Category Archives: Music

Lenine: Labiata

You could call Lenine a late bloomer; although his first album (with Lula Queiroga) dropped in 1983, when he was 24, there was a break of nearly ten years before his collaboration with Marcos Suzano, Olho de Peixe, would appear; another … Continue reading

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Sugar-Free Jazz: The Jazz Ear, by Ben Ratliff

If trying to define jazz is difficult, trying to get a jazz musician to talk about his or her approach to the craft seems harder still. As Ben Ratliff notes in the introduction to his latest book, The Jazz Ear: … Continue reading

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Inspiration Index 9: No, But if You Hum a Few Bars…

I can’t tell you exactly the first time it happened, although it would’ve been some time around 1976 and Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life. The song was, and still is, “Ngiculela/Es Una Historia/I Am Singing” (a song, … Continue reading

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Byrne & Eno: Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

Neither of the parties responsible for this album shies away from collaboration. Even taking his work as a producer out of the picture, Brian Eno seems to thrive on a collaborative atmosphere, as can be heard on work with John … Continue reading

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The Killers: Hot Mess

Some songs, or albums, stick in your head for days. They’ve got endless hooks, catchy choruses, and chord changes that make your guts melt. Well, I’ve had a week now to digest the Killers’ latest, and it hasn’t stuck in … Continue reading

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Levi Stubbs, 1936-2008

Sometimes it’s one of a seemingly endless procession of anonymous R&B singers who confuse sounding weepy with being soulful; sometimes it’s Justin Timberlake’s dry white whine; sometimes it’s hearing the likes of Rod Stewart, Michael McDonald, or Michael Bolton (cursed … Continue reading

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Old, Faithful

James, Hey Ma/Ben Folds, Way to Normal Sometimes it seems like I go through dry spells with books and music, where there isn’t much out that’s new that seems interesting. The most recent stuff that’s grabbed me, actually, has tended … Continue reading

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Inspiration Index 8: Happy Accidents, Part 2

One side effect of the portable MP3 player: I don’t spend nearly as much time as I used to watching television with the sound turned all the way down and the stereo on. It’s a shame, really, because you can … Continue reading

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Res: Black. Girl. Rocks.

If there’s any justice in the music industry–no, wait a minute, if people have any taste whatsoever–no, that doesn’t quite work, either… Okay. Here’s the deal. The first album by Res, 2001′s How I Do, was as catchy and listenable … Continue reading

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Magic and Loss: The Nick Hornby Songbook, Love is a Mix Tape

When is a music book not about music? It’s a valid question to ask if you stop to consider Nick Hornby’s Songbook, and Rob Sheffield’s Love is a Mix Tape. Both are ostensibly about music, and the role it plays … Continue reading

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