New Music Picks
Since I was snotty enough yesterday to gripe about an upcoming 80's box set, I feel the need to balance everything out with a little positivity, namely a few CDs I'm really looking forward to hearing.
Arto Lindsay - Invoke: Arto Lindsay is easily one of my top favorite artists. A founder of the "No Wave" jazz / art-rock scene in the 80s, Lindsay rediscovered the melodic, melancholy sound of Brazilian bossanova and MPB in the early 90s, thanks in part to being the child of missionary parents who spent a considerable amount of time in Brazil. Instead of nostalgic rehashing however, Lindsay uses Brazilian rhythms and melody and fuses them with urban, abstract beats, grooves and textures (thanks to the DJ skills of DJ Spooky and others). The result is a sound that's cross-national, very urban, dark and sexy.
Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots: No explanation is needed really for The Flaming Lips. Should be interesting to hear if they can continue the magic of The Soft Bulletin, which was one of my favorite albums back in 99. Then again, I'm a sucker for Brian Wilson, nutty orchestral pop a la XTC, Cornelius, etc.
Brad Mehldau - Largo: The Bill Evans of our generation. Mehldau is a wonderfully emotive, riveting jazz pianist with a firm grasp on both original compositions, as well as continuing the old jazz tradition of reinterpreting songs from rock and pop and presenting them in a whole new light. Mehldau has a love for Radiohead, and has covered "Exit Music [For a Film]" on one of the Morning Becomes Eclectic live compilations, and will apparently tackle "Paranoid Android" for Largo. Like Evans, Mehldau has had his dabbles with the darker side of the jazz world, and one can only hope he stays on the straight and narrow.
Mano Negra - Casa Babylon: A United States reissue from the late great Mano Negra - a French ska, latin, metal, pop that were enormously popular in Europe, but never really broke out in the US. Now that their former front man Manu Chao has received such widespread critical acclaim and attention for his wonderful solo work, a rekindling of the past is probably in order. Still great.
Comments
I've never heard before about Arto Lindsay but I love bossa and brazilian music. Now I've heard him and is fantastic!! I'm going to buy his CD's right now... Thanks for the reference!!
Posted by: Awacate at June 14, 2002 1:43 PM
"Casa babylon" is great...I have pulled it through the internet as mp3s. Couldn't wait for a release...
Posted by: nmk at June 15, 2002 5:14 AM
I appreciate the postive post As much as i enjoy reading someone's compliants about music, i also really like when someone makes an effort to suggest some good music as well. Couldn't agree more about the Flaming Lips
I've got the mp3s of it now and really enjoy it.
Posted by: scott at June 19, 2002 10:49 AM
