -- probably his best in 20 years. I also have Barron at A-, Smith/Myers lower (I didn't get a copy, and didn't pay it much attention, not even rechecking it when it became a contender; besides, I have a ton of recent Smith that's mostly superb).

I liked Zimmerman quite a bit when I first heard the album. I can't generate any enthusiasm for the Lenker album, although I don't doubt that the songs are good. I like the other albums you mention, but not nearly that much. My favorite among the Nyege Nyege Tapes is De Schuurman's Bubbling Forever, although I also like Takkak Takkak (which is Chuck Eddy's favorite), and a bit less the new one Phil Overeem is pushing, Mapambazuko. There must be an interesting story behind the label, for while all of those records have African angles, they're mostly the work of Berlin-based DJs originally from the far corners of the world (Japan and Peru, if memory serves).

Of course, my notes are mostly based on one play; maybe 10% on a second; PyPy got a third yesterday because I wasn't paying much attention, and didn't feel like spending the time to find something else. I don't think I've heard anything 15 times since Lily Allen's It's Not Me, It's You (2009, and the record of the century so far) -- aside from whatever's my bedtime music (currently Coleman Hawkins). I'm more struck than ever by how much preconceptions (including hopes) affect patience, and how much more impatient and disinterested I've become of late. I'm pretty good at hearing the good in whatever I'm playing, which is part of why I've never been as harsh a grader as you used to be, so I'm willing to recognize and credit that Father John Misty and Cindy Lee have some merits (although I've totally forgotten whatever the latter's were).

You might take a gander at my EOY Aggregate/Metacritic File:

Not nearly as many short/personal lists as in previous years, which probably means it tracks more closely to mass critical opinion. (Certainly means the jazz is deeper down the list, although there's a healthy helping of your followers.) I use it mostly for prospecting, which is why I feel free to skew it so, and also why there's only one album in the top 100 I haven't heard (which I'll probably remedy soon, but wouldn't have bothered for any other reason).

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Notes on Everyday Life + Hobsbawm

Blog post.

Monday, January 27, 2025

Music Week

Expanded blog post, January archive (final).

Tweet: Music Week: 44 albums, 3+3 A-list

Music: Current count 43611 [43567) rated (+44), 30 [21] unrated (+9).


New records reviewed this week:

  • 2nd Grade: Scheduled Explosions (2024, Double Double Whammy): [sp]: B+(*)
  • 070 Shake: Petrichor (2024, GOOD Music/Def Jam): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Amy Allen: Amy Allen (2024, AWAL): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Armbruster: Can I Sit Here (2024, Dear Life): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Avalanche Kaito: Talitakum (2024, Glitterbeat): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Kelsea Ballerini: Patterns (2024, Black River): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Naima Bock: Below a Massive Dark Land (2024, Sub Pop): [sp]: B
  • Cigarettes After Sex: X's (2024, Partisan): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Doris: Ultimate Love Songs Collection (2024, Janine): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Judas Priest: Invincible Shield (2024, Columbia): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Knocked Loose: You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To (2024, Pure Noise): [sp]: B
  • The Lemon Twigs: A Dream Is All We Know (2024, Captured Tracks): [sp]: B-
  • Alison Moyet: Key (2024, Cooking Vinyl): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Mustafa: Dunya (2024, Jagjaguwar): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Emily Nenni: Drive & Cry (2024, New West): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Rema: Heis (2024, Mavin/Jonzing World/Interscope): [sp]: B+(**)
  • SahBabii: Saaheem (2024, self-released): [sp]: B+(***)
  • De Schuurman: Bubbling Forever (2024, Nyege Nyege Tapes): [sp]: A-
  • Sexyy Red: In Sexyy We Trust (2024, Rebel/Gamma): [sp]: B+((**)
  • Caroline Shaw & Sō Percussion: Rectangles and Circumstance (2024, Nonesuch): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Smino: Maybe in Nirvana (2024, Zero Fatigue/Motown): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Astrid Sonne: Great Doubt (2024, Escho): [sp]: B
  • Takkak Takkak: Takkak Takkak (2024, Nyege Nyege Tapes): [sp]: A-
  • That Mexican OT: Texas Technician (2024, Manifest/GoodTalk/Good Money/Capitol): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Dlala Thukzin: Finally Famous Too (2024, Dlala): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Anna Tivel: Living Thing (2024, Fluff and Gravy): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Sam Wilkes/Craig Weinrib/Dylan Day: Sam Wilkes, Craig Weinrib and Dylan Day (2024, Leaving): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Willow: Empathogen (2024, Three Six Zero/Gamma): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Remi Wolf: Big Ideas (2024, Island): [sp]: B+(*)
  • WoochieWobbler: Thrilla (2024, self-released, EP): [sp]: B
  • Dwight Yoakam: Brighter Days (2024, VIA/Thirty Tigers): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Zawose Queens: Maisha (2024, Real World): [sp]: B+(***)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

  • Joe Ely: Driven to Drive ([2024], Rack 'Em): [sp]: A-
  • Funk.BR - Săo Paulo (2024, NTS): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Margo Guryan: Words and Music (1957-68 [2024], Numero Group): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Like Someone I Know: A Celebration of Margo Guryan (2024, Sub Pop): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Fumio Itabashi: Watarase (1982 [2024], Wewantsounds): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Skip James: Today! (1966 [2024], Craft): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Judas Priest: Rocka Rolla [50th Anniversary Edition] (1974 [2024], MNRK/Exciter/Reach): [sp]: B
  • Paul McCartney & Wings: One Hand Clapping (1974 [2024], MPL): [sp]: B
  • Michel Petrucciani Trio: Jazz Club Montmartre - CPH 1988 (1988 [2024], Storyville): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Taylor Swift: The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology (2024, Republic): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Virtual Dreams, Vol. II: Ambient Explorations in the House & Techno Age, Japan 1993-1999 (1993-99 [2024], Music From Memory): [sp]: B+(***)

Old music:

  • Virtual Dreams: Ambient Explorations in the House & Techno Age, Japan 1993-1999 (1993-99 [2020], Music From Memory): [sp]: B+(***)


Grade (or other) changes:

  • Zach Bryan: The Great American Bar Scene (2024, Belting Bronco/Warner): [sp]: [was: B+(**)] B+(***)
  • Sabrina Carpenter: Short n' Sweet (2024, Island): [sp]: [was: B+(***)] A-
  • Doechii: Alligator Bites Never Heal (2024, Top Dawg/Capitol): [sp]: [was: B+(**)] B+(***)
  • Rosali: Bite Down (2024, Merge): [sp]: [was: B]: B+(*)
  • Vampire Weekend: Only God Above Us (2024, Columbia): [sp]: [was: B+(**)]: A-
  • Yard Act: Where's My Utopia? (2024, Island): [sp]: [was: B+(**)]: A-

Rechecked with no grade change:

  • Beyoncé: Cowboy Carter (2024, Parkwood/Columbia): [sp]: B+(**)
  • The Cure: Songs of the Lost World (2024, Fiction): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Fontaines D.C.: Romance (2024, XL): [sp]: B+(**)
  • MJ Lenderman: Manning Fireworks (2024, Anti-): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Mach-Hommy: #Richaxxhatian (2024, Mach-Hommy): [sp]: B+(***)


Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

  • Russ Anixter's Hippie Big Band: What Is? (self-released) [02-07]
  • Ermelinda Cuellar: Under a Lavender Sky (self-released) [03-21]
  • Joe Elefante: Joe Elefante's Wheel of Dharma (self-released) [01-13]
  • Satoko Fujii GEN: Altitude 1100 Meters (Libra) [01-24]
  • Keiji Haino/Natsuki Tamura: What Happened There? (Libra) [01-25]
  • Jerry Kalaf: Safe Travels (self-released) [2024-10-17]
  • Jackson Potter: Small Things (Shifting Paradigm) [01-24]
  • Rick Roe: Tribute: The Music of Gregg Hill (Cold Plunge) [01-05]
  • Mark Scott III: Soft Light (Miller Three Publishing) [02-21]

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Daily Log

I found this tweet four deep in a thread, from Lee Hepner:

Maybe I'm overly sensitive bc of my line of work, but why does every single part of this economy feel like an obstacle course? Booking a flight, seeing a doctor, getting insurance, finding housing, taking your animal to the vet . . . Are people just numb to all . . .

My list from the last couple weeks is slightly different -- although doctors and insurance companies do figure in -- but I can only add to this list of aggravations. Nothing is easy these days. I expect that most people would both commiserate and add their own examples, and some would point out the obvious, which is that technology has made businesses ever more efficient at capturing more profits from less value, that this is a systemic problem, and that its foundation is moral: putting profit ahead of service.

On the other hand, here's what Matthew Yglesias had to say when quoting Hepner's tweet:

I've said this before but the extent to which left politics has just merged with mental illness is a real problem.

Rizzsputin noted: "This is a wild fucking response to an easily relatable concern." Nathan J Robinson added: "really clear demonstration of how little this man understands about the lives of others." Those are both fair reactions, but I can't get past the question of what "left politics" are involved here, and how? Is the complaint itself an example of "left politics"? Or is his complaint about how the left responds to this? (If so, how?) Or does he just figure this is as good an excuse as any to equate left politics with mental illness? (In which case, why?)

Down in the comments, I noted this one:

One of the most radicalizing things about getting older is recognizing how positions of power and attention attract the least empathetic people imaginable.

Another adds: "for people without empathy, empathy will start to look like a mental disorder." An obvious corollary is: "for people with empathy, lack of empathy will start to look like a mental disorder." Indeed, much of the discussion of Trump's mental disorders starts with his empathy void -- or, pretty much the same thing, with his narcissism, which can be viewed as crowding out any potential for empathy and/or altruism.

Robinson also addresses the same Yglesias tweet here, using the booking airline ticket example. Yglesias, on the other hand, argues: "I promise you that the logistics of booking a flight have gotten dramatically easier than back in the day when you had to go through a travel agent." So, we're expected to overlook all the spurious details, which have opened the door for all sorts of deceit, just because one bottleneck has been eliminated? And also overlook that while travel agents were more expensive, they provided an expert service that depended on maintaining customer trust?

Here's another Yglesias tweet:

Imagine a world where the marginal cost of most goods and services is nearly zero but the marginal product of labor for the average person is zero.

Whether this is a world of high or low average living standards hinges on whether or not you adopt some form of socialism.

While there are many examples of goods and services where the marginal cost is near-zero, I don't see how "the marginal product of labor . . . is zero" is anywhere near a coherent idea. Leaving that aside, what Yglesias seems to be implying in that last line is that any form of socialism will result in "low average living standards," whereas unbridled capitalism will give us high. What actually happens there isn't a high average, but inequality so extreme that the concept of average has no meaning.

Yglesias wrote this in response to Marc Andreessen:

A world in which human wages crash from AI -- logically, necessarily -- is a world in which productivity growth goes through the roof, and prices for goods and services crash to near zero. Consumer cornucopia. Everything you need and want for pennies.

The latter is unrealistic for lots of reasons. Eric Levitz notes:

This is true. But also, the idea that AI is going to make "everything" cheap isn't intuitive to me. Not all forms of scarcity are rooted in a lack of intelligence. We know how to build an abundance of housing. We just don't.

Saturday, January 25, 2025

Daily Log

A while back, I received an email from Robert Wright's Substack, NonZero is Hiring!. I'm not finding the exact message where he used "empire" to describe his operation: he has a Substack newsletter (my wife is a paid subscriber; I am a freeloader) which comes out a couple times a week, and is pretty sensible on US foreign (which is to say war) policy, not bad on politics, and has some interesting coverage of AI, as well as his other concerns. The paid content seems to have a lot of podcasts (interviews), maybe some video, probably more text than I see. He recently managed to hire Connor Echols (familiar to me from Responsible Statecraft) as his managing editor, and has a staff writer (Andrew Day) and an associate producer (Clark McGillis), so evidently he's raking in enough to invest some back in the product. He also The Nonzero Foundation, which offers a couple of video channels (Bloggingheads.tv and MeaningofLife.tv).

I've been thinking that I don't want to put much effort into solo blogging in the coming year -- as I've done for the last 20+ years, to little (but admittedly not zero) matter -- but I wouldn't mind trying again in some sort of a community context, where I can get more interaction with editors and readers. One of my hot button issues is what's wrong with US foreign policy (everything, as you no doubt know), and Wright is something of a specialist on that (it's also Echols' background), so when he admitted looking for help, I thought I might write him -- not with any serious intent of asking for a job, but just to establish contact. My letter follows:

When I saw your "NonZero is Hiring!" missive, I was tempted to reply, not because I have any interest in looking for a job but because there's some congruence between what you and I have been doing for the past 20+ years, and if your "empire" is any measure, you seem to be much more successful at it. I hit a point of exhaustion with the election, so I suspended my Speaking of Which column, and switched gears to focus on The 19th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll, figuring that would allow me to put off having to reevaluate my options until 2025. Indeed, I've still decided nothing about what to do next, which may be one reason for tossing my hat up here.

Before I get back to you, a few words about me. I'm 74, retired long than seems appropriate, old but not too decrepit or addled to write cogently, or to do small bits of programming and planning. I grew up in Wichita, the son of working class ex-farmers, and had a miserable adolescence, which involved dropping out of high school, reexamining all I had been taught, dodging the draft and other labor, a couple brief years of college before dropping out again, several years typesetting (some in New York in the ass end of the advertising industry), and a longer career as a self-taught software engineer (winding up at SCO, where I worked on kernel performance, was tech coordinator for their upscale server project, and irritated management as a free software gadfly). Since their collapse in 2000, I've been sponging off my wife (a brilliant software engineer fortunate to find a more viable employer), who encouraged me to write more and sell less, while building a few websites for friends (e.g., Robert Christgau and Carola Dibbell). Christgau asked me to write a Jazz Consumer Guide for the Village Voice, which is probably what I'm most famous for. (If you're interested in music, I have some reviews.)

I've been a freeloader to your newsletter for a couple years now, and I've cited it often in my blog. I believe that my wife, who is more of a political activist, much more of a newshound, and less of a cheapskate them I am, does pay you, but Substack makes it hard for me to piggyback on her subscriptions (as I have done elsewhere). I haven't read any of your books, or listened to any of your podcasts (or anyone else's -- I'm almost always listening to music), but I know a bit about game theory, and I feel like I understand your approach to politics in general and foreign policy in particular. I've paid scant attention to your interests in psychology and religion (especially Buddhism). I can't say as I've noticed any red flags there, but I read and thought a lot about those matters in my late teens, and little since I drew the conclusions that have guided my later life. That there is a significant link between those principles and my political views I have no doubt. Still probably less than my study of critical theory, which I've also largely neglected since the mid-1970s.

As for AI, I had a minor interest in that back in the 1980s, but I didn't follow later developments very closely. What I did become more interested in during the 1990s was free (open source) software, which I've both contributed to and advocated (and for that matter, use almost exclusively -- the one exception a problem I've spent the last week trying to escape from, so it works for me as an example). If I ever wanted to carve out a specialty niche for my politics and philosophy, it would be centered on free software, its critique of business, and its use in community development. While I feel I have a pretty solid understanding of the business -- not that I'm up to date on all the angles, as a recent look into Amazon and Google cloud products reminded me -- I have only the vaguest idea how AI fits into this. I have yet to use any of the recent wave of tools (although I have a nephew who's done quite a bit with AI graphics generators, and he might be a help there). But that's just because I have yet to see the need. As doomsday crises go, I don't rate AI particularly high -- although it certainly will be useful as the compute service monopolies seek to tighten their stranglehold on consumers and businesses. But I do feel secure in saying that if it does matter, it is something I can figure out, and contribute some insight into.

Some brief notes on your job descriptions:

Staff Writer:

  • I have a pretty solid understanding of American political history and foreign policy, and a more than passing understanding of modern world history and politics, technology, and economic development. I have an interest in policy development and its pitfalls -- I am basically an engineer, which is to say someone who tries to anticipate how things break and tries at least to limit their damage -- which requires some insight into psychology, although that's not a subject I have special interest in.
  • I have little faith in the notions of international law and global governance, and think they are counterproductive. Part of this derives from my understanding of what Jonathan Schell called "The Unconquerable World" -- a much better title than book, by the way. And part comes from distrust of power as a tool, which I might attribute to the New Left. or to Goodman and/or Hegel, or to my own bitter experience with my Ubu-like grade school teachers. I have some pet theories here, which I won't bore you with, except to note that they may diverge from your own directions.
  • I have decent writing, and I'd like to think exceptional analytical skills. I pay enough attention to details to write computer programs that work as intended.
  • I have never worked in a newsroom or magazine (although I've typeset for all sorts of publications, ranging from the Ladue High School newspaper to High Times to the Purdue Chicken Annual Report). I have self-published some samizdat in the 1970s, freelanced for the Village Voice in the 1970s and 2000s, and blogged since 2000.
  • Back in my day, the resume term for "entrepreneurial spirit" was "self-starter," which I was usually counted as. The change of terminology, which if memory serves dates from the 1990s, reflects poorly on us as a society. I will say, though, that I was the 10th employee of a startup tech company (late 1980s), and rose to one of five designated key employees when the firm was sold (a distinction that turned out to be more trouble than it was worth, but it seemed like a distinction at the time), and that was by far the most fun I ever had in my professional career.
  • have no personal experience with video or audio production -- although I have another nephew who does know that stuff, and directed Betrayal at Attica. He's working on a new film about Sam Rivers, which I'm some kind of executive producer on.

Social Media Specialist:

  • I've dabbled in these things for a long time, but I've never had reason to put any serious effort into it.
  • I do have a more than passing understanding of advertising, propaganda, and mass psychosis, although I don't particularly approve.

None of the Above:

Looks like I've already blown your "no more than 300 words," as well as your deadline, but then it's not like I'm looking for a job. What I am is tired of working alone on projects with little (if any) discernible feedback.

One thing I'm not a self-starter at is pitching stories to editors (or, for that matter, floating business plans to prospective investors, although I've also failed at that). Literally everything that I've ever managed to get published by someone else has been assigned or requested by some editor. My whole detour into jazz criticism was Christgau's idea, because he thought I'd be good at it -- as, indeed, I was, but at the time, I was working on a big essay on how to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict. (I didn't yet realize that Israel had no interest in peace on any terms, but one learns things when working on projects like that.)

One more thing I will note is that my least obvious and least recognized core talent is that I'm actually a very good (and not very greedy) "empire-building" consultant. I'm really bad at acting on my advice, but others do well with my advice.

Although my jazz critics poll is done for now, at some point I want to rebuild the website, and turn it into some sort of ongoing community organization (as well as a memorial to Davis, who is gravely ill). Right now, I have no time to write (even if I wanted to), because I'm grappling with a website technology problem that has to be fixed before the whole thing crashes. But that shouldn't take more than another week or two. After that, I have to decide what to write next. I've considered approaching several people I'm more/less acquainted with to see if they could use my help -- so your hiring notice seemed like an opening for that sort of offer. If nothing more attractive comes along, I'll probably revert to my default project, which is to write that memoir my wife has long been asking me to crank out.

No apologies for wasting your time. If I have done so, you wouldn't be reading this far into the letter anyway.

More info on the Nonzero Newsletter.

Actually, Wright's books don't look to be all that promising:

Robert Wright: Three Scientists and Their Gods: Looking for Meaning in the Age of Information (paperback, 1989, Harper Collins): On Edward Fredkin, Edward O. Wilson, and Kenneth Boulding.

Robert Wright: The Moral Animal: Why we Are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology (1994, Pantheon; papeback, 1995, Vintage Books): Inside the book, the sub-head changes to "Evolutionary Psychology and Everyday Life." Introduction is "Darwin and Us," and nearly half of the chapters namecheck Darwin (including "Darwinizing Darwin"). So I'd guess he puts a lot of weight on the selection benefits of various psychological traits.

Robert Wright: Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny (2000, Pantheon; paperback, 2001, Vintage): Part I is "A Brief History of Humankind"; rather than focusing in, Part II zooms out to "A Brief History of Organic Life." One appendix is "On Non-zero-sumness"; the others is 'What Is Social Compexity?"

Robert Wright: The Evolution of God (2009, Little Brown; paperback, 2010, Back Bay Books): Another "sweeping narrative that takes us from the Stone Age to the Information Age. Major sections on "The Birth and Growth of Gods," "THe Emergence of Abrahamic Monotheism," "The Invention of Christianity," and "The Triumph of Islam," followed by a coda and a couple appendixes (one is "How Human Nature Gave Birth to Religion"). Obviously, if God has a story, God is some kind of projection of human thoughts and needs.

Robert Wright: Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment (2017; paperback, 2018, Simon & Schuster): True? Well, there's some reason to doubt that what he means is what you usually think of as true. He explicitly denies any interest in Buddhist cosmology, so he must be looking for something else. I can only speculate.

Robert Wright: The God Test: Artificial Intelligence and Our Coming Cosmic Reckoning (2025, Simon & Schuster): I suppose this is a play on Turing Test. Only here did I notice that "He is currently Visiting Professor of Science and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York," so perhaps there is a materialist explanation for his preoccupation with God? As someone who gave up on any possible practical value of religion in his mid-teens (close to 60 years ago), I can't even imagine the connection, let alone how it might matter. [08-05]

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Daily Log

I scraped this from a Facebook post, appears to be originally written by Adam-Troy Castro (sorry, didn't bother fixing up the links):

A real question from a Trump supporter: 'Why do liberals think Trump supporters are stupid?'

THE SERIOUS ANSWER: Here's what the majority of anti-Trump voters honestly feel about Trump supporters en masse:

That when you saw a man who had owned a fraudulent University, intent on scamming poor people, you thought "Fine." (https://www.usatoday.com/.../trump-university.../502387002/)

That when you saw a man who had made it his business practice to stiff his creditors, you said, "Okay." (https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-hotel-paid-millions...)

That when you heard him proudly brag about his own history of sexual abuse, you said, "No problem." (https://abcnews.go.com/.../list-trumps-accusers.../story...)

That when he made up stories about seeing Muslim-Americans in the thousands cheering the destruction of the World Trade Center, you said, "Not an issue." (https://www.washingtonpost.com/.../donald-trumps.../)

That when you saw him brag that he could shoot a man on Fifth Avenue and you wouldn't care, you exclaimed, "He sure knows me." (https://www.usatoday.com/.../president-donald.../4073405002/)

That when you heard him relating a story of an elderly guest of his country club, an 80-year old man, who fell off a stage and hit his head, to Trump replied: "'Oh my God, that's disgusting,' and I turned away. I couldn't--you know, he was right in front of me, and I turned away. I didn't want to touch him. He was bleeding all over the place. And I felt terrible, because it was a beautiful white marble floor, and now it had changed color. Became very red." You said, "That's cool!" (https://www.gq.com/story/donald-trump-howard-stern-story)

That when you saw him mock the disabled, you thought it was the funniest thing you ever saw. (https://www.nbcnews.com/.../donald-trump-criticized-after...)

That when you heard him brag that he doesn't read books, you said, "Well, who has time?" (https://www.theatlantic.com/.../americas-first.../549794/)

That when the Central Park Five were compensated as innocent men convicted of a crime they didn't commit, and he angrily said that they should still be in prison, you said, "That makes sense." (https://www.usatoday.com/.../what-trump-has.../1501321001/)

That when you heard him tell his supporters to beat up protesters and that he would hire attorneys, you thought, "Yes!" (https://www.latimes.com/.../la-na-trump-campaign-protests...)

That when you heard him tell one rally to confiscate a man's coat before throwing him out into the freezing cold, you said, "What a great guy!" (https://www.independent.co.uk/.../donald-trump-orders...)

That you have watched the parade of neo-Nazis and white supremacists with whom he curries favor, while refusing to condemn outright Nazis, and you have said, "Thumbs up!" (https://www.theatlantic.com/.../why-cant-trump.../567320/)

That you hear him unable to talk to foreign dignitaries without insulting their countries and demanding that they praise his electoral win, you said, "That's the way I want my President to be." (https://www.huffpost.com/.../trump-insult-foreign...)

That you have watched him remove expertise from all layers of government in favor of people who make money off of eliminating protections in the industries they're supposed to be regulating and you have said, "What a genius!" (https://www.politico.com/.../138-trump-policy-changes...)

That you have heard him continue to profit from his businesses, in part by leveraging his position as President, to the point of overcharging the Secret Service for space in the properties he owns, and you have said, "That's smart!" (https://www.usnews.com/.../how-is-donald-trump-profiting...)

That you have heard him say that it was difficult to help Puerto Rico because it was in the middle of water and you have said, "That makes sense." (https://www.washingtonpost.com/.../the-very-big-ocean.../)

That you have seen him start fights with every country from Canada to New Zealand while praising Russia and quote, "falling in love" with the dictator of North Korea, and you have said, "That's statesmanship!" (https://www.cnn.com/.../donald-trump-dictators.../index.html)

That Trump separated children from their families and put them in cages, managed to lose track of 1500 kids, has opened a tent city incarceration camp in the desert in Texas - he explains that they're just "animals" - and you say, "Well, OK then." (https://www.nbcnews.com/.../more-5-400-children-split...)

That you have witnessed all the thousand and one other manifestations of corruption and low moral character and outright animalistic rudeness and contempt for you, the working American voter, and you still show up grinning and wearing your MAGA hats and threatening to beat up anybody who says otherwise. (https://www.americanprogress.org/.../confronting-cost.../)

What you don't get, Trump supporters, is that our succumbing to frustration and shaking our heads, thinking of you as stupid, may very well be wrong and unhelpful, but it's also... hear me... charitable.

Because if you're NOT stupid, we must turn to other explanations, and most of them are less flattering.

Actually, the most likely other explanation is that they just don't care, not so much because they don't care about the substance of the allegations as because they don't like you bringing them up, figuring you're only bringing these matters up to slander Trump, not just because you hate him but because they think you hate everyone who identifies with and invests their hopes in him, and you're only picking on him to show your own arrogant sense of superior morality. Why they think that is hard to fathom, but it must include two components: the obvious one is that right-wing propaganda has driven the point endlessly; less obvious is that democrats haven't figured out how to talk to Trump people in ways that don't confirm their assumptions. Granted, for many that may be an impossible task, but it's clearly something we need to get better at.

In another Facebook post, Melody Esme quoted her mother explaining her vote for Trump: "Well, the democrats thought we were stupid and we called their bluff." Another example of how this backfires as a political tactic, even as Trump voters prove the democrats' point.

Monday, January 20, 2025

Music Week

Expanded blog post, January archive (in progress).

Tweet: Music Week: 67 albums, 7 A-list

Music: Current count 43567 [43500) rated (+67), 21 [19] unrated (+2).


New records reviewed this week:

  • Ab Baars/Joost Buis/Berlinde Deman: Cecil's Dance (2023 [2024], Wig): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Bashy: Being Poor Is Expensive (2024, Bish Bash Bosh): [sp]: A-
  • BKtherula: LVL5 P2 (2024, Warner): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Blood Incantation: Absolute Elsewhere (2024, Century Media): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Camila Cabello: C,XOXO (2024, Geffen/Interscope): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Caribou: Honey (2024, Merge/City Slang): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Hayes Carll/Band of Heathens: Hayes & the Heathens (2024, BOH): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Cavalier & Child Actor: Cine (2024, Backwoodz Studioz): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Chat Pile: Cool World (2024, The Flenser): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Ed Clute: Shadows on the Moon (2024, Rivermont): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Denzel Curry: King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2 (2024, PH/Loma Vista/Concord): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Karl D'Silva: Love Is a Flame in the Dark (2024, Night School): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Daisy Moon: System Creak (2024, Peach Discs, EP): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Dar Disku: Dar Disku (2024, Soundway): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Kim Deal: Nobody Loves You More (2024, 4AD): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Father John Misty: Mahashmashana (2024, Sub Pop/Bella Union): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Fievel Is Glauque: Rong Weicknes (2024, Fat Possum): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Girl Scout: Headache (2024, Human Garbage, EP): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Godspeed You! Black Emperor: No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead (2024, Constellation): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Gouge Away: Deep Sage (2024, Deathwish): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Geordie Greep: The New Sound (2024, Rough Trade): [sp]: B
  • Heavee: Unleash (2024, Hyperdub): [sp]: B
  • High Vis: Guided Tour (2024, Dais): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Lambrini Girls: Who Let the Dogs Out (2025, City Slang): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Latto: Sugar Honey Iced Tea (2024, Streamcut/RCA): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Jeffrey Lewis: Ghosterbusters (2024, self-released, EP): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Loidis: One Day (2024, Incienso): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Lollise: I Hit the Water (2024, Switch Hit): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Low Cut Connie: Connie Live (2024, Contender): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Lyrics Born: That 1 Tyme in the Studio: Acoustic Sessions (2019 [2024], Mobile Home): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Kira Martini: Open Wide (2024, Storyville): [sp]: B+(*)
  • The Mavericks: Moon & Stars (2024, Mono Mundo): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Mount Eerie: Night Palace (2024, PW Elverum & Sun): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Molly Nilsson: Un-American Activities (2024, Night School/Dark Skies Association): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Nines: Quit While You're Ahead (2024, Zino): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp: Ventre Unique (2024, Bongo Joe/Red Wig): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Peverelist: Pulse EP (2023, Livity Sound, EP): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Peverelist: Pulse Modulation (2023, Livity Sound, EP): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Peverelist: Pulse Phase (2024, Livity Sound, EP): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Peverelist: Pulse Echo (2024, Livity Sound, EP): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Pixies: The Night the Zombies Came (2024, Pixies/BMG): [sp]: B
  • Tim Reaper & Kloke: In Full Effect (2024, Hyperdub): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Porter Robinson: Smile! :D (2024, Mom+Pop/Sample Sized): [sp]: B
  • Saint Etienne: The Night (2024, Heavenly): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Secret Sisters: Mind, Man, Medicine (2024, New West): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Harri Sjöström/Erhard Hirt/Philipp Wachsmann/Paul Lytton: Especially for You (2022 [2023], Bead): [bc]: B+(*)
  • Skee Mask: Resort (2024, Ilian Tape): [bc]: A-
  • The Smile: Cutouts (2024, XL): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Tems: Born in the Wild (2024, RCA): [sp]: A-
  • Transmission Towers: Transmission One (2024, É Soul Cultura/Mr Bongo): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Two Shell: Two Shell (2024, Young): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Lucinda Williams: Sings the Beatles From Abbey Road (2024, Highway 20): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Wussy: Cincinnati Ohio (2024, Shake It): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Wussy: The Great Divide (2017-24 [2024], Shake It, EP): [bc]: B
  • Wussy Duo: Cellar Door (2024, Shake It, EP): [bc]: B+(*)
  • Xylitol: Anemones (2024, Planet Mu): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Carlos Zingaro/Joăo Madeira/Sofia Borges: Trizmaris (2023 [2024], 4DaRecord): [cd]: A-
  • John Zorn: Ballades (2024, Tzadik): [sp]: B+(*)
  • John Zorn: Lamentations (2024, Tzadik): [sp]: B+(**)
  • John Zorn: Ou Phrontis (2024, Tzadik): [sp]: B+(**)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

  • Charli XCX: Brat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat (2024, Atlantic): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Denzel Curry: King of the Mischievous South (2024, PH/Loma Vista): [sp]: B+(**)

Old music:

  • Lucinda Williams: Runnin' Down a Dream: A Tribute to Tom Petty [Lu's Jukebox in Studio Concert Series Vol. 2] (2021, Highway 20): [sp]: B
  • Lucinda Williams: Southern Soul: From Memphis to Muscle Shoals [Lu's Jukebox in Studio Concert Series Vol. 2] (2021, Highway 20): [sp]: B
  • Lucinda Williams: Bob's Back Pages: A Night of Bob Dylan [Lu's Jukebox in Studio Concert Series Vol. 3] (2021, Highway 20): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Lucinda Williams: Funny How Time Slips Away: A Night 60's Country Classics [Lu's Jukebox in Studio Concert Series Vol. 4] (2021, Highway 20): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Lucinda Williams: Have Yourself a Rockin' Little Christmas [Lu's Jukebox in Studio Concert Series Vol. 4] (2021, Highway 20): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Lucinda Williams: You Are Cordially Invited . . . A Tribute to the Rolling Stones [Lu's Jukebox in Studio Concert Series Vol. 6] (2021, Highway 20): [sp]: B+(***)


Grade (or other) changes:

  • Charli XCX: Brat (2024, Atlantic): [sp]: [was: B+(***)]: A-
  • Carly Pearce: Humingbird (2024, Big Machine): [sp]: [was B+(***)] A-
  • Waxahatchee: Tigers Blood (2024, Anti-): [sp]: [was: B+(***)]: A-

Rechecked with no grade change:

  • Sabrina Carpenter: Short n' Sweet (2024, Island): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Adrianne Lenker: Bright Future (2024, 4AD): [sp]: B+(***)


Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

  • Tim Berne/Tom Rainey/Gregg Belisle-Chi: Yikes Too (Screwgun/Out of Your Head) [01-17]
  • Noah Preminger: Ballades (Chill Tone) [02-25]
  • Omar Thomas Large Ensemble: Griot Songs (Omar Thomas Music) [02-07]

Sunday, January 12, 2025

Daily Log

John Chacona posted some kind words on Facebook:

For several years, I've had the honor of contributing to the Francis Davis Jazz Poll, first at NPR, and now at The Arts Fuse. This year, I got to peek behind the curtain and help a bit with its production and I'd like to thank Tom Hull for the opportunity.

Look, music is not sports. There's no playoff to determine the "best" recordings, but exercises such as this one are valuable for the way they call attention to an artform that seldom gets its flowers. That goes for its creators too. So use this as a to-do list of things to check out. That's what I'm going to do.

Also, in a comment:

While I'm on my soapbox, I'd like to say a few words about Tom, who devotes an enormous amount of time and energy to this endeavor. He's a modest guy, but he too deserves his flowers. Whatever one thinks of polls--and I have a complicated relationship with them myself--I think the act of documenting a consensus, however flawed that consensus might be, is enormously important. Broadening the number of people who contribute to that consensus is important too, so if you write, blog, vlog, podcast or broadcast about this music, you should vote. The poll had a record number of contributors this year and beating that mark for the 20th anniversary edition would be great. If you want to know how to be invited, PM me.


Biden tweet boast: "In four years, the economy created 16.6 million new jobs - the most in any single presidential term. In fact, there wasn't a month when the economy lost jobs. Another record for any presidency."

Ella M riposted: "I don't think Dems appreciate that no matter how many jobs are created, Americans live under a general experience of being constantly fleeced at every turn (by landlords, banks, grocery stores, insurance companies, etc etc) & this significantly impacts perceptions of the economy."

I might paraphrase this as: people don't want jobs; they want a living. Sure, most are willing to work for it, but having to work more for less of a living doesn't feel right.

Saturday, January 11, 2025

Music Week

Expanded blog post, January archive (in progress).

Tweet: Music Week: 74 albums, 11 A-list

Music: Current count 43500 [43426) rated (+74), 19 [18] unrated (+1).


New records reviewed this week:

  • Luther Allison: I Owe It All to You (2023 [2024], Posi-Tone): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Arild Andersen/Daniel Sommer/Rob Luft: As Time Passes (2023 [2024], April): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Steve Baczkowski: Cheap Fabric (2022 [2024], Relative Pitch): [sp]: B+(**)
  • John Butcher + 13: Fluid Fixations (2021 [2024], Weight of Wax): [dl] A-
  • Cavalier & Child Actor: Cine (2024, Backwoodz Studioz): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Caxtrinho: Queda Livre (2024, QTV): [bc]: B+(***)
  • Brian Charette: You Don't Know Jack! (2024, Cellar Music): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Mahmoud Chouki: Caravan: From Marrakech to New Orleans (2024, Gallatin Street): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Anat Cohen Quartetinho: Bloom (2024, Anzic): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Avishai Cohen: Bright Light (2024, Naďve): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Emmet Cohen: Vibe Provider (2024, Mack Avenue): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Tomasz Dąbrowski & the Individual Beings: Better (2023 [2024], April): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Caroline Davis and Wendy Eisenberg: Accept When (2023 [2024], Astral Spirit): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Dubbeltrion: Bringing Scandi-Baltic Powerhousejazz to the People (2024, Sonic Transmissions): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Kurt Elling/Sullivan Fortner: Wildflowers Vol. 1 (2024, Edition): [sp]: B-
  • Kurt Elling: Wildflowers Vol. 2 (2024, Edition): [bc]: C+
  • Fake Fruit: Mucho Mistrust (2024, Carpark): [sp]: A-
  • The Flowers of Indulgence: Dylan's Lost Songs, Vol. 1 (2024, Bothy Studio): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Michael Foster/Ben Bennett/Jacob Wick: Carne Vale (2024, Relative Pitch): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Joel Frahm Trio: Lumination (2023 [2024], Anzic): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Joel Futterman: Forever (2022 [2024], Mahakala Music): [bc]: B+(*)
  • Sally Gates-Steve Hirsh-Daniel Carter: Phosphene (2024, Mahakala Music): [bc]: B+(***)
  • Dennis Gonzalez Legacy Band: Live at the Texas Theatre (2024, Astral Spirits): [sp]: A-
  • Charles Goold: Triptych Lespri (2023 [2024], La Reserve): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Devin Gray: Melt All of the Guns (2024, Rataplan): [bc]: B+(**)
  • David Hazeltine: Ballads and Blues Volume 1 (2023 [2024], Cellar Music, EP): [bc]: B+(*)
  • David Hazeltine: Ballads and Blues Volume 2 (2023 [2024], Cellar Music, EP): [bc]: B+(*)
  • Hubbub: abb abb abb (2019 [2024], Relative Pitch): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra: Harbour (2022 [2024], Justin Time): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Ryan Keberle: Bright Moments (2023 [2024], Posi-Tone): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Kira Kira: Kira Kira Live (2024, Alister Spence Music): [bc]: B+(**)
  • Mike LeDonne Groover Quartet + Gospel Choir: Wonderful! (2023 [2024], Cellar Music Group): [sp]: B-
  • Jihye Lee Orchestra: Infinite Connections (2023 [2024], Motéma Music): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Peggy Lee/Julien Wilson/Theo Carbo/Dylan van der Schyff: Open Threat (2024, Earshift Music): [bc]: B+(***)
  • Lionel Loueke & Dave Holland: United (2023 [2024], Edition): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Michael Mayo: Fly (2024, Mack Avenue): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Microplastique: Blare Blow Bloom! (2024, Irritable Mystic): [bc]: B+(**)
  • Grey McMurray: Crying at Breakfast (2024, Out of Your Head, EP): [sp]: B-
  • Ben Monder: Planetarium (2020-23 [2024], Sunnyside): [sp]: B
  • Wolfgang Muthspiel: Etudes/Quietudes (2024, Clap Your Hands): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Camila Nebbia & Angelica Sanchez: In Another Land, Another Dream (2023 [2024], Relative Pitch): [sp]: A-
  • Camila Nebbia/Leo Genovese/Alfred Vogel: Eyes to the Sun (2023 [2024], Boomslang): [bc]: B+(***)
  • New Orleans Klezmer All Stars: Tipish (2024, self-released): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Bill Orcutt: How to Rescue Things (2024, Palilalia): [sp]: B
  • Ivo Perelman/Iva Bittová/Michael Bisio: Vox Popoli Vox Dei (2017 [2024], Mahakala Music): [bc]: B+(**)
  • Danilo Pérez & Bohlusän Big Band: Lumen (2021 [2024], Prophone): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Phelimuncasi & Metal Preyers: Izigqinamba (2024, Nyege Nyege Tapes): [sp]: A-
  • Previous Industries: Service Merchandise (2024, Merge): [sp]: A-
  • Tomeka Reid/Isadora Edwards/Elisabeth Coudoux: Reid/Edwards/Coudoux (2021 [2024], Relative Pitch): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Diego Rivera: Ofendra (2024, Posi-Tone): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Renee Rosnes: Crossing Paths (2024, Smoke Sessions): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Toms Rudzinskis: Abyss (2019-21 [2023], self-released): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Akira Sakata/Jim O'Rourke/Mette Rasmussen/Chris Corsano: Live at SuperDeluxe Volume 1 (2017 [2024], Trost): [bc]: B+(*)
  • Michael Sarian: Live at Cliff Bell's (2023 [2024], Shifting Paradigm): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Brad Shepik: Human Activity: Dream of the Possible (2022 [2024], Shifting Paradigm): [sp]: A-
  • Daniel Sommer/Arve Henriksen/Johannes Lundberg: Sounds & Sequences (2022-23 [2024], April): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Peter Somuah: Highlife (2024, ACT Music): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Sound the Alarm: Sound the Alarm: A Large Ensemble Instigation for Palestine [Recorded Live in Concert] (2024, Relative Pitch): [sp]: A-
  • Vinnie Sperrazza Apocryphal: Sunday (2022 [2024], Loyal Label): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Dayna Stephens: Closer Than We Think (2023 [2024], Cellar Music): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Aki Takase/Daniel Erdmann: Ellington (2023 [2024], Enja/Yellowbird): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Pat Thomas: This Is Trick Step (2023 [2024], 577): [dl]: B+(**)
  • Tulpas: Atsibo (2021 [2024], Astral Spirits): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Weird of Mouth [Mette Rasmussen/Craig Taborn/Ches Smith]: Weird of Mouth (2022 [2024], Otherly Love): [sp]: A-
  • Kathrine Windfeld Sextet: Aldebaran (2024, Stunt): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Warren Wolf: History of the Vibraphone (2023 [2024], Cellar Music): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Eri Yamamoto Quadraphonic: Fly With the Wings (2024, Mahakala Music): [bc]: B+(***)

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries:

  • Peter Brötzmann/Paal Nilssen-Love: Butterfly Mushroom (2015 [2024], Trost): [sp]: B+(**)
  • George Cartwright: Send Help (2008 [2024], Mahakala Music): [bc]: B+(*)
  • Duke Ellington: Copenhagen 1958 [Bonus: After Hours 1950] (1950-58 [2024], Storyville): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Michael Griener & Jan Roder: Be Our Guest (1994-95 [2024], Trouble in the East): [bc]: A-
  • Happy Apple: New York CD ([2024], Sunnyside): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Van Morrison: Live at Orangefield (2014 [2024], Townsend Music/Orangefield): [sp]: B+(***)
  • Kurt Rosenwinkel: The Next Step Band: Live at Smalls 1996 (1996 [2024], Heartcore): [sp]: A-
  • Brenton Wood: Brenton Wood's 18 Best (1967-71 [2024], Craft): [sp]: B

Old music:

  • Fake Fruit: Fake Fruit (2021, Rocks in Your Head): [sp]: B+(**)
  • Metal Preyers: Metal Preyers (2020, Nyege Nyege Tapes): [sp]: B+(*)
  • Allen Ravenstine: Nautilus/Rue de Poisson Noire (2021, Waveshifter): [sp]: B+(**)


Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:

  • Carlos Zingara/Joăo Madeira/Sofia Borges: Trizmaris (4DaRecord) [11-21]

 

Thursday, January 09, 2025

Daily Log

I updated the website today, posting some Q&A.

Sunday, January 05, 2025

Daily Log

Occurs to me that there is still a day left to submit ballots to Pazz & Jop Ripoff Poll.

I'm still working on the Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll, so still haven't had the chance to pivot to non-jazz albums, which most years results in fairly even jazz and non-jazz A-lists, but this year's are so far radically unbalanced (103 jazz vs. 49 non-jazz A/A-). So, as the clock runs out, this is the best I can do:

  1. Allen Lowe & the Constant Sorrow Orchestra: Louis Armstrong's America (ESP-Disk) 18
  2. Heems & Lapgan: Lafandar (Veena Sounds) 12
  3. Fay Victor: Herbie Nichols SUNG: Life Is Funny That Way (Tao Forms) 12
  4. Kate Nash: 9 Sad Symphonies (Kill Rock Stars) 12
  5. Hurray for the Riff Raff: The Past Is Still Alive (Nonesuch) 9
  6. Luke Stewart Silt Trio: Unknown Rivers (Pi) 8
  7. Floating Points: Cascade (Ninja Tune) 8
  8. Darius Jones: Legend of e'Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye) (AUM Fidelity) 7
  9. Steve Coleman and Five Elements: PolyTropos/Of Many Turns (Pi) 7
  10. Amyl and the Sniffers: Cartoon Darkness (B2B/Virgin) 7

For comments:

  • Here's my Best Jazz Albums of 2024: https://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/notes/eoyjazz-24.php
  • Here's my Best Non-Jazz Albums of 2024: https://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/notes/eoynonjazz-24.php
  • And here's my Metacritic/EOY Aggregate for new music (currently compiles 148 lists, which is way down from the 617 lists I did in 2023): https://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/notes/meta2024.php


Dec 2024 Feb 2025