A Fela A Day Mix CD out now!!

If you're one of the millions who read my A Fela A Day post (where I reported on listening to 25 Fela twofers in 25 days), you know that I intended to winnow the winners into one useful 700MB CD. That day has arrived. Here's the track listing (along with the corresponding albums from which it was plucked):

1. It's No Possible 17:36 Expensive Shit He Miss Road
2. Egbe Mi O (Carry Me) 13:15 Shakara / London Scene
3. Who're You 9:30 Shakara / London Scene
4. Unknown Soldier 31:08 Coffin for Head Of State / Unknown Soldier
5. Opposite People 16:38 Opposite People / Sorrow Tears And Blood
6. Original Suffer Head 21:09 Original Suffer Head / I.T.T.
7. Power Show 14:48 Original Suffer Head / I.T.T.
8. Confusion 25:36 Confusion / Gentleman
9. Igbe 8:07 Confusion / Gentleman
10. Everything Scatter 10:34 Everything Scatter / Noise For Vendor Mouth
11. Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake AM Roforofo Fight/Fela Singles
12. Shenshema 9:09 Roforofo Fight/Fela Singles
13. Alu Jon Jonki Jon 12:41 Open & Close / Afrodisiac
14. Omuti Tide 3:51 The '69 Los Angeles Sessions
15. Laise Lairo 4:14 The '69 Los Angeles Sessions
16. Government Chicken Boy 29:15 Army Arrangement
17. Ikoyi Blindness 15:08 Ikoyi Blindness/Kalakuta Show
18. Kalakuta Show 14:31 Ikoyi Blindness/Kalakuta Show
19. Upside Down 14:44 Upside Down/Music Of Many Colours
20. 2000 Blacks Got To Be Free 18:39 Upside Down/Music Of Many Colours
21. Africa Centre Of The World 17:31 Upside Down/Music Of Many Colours
22. Underground System 28:27 Underground System
23. Pansa Pansa 17:20 Underground System
24. Confusion Break Bones 29:11 Underground System
25. Beasts of no Nation 28:20 Beasts of no Nation
26. Teacher don't teach me no nonsense 25:48 Teacher Don't Teach Me No Nonsense
27. Look and Laugh 30:49 Teacher Don't Teach Me No Nonsense
28. Just Like That 22:17 Teacher Don't Teach Me No Nonsense

Remarkably, that amounts to 690.3 MB. MP3 CDs never work out that perfectly. Anyway, trades welcome. Comments like "Oh my GAWD! I can't believe you missed '_______'" not.

American Idol Finale - Blake takes the cake!!!

I wish!

First, I skipped last week which featured more good songs than any Idol telecast I can recall:

the improbably great "This Love"
"She Works Hard For The Money"
"Nutbush City Limits"
"I'm A Woman"
a decent Walter Murphy-hooked Robin Thicke songs (my students adore this guy but I find him a D'Angelo wannabe and I've always had problems with D'Angelo's skeletal R&B to begin with)
"I (Who Have Nothing)"

Let's address this last one. Simon fretted that it was too adult for her, ignoring the immediacy of its crowd-pleasing melodramatics. But won't the Idol mafia fit her for an Adult Contemporary straitjacket now that she's taken the cake? Instead of letting her be a teenager (in spirit) a la Britney Spears or Pink, they'll steer her towards big, grownup ballads a la LeAnn Rimes or Mariah Carey (or early Kelly Clarkson or Taylor Hicks or, um, Daughtry). So all this cant about remaining teenage is hot air.

I mean, did you hear that horror that won the songwriting contest? Poor Blake - saddled with such garbage, what could he do but smile through it and look forward to his guest spot with abortion foe Doug E. Fresh (dream conversation: "Sorry, Doug - I don't beatbox with anti-choice zealots. Got Biz Markie's number?" Actually, Biz might be anti-choice as well but at least the genius didn't rap about it). But this kind of vacuous shit is perfect for the sparkless Sparks who took it to the Oscars towards the end by choking up a bit. The judges (esp. Randy) love her because she's blandly moldable and young enough for the molding to pay off longer than it would with Melinda Doolittle. But good music? Hey, the show's over.

My hope is that Sanjaya breaks out from all this and creates some fucked-up masalas - Cornershop with a Britney Spears brattishness, I'm conjuring up in my sick rock crit fantasies. He certainly was the highlight in what amounted to the dreariest finale show yet. Sure, Tony Bennett took everyone to school and Bette Midler had some mic problems (I hope). But that's barely tomorrow's water cooler fodder. The evening was simply too even-keeled overall. I kept waiting for a Prince to sweep me off my feet. Even Joe Perry whipped up a big whoop next to Sanjaya (nice geetar, though). And all that the lovely but predictably arranged (oh wow! end on "With A Little Help From My Friends" - how novel!) Sgt. Pepper medley proved was how hard it is to fuck up such gorgeous melodies. Carrie Underwood seemed properly stunned by the beauty of "She's Leaving Home" and Ruben Studdard didn't look one bit silly singing about "cellophane flowers of yellow and green" (well, maybe a little bit...).

In short, I think Idol is starting its downward climb. But it's not just due to all of the above nor my displeasure in Sparks' victory. From gee-whiz backup singer Doolittle to Sir Mix-A-Lot sparring partner Lewis, the show's millions of viewers are now fully aware of an echelon of popular music populated with once-weres and hopefuls barely scraping by. And it diminishes the Preston Sturges-like quality that makes the show so bracing to watch. Religious nuts, fat people, Sanjaya, even shitty singers (e.g. William Hung) try not to waste their big chance and the resulting struggle makes for television more gripping than any cops-docs-lawyers hour-long. But now that a certain level of professionalism has been introduced from the get go, the drama necessarily loses some of its lift. That's why it was hardly surprising to see the footage of Jordin Sparks on American Juniors (look it up). But it's still a bummer - she was clearly groomed for victory in a way that Fantasia was not.

That doesn't render Fantasia more authentic (gawd forbid); it just makes her story more interesting. So yeah sure, I'll take it in next year and the year after that (and after that?). I watch so little TV that as a budding media scholar, I gotta keep my toes in somewhere beyond The Simpsons. But even the reality TV format will atrophy (if it hasn't already - witness the "when I call your name, step forward" routine on that Spielberg-sponsored movie show afterwards last night...strictly Snoozeville). But it's the kind of showbiz head starts outlined above that will quicken the genre's demise.

American Idol 5/9/2007 - Jordin can take this fucker

So stop her and let's have a Blake/Melinda finale.

Who knows what did Lekisha in ultimately? I'd say it was her inability to sublimate the sadness she alluded to in her interview (and that I'm sure millions have long since detected). She just seemed so saaaaad after every song which some viewers no doubt read as a kind of haughty nonchalance. Or maybe she gave us an unappealing glimpse into her subsequent stardom. Either she couldn't feign the resilience we require of our pop stars or was unwilling to wallow in the madness of the pop star life (a la Britney). Maybe Broadway's her true calling - she can play at being someone else.

But at least some of us can feel a something underneath Lekisha. Jordin's merely characterless. Again, perfect for pop product but not pop priesthood. I doubt she'll record anything to makes us believers much less speak in tongues.

Did you notice how confident Blake looked once he found out he'd be back next week? Maybe he was just being modest. After all, it's a delicate balancing act to discover you're not going home; you can't be too happy else you'll look like a jerk to the loser. Still, I think he knows he'll be alright even if he loses the big prize. He's just so damn musical that he can thrive in a variety of contexts. My guess is that if Filter (or was it Live?) was courting Chris Daughtrey, some crusty new wave act is current casting about for a lead vocalist and Blake will find himself fronting, oh I don't know, Gene Loves Jezebel or Modern English.

American Idol 5/8/2007 - Who's Your Favorite Bee Gee?

Hmmm. Maybe theme weeks aren't the best way to find great singers. Bee Gees night just didn't work. That's because this music does not allow solo vocalists to shine. From "Holiday" psych to "To Love Somebody" schlock to "Stayin Alive" shoogity, each Gee blended into the other more than he stood out from the falsetto whitewash. "Bee Gees" always subsumed "Barry Gibb." And their songs don't reward impeccable enunciation. No one has ever known what the freak the Brothers Gibb were singing in the verses (and even the chorus!) of "Stayin' Alive" (quick - recite all the lyrics right now!) and an adult contemporary attention to every diphthong renders the songs too pageanty, to borrow Simon's diagnosis of Jordin's "Woman in Love" (although "too Broadway" is another term that comes to mind).

So:

Blake fucked up with honors, bravely covering (that word somehow seems right for him - already such an artist!) an obscurity like "This Is Where I Came In." But an obscurity it remained - Paula said he made the song contemporary. But it IS contemporary - it was released in 2001! Wonder what Barry thought of that gaffe.

Melinda was competent and dull with only half a performance to ride on.

Lekisha couldn't find her way through the falsetto.

And then Jordin, my least fave. What is it about her that I don't dig? Maybe she seems too perfect an American Idol, largely due to the youth factor. After seven years of indentured servitude to Simon Co., she'll still be young which only expands her profit-making potential. Plus she's eager to please in a way that seems forced as if mom implored her to keep smiling through Simon's tirades no matter how much he humiliates her. Where's the grit, the 'tude? And actually, where's the niceness? Right, Melinda's "gee, am I really a great singer?" shtick has long since reached the crusty stage. But she seems genuinely ("seems" next to "genuinely" is a contradiction, I know, but that's how pop music works) friendly whereas Jordin plays at it, aspires to it. She's just not there yet. And I don't think she has it in her (or rather, her future keepers don't have it in them) to make interesting music out of getting to that illusion of genuineness.

But it's getting cozy and someone's gotta split. My hope? Jordin. My guess? Lekisha.

Dixon's Resident Advisor podcast = Best mix of the year

Go here:

http://mnmlbeats.wordpress.com/tag/ra-mixe/

Scroll to the bottom and download the Dixon Resident Advisor podcast. It's the best mix I've heard since M.I.A./Diplo's Piracy Funds Terrorism, Vol. 1.

Here's the track listing:

01. Amp Fiddler - Faith (Jazzanova Remix)
02. Alice Smith - Love Endeavor (Maurice Fulton Remix)
03. Kelis - 80s Joint
04. Owusu & Hannibal - Lonnie's Secret
05. Kathy Diamond - Album Track 13
06. Paul Randolph - Believer (Jazzanova Remix)
07. Demba (Boundzound?) - Louder (Henrik Schwarz Main Mix)
08. Martin Landsky - Let Me Dance (Sebo K Remix)
09. Telepopmusic - Love Can Damage Your Health (Ferrer Remix)
10. Tracey Horn - It's All True (Martin Butrich Remix)
11. Matthew Herbert - Moving Like A Train (Smith n Hack Remix)

"Lonnie's Secret" by Owusu & Hannibal will wind up on my top ten singles list for the decade even though it's not a single per se but in the era of mp3s there really is no such thing as a single per se anymore right and besides it might as well be a single since it sits all single-like in this extracelestial mix.

And here's the de facto cover:



















Do it now.

American Idol 5/2/2007

Not much to say beyond I'm sorry to see Chris go. But only cuz he's pretty - it was his time. And Phil, may he run into a George Jones collection with godspeed (I suggest this one). As for the guests, Bon Jovi were a bore. And much as my students adore him, I just can't get with Robin Thicke's attenuated soul (didn't D'Angelo attenuate it enough?). Plus I can't shake the Alan Thicke from his face and the effect is eerie.

Not all disco moments happen on the dancefloor

UT RTF AI (PYT!) Kristen Warner has risen up to almost every grad school challenge with vim and grace. But the one that continually eludes her is Mac use.

She made her Mac hatred known a few months back by trying to get me to watch one of those smarmy Youtube harangues "exposing" the difficulties of Macs. It immediately became clear that she bought into this party line when she demanded "How do you get onto the internet with a Mac?" ("Um, click on it."). But I tend to get bursted blood vessels when I argue for the intuitiveness of Macs over the gearhead time wasting of PCs. So I let the matter slide.

Wehehehehehehehehl. Welly welly welly. Wellity wellity wellity. Last week, in our shared office, Kristen was surfing the internet on our Mac (clicking works!) and then turned to me, head shaking back and forth all sassy-like, and said "Ok, so how do you save pictures from the internet? There's no right click button on the mouse."

Ooooooweeedoggies! My entire body felt like a penis mere nanoseconds before ejaculation. "You wanna see?" I clicked on the pic and then dragged it to the desktop. C'est tout. Total running time: 0.0000001 seconds.

Kristen's jaw didn't hit the floor before I threw my hands in the ay-aire and waved them like I just didn't cay-aire. But hit it did.
"That's it?"
"Yeah, it's right there on your desktop," I assured her in the midst of a disco victory dance. Not even Sylvester could make me feel more mighty real at that moment.

The lesson: A simple one. Come over to the darkside, Kirsten.

American Idol 5/1/2006

I can't even remember what last week's theme was. Write in with the answer and I'm sure I'll have something witty to say about it.

Tonight was Bon Jovi aka rock which you knew by all the instrumentalists joining several contestants in the limelight. Gotta keep that authenticity quotient up.

Good night overall, especially considering none of the remaining six are rock types. I don't know - is Chris rock at all? I still think his best performance was that "Pig in the Stink" or "Pig in the Pink" or whatever that Jason Mraz song was called. But is Jason Mraz rock? What is Jason Mraz, for that matter (besides very, VERY pretty)? Singer-songwriter? But that has such folky connotations. Certainly not R&B even though I think that's what Chris is aiming for (wonder if he has Timbaland's cell number yet). Anyhoo, Chris' "Wanted Dead or Alive" was zzzzzzzzzz on arrival. His winning just-fucked looks have now officially failed him.

Jordin (sp?) fucked up - an object lesson for those who think softer versifying is easier than belted chorusifying.

And Phil...ugh. Number six with a bullet (please). Stuart called him a blank slate which sounds great in pop theory. I reminded him of such divine cyphers as Aaliyah and Taana Gardner (those double A's!). But I just realized the sexism (and racism?) inherent in that conclusion. Are only women available for blank musical slates? Who are the male counterparts? I'm blankin' (get it?). The teen idols? Billy Joel? In short, is our discomfort with Phil a result of this apparent mismatch between men and a certain chameleonic spot-changing? Maybe so. But sometimes blank equals blah (e.g. Celine Dion whose duo with Dead Elvis was grody indeed although I bet The King would've loved it) and as with most things Idol, there's just no music to the guy. At least Aaliyah had Timbaland. And Taana Gardner has one of the greatest singles of all-time (see my 1980s singles list to the right). He needs a similar sort of setting in order to get by and Idol simply doesn't provide them.

So you have to provide them for yourself which Blake did beautifully. His pomo "You Give Love a Bad Name" (is that the name?) gave me goosebumps. But I'm willing to concede that 1/4 of those bumps were because he looked so bon, Simon Le Bon, to be precise. The man is music; but new wave is his destiny. Get gayer. Asymmetricalize your hair. Never get enough.

As for the soul gals, Melinda was more consistent than Lekisha. But Lekisha got to the top of the mountain with that attitudinal stare before the last line. Maybe she was cheating by choosing one of Bon Jovi's "soul" songs. But so what? It's not as if Simon is out to sign a Betty Davis (I hope).

American Idol 5/1/2006

I can't even remember what last week's theme was. Write in with the answer and I'm sure I'll have something witty to say about it.

Tonight was Bon Jovi aka rock which you knew by all the instrumentalists joining several contestants in the limelight. Gotta keep that authenticity quotient up.

Good night overall, especially considering none of the remaining six are rock types. I don't know - is Chris rock at all? I still think his best performance was that "Pig in the Stink" or "Pig in the Pink" or whatever that Jason Mraz song was called. But is Jason Mraz rock? What is Jason Mraz, for that matter (besides very, VERY pretty)? Singer-songwriter? But that has such folky connotations. Certainly not R&B even though I think that's what Chris is aiming for (wonder if he has Timbaland's cell number yet). Anyhoo, Chris' "Wanted Dead or Alive" was zzzzzzzzzz on arrival. His winning just-fucked looks have now officially failed him.

Jordin (sp?) fucked up - an object lesson for those who think softer versifying is easier than belted chorusifying.

And Phil...ugh. Number six with a bullet (please). Stuart called him a blank slate which sounds great in pop theory. I reminded him of such great cyphers as Aaliyah and Taana Gardner (those double A's!). But I just realized the sexism (and racism?) inherent in that conclusion. Are only women available for blank musical slates? Who are the male counterparts? I'm blankin' (get it?). The teen idols? Billy Joel? In short, is our discomfort with Phil a result of this apparent mismatch between men and a certain chameleonic spot-changing? Maybe so. But sometimes blank equals blah (e.g. Celine Dion whose duo with Dead Elvis was grody indeed although I bet The King would've loved it) and as with most things Idol, there's just no music to the guy. At least Aaliyah had Timbaland. And Taana Gardner has one of the greatest singles of all-time (see my 1980s singles list to the right). He needs a similar sort of setting in order to get by and Idol simply doesn't provide them.

So you have to provide them for yourself which Blake did beautifully. His pomo "You Give Love a Bad Name" (is that the name?) gave me goosebumps. But I'm willing to concede that 1/4 of those bumps were because he looked so bon, Simon Le Bon, to be precise. The man is music; but new wave is his destiny. Get gayer. Asymmetricalize your hair. Never get enough.

As for the soul gals, Melinda was more consistent than Lekisha. But Lekisha got to the top of the mountain with that attitudinal stare before the last line. Maybe she was cheating by choosing one of Bon Jovi's "soul" songs. But so what? It's not as if Simon is out to sign a Betty Davis (I hope).