Well let's see, 2026 so far: the Pittsburgh City Paper has shut down, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette has announced that it will shut down in May, Trump kidnapped a (admittedly illegitimate) foreign leader under the guise of a "police action", PA senator John Fetterman has announced his support of Trump buying Greenland, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has announced that it is folding, the CDC is recommending fewer childhood vaccines while measles is on the uptick, and I'm forgetting other things.
There are many reasons we listen to music. One is to uplift and stimulate us. Another is to find reflect our moods, good or bad. Guess what I'm feeling now.
01/08/2026 on CD
Khanate: Things Viral (Southern Lord)
Here I go tapping the endless well of misery and despair that is the music of Khanate. Okay, that's a little overstated. But they are bleak.
I've written before about Khanate, in particular Capture & Release, the soundtrack of my mood the first time Donald Trump was elected president. They came recommended by Adam MacGregor when I asked for suggestions for the severest music possible. I've gone on about this in the past. I don't think I've mentioned this album previously, but I could be wrong.
Both this and the aforementioned album are similar in many ways: slow tempos almost to the point of being agonizing, long sections of little activity divided by moments of severe guitar breaks, Alan Dubin's unique brand of shrieking. But they're also distinctive, different versions of the Khanate sound. At times this one is even noisier than C&R, most string noise, sounding a step closer to being an old school industrial band.
I'm grateful music such as this exists. It's not pleasant nor is it intended to be. Under similar circumstances, thirty years ago, what would I have been listening to? Probably Swans, maybe early Sonic Youth, Throbbing Gristle. There's that. But this comes closer to my vibe right now.
PS: prior to the most recent election, I noticed a car outside the comic book store that had both Swans: Filth and pro-Trump bumper stickers. I thought, shouldn't those things be exclusive to one another.
01/10/2026 on vinyl
Mike Vickers: Dracula AD 1972 (Death Waltz)
Hammer films, for an independent British film studio, had a pretty good run. Founded in 1934, they were known for their horror and fantasy films from the late 1950s into the mid-1970s. Hammer films were generally more lurid than their American counterparts: stronger sexual suggestion (becoming more blatant in later films), more skin (cleavage and later nudity), brighter colors, deeper red blood.
Dracula AD 1972 finds Drac (played by stalwart Christopher Lee) in swinging post-60s London, along with the original Professor Van Helsing's grandson (played by stalwart Peter Cushing). The title itself immediately dates the film. But then, this London of fifty+ years ago doesn't necessarily exist, so it might as well be dated.
Vickers' music reminds me a bit of another busy British film composer, Ron Grainer, with a touch of what one might hear on a period James Bond soundtrack. There's one exception on the album, about four minutes of a cue titled "Devil's Circle Music" which is credited to the group White Noise including Delia Derbyshire (electronics), Paul Lytton (free jazz drummer, noted for his work with Evan Parker) and three others. Vickers dabbles in some delay effects, but the Derbyshire/etc work is far more atmospheric and noisy. Of course I can't mention the names of Derbyshire and Grainer without mentioning in passing the controversy over the original Doctor Who theme, and whether Delia deserves co-credit for the piece.
I'm Team Derbyshire on this one, and her realization is easily the best version of the piece to my ears.
I might have to seek out that White Noise album.
01/11/2026 on vinyl
Thelonious Monk: Thelonious Alone in San Francisco (Riverside)
I can't recall if I bought this, or my father gave it to me. Probably the latter. I have the complete Riverside Monk on CD, but this seemed right.
A few days ago, it was Khanate as an external expression of my mood. Now it's comfort food. Monk's music is something I've know nearly my entire life, Dad recommending his music to me. It's possible I've spent more time listening to Monk than anyone else, or at least he'd be top five.
I prefer Monk in a quartet setting. I was a little unsure at one time about his solo recordings, the hesitancies, the occasional strangely-chosen note (the opener on this, "Blue Monk", is a good example). But with age I feel like I understand these recordings better, at least intuitively. It is Monk at his purest, and take him or leave him. If you come expecting Art Tatum or Oscar Peterson, you're going to be disappointed.
It's cold and windy outside, snow blowing almost horizontally. The state of national and international politics is crushingly awful. But I'm sitting at home, in the warmth, with an old friend.
01/12/2026 on vinyl
Edgar Froese: Ages (Virgin)
I've tried to write my first sentence here at least three times. I am both involved in music technology and electronic music, and ambivalent to both.
I am definitely interested in expanded sound palette of acoustic + electronic sounds. I enjoy early electronic music recordings because of the effort, the "sweat" as i have often put it, that I hear in the results.
Do I enjoy electronic music on its own terms? I guess it's a case-by-case, artist-by-artist basis.
Edgar was 1/3 of I guess would be the classic lineup of Tangerine Dream. He, with Peter Baumann and Christopher Franke, created probably the group's signature recordings. Atem, Phaedra, Rubycon, Stratosfear, the soundtrack to Sorcerer. Pretty good run.
This album seems dated insofar as, it could have been produced on a laptop with Ableton Live in a fraction of the time this session probably took. Not that it would sound better; there's something inescapable about the analog synths/recording/playback that makes it earthier.
This might be Edgar's purest vision of music, but I think I prefer the mix of ideas on the best Tangerine Dream albums. Those are...soupier? More of a blend or even confrontation? Less predictable?
On the original Virgin label, who are more involved with airlines and sending rockets into space than pursuits such as music.
01/12/2026 #2 on vinyl
Morton Feldman: Rothko Chapel/For Frank O'Hara (Columbia)
I noticed on Facebook that today is the anniversary of Morton Feldman's birth. I couldn't let that pass without notice.
As I have no doubt previously written, John Cage was an important influence for me in my earlier years, but it's Morton Feldman's music that has left a stronger impression. I am perfectly satisfied with the path I have chosen as a composer and improvisor, but there's a part of me that wishes I could get away with what Feldman did. That is, compose works so spare that they are deceptively simple. His works are not easy, just not busy. Many are very difficult if played correctly.
What appealed to me about Rothko Chapel? The piece is set for viola, percussion and chorus with solo soprano. Without going into details, it's the translucent harmonies in the chorus that I loved. How else can I describe the piece? It's a beautiful transliteration of Rothko's visual art to the aural.
My friend Jason (who may be reading this shortly after posting) told me that the second side, For Frank O'Hara, is more typical Feldman. He might be right. It's beautifully thin, Morton's attempt to represent the "flat plane" of Abstract Expressionist art by way of music.
But...Rothko Chapel...that's my stuff.
01/13/2026 on vinyl
Etta James: Etta James Rocks the House (Jackpot)
My brother-in-law gave me this LP. He doesn't own a turntable and I don't know how he came to have this. I notice that the record label is the same as the name of the store on the price sticker, so maybe it was a giveaway. I promised I'd play it, so I'm living up to my word.
Etta James' version of "At Last" seems to have had a life that's grown over the decades. I hate to sound cynical (who, me?) but it's a song that vocalists sing that pretend they want to be jazz singers. I'd find it more tiresome but I don't go listening to jazz vocalists very often.
This album was captured on two September nights in 1963. One of eleven songs was co-written by Etta, with others by Jinny Reed, Ray Charles, Willy Dixon, and others. It leans on the blues side of R&B.
She's a belter, that's for certain, and the crowd was clearly eating it up. Would have been great to see her at this time.
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