Author: Matthew Eilar

Just a dude with a stereo, a computer, and a brain.

Book Review: The Appeal

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As I was browsing books at a Hudson News in the Portland, Oregon airport terminal, I smiled to myself because it was the first time that I had ever bought an “airport book” to read while traveling in an actual airport. Don’t get me wrong, I have read many such books. They are fairly short, easily digestible, and have brisk enough pacing that every cover editor feels the obligation to bandy around the workhorse clichè “page-turner.” There was a particularly fruitful stretch when I was between the ages of 11 to 14 where I must have read upwards of 600 of them; Robin Cook and Michael Crichton (may he rest in peace, that’s a different post altogether) scientific thrillers, Tom Clancy military thrillers, Ian Fleming and Clive Cussler action-adventure novels. Then there were the mysteries. I read all of the current writers, Janet Evanovitch, J.A. Jance, Patricia Cornwell, Lilian Jackson Braun, Carolyn Hart. I read all of the old series: Nero Wolfe, Hercule Poirot, Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe. Then I discovered the magic of British mysteries: G.K. Chesterson, Agatha Christie, P.D. James…

I just drifted completely off track. The point I want to make is that I have read more than a few legal thrillers in my day. I have even read more than a few written by John Grisham. Continue reading “Book Review: The Appeal” →

Aural Stimulation

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A recorded-in-ten-minutes version of one of my favorite songs, Over And Over (Lost & Found) by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!

over-and-over-lost-and-found

Be kind, it was done in 10 minutes with Garage Band and my built in microphone.

Kulanjan- Taj Mahal and Toumani Diabate

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The first metallic, tinkling notes of “Queen Bee” strike the ear as something both completely familiar and completely foreign. And of course that is exactly what the album is. Taj Mahal is the artist who has done the most work to keep the acoustic blues tradition alive. His music can sometimes archetypal, beautiful and great in the flawless execution of that which has been done before. Toumani Diabate is the most famous kora player in the world, son, grandson, great-grandson for many generations, heir to a long tradition of griot musicians.

It is easy to hear why these two musicians decided to work together. In the beginning of “Tunkaranke (The Adventurer),” the guitar and the kora intermingle in a long, slow, loping rhythm, losing each other in the webs of intermingled chords. At times, it is hard to distinguish which instrument is which. The music sways, smoothly, and for a minute, it is like you can feel the revolution and the passing of time and the journey and the spirit that separates and joins the strings together…

Other tracks, like “Mississippi-Mail Blues” start by grounding themselves in familiar folk rhythms and chords, before going on a bewildering cascade of sharp rhythms and pleasant riffs. Really, beyond the symbolism of the Delta Blues combined with the Malian Griot music, this album is special because of the musicianship behind it. The album would not work, as a symbol or otherwise, were it not for the unbelivable chops of Toumani Diabate or the rich texture of Taj Mahal’s guitar and voice. As much as the album is a celebration of great cultures, it is a celebration of great artists. It then is no surprise that the result is great music.

TV On The Radio * Dear Science

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From the opening notes of “Halfway Home” we know that this is a different TVOTR. All of the same elements are there- Tunde Adebimpe’s voice that manages to wail and be soulful at the same time, David Sitek’s noisy production and Jaleel Bunton and Gerard Smith’s tight and ever interesting rhythem section. But they are different, more restrained, more polished.

Every new record, from Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes to Return to Cookie Mountain has felt like an attempt to keep or increase the intensity of their early songs while editing and polishing. Dear Science has maintained the frenetic restlessness of the other albums while giving them a wonderful cohesion and restraint. On “Dancing Choose,” there is a riff played in the chorus with a completely un-distorted guitar; I never thought that I would hear that on a TVOTR record.

The range on the record is pretty impressive. The sound of Return tended to be fairly dark and morose with the exception of “Wolf Like Me,” but Dear Science has everything from the pensive, confessional moans of “Stork and Owl” and “Family Tree” to the danceable, energetic “Golden Age.”

It surprises me how many truly beautiful moments there are on the record: the chorus to “Dancing Choose,” all of “Cryin’,” “DLZ.”

“Golden Age” was released as a single, but for my money, “Cryin'” is the breakout hit of the record. It is an astonishingly good song, and it, dare I say it, has radio potential. If there is a song which will propel this band into the league of those that I can no longer afford to see live, it will be this song.

In short, this is a great album. All 11 songs of the regular release are top-quality and more than a few of them have sparks of genius. Buy it. If you don’t want to buy it, just buy “Cryin.'”

9.0