s / s / s /Serengeti
The Diverse Moods of Serengeti
s / s / s: Beak & Claw (Anticon)
Serengeti has long been fascinated by the upper-middle class arty-farties David Brooks once tried to lampoon as "bobos." But though he's always been wittier and smarter about bourgeois bohemians than Brooks, collaborators like Tony Trimm and Polyphonic have seldom provided the eclectrobeats his jokes and ideas deserved. This one-off EP with singer-songwriter cum symphonist Sufjan Stevens and semiclassical drum'n'bassmaker Son Lux is different, because the primary function of his raps is to ground the beautiful musics his collaborators contribute. Stevens's Auto-Tuned apostrophe, Shara Worden's soprano harmonies, the layered chorus hooks and electro-percussion‑-all would float into the arty-farty ether without Serengeti stumbling through his fictional misunderstood life, and that confluence is the point. Croons Stevens: "If I could figure out what it was all about." Repeats Serengeti: "I had the world figured out beyond any doubt." Both are lost‑-but touchingly and even nobly. A MINUS
Serengeti: Kenny Dennis EP (Anticon)
A surprise comeback EP from the long-silent Grimm Teachaz crew may be for Kenny Dennis fans only, but he deserves more of them. Who knew from the likes of "Dennehy" that this superfan could speed-rap like on "Flat Pop"‑-and also, who knows what he's saying when he does? Kenny never falters as he disses Shaquille O'Neal, goes to bat for shamed Cub fan Steve Bartman, and packs a Ruger as he smacks down a loud kid, helps a stranded motorist, and tears up his parking tickets. The beats are as basic as in classic Teachaz, only modernized with extra effects, and the rhyming remains prime: "I'm Charles Bronson, I'm from Wisconsin/Chicken MCs call 'em Swanson/They get grilled up like a porkchop/Catch 'em on the street right in front of their bus stop." A MINUS
This is a duplicate post, courtesy of Clankface. I'm leaving it in here only to pinpoint when the old robot began to experience Electron Reflux Disease.
is Milo saying that Atzmon's pro-Palestine position or collaboration with a crippled Stalinist makes his work ipso facto less acceptable?
No, no -- I'm only saying that his evident antisemitism makes him a jerk. I thought the pro-Palestine stance of Exile was a plus. It has nothing to do with the quality of the work. I've always thought Wyatt's politics were on the ridiculous side, but as long as he expressed it through things like a cover of the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet, all was swell. I'm only sorry that nowadays he's collaborating with a strong player who's, sadly, not only pro-Palestine and anti-Israel but carries the last aspect into outright bigotry. (I disliked the recent Wyatt albums, but that was before I recognized who Atzmon was or knew anything about his antisemitic statements.) I think adding an addendum to the positive review would have shown a lot more fortitude than yanking it entirely.
Okay, Gilad Atzmon's antisemitic remarks make him a jerk. I don't care if he's "really" antisemitic or not. "I'm not a bigot I just make nothing but bigoted remarks" is a distinction I've always found too, er, refined
my humble apologies to my jewish friends for reviewing rich sigel [sic] an anti-zionist peace activist that supports the destruction of israel. had i know [sic] who he was and what he was all about i never would have given him 30 seconds of my time. his review is pulled and e mail blocked. again my apologies i stand with israel NEVER against her but firmly against her enemies.
The [sic] was added by Siegel -- I changed parens to brackets. What I meant by politics was that Black bowed to political pressure to suppress the review. The generic term for this is blacklisting (sorry if that seems like a pun).
Atzmon figures into this two ways: he played on the record, but more importantly is that there is a significant movement to condemn him and shun his work -- again, to blacklist him. The petition to condemn him (at least the one I've seen) is phrased like a loyalty oath: anyone who fails to sign it is presumed to be committed to the physical destruction of Israel.
Atzmon is an extremely marginal figure in the political debate over Israel's occupation: their illegal settlements, their denial of Palestinian rights, their refusal to acknowledge the refugees, their threats of war against other countries in the region (most especially Iran). The only reason he's become an issue is that pro-Israeli propagandists want to deflect the discussion, to get people to talk about something other than Israel's own acts and posture.
For my part I've never not reviewed an Israeli jazz record -- I've written at least 100 Jazz Prospecting notes on records by Israeli musicians, quite possibly 200 or more. (Seems like one of the legacies of socialism that the government of Israel puts a lot of money into music education. There are probably more Israeli jazz musicians per capita than in any other country -- Norway and Portugal strike me as the closest competitors.) I don't know anything about the politics of any Israeli musicians unless they've made a point of it. I'm not party to any boycott effort, nor to any blacklisting. I've never described myself as "pro" any side, and I don't think I've ever taken a position that cannot be applied equally to all.
So I'm not out to defend the statements of positions of Atzmon and Siegel. But I do resent, and worry about, the authoritarian attitude that seeks to condemn and expunge them.
Also for Milo (and others): I should caution you against jumping to the conclusion that any self-identified Jew is an anti-semite. I know for a fact that my Jewish wife is a lot less cautious and circumspect when she talks about Jews than I am. (I mean, you don't automatically assume that every rapper who uses the n-word is a KKK supporter, now do you?)
is Milo saying that Atzmon's pro-Palestine position or collaboration with a crippled Stalinist makes his work ipso facto less acceptable?
No, no -- I'm only saying that his evident antisemitism makes him a jerk. I thought the pro-Palestine stance of Exile was a plus. It has nothing to do with the quality of the work. I've always thought Wyatt's politics were on the ridiculous side, but as long as he expressed it through things like a cover of the Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet, all was swell. I'm only sorry that nowadays he's collaborating with a strong player who's, sadly, not only pro-Palestine and anti-Israel but carries the last aspect into outright bigotry. (I disliked the recent Wyatt albums, but that was before I recognized who Atzmon was or knew anything about his antisemitic statements.) I think adding an addendum to the positive review would have shown a lot more fortitude than yanking it entirely.
Exile [Enja, 2003]
I knew they were playing Middle Eastern jazz--loved the sound of Atzmon's 'Trane-driven sax up against Kuwaiti-schooled diva and tango accordion. But it was four or five spins before I found out they were Israeli exiles whose theme is Palestine and whose strategy is to Arabize Israeli hits. Not much, but as near to resolution as any Palestinian is liable to get right now. Recorded in London. Tell Tony Blair the news. A-
Gilad Atzmon
Yow. I didn't know all that about the guy, either. I remember I got his Exile back in 2003 or whenever and I noticed the pro-Palestinian slant and thought it was okay playing, but I must have found it wanting in some way because I notice I did not keep it. Sorry to see Robert Wyatt is teaming up with him these days, but am now glad the recent Wyatt releases are so feeble few will hear them.
I went to the Wild Flag show here the day before Bob saw them. I agree with impressions of the show -- got stronger, Brownstein's voice picked up clout, she's clearly some form of ecstatic, etc. I would only dissent in that I feel Mary Timony got slighted a bit. Though I also don't agree with a local writer who told me he was "surprised at how much it was Mary's band." (I did concur with him that, in at any event, the show was sold out so firmly because of "Portlandia" fans.) I was not particularly fond of Helium but I feel I should note that the group's first EP, Pirate Prude, was a helluva lot more punky than dreamy. Timony and Brownstein have chemistry on stage, esp. during guitar tangles and it feels like a quartet of close-enough-to-equals (there were features for drums and keyboards), though I am ultimaely a Brownstein man myself. And, yeah, I would have to say "brave but not quite convincing" applies to Timony's encore cover in Boston as well -- Television's "See No Evil."
I'm not going to say whether it is right or not to burn down a synagogue, I can see that it is a rational act.
We must begin to take the accusation that the Jewish people are trying to control the world very seriously.
It took me years to accept that the Holocaust narrative, in its current form, doesn’t make any historical sense.
American Jewry makes any debate on whether the 'Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion' are an authentic document or rather a forged irrelevant. American Jews do control the world, by proxy. So far they are doing pretty well for themselves at least.
Feels like the one trick Sleater-Kinney missed that could have lifted them
As a to-the-core SK fan, I totally agree with you bradluen. Which is strange actually because I think I saw them smile on stage at and with each other more than any other band I've ever seen. But when it came to simple light heartedness or straight out comedy. . . nope, not really.
Lots of fellas like their gals cute, funny, feisty and sharp as nails
I've written for a copy of the record (Rich Siegel: The Way to Peace), so we'll see. Gilad Atzmon appears on the record. I recently received a petition asking people to condemn Atzmon for various allegedly anti-semitic statements -- I haven't followed his polemical writings close enough to sort out the context (my conjecture is that being Israeli-born, he doesn't quite appreciate how different Israeli and diaspora Jews are), but I have been shocked by the vitriol some jazz critics -- David R. Adler is the prime example -- hold for him.
about the blogger
Starting in 1967, Robert Christgau has covered popular music for The Village Voice, Esquire, Blender, Playboy, Rolling Stone, and many other publications. He teaches in New York University's Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music, maintains a comprehensive website at robertchristgau.com, and has published five books based on his journalism. He has written for MSN Music since 2006.
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