I was not enthused about ‘new music’ this year. But, I gotta keep up with my old faves, so here goes: #fuckyeahphysicalmedia /// Taylor Swift /// Alicia Svigdals /// The Unholy Modal Rounders /// Peter Stampfel /// The Down Hill Strugglers /// Hopalong Andrew /// Cole Quest and the City Pickers /// The One Eighty Gs /// The Linich Family Trio /// Brian Eno ///
Go to the head of the class: African Head Charge, Gina Birch, Rufus Wainwright, Ghost Train Orchestra, Michael Bisio & Tim Hill, Brian Eno, Fred Again, Janelle Monae, The Fugs
In this third year of the pandemic, I made a decision to slow down my record hunting activities and concentrate on exploring what’s already on my shelves (lots of shelves #fuckyeahphysicalmedia). But I found it a little difficult to go completely cold turkey so I still have enough new acquisitions to make a PooP List yet again. — Horace Andy, Pay It All Back Vol. 8, Dub No Frontiers, Jeb Loy Nichols, Spoon, Ghetto Priest x D.Foe, Mark Stewart, Holly Cook, Neneh Cherry, Karen Dalton, Dropkick Murphys, Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder
JIM FINNIGAN’S POOP 2021 Well the good thing was that at least we stopped (some of) the crazy. But TFG’s minions are still hell-bent on further trying to destroy the country by opposing any measures to control the virus that his incompetence caused to be spread everywhere. At least concerts and movies have been making a comeback, although tentatively. I’m still not into exploring the recordings of new artists and groups, but what the hell, I can still provide a Poop list based on a bunch of oldies but goodies. So here’s some stuff that I got into this year:…
What a year. First the Chump virus sent the country to the hospital, then Chump’s insurrection tried to send the country to the funeral home. — With the pandemic and lockdown essentially gutting the concert industry, and even record stores shuttered because they were ‘non-essential’, my sources for new music / inspiration were muzzled. What to do? Well, I decided to immerse myself in my collection, to revisit and investigate things that had kinda fallen into disuse for one reason or another. I would think that this audience wouldn’t be interested in me writing about revisiting my collection (or, you can go back and read my past PoOp posts thanks to Zip’s website). But, wouldn’t ya know, I couldn’t absolutely avoid listening to new stuff. Even if it was just new releases from my old favorites, or maybe even their sons and daughters. And eventually, there have been some gigs that started opening up, as well as getting back to the record shops (those that survived – RIP Jack’s Rhythms).
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry & Adrian Sherwood,
Peter Stampfel & The Atomic Meta-Pagans ft. Shelley Hirsch,
Mark Stewart,
Angélique Kidjo,
Barrence Whitfield’s Soul Savage Orchestra,
Katie Jacoby,
APositsia Orchestra,
Simon’s Dream,
Ensemble H,
Amy Rigby,
˙sǝunʇ ʎzɐɹɔ ‘spɹoʍ ʎzɐɹƆ ˙plɹoʍ ʎzɐɹɔ ‘sǝɯᴉʇ ʎzɐɹƆ Time for this year’s POOP, again. TOP 13 1. The American 20th Century in 100 Songs by Peter Stampfel, with (mostly) tasteful accompaniment by Mark Bingham. Although Peter says this was inspired by Taylor Mac’s show of 240 songs, I suspect that this might be the Anti-Folkways Anthology of American Folk Music – solo (mostly) acoustic semi-popular songs with the one catch, that it has to be catchy. Also, despite Peter’s usual tendency to alter the words, mostly faithful. For the unfaithful/unholy side of Peter’s repertoire, he’s also put out 2 albums…
Crazy words. Crazy tunes.
Crazy times. Crazy world.
Time for this year’s POOP, then.
The World of Captain Beefheart featuring Nona Hendryx & Gary Lucas, Ghetto Priest, Jeb Loy Nichols, Coldcut x On-U Sound, ALA.N, Ensemble Minisym,
Penguin Café, Laurel Hal, Behind the Counter with Max Richter, Frank Zappa
PRISONER OF MY OWN TASTE It’s official. I’ve stopped looking for music by new artists. If whatever is out there is good enough, I’m figuring it’ll find me. As in the previous few years, about half my list this time around is either old stuff or it’s new stuff trying to be old stuff, a trend I don’t see reversing itself anytime soon. Wait a minute…where have I read that before? But, it’s true. I find myself listening to old stuff all the time. Like this October, I started listening to British folk music and just kept at it all…
Peter Stampfel | Jeffrey Lewis | Baby Gramps | Eli Smith | Robin Remaily | The Pop Group | Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts | Adrian Sherwood & Pinch | Roots Manuva | Asian Dub Foundation | Congo Natty | The Dub Syndicate | Sleater-Kinney | Belle & Sebastian
All About That Bass — — TOP 10 (mostly) associated with great gigs in the Hudson Valley
Sonically a great year for live gigs, but not so for new music recordings, if you ask me. And the greatest of all gigs was the two week performance by the 17-year cicadas. Talk about the latest buzz. Looking forward to the return gig in 2030. So, you may ask, if I wasn’t that excited about that many new releases this year, why do I POOP? Because I can POOP old stuff – reissues, archive recordings and so forth. After all, if the Grammy academy can give their biggest awards to collaboration between Chic and The Residents a/k/a Daft Punk,…
Here Are the Songs They Play at a Mid Afternoon Bingo Game 1:04 pm: In about 25 minutes, I’m going to be DJ-ing a mid afternoon bingo game, with my Poop 2012 list. The game is for the nursing home’s ambulatory residents, of which there are several dozen. I’ve probably DJ’d fifteen of these things already. It’s like being a DJ at a nightclub, except this party will take place in the activity room and nobody told them not to let in Alzheimer’s patients. 1:08: Oh Poop. They’re serving cake at this dance. That’s actually kind of great. There’d probably…
Occupy PoOP 2011 Wherein we lowly and scruffy protesters get to choose the top 1%! Well, it was not the most exciting year for recorded music, but there certainly was a lot of it! Some rays of hope will soon shine on the masses with the appointment of our newest beloved leader! My On-U year: There were no Bonzos or Kraftwerk this year, so the masses stood crying in the streets, in orderly rows in front of their apartment houses (certainly the performance art event of the year!), until the politburo chose On-U Sound to return as the new beloved…
Occupy PoOP 2011 Wherein we lowly and scruffy protesters get to choose the top 1%! Well, it was not the most exciting year for recorded music, but there certainly was a lot of it! Some rays of hope will soon shine on the masses with the appointment of our newest beloved leader! My On-U year: There were no Bonzos or Kraftwerk this year, so the masses stood crying in the streets, in orderly rows in front of their apartment houses (certainly the performance art event of the year!), until the politburo chose On-U Sound to return as the new beloved…
21st Century Schizoid POOP by Jim Finnigan New Paltz, that’s the place we be livin’ If we ain’t puffin’ blunts, we be chasin’ women Magnum Man & Bighead 2010 THOUGHTS Buy New or Used via amazon A good year for music, I thought. My album of the year is Three Bonzos and A Piano’s Hair of the Dog, and the question is, can Roger Ruskin Spear, Rodney Slater and Sam Spoons restore the life and fire that was absent from the Neil Innes-helmed Bonzos reunion from 2007? And the answer is CERTAINMENT, thank you Mrs. Slater. Peter Stampfel‘s Dook of…
21st Century Schizoid POOP by Jim Finnigan New Paltz, that’s the place we be livin’ If we ain’t puffin’ blunts, we be chasin’ women Magnum Man & Bighead 2010 THOUGHTS Buy New or Used via amazon A good year for music, I thought. My album of the year is Three Bonzos and A Piano’s Hair of the Dog, and the question is, can Roger Ruskin Spear, Rodney Slater and Sam Spoons restore the life and fire that was absent from the Neil Innes-helmed Bonzos reunion from 2007? And the answer is CERTAINMENT, thank you Mrs. Slater. Peter Stampfel‘s Dook of…
Contributing PoOPster Jim Finnigan writes: Jan 17 2011 – Brooklyn – What a great time was had by all at the Ari Up Punky Reggae Birthday Party Benefit Memorial at Brooklyn Music Hall last nite! Big Up! Right from the start I could tell it was going to be good. The DJ was playing classic On-U (Breaking Down the Pressure, Autobiography of the Dread Operator, Can’t Take Su Su Pon Dread) and other reggae (Baby I Love You So,
An obit from the Guardian, UK Captain Beefheart, who has died aged 69, was provocative and unpredictable | Music | The Guardian Our fellow PoOPSter, Jim Finnigan, sent along this fine remembrance of the famously prickly Don Van Vliet From: Jim Finnigan Subject: My Captain Beefheart experience Date: Friday, December 17, 2010, 11:39 PM I saw Captain Beefheart perform 4 times but I met him once. It must have been in the fall of 1976, I hitchhiked from Albany to Poughkeepsie on a beautiful autumn day to meet a friend who lived in Po-town and catch a show by Beefheart…
Caught Little Annie & Baby Dee at Joe’s Pub New York on Sunday night 26 September. Good show. Annie was in good voice (and need I mention also nattily attired in a black pantsuit)(and the same shoes she’s wearing on the cover of Genderful) and even managed to go mezzo for a couplea bits – especially her soulful take on Stevie Wonder’s Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer. Other classic covers included Yesterday When I Was Young and her take on Tina Turner’s (+ Dire Strait’s) Private Dancer featuring some new herky-jerky dance moves. Annie’s take on these modern cabaret…