theromp

[theromp]

“Adupé Obaluaê“ - Zé Manoel, “Do Meu Coração Nu“ (2020) - I’ve been a casual fan of some Brazilian music for years (the fourth post on this blog, back in 2008 was Monobloco’s “Anunciação”). But I am in the process of deepening my appreciation by listening to the wonderful podcast “Massa” (https://massapodcast.org) by my friend Juliana Cantarelli Vita and her collaborator Schuyler Whelden. They do a great job not only showcasing great music, but going deep into the social and cultural traditions that it’s rooted in. The first few episodes of the podcast highlight the importance of Afro-Brazilian culture, and in particular the religious practices of candomblé, as a source of much of the country’s musical tradition.

This was one of my favorite songs that they featured. You’ll have to listen to the whole episode on Candomblé Nagô to fully appreciate it (and really, you should start from the beginning!), but it’s a song to one of the orixás, Obaluaê, whose domain includes illness and cures, and the meaning is tied up with the pandemic. I especially like how Manoel reinterprets traditional percussion polyrhythms into piano parts. Listen to the episode (https://massapodcast.org/episodes/4-candomble-nago) to hear Manoel’s own commentary on the song!

[theromp]

“Music for 18 Hairdressers: Braids & Fractals” - Ben LaMar Gay, “Downtown Castles Can Never Block the Sun” (2018) - This came up on Spotify after I was listening to Susie Ibarra. Good job, algorithm--I was really into this! Reminds me of some Amon Tobin, e.g. “Vipers Follow You.”

[theromp]

“Hip Hop” - Mos Def, “Black on Both Sides” (1999) - A bartender was playing this whole album in a bar here in Hartford, and man is it good. I was familiar with the name Mos Def but hadn’t listened to his music before. I was missing out!

[theromp]

“Para Que El Mundo Lo Vea” - Arnau Griso, “Revolucion Bananera” (2018) - Heard this one on WRTC Friday Class--the show was about the Spanish Civil War, but to the best of my Spanish understanding, this song is basically about social media. Anyway it’s great!

[theromp]

“Right On” - Carleen & The Groovers, “Right On/The Thing” (1971) - This song was used at the end of the most recent episode of “Winning Time,” the HBO series about the Magic Johnson-era Lakers. Like the minimalist style!

[theromp]

“Final Assassin” - Capleton, “More Fire” (2000) - One of our local radio stations (92.9 Busy Radio) has a Friday night Jamaican DJ set. It’s one of my favorite things to come across while driving. This past Friday I was super into one of the tracks the DJ was mixing in, which turned out to be this one. In particular, I love the two string samples--the plucked one that sounds like a shamisen and the more orchestral one. My Shazam wasn’t able to figure out the track because it was a DJ set mix, but I managed to catch enough of the lyrics to hunt it down!

[theromp]

“Candy Rain” - Soul for Real, “Candy Rain” (1995) - I heard this on the radio today while flipping around stations in the car. I had never heard it and I didn’t know what station it was, but I really liked it! Turns out the station was WQTQ, which is based out of a high school in Hartford. Neat! Also, while listening, I was like, huh, A Tribe Called Quest uses a bass sample from this in “Check The Rhime.” Nope! Turns out the sampling goes the other direction, as this was released 4 years later.

[theromp]

“Fall Away” - Sugluk, untitled EP (1975) - off the excellent Light in the Attic Native North America compilation, this is a recording by the CBC Northern Service of a band from Northern Quebec who sing in both English and Inuktitut. And fucking rock.

[theromp]

Unearthed Arcana

Back when I first started The Romp, a friend connected me with a person who worked at a music website, and I ended up reviewing 8 concerts for them. I posted links on here in 2009-2010, but as with so many things on the internet, they’re now victims of linkrot. Thanks to the good folks at archive.org, though, they’re still available. I’m posting the links here for posterity (including one, DJ Krush, that I don’t think I ever posted to the blog at the time).

Surprisingly, looking back at them, I think they’re pretty good and don’t feel embarrassed! They’re a pretty good cross section of my musical interests at the time. Especially the DJ Krush set and the Tune-Yards show stand out as among the most memorable I’ve been to (although I saw an even better Tune-Yards show at Union Hall).

Wolfmother & Heartless Bastards @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, 11/9/09

https://web.archive.org/web/20091119132225/http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/live/wolfmother-heartless-bastards-music-hall-of-williamsburg

Cyro Baptista & Beat The Donkey @ (Le) Poisson Rouge, 11/14/09 - Cyro has a special place in my heart as possibly the first show I ever saw in NYC after moving there for college (years before this one)

https://web.archive.org/web/20091121164427/http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/live/cyro-baptista-le-poisson-rouge-ny

Elvis Perkins In Dearland @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, 12/5/09

https://web.archive.org/web/20100109010129/http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/live/elvis-perkins-in-dearland-music-hall-of-williamsburg

The Rural Alberta Advantage @ Mercury Loungs, 1/9/10

https://web.archive.org/web/20100117202113/http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/live/the-rural-alberta-advantage-mercury-lounge-ny

The Heavy @ 92Y Tribeca, 1/10/10 (wow I went to shows two nights in a row??)

https://web.archive.org/web/20100122204757/http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/live/the-heavy-92y-tribeca-ny

Prefuse 73 @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, 1/19/10

https://web.archive.org/web/20101215214359/http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/live/prefuse-73-music-hall-of-williamsburg-ny

DJ Krush @ Bowery Ballroom, 1/26/10

https://web.archive.org/web/20100821145551/http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/live/dj-krush-bowery-ballroom-ny

Tune-Yards @ Bell House, 2/5/10

https://web.archive.org/web/20100306181229/http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/live/tune-yards-bell-house-brooklyn

[theromp]

“Back to the Start” - Alethea, “Hard to Please” (2021) - Another great CT band I learned about through CTVerses. This track is like a more danceable Soundgarden. The love child of Soundgarden and Franz Ferdinand?

[theromp]

“Into the Pines” - Kim Normal, “Picturesque” (2021) - A great Hartford band I learned about from CTVerses. Yes, this song is pretty much a Sonic Youth impersonation. But it’s a really good one, and impersonating Sonic Youth is a pretty good idea!

[theromp]

“Abrázame“ - Los Rakas ft. La Favi, “Abrázame“ (2010) - This is an old favorite that came on the radio tonight. The song it samples, “Hold Yuh” by Gyptian, is also really good--”Abrázame” is just a half tick better!

[theromp]

“Ninuno” - Bullet Dumas, “Bullet Dumas EP” (2014) - I spent some time recently listening to modern Filipino indie music, and Bullet Dumas was the real gem that I found. I love his high-energy acoustic style and his staccato Tagalog singing. Also, the album art by Lope Encarnacion on this EP is amazing and I wish I could buy a vinyl version just to show off the cover! “Pssst!” off the same EP is also excellent.

[theromp]

“Do The Romp” - The Black Keys (Junior Kimbrough cover), “Delta Kream” (2021) - The Black Keys already covered this Junior Kimbrough song (this blog’s namesake) on their 2002 debut “The Big Come Up” (as “Do The Rump”). My dad tipped me off that they did a second cover version on their new album, and as the eponymous song, I figured I had to post it. However, I have to say that it’s not only not as good as the Kimbrough original; it’s also not as good as the 2002 TBK cover to my ear. The original is slow and sexy; the 2002 cover makes it frenetic, rollicking, and half as long, with a heavy dose of lo-fi. This new one though is just...somewhere kind of in between? It feels like TBK didn’t have a strong concept for a new take and as a result it sounds like much more generic blues rock.

[theromp]

“Rooster” - Murderous Chanteuse (Alice in Chains cover), CTVerses Benefit Compilation (2020) - I’m really enjoying these voice-and-piano (and a tiny bit of guitar in this one) covers of 90s rock songs. Like with the Heart-Shaped Box cover, I can understand the lyrics a lot better in this version.

[theromp]

Sarah Golley, “Heart-Shaped Box” (Nirvana cover) - CTVerses Benefit Compilation (2020) - OK, this was so good I had to post it too. The arpeggiated chords work really well for a piano version. Also, I can understand the lyrics a lot better in this version! When I sing along with the Nirvana version, it’s always “Hey, way, I got a Milky Way!”

[theromp]

“...Baby One More Time” - Let’s Get Invisible, CTVerses Benefit Compilation (2020) - In celebration of free Britney and Connecticut bands. This band is definitely named after a Goosebumps book, right?