Remembering Gil Scott-Heron

In another piece of sad news, Gil Scott-Heron passed away at age 62, over the weekend. At the tail end of the 60's and throughout the 70's, Scott-Heron, along with kindred spirits the Last Poets, began recording spoken word and poetry that expressed the rage felt by disaffected urban black youth across the country. The missing link between the Black Panthers and Public Enemy, Scott-Heron's polyrhythmic rhymes were sometimes delivered over raw drumming, basically creating rap music a decade before rap music was first invented.


Gil Scott-Heron
Perhaps best known to the general public as the artist behind "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," Scott-Heron's poetry was militant, a call to arms for black Americans and an unsettling warning to white folks, who still benefited from a deeply racist power structure, years after Dr. King and desegregation. Of course, his wrath did not end there; his rhymes attacked black hypocrisy, economic injustice, willful ignorance and rampant consumerism among many other subjects. As his recordings progressed, they grew more traditionally musical, but his words remained potent. Keeping a healthy perspective on his own work, Scott-Heron also infused his verses with a biting humor that prevented things from getting unbearably heavy.

Although he never quite became a household name, there is not a rapper or new R&B/soul artist who is not indebted to Scott-Heron. In the end, he succumbed to the very injustices he decried, struggling with drug addiction and HIV for many years. Despite this, he continued to perform, record and inspire until the end of his life.

A list of artists directly inspired by Scott-Heron would be too long to list, but would include artists like Public Enemy, Eminem, Mos Def, Jay-Z, Kanye West and Common, to name just a few. Scott-Heron changed the course not only of popular music but of political discourse in America, setting a model of self-expression for generations of disenfranchised men and women.

Upcoming Shows: Dinowalrus, Gang Gang Dance + more

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]

TONIGHT!!! Wednesday, January 13

Mahogany @ Bell House | Gowanus, Brooklyn | $7
Mahogany have been one of the very best dream pop bands for over a decade. Their dense, shimmering walls of sound are made up of intricate guitars, synthesizers and drums locking in like gears. And the melodies are good too. [myspace]


Tomorrow!!! Thursday, January 14

Frozen Warnings, Coyote Eyes @ Death by Audio | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $7
Two of the bands I told y'all to watch in 2010 are playing together tomorrow at Death by Audio, only the best DIY venue in town. Frozen Warnings are new but probably psychedelic and noisy with deep understated melodies - we'll see. Coyote Eyes play arty post punk with great singing and an amazing use of rhythm. They are both just so friggin awesome. Go to this show. [fw myspace] [ce myspace]


Friday, January 15

Gang Gang Dance + DJ /rupture @ Music Hall of Williamsburg | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $15
Gang Gang Dance are some hardcore motherfuckahs. Their intensely rhythm-focused experimental dub has club/dance smarts but builds eclectic sonic art around that core. The result is relentlessly inventive, dark and enticing. Gang Gang Dance are too cool for words. [ggd myspace] [dj/r myspace]


Saturday, January 16

Dinowalrus (record release!), Aa + PRSMS @ Cake Shop | LES, Manhattan
I just reviewed Dinowalrus's new record. It is awesome and they are even better live. Go celebrate with them and their even odder, more drum-focused pals Aa at Cake Shop. Do it... [dino myspace] [aa myspace]

Bell, Grooms @ Glasslands | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $5
You should go see Dinowalrus but if for some reason that doesn't pan out, you should check out this show instead. Bell is one of the better Bjork-compared singers, with an odd but powerful voice and pretty strange music to back her up. Grooms sound a lot like Sonic Youth, with experimental, noisy post punk that explores dark melodies and deafening sound. [bell myspace] [grooms myspace]

Dinosaur Jr. @ Bowery Ballroom | LES, Manhattan | SOLD OUT!
Dinosaur Jr. put the guitar back into indie rock in the 1980's. Let's hope they can do it again now! At the time of writing, there are still tickets available for the 1/18 show at Brooklyn Bowl. [myspace]


Sunday, January 17

Dinosaur Jr. @ Music Hall of Williamsburg | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | SOLD OUT!
See above. [myspace]

Mos Def @ Highline Ballroom | Chelsea, Manhattan | $45 adv. / $50 dos.
I don't care how much white people like him, Mos Def is not worth $50. But if you just won the lottery or something and want to go see a rapper who white people aren't afraid of, you couldn't do better than this show.


Monday, January 18 - MLK Day!

Dinosaur Jr. @ Brooklyn Bowl | Williamsburg, Brooklyn | $20
See above. [myspace]


[Upcoming Shows Playlist]
The long view...

January 2010
20
Big Troubles, My Teenage Stride, the Sundelles @ Le Poisson Rouge

22
Bob Mould @ City Winery

23
Pterodactyl @ Issue Project Room

25
Cheap Trick @ The Fillmore

26
Beach House @ Bell House (sold out)

29
Asobi Seksu @ Le Poissson Rouge
Here We Go Magic @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Mission of Burma @ Bowery Ballroom
Oneida @ Market Hotel
Sounds Like Brooklyn: Les Savy Fav, Vivian Girls (yick) @ Brooklyn Academy of Music

30
Mission of Burma @ Bowery Ballroom
Sisters, Fluffy Lumbers, Total Slacker @ Shea Stadium

February
3
Atlas Sound @ Bell House

4
Atlas Sound, Neon Indian, Sisters @ NYU Kimmel
Cold Cave @ Mercury Lounge

5
Sounds Like Brooklyn: Ra Ra Riot, the Antlers @ Brooklyn Academy of Music

6
Don Giovanni showcase: Shellshag, Screaming Females, Jeff the Brotherhood + more @ Bowery Ballroom

9
The Residents @ Webster Hall

10
Harlem @ Mercury Lounge

12
Jonathan Richman @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

13
Jonathan Richman @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
The Magnetic Fields @ Brooklyn Academy of Music

14
Jonathan Richman @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

19
Fucked Up, Kurt Vile, Frankie Rose & the Outs @ Europa
Andrew W-K @ Santos Party House

20
Crystal Stilts, Beets, Beach Fossils, German Measles @ Music Hall of Williamsubrg

21
Dum Dum Girls, Frankie Rose & the Outs @ Mercury Lounge

26
Wild Beasts @ Bowery Ballroom

27
Glenn Branca (record release) @ Le Poisson Rouge

28
Wild Beasts @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

March
5
Muse, the Silversun Pickups @ Madison Square Garden

6
Titus Andronicus, Parts & Labor, Babies @ Bowery Ballroom

10-11
The Magnetic Fields @ Town Hall

12-13
Henry Rollins @ The Fillmore

18-19
Killswitch Engage @ The Fillmore

23
Black Lips @ Brooklyn Bowl

25
Nada Surf play Let Go + surprise guest @ Bowery Ballroom

26
Nada Surf play The Weight Is a Gift + surprise guest @ Bell House
Spoon, Deerhunter @ Radio City Music Hall

27
Nada Surf play Lucky + surprise guest @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

30
Big Pink, A Place to Bury Strangers @ Webster Hall

April
15
Liars @ Bowery Ballroom

18
Liars @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

[Upcoming Shows Playlist]

Best Albums of 2009, Part 1: Rules and Runners Up

Some years in music seem better than others. Last year certainly had some great albums, but it still seemed unsatisfying. This year, on the other hand, was outstanding. From bigger and more established bands to undiscovered kids recording in their basements, this was a year to raise expectations of what a good album can be.

This year was also an important year for me personally. Thanks in part to the influence of "Jasper" and in part to a few bands I heard near the end of 2008 (namely Wavves, Titus Andronicus and Beluga), my tastes and interests shifted towards more confrontational music - in other words, "punk," at least in the broadest sense. In making this list, I've tried to balance my old priorities with my newer ones.

However, this list is a "Best of" list, not a favorites list. And what "best" means to me, at least when it comes to music, is "most exciting." Albums that push boundaries or explore new territory are the most exciting, but some albums are just exciting for being damn good, or for appearing in the right place at the right time or for reminding the world what music has the potential to be. Exciting can be challenging or it can be beautiful or it can be fun - and the most exciting music is all three.

As a side note, I didn't really follow rap this year, so its representation in this list is pitiful. Sadly I can't keep up with everything at once, but I'm sorry that rap specifically has lately fallen through the cracks. Next year, I will do better, I promise!

And now for the honorable mentions! These didn't quite make the cut, but are well worth checking out:

The Brakes - Touchdown (Fat Cat) [MySpace]

Eat Skull - Wild and Inside (Siltbreeze) [MySpace]

Ex-Wife - Everything Was Beautiful (self-released) [MySpace]

Fiery Furnaces - I'm Going Away (Thrill Jockey) [MySpace]

Japandroids - Post-Nothing (Polyvinyl) [MySpace]

Jeff the Brotherhood - Heavy Days (Infinity Cat) [MySpace]

Mos Def - The Ecstatic (Downtown) [MySpace]

Wild Beasts - Two Dancers (Domino) [MySpace]

Next>> Part 2: #25-21
Part 3: #20-16
Part 4: #15-11
Part 5: #10-6
Part 6: #5-1