Summer term – On-U intensive course:

• FIRE ft. Adrian Sherwood – Italian dub/jazz group with live dub mixing by Sherwood – and so, starts with over the top On-U effects before settling down

• Reset /+/ Reset in Dub – Panda Bear & Sonic Boom – the Reset album reminds me of mid-60’s Who album filler tracks with the Who in Beach Boys vocal mode (but no Daltrey or Townshend lead vocals), while unfortunately I find the dub album less interesting

• Hostile Environment /+/ Rumble Riddim EP – Creation Rebel – return to action after 40 years, sounds good, the Prince Far I samples are cool

• Step Up – Manudigital – no Sherwood involvement, but included for some Ghetto Priest vocals – good uptempo hip-hop variety

• ! WASTED ! – Lampredonto feat. Mark Stewart – the kind of down tempo techno for which The Bug is renowned, if that’s your kind of thing

• We’re Already There – Consolidated – the kind of ElectroDub that Mark Stewart was getting into on his Vs. album, with Stewart & Sherwood involvement

• ElectroDub Vol.1, 2, 3, 4 – eMERGEncy heARTS artists compilations – more Mark Stewart, Sherwood, Lee Perry, Meat Beat Manifesto, Nun Gun involvement

Awards for participation:

• Leisureland – Wreckless Eric

• Archangel Hill – Shirley Collins

• Late Developers – Belle and Sebastian

• ///AOI: Bionix – De La Soul

• Retrospective Remix 90 -> 22 – Fila Brazillia

• The Fantasy of Reality – Jeff Cotton (a/k/a Antennae Jimmy Semens)

• Imaginational Anthem Vol. XII – I Thought I Told You – A Yorkshire Tribute to Michael Chapman

• 14 Hidden Gems from the Bootleg Series 1963-1997 – Bob Dylan – representing our annual *covermounted cd* contingent – a nice best-of

• Indian War Whoop – Holy Modal Rounders /+/ Sweetkorn – Michael Hurley – two oldies get the remix treatment – best they could do this last year – Peter Stampfel promises a buncha new stuff in 2024, already started to deliver…

• James Monroe H.S. Presents Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band Goes to Washington – the third album finally gets a re-release – but, digital-only. Now if only the ‘original mix’ of the even more obscure fourth could be released…

• GV5 – All The Way – Live – Geoff Vidal + GV5 /+/ Many Worlds – Scott Petito /+/ #People – Ray Blue – been going to so many jazz gigs in Beacon and P’ok that I’m starting to like the mainstream stuff

Remedial reading:

• Will Hermes’s Lou Reed The King Of New York – Quel thorough and well written, but ultimately depressing, due to the subject matter

• Jennifer Otter Bickerdike’s You Are Beautiful and You Are Alone – a biography of Nico – almost as depressing, but the author tries to give it an upbeat ending

• Casey Rae’s William S. Burroughs and the Cult of Rock’ n Roll – more depressing reading, and the subject doesn’t care if you’re depressed or not

• Mercy Fontenot with Lyndsey Parker – Permanent Damage – Memoirs of Miss Mercy – she should be depressed, but she was unrelentingly upbeat

Educational films:

• Sean Mullin’s It Ain’t Over – the life of Yogi Berra – at Upstate

• Nick Broomfield’s The Stones and Brian Jones – at the Peekskill Paramount

• Dan Messina’s & Jodie Childers’ Down by the Riverside – the Clearwater story – at the Woodstock Film Festival

• Lisa Rovner’s Sisters with Transistors and Celeste Bell’s & Zoë Howe’s Poly Styrene – I Am A Cliche – at Jacob Burns Film Center

• I can’t recommend the Little Richard flick – too much time spent on his struggles, not enough time on his glorious music and his flamboyant self

Still enjoying going to many concerts, and also I’m glad that my own community "orchestra" has resumed rehearsals #fuckyeahlivemusic:

• Gig of the year was the tribute to / recreation of Hal Willner’s Amarcord Nino Rota at Roulette Intermedium Brooklyn, with Steven Bernstein, Kate St. John, Karen Mantler, Bill Frisell, Laurie Anderson (in her pajamas), Emily Pecoraro, Karen Waltuch, Teddy Thompson and Gary Lucas (and Elvis Costello in the audience).

• Quinn’s Monday Night Jazz sessions in Beacon are still great: Eric Person, Geoff Vidal, Ray Blue, The Professors (actual SUNY New Paltz professors), David Torn & Dean Sharp, Guitars A Go Go!!!, Mary Halvorson, Robert Kopec, Redshift Trio, Bob Meyer Circular Jazz Quartet, Two Trees, Tim Regusis, Mike Pride, Neil ‘Naill’ Alexander, Jason Kao Kwang, Peyton Pleninger, Brian Ponton, and drummer and soundman extraordinaire Bryan Kopchak. Sad to see major domo James Keepnews leave, but the series is being ably maintained by a bevy of bookers. And not forgetting Craig Chin’s Electronic + Experimental Music night at Quinn’s with Bob Lukomski, Scary Mountain Wizard, Zilmrah, Lyrebird, Echonaut, Fronds & Fringe, James Keepnews, and Craig’s own Errant Space music. Sad to see Craig’s series end, too.

• Great gigs at Lee Falco’s The Falcon in Marlboro: Ed Palermo’s Big Band, Geoff Vidal’s Analog Jazz Orchestra (especially the "May the Fourth Be with You" show)(at the "Millennium Falcon" no less), Corey Glover’s Soul Experience, and Guy Davis.

• And not forgetting Tara Johannessen’s & Brian Farmer’s Rail Trail Café in Rosendale: Liana Gabel, Mario Rincon, Steve Gorn, Sarah Underhill’s Wild Swan Band, the Spirit Brothers, the Clear Light Ensemble, David Rothenberg, Evan Pritchard, Bill Ylitalo’s Djam Gong, Amadou Diallo’s M’Bollo, Joakim Lartey’s Shokoloko, and Levanta.

• A couple of CMS Improviser’s Orchestra sessions at the Shirt Factory Kingston, now lead by Peter Apfelbaum with Ingrid Sertso. RIP Karl Berger.

• Taiko Masala – Japanese drum ensemble at the Widow Jane Mine in Rosendale

• The Hudson Valley Gospel Festival with Miss Rene Bailey "Miss Rene Sunshine" and the Rainbow Gospel Singers (+++) at the First Congregational Church Poughkeepsie

• Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage with Professor Louie at the Half Moon in Hudson

• Peter Stampfel’s Atomic Meta-Pagans at Otto’s Shrunken Head on 14th Street on the East Side, and at the Whitney Museum for the Harry Smith exhibit

• The Down Hill Strugglers at the Tompkins Corners Cultural Center Putnam Valley

• The Fugs at Byrdcliffe

• David Amram Quartet at the Howland Center in Beacon

• Ex-Hex with opener Shana Falana at the Colony in Woodstock

• NEXUS with special guest Paul Winter at the Bardavon

• Ricky Skaggs at Sugar Loaf

• Gamelan Candra Kancana at Bard Hall (hey! it was a good concert despite a couple of flubs on my part!)

• Snooki bobblehead night at Renegades Stadium in Fishkill – in the pouring rain, but they didn’t cancel the game, to give people a chance to get their bobblehead and to take selfies with Snooki!

• Some good gigs at Phil Ciganer’s Town Crier in Beacon: Judith Tulloch Trio, and a Terry Thal book reading with stories of Dave Van Ronk and Bob Dylan

• And, Sinterklaas Rhinebeck with the Bard College Georgian Choir, The Chinelos, Batata New York Samba Band, and Djam Gong holding up the rear

Finally, I wanted to thank Mark Rosen for continuing to maintain this list, and to Mark Zip for keeping the POOP website up to date.