Something Else!

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The Friday Morning Listen: Vetiver – Thing Of The Past (2008)

Tomorrow is Record Store Day, that annual event reserved for the celebration of that seemingly dying breed of retail outlet. I’ve written plenty about the future of digital music (mostly my lack of interest in it), but Record Store Day transcends You May Also Like: ‘All Things Must Pass: TheRead More

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Deep Cuts: Sting, "Island of Souls" (1991)

“The Soul Cages,” a Sting album about boyhood grief, remains this strangely powerful if demanding narrative, one with textured song structures and densely emotional themes. Its triumph comes right away, though, on the opener “Island of Souls” — a compellingly dark, perfectly conceived tale of a riveter’s son whose dreamRead More

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miX&dorp (Various Artists) – Blues + Beat (2011)

Netherlands-based Black And Tan Records has been doing its part to keep the blues alive since 1998, signing up artists from America and Europe like Boo Boo Davis, Big George Jackson, Billy Jones, Byther Smith, You May Also Like: ElectroBluesSociety featuring Boo Boo Davis, “What’s Going On” (2021): One TrackRead More

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Forgotten series: Kenny Garrett – Standard Of Language (2003)

Interplay. Whether I’m taking in straight ahead, bebop-style jazz or more out-there stuff, it’s all about listening You May Also Like: Darren Barrett – ‘The EVI Sessions: Mr. Steiner’ (2019)

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Jon Anderson, former Yes frontman: Something Else! Interview

After a difficult bout with respiratory problems, Jon Anderson has returned with a furious creativity

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Tom Levin – Tooth and Claw (2011)

We find no uncluttered answers on Tom Levin’s sumptuous, vaguely fatalistic Tooth and Claw. In fact, oftentimes the questions themselves for this former New Music Weekly Awards AC male artist of the year are almost unbearable. You May Also Like: No related posts.

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Billy Bang (1947-2011): An Appreciation

The jazz world suffered a significant loss Monday with the passing of violinist Billy Bang. Reportedly afflicted with lung cancer, Bang, born William Vincent Walker, was 63 years old. Given his stage name from friends as a youth, a name taken from a cartoon character, Bang’s life was anything butRead More

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Darius Jones and Matthew Shipp – Cosmic Lieder (2011)

Going from unknown two years ago to co-leading a duet record with Matthew Shipp is a meteoric rise in the avant jazz world, much less any world, but that’s just what alto saxophonist has accomplished in this short time frame. You May Also Like: Matthew Shipp – Zero (2018) MatthewRead More

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Movies: Peter Gabriel – Growing Up Live (2003)

by Tom Johnson Perhaps it was a reaction to claims by fans and detractors alike that Peter Gabriel’s previous live offering, Secret World Live, was really more “live” than live You May Also Like: When Peter Gabriel Suddenly Decided to Open Up on ‘Us’

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Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What (2011)

Paul Simon’s new record, his first since 2006’s dense Brian Eno-collaboration Surprise, is a career-spanning, sometimes duskily ruminative, quirk-splashed triumph — simultaneously bold in its constructions and timeless in its themes. You May Also Like: How ‘Paul Simon’ Set the Template for a Career of Dizzying Musical Exploration