Michael Patrick Brady » Music

The Flexible Entertainer | Pit Er Pat

mpb — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:12:13 +0000

My review of Pit Er Pat’s The Flexible Entertainer ran today in the Boston Phoenix.

Butchy Fuego, we meet again. Just over six years ago, I reviewed Fuego’s self-titled album and was not very impressed. It was an album of filler mostly, a clattering garbage heap of poorly thought out pieces that was infuriating in its aimlessness. Interestingly, I find Fuego to be the best part of The Flexible Entertainer, and reserve most of my scorn for his partner, Fay Davis-Jeffers. Her flat, disinterested vocals make this album a chore to listen to, and the band’s miserably stiff guitar melodies are truly dreadful. Fuego’s percussion, however, is actually pretty interesting, particularly on the track “Emperor of Charms.” That said, it’s not enough to save The Flexible Entertainer from getting the lowest possible score I’m capable of assigning.

The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis

mpb — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:29:37 +0000

My review of The Complete Stories of Lydia Davis ran today at PopMatters.

I had been introduced to Lydia Davis’ writing in a college writer’s workshop and her writing piqued my interest. For whatever reason, though, instead of tracking down more of her short fiction, I went straight for her only novel, The End of the Story. It’s likely I assumed that short stories were really just a midpoint in a writer’s evolution, which invariably culminated in a novel.

Lydia Davis is not a novelist, however, she’s a short story writer. I appreciated The End of the Story. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it, but I didn’t hate it either. The point-of-view, within the mind of a neurotic, obsessive woman fixated on a romantic entanglement, felt stifling and claustrophobic. I felt the same anxiety in the opening piece of this collection, “Story,” which I’m pretty certain served as the seed for that novel. Thankfully, those feelings were short lived; the rest of The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis was entertaining and enlightening.

I’d strongly recommend this collection to anyone interested in a massive book full of brief stories, essays, and prose poems that manage to be engaging without overstaying their welcome. Davis has a relatively dry voice and style but somehow coaxes a significant amount of emotion from those matter-of-fact lines. It’s a great book to pick up on a whim, flip to random page in, and spend a few short minutes getting acquainted with one of Davis’ many well-crafted characters.

Buy The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis at Amazon.com

The Colossus | RJD2

mpb — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:38:44 +0000

My review of The Colossus, the latest album from RJD2, ran today in the Boston Phoenix.

I really did not enjoy this record at all. There’s not a whole lot to say beyond that. RJD2 started his career as a very capable, innovative sample-based musician, and his first album, Deadringer made a strong case for the viability of pastiche as an artform. It appears as though he no longer agrees. His last album, The Third Hand, found him playing instruments and singing, and he does this on The Colossus too. He also loads this album with a lot of guest vocals. Basically, it seems like he’s lost interest in what made him relevant, which would be fine if he were any good at his new style, but he’s not. “The Glow” is essentially a Jason Mraz b-side.

Boston Phoenix | My Top 2009 Tracks

mpb — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:15:45 +0000

Boston Phoenix | My Top 2009 Tracks
Over at the Boston Phoenix’s On The Download blog, you’ll find the top 10 tracks of the year as selected by the paper’s contributors, including myself. There are some great mixes over there, streaming via the nifty 8tracks service. I’ll include mine below, but definitely check out the other writers’ compilations as well.

You may also wish to check out my list of favorite albums for 2009 which I published here a few weeks ago. [12.22.09]

The Roman Forum | David Watkin

mpb — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:30:53 +0000

My review of The Roman Forum by David Watkin ran today at PopMatters.

This book is a nice contrast to another offering from Harvard University Press that I reviewed back in May, Paris From The Ground Up. That book attempted to tell the complete story of the history of Paris, but was full of half-started threads and distracting tangents. It took on too much and diluted its power. The Roman Forum narrows its scope and succeeds in bringing this rich, historical location to life.

It also introduces an intriguing conflict that many readers might not have thought of, a conflict between art, architecture, and archaeology that is evident in the controversial excavations, restorations, and preservation attempts in the Forum. Watkin deftly explores this conflict, though he’s not unbiased. He explicitly decries the damage archaeology has done to the Forum’s true historical and artistic character, however well-meaning those efforts were. This slim, attractive book is a very entertaining and enlightening read, well written and impressively researched.

Buy The Romun Forum by David Watkin at Amazon.com

Preview: Sisterworld | Liars

mpb — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 02:14:25 +0000

I’m currently working on a feature on Liars that’s slated to appear in a forthcoming issue of ALARM Magazine, and have had the chance to acquire a promo of their latest album, Sisterworld, set to be released in March of 2010. I’ve also been fortunate enough to be able to speak with frontman Angus Andrew, to discuss the new album. We had a very cool conversation about the concept behind it, an audio exerpt of which is presented below. I’m a tremendous fan of Liars, and have happily followed each and every curveball they’ve thrown along the way. I was able to review They Were Wrong So We Drowned and their 2007 self-titled release, and look forward to being able to write about Sisterworld as well.

Sisterworld is inspired by experiences the band had while living in Los Angeles, and sheds light on what Andrew considers to be the unseen parts of the city. He talks about the concept being inspired by the characters he would meet at an after-hours club near his apartment, people who he saw as not quite fitting into the agreed-upon narrative of Los Angeles as a place of opportunity and optimism.

Angus Andrew on the inspiration for Sisterworld [1m 2s]

Though I’ll be able to go into greater detail in the ALARM piece, I’ll just say that Sisterworld is a great album, one that lives up to the band’s reputation for risk-taking and innovation. “Scarecrows on a Killer Slant” is the real standout for me, a blistering, adrenaline-fueled track that’s pointed, accusatory, and intensely cathartic. Partly inspired by a murder Andrew witnessed in his L.A. neighborhood, the song is very powerful, and Andrew gave me some great insight into his conflicted emotions about the event, which I’ll be able to talk about in the article.

Sisterworld features some new sounds for Liars, like horn and string arrangements that add some depth and texture to their already daring compositions. The lead-off track, “Scissor,” uses the strings to craft a delicate, inviting introduction to the album before the band sweeps in and shatters the calm.

Liars — “Scissor” from Sisterworld

Keep an eye out for my piece in ALARM when it’s out this spring, and pick up Sisterworld when it’s released in March.

Pre-order Sisterworld at Amazon.com. Release Date: March 9th, 2010, on Mute.

What Day Is It Tonight? | Trans Am

mpb — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:51:19 +0000

My review of Trans Am’s new live album, What Day Is It Tonight? ran today in the Boston Phoenix. It’s a nice introduction to the band, and a lot of fun, though I’m still a little suspect of their intentions. I reviewed Sex Change for ALARM and I’m honestly having a hard time remembering much of it, though I know I enjoyed it. Trans Am’s music is an irony-laden pastiche of various bits of popular music, hitting all the right buttons but in many ways lacking the unique spark that makes music really stick with you. I really enjoyed this disc, don’t get me wrong, especially the vocoder-heavy cuts from Futureworld.

Buy Trans Am’s What Day Is It Tonight at Amazon.com

Boston Noir | Dennis Lehane, et al.

mpb — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:36:59 +0000

My review of Boston Noir ran today at PopMatters.

The book is a collection of short stories from area authors all roughly in the crime/noir genre. My reaction is mixed, understandably. Some of the stories, like Dana Cameron’s “Femme Sole” or Brendan DuBois’ “The Dark Island” were excellent. Others, like Lynne Heitman’s “Exit Interview” were disappointing: a sterile plot allegedly set in the Financial District, but with very little local color to be seen.

What really interested me, however, was editor Dennis Lehane’s introduction. Lehane and I are both from Dorchester, and we both attended Boston College High School (Classes of ‘83 and ‘01, respectively. He graduated the year I was born.) so our backgrounds are roughly similar, though I came of age in a much safer, much more sedate city than he did.

In his introduction, Lehane laments the increasing beigeness of Boston, the loss of local color and character that has accompanied the city’s upward progress. I understand the sentiment, and sympathize to some degree. Still, I find it hard to be nostalgic for a time that, while interesting, was also riven by racial strife, awash in poverty, and plagued by crime. Boston is a cleaner, safer city with more potential. It’s not perfect, and many neighborhoods still struggle with the aforementioned issues, but whatever problems one might have with a BU-tified Kenmore Square or a South End with million-dollar mortgages, the past should not be romanticized. The full picture of what contributed to the city’s old character must be remembered.

BUY AT AMAZON
Boston Noir
Dennis Lehane, et al.

When I was young, Causeway Street was shrouded in darkness by the elevated Green Line tracks. The train tracks cloaked the street below, and it was a very dismal environment outside the Boston Garden. The tracks are gone now, and the sky has returned. It’s beautiful and liberating, but yes, sometimes I find myself nostalgic for those dark, claustrophobic times. I know I shouldn’t feel that way, but I do, because in my memory, it’s fascinating and mysterious, with a hint of danger. Were they to put those tracks back up, however, I’m sure the truth of the situation, the dank, oppressive reality, would come rushing back and remind me why it’s better that we’ve moved on from those days.

Causeway Street, Boston. Image Credit: MIT

Ulysses and Us | Declan Kiberd

mpb — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:24:17 +0000

My review of Ulysses and Us: The Art of Everyday Life in Joyce’s Masterpiece ran today at PopMatters.

This is a book intended for those who have already read Ulysses, as it relies on a relative familiarity with the plot and events. So beginners may not find Ulysses and Us very welcoming. Nevertheless, it’s an excellent exploration of the novel and of Joyce’s original intentions: that his epic of the common man be enjoyed by all, not just by stuffy intellectuals. Kiberd argues that the focus on hidden clues and trivia have obscured the richness of the story and intimidated the average reader from taking up what is, admittedly, a very difficult book. He wants to make Ulysses comprehensible, and combat the difficult reputation it has gained over the years. He wishes to make Ulysses approachable.

BUY AT AMAZON
Ulysses and Us
Declan Kiberd

What struck me about Kiberd’s walkthrough of the novel is how he divides the chapters. Those who have studied Ulysses will be aware that Joyce associated each chapter with an idea from The Odyssey which roughly corresponded to the action, such as “Penelope” or “Oxen of the Sun.” These chapter titles were not part of the original text but rather included in private correspondence subsequent to publication. Joyce had removed them from the novel, but the academy quickly latched onto them as a means of structuring the story. This had the unfortunate side-effect of entrapping Ulysses within the framework of a classical epic, exactly what Joyce had feared when he decided to eliminate the titles.

Kiberd’s approach is much more appropriate. He titles each chapter based on the primary action that takes place — “Eating,” “Walking,” “Ogling” — which brings the story out of the realm of epic heroes and back down to earth, where Leo Bloom, and the rest of us, dwell. It frees the reader from the lofty, pretentious preconceptions that come along with the Odyssey-inspired titles and allows you to really consider what’s happening in the book on its own terms.

ALARM Magazine | Issue #36 | Loop 2.4.3

mpb — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:54:25 +0000

ALARM Magazine | Issue #36

ALARM Magazine #36 is out now, and in it you’ll find my feature on Loop 2.4.3, an experimental percussion duo from Brooklyn. Their album, Zodiac Dust, is a very sedate, subtle exploration of the potential in a drumkit. Rather than revel in explosive pounding, they opt for a smoother, more melodic approach. I have a few more pieces pending for ALARM, probably coming out in the next issue: a feature on Chicago-based jazz vibraphonist and bandleader Jason Adasiewicz and a review of Lightning Bolt’s tremendously awesome Earthly Delights.

My Favorite Albums of 2009

mpb — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:55:36 +0000

I have to say that my proudest moment as a music critic this year has been the quotation of my review in the Wikipedia entry for Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion. Though I did not dislike the album entirely, my less-than-ebullient review was pegged as the “negative” example amidst a sea of nearly universal praise. That album did not make my 2009 favorites list, obviously. The 15 that did are presented below without pretension. I do not claim that they are the best, nor do I claim any kind of comprehensiveness. I definitely did not hear everything that came out this year. These are just the albums that brought me the most pleasure in 2009, and hopefully, if you haven’t already checked them out, you will now. If you want a deeper insight into my thoughts on each, please visit the links to the specific reviews and blog posts for those albums that have them.