Topic
music
- What Makes Art Great?
With AI-generated work — writing, visual art, music — there's something missing that we can often identify viscerally (at least if we spend a few minutes paying attention), though not articulate exactly what it is tha…
- Brian and Thomas Owens sing Sam Cooke
Father/son duo Brian Owens and Thomas Owens, Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come." What a phenomenal duet.
- Herbie Hancock's start with Miles
Herbie Hancock on his introduction to Miles Davis. Herbie got his start with Donald Byrd. And Byrd gave him the push to go seize the opportunity to join Miles's second great quintet).
- Making a Steinway piano
I ran across this documentary about the making of a Steinway grand piano. The process of constructing one of these takes a year or more. It’s a great example of handmade craftsmanship in a world where we’ve mechanized…
- Return to Forever, Live from Jazzaldia
Return to Forever, Live from Jazzaldia San Sebastian, 2008. A great live concert from a reunion of legends. Each of these guys was a noteworthy player in his own right. Return to Forever is one of the great jazz fusio…
- Wes Montgomery, Live in '65
Wes Montgomery, Live in '65.
- Ahmad Jamal in France
Ahmad Jamal live in France, 1971.
- Angelz
MF DOOM / Ghostface Killah - Angelz, 2004.
- Herbie Hancock Headhunters
The Headhunters perform “Sly”, 1974.
- Sade
Two phenomenal records to start a recording career.
- Bird Absolutely Locked In
Bird absolutely locked in. Charlie Parker and Tommy Potter, 1947.
- The Count And The Duke
The Count and the Duke. Count Basie and Duke Ellington.
- Oscar Peterson Andre Previn
Jazz legend Oscar Peterson talks and plays with Andre Previn.
- Escape The Algorithm
Wrote this week about the problems with feeds, algorithmic discovery, and passively letting the machines define your taste. We all need a return to active participation in what we consume.
- Escape the Algorithm
In this latest issue of Res Extensa, I wrote about the need to escape from the passive consumption trap. We wake up, pick up the phone, and wait for algorithms to tell us what to read, watch, and listen to. Our attent…
- Harpsichord
Diagram of a harpsichord. Arnault de Zwolle, c. 1430.
- Madvillainy's Secret Ingredient
Brandon from Digging the Greats breaks down Madlib and MF DOOM's epic collaboration: I remember in this extended interview with MF DOOM him talking about the lackadaisical approach to making the record. Madlib would m…
- My Analog Journal’s Jazz from Japan
This is a new genre for me, but one I’ve gone deep on in the past week: Japanese jazz and soul. Like always with YouTube, the rabbit hole is deep (and rewarding!). This guy is a YouTube DJ that picks a genre and a geo…
- Clyde Stubblefield
A Slack chat this morning led to a discussion of Funky Drummer and how often its been sampled. I ran across this good clip of the player himself, drummer Clyde Stubblefield, who played with James Brown's band during t…
- 50 Best Ambient Albums
I'm sure there are many like me who seek out ambient music for headphones-on, work-from-home listening. My preferences shift from soundtracks like Blade Runner, electronic drone stuff, or "focus" music like you can fi…
- Conspiravision
Deus Ex "Deus Ex") is still one of my favorite games of all time. First played dozens of times when first released, and every few years I still break it back out to stroll through the dystopian visions of Hell's Kitch…
- Tank!
The new medium in COVID times for musicians is the live session on Zoom. This is a fun one from Seatbelts, playing their theme song from the 90s anime Cowboy Bebop.
- History of Hip Hop, 1982
I delved back into the archives of these mixtapes from The Rub put together, originally back in 2007. When these came out I downloaded the mp3s and for a bunch of them I actually edited them into individual tracks so…
- Weekend Reading: Beastie Boys, Links, and Screencasting
🎥 Beastie Boys Story We watched this a couple nights ago. It's hard to tell how objectively good it was, but I loved the heck out of it as a decades-long fan. 🔗 Linkrot I'll have to try out this tool that Tom built…
- Funky 4 + 1, 1980
Rare footage of the Funky 4 + 1 from a 1980 show. Great quality for something of that era, particularly a live show.
- Best Songs, Pt. 8: Death Letter
I don't listen to a lot of modern blues artists. The lo-fi, minimalist sound of The White Stripes was always the best format for a blues act, in my opinion. I love this rendition of Son House's Death Letter Blues. Thi…
- Kind of Blue 60th Anniversary
This year is the 60th anniversary of Miles Davis's legendary Kind of Blue. This video is a great explainer of the origins of Kind of Blue's modal jazz style and the history behind how the group came together to make i…
- Best Songs, Pt. 7: The Only Moment We Were Alone
I still bring out Explosions in the Sky's 2003 album The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place periodically, my favorite from their catalog by a wide margin. I remember seeing them at a live show for the first time on the to…
- Best Songs, Pt. 6: Montara
The title track from vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson's 1975 album Montara "Montara"). I love the gentle electric piano, muted horns, and of course Bobby's vibes. Madlib also sampled this one on his album Shades of Blue…
- Best Songs, Pt. 5: I Remember Clifford
There are several excellent renditions of this tribute to the late trumpeter Clifford Brown, originally composed by saxophonist Benny Golson (well known for his time with the Jazz Messengers). My favorite version is t…
- Best Songs, Pt. 4: Blade Runner Blues
Blade Runner is one of the best movies, but I actually enjoy the soundtrack even more. This one is my favorite, probably the centerpiece of the score that embodies the vibe of the 2019 dystopian Los Angeles from the f…
- Best Songs, Part 3: Moanin’
This live rendition by The Jazz Messengers is a great version of an even better song. It was composed by Art Blakey’s sideman and pianist Bobby Timmons (on the keys in this session). I love the blues-infected build an…
- Best Songs, Part 2: My Philosophy
In college I'd listened to KRS-One's solo albums before I ever heard his original work with Boogie Down Productions. One of my top songs is the landmark track from their 1988 album By All Means Necessary: "My Philosop…
- Best Songs, Part 1: Chameleon
My dad has been putting together a playlist of all-time great songs, and mentioned to me and my brothers that we should do the same and share with one another. “Great” songs in this case don’t have to be by any partic…
- Angel Dust
Gil Scott-Heron is high on the list of live acts I wish I was around for in his prime.
- Recent Links: Mapping Air Quality, the Problem with Agile, Indie Jazz
⏱ Mapping Street-Level Air Quality in California This is amazing work by Google putting air quality sensors on their Street View cars to collect air quality data. The resolution of this is amazing — to see how drastic…
- Blue Note Records Discography
The ultimate checklist for my completionist self to listen to the entire Blue Note back catalog. I'm currently ripping through the 1950s, building some excellent playlists.
- musicForProgramming();
Music for Programming is a series of ambient audio mixes curated by @datassette, distributed as a podcast, but also downloadable mp3s. I love these, they're go-to listening for me when writing, on an airplane, or anyw…
- America's Music
Jazz is a genre of music I never used to take seriously. When I started listening to decent music around junior high (very little of it was "good"), I would mentally lump jazz music in with the standards and classical…