~ miles davis oozes cool beyond the definition of cool itself. "what world is this guy from" and "holy crap!" are two phrases muttered by first time listeners brought to their knees with awe. these notes, these poetic phrases spoken through his trumpet... are not those of mere mortals. miles davis exemplifies cool in that listening to these remarkable sketches of sounds, you can picture him standing there completely cool and confident, like he is just the body that is transporting these sounds through the lips of god. 'in a silent way' embodies this coolness in a profoundly beautiful way.
~ why can't england produce rockers like they used to? the clash are straight-up, no gimmicks, no unnecessary fluff. just great music. punk rock generally annoys me after the initial novelty wears off. most of the decent punk bands out there are really just bogarting clash style, although very few are successful. this is because the clash style is original and very broad. i just love their dubbier stuff. way ahead of their time.
~ i always think of fat mama as 'my band'. no-one knows about them, but everyone should. although unfortunately broken up now, i thought for sure they had a legendary career ahead of them. i saw them 4 or 5 times when i lived in boulder about 4 years ago. they were a local favorite in the richly creative boulder music scene, and with reason. at a house party they kept very experimental sounds flowing all night, rotating people on various instruments. electronica, aboriginal, spanish, and jam rock all rolled up into a new jazz. at the time, i couldn't recall witnessing any better music. it totally enchanted me the way they were creating new sounds, experimenting with successful results. didgeridoo, turntables, and moogs were meant to be played together. i really hope they get back together soon.
~ caravan were kings of the canterbury scene in the 70's. through their eminent psychedelia is a very opulent jazz, and a finely structured rock. these guys were master poets, proficient musicians, and a humorous lot to boot. you almost become unaware of the trippiness associated with their music when you let your mind wander free in the land of grey and pink with the other oblivion fishermen hunting for dreams.
~ dj shadow is a real leader in record spinning. free of the gangsta bullshit and cold, repetitive techno beats, his songs are always full of emotion. 'private press' gets funky and back to the roots while maintaining his profound creative wizardry.
~ i really like dirty three. one of my all-time favorite bands, but that's just me. they are very meloncholy, but they play very loud, extremely emotional songs about pain, suffering, loss, love, sex, and wonder, all without singing. their violins tell the whole story better than words.