Carolina Chocolate Drops/Luminescent Orchestrii/The Baseball Project
That's What I Call Americana
By Xgau Mar 1, 2011 2:15AM
Carolina Chocolate Drops/Luminescent Orchestrii: Carolina Chocolate Drops/Luminescent Orchestrii (Nonesuch)
The Chocolate Drops are an African-American string band from Durham whose first Nonesuch album avoided intimations of minstrelsy but not slavery times, which is when fiddle-banjo-harmonica-bones-kazoo ensembles first entertained both masters and comrades. As was both historically accurate and the thing to do on the folk circuit where they plied their trade, their first Nonesuch album was arresting but contained--soulful and rather slow, America having speeded up considerable since the 19th century. But on this EP they hook up with an NYC Gypsy band whose big moment up to now was one about puttin' the puddin' in the punum, and whoosh, they're off to the camptown races. All four songs are quick, sexy, and a trifle nasty. The first and last celebrate a "short dress gal" who walks "like a queen in the Amazon" from male and female perspectives, both of which focus on the same end. In between comes a fiddle-fed cover of the gold-digging Blu Cantrell hit "Hit 'Em Up Style" and one subtitled "Diga Diga Diga" that I say is about speed. Can't parse it further because it's in Roma. That's the 21st-century America I want to live in. AThe Baseball Project: Volume 2: High and Inside (Yep Roc)
These 13 excellent songs are sufficiently specialized to make you realize how classic Volume 1 was--and what a theme statement "Past Time" was. Here the lead "1976" mourns Mark Fidrych, and though those who don't remember how rock and roll the kid was should look it up, that choice signals a smaller compass and a focus on frailty and death. "Chin Music" cheers on bad-asses who throw up and in, but later beanballs have tragic consequences for Tony Conigliaro's career and then Ray Chapman's very life--in a closer narrated by Carl Mays, the submariner who delivered the fatal pitch. Just as sad and strong is "Twilight of My Career," narrated by a Roger Clemens they'll almost convince you is a tragic figure. Yet the new season always brings new hope--Panda and the Freak will win the Series, and Ichiro will go to the moon. A MINUS236Comments
Mar 5, 2011 10:50AM
Coming to the party late . . .
I saw Carolina Chocolate Drops when they were first touring that dread folk circuit 5 years ago or so -- nice set, and really nice people too. Was disappointed that their first CD did not have the middle-aged tambourine player that I saw with them on it -- he was great.
I saw Carolina Chocolate Drops when they were first touring that dread folk circuit 5 years ago or so -- nice set, and really nice people too. Was disappointed that their first CD did not have the middle-aged tambourine player that I saw with them on it -- he was great.
Mar 4, 2011 2:24PM
Mar 4, 2011 8:58AM
Mar 4, 2011 8:37AM
Mar 4, 2011 8:24AM
Just to wrap up the nu-disc discussion, there's a extended discussion by some other music crazies locatedhttp://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/archive/index.php/t-86483.htmlat the link in this sentence.
And at another forum, my fave kind where everybody is cursing each other out alla time, there was what looks like a complete list of the Epic releases:
Elton John came up hereabouts and just by chance I happened to notice that one of my favorite Elton numbers, "Ego," has never appeared anywhere except on a single from 30+ years ago. Amazes me -- it's one of his few, uh, "confessional" songs. The flip (also unavailable elsewhere), "Flintstone Boy," is pretty damned good, too. I wonder how many outstanding numbers by well -known performers have never made it off of obscure vinyl.
And at another forum, my fave kind where everybody is cursing each other out alla time, there was what looks like a complete list of the Epic releases:
CHEAP TRICK "FOUND ALL THE RIGHT PARTS"
RICK NELSON "FOUR YOU"
PROPAGANDA "CALLING ON MOSCOW" (not the german band)
THE CLASH "BLACK MARKET CLASH"
NEW MUSIK "STRAIGHT LINES"
SHAKIN STEVENS "SHAKIN STEVENS"
GARY GLITTER "GLITTER & GOLD"
THE CONTINENTALS "FIZZ POP WONDER ROCK"
NINA HAGEN BAND "WHITE PUNKS ON DOPE"
And there was also a reminder of the marketing idea behind it all -- essentially a corporate twist on the notion that a cheapie 45 would introduce you to the latest punk sensation for less than a couple bucks. Check out New Musik for less than the price of a whole LP!! (But Cheap Trick? Gary Glitter??)Elton John came up hereabouts and just by chance I happened to notice that one of my favorite Elton numbers, "Ego," has never appeared anywhere except on a single from 30+ years ago. Amazes me -- it's one of his few, uh, "confessional" songs. The flip (also unavailable elsewhere), "Flintstone Boy," is pretty damned good, too. I wonder how many outstanding numbers by well -known performers have never made it off of obscure vinyl.
Mar 4, 2011 6:23AM
I think it's going a little too far to hold the Stones accountable for a crisis that occurred years after their tour and that no one else predicted either. Except Nouriel Roubini, who as far as I know never consorted with the Stones. Though god only knows:
"nouriel roubini" "rolling stones" About 70,700 results (0.19 seconds)
"nouriel roubini" "rolling stones" About 70,700 results (0.19 seconds)
Mar 4, 2011 5:55AM
Mar 4, 2011 5:05AM
'The kind of thing people say sounds "mature" because it's musically so middle of the road, though I don't see how post-breakup self-pity is "mature," no matter how difficult it is.'
Michael Tatum - going back to one of your earlier points, I don't think Adele's new album is terrible! I think she has a good voice - which she has honed since her debut (literal growth?) - I do think that while some may say that her sparse arrangements make a mature sound I just think it's flat! :/ I think that is where her latest CD fails - the music - it could be more upbeat/layered. I do like some of the hooks (she) created. I think I'm more on board with Xgau's B+ now - at first, I thought it would be a ***. I don't think it's good enough to be EW'd though! Although, in Britain it's been no. 1 for a while now - maybe that's merit enough? (Probably not - the charts are full of holes!). And now to completely go back to your quote, I agree with the first phrase (very funny, btw) but not the second - I am not ashamed to admit, I became depressed after a split with a girl I was with for two years (were thinking about marriage, kids) which took me by surprise! I had never taken a breakup so hard - it was like moving away from home, never to see your family again (cheese yes, faux no). Yes, I agree childish self revelry is never a good thing (although, Modern Lovers pulled it off?) I don't think she's that bad? And, to go back to what I said, you can never know how anybody is going to handle something - in regards to music or otherwise.JY47NY - *yawning I'm English, not Japanese! (I lived in Japan for a year and it became my handle. Yes, I'm one of these people who thinks the sun shines out of Japan's **** [education, health, recycling, metro, etc, etc] - aside from their politics and foreign relations with China!) ;)
Cam - hah hah!
Mar 4, 2011 2:29AM
Mar 4, 2011 12:40AM
On the Elton John end of things, he talks about the Limbaugh gig in the RS interview of a couple weeks ago. We had a great time reading it, and would recommend it - a very funny and, yes, sincere fella, even if his art did dry up a long while back. The salient quote from the Limbaugh section: "The only way you ever solve anything is by communicating, by planting seeds. And America is so divisive. I want to knock down walls and build bridges." I can understand if you might find that a touch too naive, especially since he also says "My goal is for Rush to say, ‘I support civil partnerships,’ and if I rang him right now, I think he might agree." (full paragraph below). But hey, I'm with him.
I've already weighed in on the sincerity thing, so I'll only add that when I use the word it's as it's defined, without the baggage (both the deification and the irritation at that deification) that it's collected over the years, and repeat that, IMO, it's been a huge factor in many pieces of great art. Michael, I think that your review of Blessed (and most definitely the album itself) contain some wonderfully sincere lines. In fact, I'll bet there's more than a few hardcore irony addicts out there who are rolling their eyes at those lines as we speak...
Full paragraph:
"I love him. He’s worked really hard at sobriety and it’s changed him so much. We have such a laugh. We call each other c**ts. I ask him how he's doing and tell him how proud I am of him. He’s got a great sense of humor. When David and I had our civil partnership, he sent us a present. In a case, on velvet cushions, were two diamond cock rings. So there’s a homophobe for you [laughs].”
I've already weighed in on the sincerity thing, so I'll only add that when I use the word it's as it's defined, without the baggage (both the deification and the irritation at that deification) that it's collected over the years, and repeat that, IMO, it's been a huge factor in many pieces of great art. Michael, I think that your review of Blessed (and most definitely the album itself) contain some wonderfully sincere lines. In fact, I'll bet there's more than a few hardcore irony addicts out there who are rolling their eyes at those lines as we speak...
Full paragraph:
“I could not believe when I was asked to play. ‘I thought it was a joke. I had dialogue with him before and he said, ‘I’m not anti-gay, I want you to come, bring David.’ My goal is for Rush to say, ‘I support civil partnerships,’ and if I rang him right now, I think he might agree. He was one of the first people to congratulate us on the baby.’”
"I love him. He’s worked really hard at sobriety and it’s changed him so much. We have such a laugh. We call each other c**ts. I ask him how he's doing and tell him how proud I am of him. He’s got a great sense of humor. When David and I had our civil partnership, he sent us a present. In a case, on velvet cushions, were two diamond cock rings. So there’s a homophobe for you [laughs].”
Mar 3, 2011 11:20PM
You excluded them from the main body of the book, shifting them, along with Linda Ronstadt, into Subjects For Further Research, then included Charles and the Kinks in your Core Collection, arguing, as I guess you're still arguing, that their "contributions to history far preceded the political pigheadedness that makes it so hard to get with them these days." It's also worth pointing out that when the 80s book came out the U.N. Cultural Boycott of South Africa was still in effect--by the time Ray died it had long been lifted.
As for the Rolling Stones and Ameriquest, the corporate company artists keep should always be borne in mind by conscious consumers. Seems like an excellent reason to skip the Stones, especially at the kind of prices they charge for tickets.
Mar 3, 2011 11:13PM
Mar 3, 2011 11:12PM
Mixtapes Update: Still working on Sugar and Poison 2 and Last of the Red Hot Wacos. Mixtapes posted to date:
Arabic Pop
Louis Jordan: Moe Pie Please: Louis Jordan Feeds His Face
Jimi Hendrix: Live
'90s Dance Mix
Country Blues
Gimme Indie Rock Vol. 2
The Bonnie Raitt Collection
Comments and suggestions always welcome. More to come....
Mar 3, 2011 10:55PM
Whoops--it has been pointed out to me that in fact I exempted Ray Charles and the Kinks from my Sun City boycott even in the '80s book, although I apologized in the introduction. How that inflects the rest of my previous post I'm too busy marking yet more papers to figure out right now. But it obviously demands a correction.
Mar 3, 2011 10:38PM
Mar 3, 2011 10:32PM
Mar 3, 2011 10:30PM
OK, it's never a good idea to come back in after Xgau, but as promised, these are EPs I love that aren’t on any of Xgau’s lists that I am aware of—either graded EPs or in top 10 lists. In fact, I’m not sure that any of these have been mentioned in any way at all. There must be errors, and if I tried harder I could probably double if not triple the list of recommended EPs that meet these criteria. No particular order, although Ratcat and Jason are special faves.
Ride- Vapour Trails
Grant McLennan- Live Last Monday (Clouds plus She’s So Strange)
Jad Fair- Zombies of Mora Tau
Jason and the Scorchers- Reckless Country Soul
Nerves
Meow (Neko Case! On drums!)
Motorhead/Girlschool- St. Valentine’s Day
The Breeders- Head to Toe
The Clean- In-A-Live
Ratcat- Tingles
Built to Spill- Caustic Resin
Buzzcocks- Spiral Scratch
Life Without Buildings- Love Trinity
In addition, can I do a psychedelic handstand for the bonus EP that came with One Nation Under A Groove? Whoever mentioned Mesopotamia should check out the original David Byrne mix, which I’ve never understood why the kitsch band of my dreams turned away from. And, I know Xgau mentioned it somewhere along the way, but I want to make sure we are all aware of Chilton’s Singer Not The Song. His completely preventable death saddens me as much as his apparent late life satisfaction warms my soul.
Mar 3, 2011 10:22PM
Without intending to pass judgment on anyone, let me present my PC bona fides by recalling that I was the guy who declined to include in the '80s CG book anyone who had played Sun City, including Ray Charles. And then let me point out that at the time of Ray Charles's death I displayed no such scruples, so maybe those bona fides don't mean all that much. I mean, Duke--and no, I'm not trying to draw you back in here, you're right to want to escape this rabbit hole--it is a bad thing that Nelly Furtado played for Kaddafi or however it's spelled this year. And Michael, were Furtado to make a great single, which is by no means impossible even though it is unlikely for reasons having little if anything to do with her cupidity in accepting Libyan shekels, it would still be a great single. If it was great enough you might even put your political distaste on the back burner. Let me cite another example. In 2005 the Rolling Stones' Bigger Bang tour was sponsored by Ameriquest, one of the mortgage companies whose dubious and probably fraudulent lending practices led to the Great Recession. How does that affect our view of the Rolling Stones? A little, though their corruption is hardly headline news, and in my case didn't prevent me from reviewing both the tour and the accompanying album in rather glowing terms for Blender. The live review actually included a graf about Ameriquest, something I'm proud of, though it wasn't as prescient as might be. All I'm saying here, and I will say no more, is that in an inextricably interconnected world moral calculus makes for very tricky math. We should care how artists comport themselves ethically--damn right. But their art will tend to survive those concerns if it's good enough. And that's something I've learned to live with--and even, in some cases, insist upon.
Mar 3, 2011 9:40PM
I love EPs, although I don't pull them out all that often. I was born too late for the 20-minute side to really mean much to me (as much as I dig vinyl), but it's not very often that I'm able to pay attention to a single recording for longer than that. Full albums still make up the bulk of my listening, but I usually listen to music while doing something else. I put an album on and let it grab me when it grabs me. When I'm sitting down and actively looking for things I want to hear, though, the EPs come out. Here are some favorites.
Archers of Loaf - Vs. The Greatest of All Time
Black Flag - Nervous Breakdown
Descendents - Fat
Jesu - SilverMission of Burma - Signals, Calls and Marches
Modest Mouse - No One's First, And You're Next
The Mountain Goats - Isopanisad Radio Hour
The Mountain Goats - Yam, King of the Crops
My Bloody Valentine - Tremolo
The Nerves - s/t
Pavement - Spit On A Stranger
Pavement - Watery, DomesticThe Mountain Goats - Yam, King of the Crops
My Bloody Valentine - Tremolo
The Nerves - s/t
Pavement - Spit On A Stranger
Port O'Brien - Nowhere To Run
Shellac - The Rude Gesture (A Pictorial History)
Shellac - The Rude Gesture (A Pictorial History)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Is Is
Mar 3, 2011 9:33PM
Report
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
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.
follow msn music
music news
- Justin Bieber Spanked Over Monkey Lodging Fees
- Q&A: Backstreet Boys seek 'closet fans' with new album, tour
- Sugarland's Nettles signs up Rick Rubin, goes solo
- Obama to host concert honoring Carole King
- George Michael injured in another car crash
- Tim McGraw recasts ACM's TV special, airing Sunday
- Eric Avery quits Nine Inch Nails
- Shia LaBeouf shows off dark side directing music video
- First day of two-day Andy Williams auction brings $46M
- Bob Dylan inducted as honorary member of arts academy
