 Old and new favorites dominate this week’s new release round-up. Two smoking live sets from venerable figures in contemporary jazz offer the latest disproof of the music’s demise. A collection of soundtrack music from the 1970s challenges the myth of “blaxploitation,” and a pair of releases from young musicians in Brazil and Texas promises the world a bright and funky future.  Mission of Burma’s reunion hot streak continues with the powerful The Sound, The Speed, The Light.  The title of the new Flaming Lips album, Embryonic, refers to how most of the songs were recorded during the very early stages of their creation. The result is an album which sounds completely foreign to what the band has been releasing since 1999’s The Soft Bulletin.  Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American OriginalBy
Rick Sawyer Robin D.G. Kelley’s massive new biography Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original is first and foremost a demystification of the composer’s life. Kelley, who holds a chair at the University of Southern California, spent 14 years researching the book, and it’s the most comprehensive biography yet of its subject.  Everyone talks about a how a specific record changed their life. I can’t really say that about any one album, but there have been records that touched my core. One of them is Agaetis Byrjun by Sigur Ros.  R.E.M. revisits past glories with an inspired 39-song live set that features new material alongside some of the band’s deepest, most enduring album cuts from the ’80s.  Featured picks include an R.E.M. live album that’ll put a smile on the faces of diehard fans of the venerable Athens quartet and a Fela Kuti double disc compilation that demands to be heard. Tune in and turn it up!  The Eric Clapton of Eating Donuts and Other Health HazardsBy
Mark Peters Among the world’s diverse religious beliefs is the notion ERIC CLAPTON IS GOD. It’s hardly the wackiest idea, and it has more evidence behind it than most. Unlike Zeus and Wilt Chamberlain, Eric Clapton is as real as you or me, only considerably more awesome. |
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