On Sep 13, 2021, at 10:41 AM, David Bivins <dabivins@...> wrote:

?

I know this is far from any kind of music we usually discuss, but I totally agree. We live three blocks from Barclays Center arena, where the MTV Video Music Awards were broadcast live last night. On a lark we decided to watch part of it. For no good reason, we thought it might be interesting to watch something on the television which was happening three blocks away.?

Anyway, everything sucked. It all sounded the same. Some winking reference to an older song, then a trap or Latin beat, and forgettable melodies. There were some talented singers (I think so?) but they were saddled with bogglingly awful music to muck through. It's a horrific cycle of corporate pablum being fed to young people who are then asked to vote on said pablum and then are validated when their votes "win." The only interesting performer for me was Lil Nas X, and only because his activism and middle finger (fingers) to the reactionaries has been so playful over the last year or so. I don't really like his music.

That all said, I can't say that I expected anything remotely interesting to be on offer last night.?

Please all keep posting the good stuff. I've been bingeing the Inflo productions for a year now, including all the Sault albums, Cleo Sol's two albums, and Kiwanuka. They're exciting and beautiful and keep me engaged with music.?

If you're interested in an intersection of jazz and South Asian raga, Aakash Mittal just released his album Nocturne which?is fantastic. He just had an album release show the other night and previewed an entire album's worth of new material after the intermission. I had the privilege of seeing him in the studio the very next day recording some of the latter.?

Other recent heavy rotation:

Brooklyn Raga Massive - In D - a tip of the hat to Terry Riley's In C - very enjoyable

Neu! - first two albums - started listening to them again after reading Electri-City, a fabulous oral history of the latter 20th C music scene in Düsseldorf
IDLES - somehow I'm not put off by their explicit kindness wrapped in pub rock/rock and find myself singing along. With any luck I'll see them live in October, though I'm bummed that I don't get to see them with Anna Meredith, who opened for them in England on recent dates.?

The IMPREC reissue of?

?/?

?/?

?-?

Deep Listening is amazing if you're into that kind of thing, which I am.

On Mon, Sep 13, 2021 at 9:58 AM Adam Marshall <adam.marshall@...> wrote:

Tom Robinson has been sitting in for Gid Coe on radio 6 recently and his show has been a real eye-opener.

?

He has drawn my attention to the fact that there is so much utterly shyte music around these days! I was totally unaware and feel a bit of a fool for telling people that music is going through a golden patch.

?

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Tom for selflessly performing such a valuable public service.

?

I’m going to retreat back into my cocoon of good tunes now and never venture out again.

?

adam