Media Nugget

Symphony no. 4

Peter Illyitch Tchaikovsky
Symphony no. 4
1878

I saw this symphony last year and was duly impressed with the fourth movement and its overwhelming energy. However, it wasn't until I watched a recent broadcast of Great Performances that I began to appreciate the entire piece. A few weeks later, I spotted a recommendation from Alex Ross, pointing the way to PBS's multimedia presentation of the symphony. He describes the experience wonderfully: "...the true audience is that vast population of otherwise well-informed people for whom the rituals and codes of classical music are a closed book. This site, more than anything I've seen, opens it all up." Well, as a member of that true audience, I can fully attest to Ross's assessment. The page-by-page view of the musical score is a feature I would desperately love to have whenever I listen to classical music.

You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This

Mirah
You Think It's Like This But Really It's Like This
2000

A ukelele and a voice -- that's how Mirah's debut album starts -- at that should be more than enough to hook most listeners. Distinctive from start to finish, You Think It's Like This ranges from the plinky simplicity of "Million Miles" and "Engine Heart" to the bass-swinging "Sweepstakes Prize" to the Elliott Smith meets Elizabeth Cotten lullabye "Person Person." Produced by Phil Elvrum of the Microphones, this record is a like a cool breeze blowin' through your headphones. Scoop it and then check out Mirah's current release, C'Mon Miracle.

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady

Charles Mingus
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
1963

This one's easy. This record is pretty much an acknowledged masterpiece. With the six tracks of Black Saint, Mingus created a musical collage like no one had ever heard in 1963, mixing styles from flamenco to film noir. The album starts off so quietly and, at times, thunders, but there's much more than simple modulation. There's a feeling of looseness, but you never once suspect that the music is improvised rather than composed. The poetry is so insistent. Some say this isn't the album for those who are new to Charles Mingus. I say you shouldn't bet against a sure winner. For those of you who are already fans, mark your calendars for next week's re-release of The Great Concert of Charles Mingus, recorded in Paris in 1964.

Midnite Vultures

Beck
Midnite Vultures
1999

Yes, it's true, this album doesn't tower above Odelay, Mutations, or Sea Change as Beck's crowning artistic achievement. Still, I hate it when I hear people dismiss Midnite Vultures as Beck's "joke" album. The subject matter may be more thematic than personal, and the production may be more flamboyant than filigreed, but rock n' roll is about fun, dammit, and Vultures is nothing if not smile-inducing. Write a slew of funky lyrics, channel your favorite soul icons, and pile on a few dozen layers of dense, dirty rhythms--it's a recipe that may not suit everyone's taste, but to me the results are de-licious.

The Love Songs

Giant Sand
The Love Songs
1988

"A nightmare is just a dream that's scary."

-- lyric from "Mad Dog a Man."

This was the breakthrough record for Giant Sand. The Love Songs was where it all started to fall gloriously apart. While the song structures still echo conventional forms, this disc offers a lot of instances of zigging where most bands would zag. You'll hear brisk tempo changes, like an engine shifting gears. You'll hear Howe Gelb speaking some lines, rather than singing, adding a directness that's galvanizing, like a preacher switching from crooning to commanding. You'll hear just plain great songs, like "Almost the Politician's Wife" and "Wearing the Robes of Bible Black." There are dozens more Giant Sand albums to discover, but Love Songs is a great place to start.

As heard on Radio Soulwax Part 2

2 Many DJs
As heard on Radio Soulwax Part 2
2002

Make what you will of the mashup craze that's been going around for the last several years, I love it. I can't get enough of those wacky franken-songs: Beck vs. The Prodigy, Justin Timberlake vs. 50 Cent, Blink 182 vs. Yaz. That said, most of these digitally manipulated mashes are like a good joke -- you heartily enjoy hearing it the first time, you like telling your friends about it, but you don't really want to hear it every day. Enter the Dewaele brothers from Belgium with their amazing album of old-school mixes. You've got 44 different songs, all masterfully blended into something completely unique -- a 45-track rollercoaster that starts off mixing Emerson, Lake & Palmer with Basement Jaxx and the Beastie Boys. Along the way, there are certified crowd-pleasers like Salt 'N' Pepa crossed with The Stooges and The Breeders mixed with Skeelo. It's got popular songs, old classics, and obscure finds, all balanced nicely. But don't bother downloading this album piece-meal, it's definitely crucial to hear the entire disc, since each track flows seemlessly into the next. Finally, after you've listened to this sucker a few hundred times, go to the brothers' website and check out the track-by-track notes from both the DJs and the record-company clerks that had to get clearances approved.

Band on the Run

Wings
Band on the Run
1973 (re-issued 1999)

The cover to Band on the Run, with it's collection of celebrities, suggests it might be a darkly comic, bare-bones sequel to the Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band. In many ways, it is. Of course, this album's cover suggests escape rather than a posed portrait -- escape from drug laws, tax laws, and the spotlight. McCartney endured all manner of hardship during the making of the album (as chronicled in the 25th anniversary reissue's booklet and bonus disk), including a near-fatal mugging in Nigeria (wife Linda pleading for his life), respiratory problems, and two band members quitting just before recording was to begin. The confidence of the Beatles is replaced by insecurity and an up-against-the-wall feeling. Out of this adversity, two of his most enduring songs, "Jet" and the title track, emerged, kicking off a very coherent and listenable album. "Picasso's Last Words" ties it all together in a cubistic manner, and "1985" ends it all in a symphonic blast only to return to the pop simplicity of the title track, sampled briefly, inviting another play.

Wildwood Flower

The Carter Family
Wildwood Flower
1927-1938

For people who are tired of "country music" that's little more than pop with a Southern twang, this collection of gems should be kept close at hand. The Carter Family recorded country music back before there was a widely accepted name for it, and when you hear their songs, you hear the land they came from, its history, and its sorrows. You also hear this Virginia trio's extraordinary talent. When you listen to classic songs like "Wildwood Flower" or "My Clinch Mountain Home" or "The Cannonball," you know immediately that this is country music you are hearing, and nothing but.

Neon Golden

The Notwist
Neon Golden
2002

One of those 'tweener albums that came out in Europe last year and got some great advanced buzz. Now it's out domestically and some of the hype seems to have died down. Good thing? Not if it makes you think twice about picking up this amazing disc. Not only beautiful, but hard to categorize. Hooky, hammering guitars? Yes. Noisy, fascinating loops? Check. Lovely, languid vocals? Ja. In any case, whatever year it came out, it should be in your collection.

An Invitation to Planet Mace

The Untamed Youth
An Invitation to Planet Mace
1997

With its simple odes to good times and good liquor, Planet Mace offers a sweet blend of surf cool, frat swagger, and foot-stompin' rock. The treble-heavy sound, farfisa organ, and goofy lyrics are relics of another era -- an imaginary soundtrack to wild parties from decades past. When leather-lunged guitarist Mace takes the lead vocals on "Beer Bust Blues Pt. 2" and "Mailbox Jamboree," you'll feel the intoxicating power of good, ol'-fashioned goon rock. Stock the basement with some Pabst Blue Ribbon and throw this album on -- you won't be disappointed.

Related:

- Driving Me Wild - Leah Kerr
- Black Monk Time - Monks
- Pabst memorabilia