When Stephen Malkmus made the rounds and talked to journalists about his 2018 album with the Jicks called Sparkle Hard, he routinely made reference to a solo, keyboard-centric album that he had in the can. In fact, he revealed in a 2018 Washington Post interview that he had submitted this album to his label MatadorContinue reading “Stephen Malkmus Series: “Forget Your Place””
Tag Archives: Beastie Boys
Stephen Malkmus Series: “Senator”
In 2011, Stephen Malkmus, with his backing band the Jicks, released Mirror Traffic. The album contains an arresting cover image of three Black men, two of whom are watching something in the distance while the third is zipping and hiking up his pants. With the album’s release, Malkmus did an interview with Pitchfork breaking downContinue reading “Stephen Malkmus Series: “Senator””
Occapella
This piece was written in 2015 for a now-defunct arts publication. It starts with bass and drums. Three notes on the bass and then repeated with the same three notes. The drums are in lock-step with the bass. The first five seconds of the song could be looped for a 15 minute song resulting inContinue reading “Occapella”
“Beat Bop”: Hip-Hop and World-Building in 1980s Downtown New York
Listening to the 1983 hip-hop single “Beat Bop” 40 years after its recording is an act of retroactive discovery. It feels like climbing to the top of a mountain and seeing the future from the perspective of the future. “Beat Bop” features solid representation of early hip-hop rhymes courtesy of a then 15-year old battleContinue reading ““Beat Bop”: Hip-Hop and World-Building in 1980s Downtown New York”
Recliner Notes 