Portishead: Third

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Sasha Frere-Jones wrote in the New Yorker: "Portishead’s new album, 'Third,' which is actually its fourth, sounds like nothing else on offer now. … 'Third' is at times delightfully abrasive, but the band members seem to have accepted that being soothing, despite their perverse streak, is part of what they do — even if the music, upon closer inspection, isn’t reassuring. … If I told you that I expected much from this album, I would be lying, but when I finally got 'Third' I played little else for weeks. … The opener, 'Silence,' announces a distinct break with the hip-hop rhythms that have long grounded the band. A distorted voice, speaking Portuguese with a Brazilian accent, recites lines derived from Wiccan lore: 'Be alert to the rule of three. What you give will return to you. You must learn that lesson. You only gain what you deserve.' Birds chirp, a guitar worries away at a note, a bass line unfolds luxuriously, and the drums … are dirty and clumpy, playing a pattern that people call tribal, but it isn’t part of any particular genre. It simply rolls. … The song builds and builds, with neither verse nor chorus, and stops abruptly."

Taneyev: Symphonies 1 and 3

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Contents: Symphony No. 3 in D minor, 1884; Symphony No. 1 in E minor, 1874. Recorded Sept. 10-14, 2006, Studio of West-Siberian Radio, Novosibirsk, Russia.
Personnel: Novosibirsk Academic Symphony Orchestra; Thomas Sanderling, conductor.
From the notes by Anastasia Belina: "A pupil of Rubenstein and Tchaikovsky, and a teacher of Rachmaninov and Scriabin, Taneyev emerges as a link between these two generations. … Although highly independent as a mature artist, Taneyev was understandably under Tchaikovsky's influence during the early years of his career. … It is perhaps fitting, then, to compare Taneyev's First Symphony in E minor with Tchaikovsky's Second. … From the opening pages of his First Symphony, the teenage composer impresses with his talent, seriousness, skilful orchestration, and a complete absence of virtuosity for its own sake. … [The Third Symphony] is a large four-movement cycle. … The scintillating Finale is the crowning glory of the cycle; its peroration abounds in imitation and double canons. …"

DJ Shadow: Endtroducing.… DJ Shadow

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Vivian Nereim wrote in the New Haven Advocate: "There are definitely people out there who reduce Girl Talk down to a gimmick. They're wrong. Yes, his music is entirely composed of samples. But he weaves them together in bits and pieces to create new sounds altogether. … There are definitely other people out there who think Girl Talk is some sort of demi-god — the trailblazer of the decade. But they're wrong, too. This is not the first time a sample has been taken, nor the first time whole records have been composed of samples. Back in 1996, DJ Shadow, an eclectic musician from the Bay Area, put out Endtroducing..., a comprehensive album with a listener-friendly feel, entirely created on a 12-bit sampling drum machine. He's made several albums since, to various amounts of critical acclaim. Not that DJ Shadow was the first. The roots of re-appropriation as music are much deeper. But Gillis more than acknowledges the point, saying he gets the DJ Shadow reference 'not as much as I would almost hope. That's a guy who really paved the way for making original music out of samples.'"

Curtis Roads: Point Line Cloud

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Joshua Davis wrote in Wired: "Roads is the foremost composer in a genre called microsound, where notes are broken into barely audible fragments as short as 1/1,000 of a second. It's a demanding field: Years of effort can yield only a few seconds of music. Roads has been working on one arrangement for more than 20 years, and so far it's only six minutes long. … At this point the only thing he's sure of is the track's title: 1987, the year he started to compose it. Back then, Roads was editor in chief of the MIT-based Computer Music Journal. He was also one of the leading proponents of electronic music at a time when raves were beginning to popularize it. Still, he felt that rave music wasn't going to deliver the masterpiece the genre needed if it was to be taken seriously. … His Cloud Generator software … contains about 30,000 lines of code and took about a year to write. Armed with this new instrument, Roads selected his favorite millisecond-long fragments and began arranging them bit by bit in the audio-editing app ProTools. His indie-label debut, 2005's Point Line Cloud, brought critical accolades but few listeners" (5/08, p. 55).

Art of Field Recording, Volume I: 50 Years of Traditional American Music Documented by Art Rosenbaum

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Contents: Disk [sic] 1: Survey; Disk 2: Religious; Disk 3: Blues; Disk 4: Instrumental and Dance; plus 96-page book, 25 x 25 cm, illustrated with drawings, paintings, and photographs.
Disk 4 alone includes the following and more: Instrumental and dance: Lost Indian / Dallas Henderson — Flat foot Charlie / Ben Entrekin, Uncle John Patterson, and James Patterson — Down the road / Lawrence Eller and Vaughn Eller — Sally, won't you have me, do gal, do / Chester Hounchell — Fox chase / Coy Martin — Fox chase / Neal Patman — Medley / Gordon Tanner, Smokey Joe Miller, and Uncle John Patterson — Mandolin stomp / James "Yank" Rachel and Shirley Griffith — Omie wise / Albert Hash — Train 45 / Albert Hash and Art Rosenbaum — Turkey in the straw / George Childers — Arkansas traveler / Louis and Larry Riendeau — Fynne's polka / Dwight "Red" Lamb — Pigtown fling / Newt Tolman — Stony point / John W. Summers and Art Rosenbaum — Cowboy waltz / Earl Murphy and Bill Ashley — Walk, little Julie / Clester Hounchell — Five to my five / Rev. Howard Finster …

Panic at the Disco: Pretty. Odd

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Ben Heller wrote in the Huffington Post: "In order to not crack a smile when first hearing 'Nine in the Afternoon,' the kitschy, 'Penny Lane'-inspired single from (Now! Exclamation Point Free) Panic at the Disco, one would either have to be inherently joyless, or a writer for Pitchfork Media. This giddy anthem about a magical room where 'thoughts can bloom,' is every bit as stupidly clever and cleverly stupid as a perfect pop single should be. … Instead of playing it safe and putting out a second album that sounded every bit like their 2.2 million selling debut, the band took a magical mystery tour into the mountains of Nevada (literally!), and returned with an album that couldn't be more out of line with the times if it were only available on vinyl and 8-track. The pretty, odd result (conveniently titled Pretty. Odd.) is currently the #2 album in the country. … Gone are the crunchy guitars and cumbersome, 'OMG! Y R U making out with him!' sentiments of their debut. In their place are horns, harpsichords, sleigh bells, and playfully TechniColor lyrics that haven't seen the top of the pop charts in almost 40 years" (4/7/08).

The Bacon Brothers: White Knuckles

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The Westport Minuteman wrote: "Long before Kevin Bacon became a household name with such hit films as 'Footloose,' 'A Few Good Men' and 'The Woodsman' … he was writing songs on his own and playing percussion in Philadelphia coffeehouses with his brother Michael and others. So, it is no surprise that the Bacon Brothers — Kevin and Michael — lifelong musicians, have formed a band that has several albums, including their latest, 'White Knuckles,' plus an ever-growing fan base. … The Bacon Brothers hallmark has been writing songs, which through bare self-expression and humor, echo the lives of their audience. It is an art they have refined in their albums and on tour. The latest release, 'White Knuckles,' kicks into overdrive with such songs as 'Unhappy Birthday,' with its message of healing, the heartbreak of 'Tuesday' or the yearning of 'Get Away with It.' … Backed by Paul Guzzone on bass/vocals, Marshal Rosenberg on percussion, Frank Vilardi on drums and Ira Siegel on electric guitar, the Bacon Brothers put fame aside and do what it takes to make the music sing" ("Bacon Brothers to Play …," 4/3/08).

Jordan Zevon: Insides Out

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Eric R. Danton wrote in his Hartford Courant blog Sound Check: "Jordan Zevon shares more than genetics with his late father. … The son clearly inherited his father's mordant wit, and his ear for catchy tunes. Jordan Zevon steers his talent in a different musical direction, though, on 'Insides Out,' his solo debut. … It's a power-pop record, full of muscular hooks and sharp melodies. … Colorful vocal harmonies and robust guitars frame self-deprecating lyrics on 'The Joke's On Me.' … Zevon flits from celebrating the whimsy of a free-spirited childhood neighbor on 'Camila Rhodes' to a more serious turn on the piano-driven title track. The lyrics are oblique enough to apply to any circumstance of loss, but it shouldn't come as a shock to learn that Zevon drew inspiration from the deaths of his father in 2003 and his mother the following year. … 'Studebaker' was an unreleased Warren Zevon tune that his son recorded for the 2004 tribute 'Enjoy Every Sandwich.' … The younger Zevon nails it. … Jordan Zevon shows he's his own man on 'Insides Out,' and you get the sense that Warren, wherever he is, couldn't be prouder."

Miles Davis: On the Corner

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Personnel: Miles Davis, trumpet; Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, keyboards; John McLaughlin, guitar; Dave Liebman, saxophone; Jack DeJohnette, drums; additional musicians.
Contents: On the corner / New York girl / Thinkin' one thing and doin' another / Vote for Miles (19:56) — Black satin (5:15) — One and one (6:09) — Helen Butte / Mr. Freedom X (23:18). Recorded June 1 and 6, and July 7, 1972, in New York City. Includes notes by Bob Belden and Dave Liebman, in container.
Martin Johnson, writing in New York, called this recording Davis's "last great studio album, a polyrhythmic monster," and listed it as one of 12 that demonstrate how "for the last 40 years, jazz in New York … has stealthily maintained its vitality" ("The New York Canon: Jazz," 4/14/08, p. 75).
Another album on Mr. Johnson's list, Abbey Sings Abbey by Abbey Lincoln, is also in our collection.

The B-52s: Funplex

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Contents: Pump — Hot corner — Ultraviolet — Juliet of the spirits — Funplex — Eyes wide open — Love in the year 3000 — Deviant ingredient — Too much to think about — Dancing now — Keep this party going. All songs written and arranged by the B-52s. Music and musical direction: Keith Strickland; lyrics and melodies; Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, and Cindy Wilson. Personnel: "The B-52s are Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson."
Wired wrote: "Long before the Rapture set dance floors aflame, the B-52's got Gen-X teenagers fruggin'. Their new album's electrosynths and catchy club-ready disco hooks have catapulted the rock lobsters' classic sound into the 21st century. Clearly their tin roof isn't that rusty" ("Playlist," 3/08, p. 74).
Notable lyrics: "I'm a pleasure seeker / Shoppin' for a new distraction / I'm a pleasure seeker / Lookin' for some platinum action … Movin' to the muzak … Faster Pussycat thrill thrill / I'm at the mall on a diet pill / Oh broke my heart / At the Funplex / Yes you did. …"

Body of War: Songs That Inspired an Iraq War Veteran

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Contents: Hero's song (Brendan James) — American terrorist (Lupe Fiasco) — Light up ya lighter (Michael Franti & Spearhead) — Guerilla radio (Rage Against the Machine) — Son of a Bush (Public Enemy) — Empty walls (Serj Tankian) — Let them eat war (Bad Religion) — White people for peace (Against Me!) — Letter from Iraq (Bouncing Souls) — War (Dialated Peoples) — Overcome (the recapitulation) (RX Bandits) — Fields of agony (No Use For a Name) — Bushonomics (Talib Kweli & Cornel West) — The 4th branch (Immortal Technique) — B.Y.O.B. (System of a Down) — No more (live) (Eddie Vedder & Ben Harper) — Devils & dust (Bruce Springsteen) — Masters of war (Pearl Jam) — When the president talks to God (Bright Eyes) — Gimme some truth (John Lennon) — The restless consumer (Neil Young) — Battle hymns (The Nightwatchman) — Anthrax (Kimya Dawson) — WMD (Blow Up Hollywood) — State of the union (David Ford) — Yo George (Tori Amos) — Love vigilantes (Laura Cantrell) — Black rain (Ben Harper) — To kill the child (Roger Waters) — Day after tomorrow (Tom Waits).