Sunday, February 13, 2005
Yes, I know, it's been a week again since I posted. Are most regular bloggers single, with simpler lives than I've got? Having a partner, having a nearly 2-hour commute (that's both ways combined), plus any kind of social life - and not being to post at work - make for a thinner blog.
Of course, the big rockcrit/geek news of the past week is Pazz & Jop '04. To my shock and awe, one of my comments was published this year, yay! Three of the albums on my ballot placed in the top 40 (Loretta Lynn at #3, M.I.A./Diplo at a surprising #23, and Sonic Youth, sneaking in at #37 with the lowest points-per-voter average in the top 40); my lowest was #306 Dykehouse. I have lots of various thoughts about the results, and things I didn't say; maybe I'll get 'em said at some point while they're still relevant.
Picked up a pair of albums this week, and they're both superb. Lee Ann Womack's There's More Where That Came From is a stunner, a classic country record largely circa 1970 with great songs, great production, and above all, sterling singing from Ms. Womack. This is the album we've been waiting a decade for her to deliver. I also nabbed the 20th Century Masters/The Millenium Collection best-of by DeBarge, a short (11-track) collection hitting all of the important, high notes of their all-too-short career. Their uptempo singles were so-so, but their ballads - oh, their ballads (see "Stay With Me," "I Like It," et.al.).
Of course, tonight's Grammy night. I've not yet decided if I'll blog the proceedings (which, of course, we on the west coast get on tape-delay). I know I'm watching for some of the performances (Usher and James Brown, hello!) more than for the awards, which will likely be a mishmash of artistic and commercial concerns. And a bunch of "we're sorry you died" awards for the late, great Ray Charles.
Of course, the big rockcrit/geek news of the past week is Pazz & Jop '04. To my shock and awe, one of my comments was published this year, yay! Three of the albums on my ballot placed in the top 40 (Loretta Lynn at #3, M.I.A./Diplo at a surprising #23, and Sonic Youth, sneaking in at #37 with the lowest points-per-voter average in the top 40); my lowest was #306 Dykehouse. I have lots of various thoughts about the results, and things I didn't say; maybe I'll get 'em said at some point while they're still relevant.
Picked up a pair of albums this week, and they're both superb. Lee Ann Womack's There's More Where That Came From is a stunner, a classic country record largely circa 1970 with great songs, great production, and above all, sterling singing from Ms. Womack. This is the album we've been waiting a decade for her to deliver. I also nabbed the 20th Century Masters/The Millenium Collection best-of by DeBarge, a short (11-track) collection hitting all of the important, high notes of their all-too-short career. Their uptempo singles were so-so, but their ballads - oh, their ballads (see "Stay With Me," "I Like It," et.al.).
Of course, tonight's Grammy night. I've not yet decided if I'll blog the proceedings (which, of course, we on the west coast get on tape-delay). I know I'm watching for some of the performances (Usher and James Brown, hello!) more than for the awards, which will likely be a mishmash of artistic and commercial concerns. And a bunch of "we're sorry you died" awards for the late, great Ray Charles.
# posted by Thomas : 1:43 PM
