November 2023 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer of Opernhaus Zürich’s production of Richard Wagner’s Götterdämmerung by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of November

1. Bertrand Chamayou- Letter(s) to Erik Satie

Correspondence with John Cage.

2. Sullivan Fortner- Solo Game

Two sides of the pianist.

3. 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne- Welcome 2 Collegrove

Duffle bag boys.

4. Yuhan Su- Liberated Gesture

Good vibes.

5. DJ Manny- Hypnotized

Superior footwork.

6. Viktor Orri Árnason and Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir- Poems

Icy.

7. Thandi Ntuli and Carlos Niño- Rainbow Revisited

Sunshine.

8. Nitai Hershkovits- Call On the Old Wise

Wisdom of the elders.

9. Blockhead- The Aux

Underground all-stars.

10. Sarah Davachi and Quatuor Bozzini- Long Gradus

Deceptive drones.

Top Ten Songs of November

1.Tokischa- "Candy"

Not so sweet.

2. Danny Brown featuring Kassa Overall- "Jenn's Terrific Vacation"

An unexpected update of 2011’s “Fields”.

3. Rico Nasty, NCognita, Simon Said. and Raedio- "Lackin"

Complete.

4. Björk featuring Rosalía- "Oral"

“I just don’t know.”

5. Atmosphere- “Traveling Forever”

Never-ending tour.

6. 070 Shake featuring Ken Carson- "Natural Habitat"

Uncaged.

7. Larry June, Cardo and the Alchemist- "The Great Escape"

Free.

8. Majid Jordan- "Eyes Closed"

Smooth operator.

9. Yahritza Y Su Esencia and El Yaki- "Nos Equivocamos"

We were wrong.

10. Willi Carlisle- “When the Pills Wear Off”

Reckoning.

Top Ten Performances of November

1. András Schiff at Helzberg Hall

My review.

2. Juan Diego Flórez at the Folly Theater

My review.

3. Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Listening Forest at Crystal Bridges Museum (Bentonville)

My Instagram clip.

4. The Danielle Nicole Band and Katy Guillen and the Drive at the Uptown Theater

My Instagram snapshot.

5. DJ Lucas, Papo2oo4, Subjxct 5, Paris Williams, Lil Heavn and N1n4 Freakquency at Farewell

My review.

6. Kelly Hall Tompkins at the Folly Theater

My review.

7. UMKC Opera’s “The Magic Flute” at White Recital Hall

My review.

8. Jackie Myers, Rich Wheeler and Sebastian Arias at the Market at Meadowbrook

My Instagram snapshot.

9. The Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society’s “Intersect & Interdependence” at Charlotte Street Foundation

My Instagram clip.

10. East Hill Singers at Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church 

My Instagram snapshot.

The previous monthly survey is here.

August 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for Detroit Opera’s 2022 production of Faust by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of August

1. Megan Thee Stallion- Traumazine

Obscenely fun.

2. Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation- How Good It Is

Rock of ages.

3. Julia Wolfe and Sō Percussion- Forbidden Love

The string quartet turned inside-out.

4. Mach-Hommy- Dollar Menu 4

Buffalo wings.

5. Barlast- Musik för scener

My review.

6. Larry June- Spaceships on the Blade

My review.

7. Danger Mouse and Black Thought- Cheat Codes

Swindled.

8. Second Nature Ensemble- Second Nature

My review.

9. Rod Wave- Beautiful Mind

So what if Post Malone fell off?

10. Al Foster- Reflections

A memento of a massive night I enjoyed in 2019.

Top Ten Songs of August

1. Ice Spice- "Munch (Feelin' U)"

Baddie.

2. Doechii with Rico Nasty- “Swamp B*tches”

Muggy.

3. Kevin Gates- "Major League"

All star.

4. DJ Khaled featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend and Fridayy- “God Did”

All is forgiven.

5. Blackstarkids- "Sex Appeal"

Magnetic.

6. Nicki Minaj- “Super Freaky Girl”

Street song.

7. Four Tet- "Mango Feedback"

Delicious.

8. Kiwi Jr.- "Parasite II"

“Someone down in the laundry room keeps shrinking all my shirts!”

9. Ronald Isley, the Isley Brothers and Beyoncé- “Make Me Say It Again, Girl”

Mr. Biggs and Queen B.

10. Jordan Davis- “Next Thing You Know”

I’m a sap.

Top Ten Concerts of August

1. Escuela Grind- Farewell

My review.

2. Flatland Cavalry- The Truman

My review.

3. Black Crack Revue- Westport Coffee House

My review.

4. Bob Bowman and Peter Schlamb- Second Presbyterian Church

My review.

5. Escher String Quartet- Polsky Theatre

My review.

6. Evan Verplough and Ben Baker- World Culture KC

My review.

7. The Summer Singers of Kansas City & Orchestra’s “Elijah”- Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral

My review.

8. Making Movies- Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art

My Instagram photo.

8. Jenna Bauer, Daniel Dissmore and Desmond Mason- The Market at Meadowbrook

My Instagram photo.

10. Morgan Faw and The Flame- The Blue Room

My Instagram clip.

Last month’s survey is here.

What’s a Goon to a Goblin?

Original image of A Child’s Garden of Verses by There Stands the Glass.

I almost shed a tear when I heard the all-too-familiar click of a lighter in the opening moments of No Ceilings a few days ago.  The partial re-release of Lil Wayne’s woefully inferior 2009 mixtape documents the precipitous erosion of creativity caused in part by the activities implied by the embarrassing sound effect.  Lil Wayne was the most important rapper alive 15 years ago.  I reveled in Tunechi’s dominance from the first time I heard “The Block is Hot” in 1999 through 2008’s Tha Carter III.  Heavy rotation of the riveting video for "A Milli" may even have been the pivotal factor allowing hip-hop to overtake pop as the most dominant strain of popular music.  It’s impossible to stay on top forever, but Mr. Carter’s nearly instantaneous descent into mediocrity was particularly jarring.  He fires off a handful of good verses amid the revolting gynecology punchlines on the drab No Ceilings, but the subpar production is depressing.  Weezy is only 37, so there’s still a possibility he’ll recover from his lengthy artistic funk.  No matter what happens, I’ll always love him.