Rootical Saturday

Positive Vibrations (KEXP FM) Listening to this show today (3 days before my 50th birthday), I'm reminded that Saturday morning reggae shows are a gift to: people who didn't sleep well, frat boys recovering from hangovers, people planning a day of housework in the apartments they live in alone--in short, to everyone who wakes and bakes on a Saturday.

Listening to this show also tells me that Jamaican music is going through a really creative phase. For awhile, everyone seemed to focus on getting the baddest rap ever on top of riddim X. In other words, it got old fast. Now producers are mix 'n' matching roots, rockers, classic dub, hip hop, dancehall, and whatever else (grime, jungle, soca) in the rythmic stew. Also, it sounds like producers are learning how to use the sharpness and clarity of digital special f/x to make distinctively digital-sounding dub versions.

What I'm listening to 9/15/06

Los Lobos, The Town and the City (Hollywood) When people write that this sounds a little like Kiko, they mean it's about textures and atmospheres rather than about rocking out. I was a little disappointed in these songs, despite all the imagination and fluency they reflected, until I flashed: call Los Lobos L. A.'s version of TV On the Radio, which in turn is Brooklyn's version of Radiohead. So I'll listen some more, but for now call this a ***

The Shins, Oh Inverted World (Sub Pop) So I love sweet, slightly fucked-up slacker pop music. Isn't that what most great pop bands, from Big Star to Pavement, sound like? I am such a pop romantic I really loved the scene in Garden State where Natalie Portman tells Zach Braff the Shins will change his life. ***

Marisa Monte Universo Ao Meu Redor (EMI) After a few years away to raise a new son, my favorite Brazilian singer is back with two albums. This is the non-muzak one. It sounds like Marisa is getting back to classic sambas, and she's always sung freest in a samba-like context. So even though she's not as lightfooted as she was on Rose and Charcoal, she's a lot more convincing than the generic romantic balladeer she's been on her past couple of albums. ***

The first

If someone asked me what skill I was proudest of and that most truly reflected my heart, I'd have to say "being a musician." (Or "being a writer," which is the other one that fits the description.) One thing I know about musicians is that they're all obsessive about something. Often, about different things: musicians who practice nonstop (Coltrane, Hendrix), musicians whose whole aesthetic is about getting first takes down (Dylan, Neil Young), or (like me) musicians who are endlessly curious about music and find out about new artists, different styles of music, and different ideas to steal for their own work.

So since I'm too lazy to be the first kind of musician and generally identify with the second kind, I decided to dedicate a space to write about music as I listen to and think about it. Whether or not those thoughts are interesting (or of any use) to anyone besides myself, it's always nice to have a record.