The Examined Life

The Custodian – The Atlantic

neilrigler — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 04:14:25 +0000

Had to pause and share this wonderful poem from the recent issue of The Atlantic. And while I’m here I’ll mention I’m listening to Freddie Hubbard’s “The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard” and swimming in a delightful sea of hard bop as I take a few moments to myself this evening before Veteran’s Day. Nice to have a moment’s break in the action.

Riding the Hawkwind

neilrigler — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 04:31:16 +0000

So as a music fan I love it when a piece fits into place and I understand the links between bands and the progression of a type of sound, while making a new discovery along the way. As a young kid, starting around age 8, I fell asleep each night to WABC out of New York, listening to the top 40 while reading Richie Rich and Archie comics. I was also reading the Encyclopedia of Rock (or something like that) – a fantastic paperback filled with half-page or so entries about everyone, along with pictures, album covers, and key details. In some ways I feel like I keep rediscovering that book – I remember looking at the covers for Captain Beefheart, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Jimi Hendrix, and so many more, then feeling a special tinge of excitement when I finally owned the record. Well, it happened again. Just as I received the new Wooden Shjips LP I started reading articles about this outstanding band, one of my current faves. Along with the usual mentions of the Velvet Underground, Spacemen 3, and the Jesus and Mary Chain, were Hawkwind, a band I knew little about other than Lemmy (from Motorhead) used to play with them and they had an album cover that looked like this:

Now how could I possibly forget seeing this craziness as a kid? Now, I am almost ashamed to admit I listened to it for the first time. And I loved every second of it. All of its goofy rock opera space craziness, its drony guitar mayhem, and the totally infectious sound. Everything started to fit into place – give a listen and think of the other bands I’ve name-checked here.

So it will be a week of Hawkwind, to see how far it all goes. Apparently things changed quite a bit with them over the years as they trudged on into the 2000′s. But for now, I’m feeling the same magic as I did when I first worked my way through the entire 13th Floor Elevators catalog recently. How could I have missed all of this?

In some ways it’s a similar feeling to what I was thinking as I went through the Renaissance Faire this past weekend with my family. The time is 1574 is Bristol, England, not 2011 in Bristol, Wisconsin. Food is cooked over open fires, entertainment is from acrobats who know how to be both bawdy and family-friendly, and everyone is wearing outfits that can’t be comfortable yet can’t help but to express personality and character. As I walked through the recreation of a village, complete with pubs, vendors, and revelry, I caught myself thinking more than once about Shakespeare, and wondering how in the world he (or whoever wrote those majestic plays) managed to marry high and low so seamlessly. Groundling and nobility alike found truth in those words, and spending an afternoon in that universe helped make it all seem just actually possible.

Lastly, speaking of filling in gaps and building bridges, there’s a lot of buzz, rightfully so, around Tinawiren. But are you yet hip to Bombino? Check out this amazing linking of Hendrix to the desert – how can you not be left wanting to hear more? Maybe they need a funky fantasy graphic novel album cover.

Vinyl Summer

neilrigler — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 04:29:23 +0000

No I’m not referring to the feeling of sliding across the back seat of my parents’ chevy impala when they picked me up from the pool on hot summer days, although slurpees and regular doritos will always take me back to those magical times. Instead I’m referring to those “big cd’s” as my kids asked about when they first saw me dragging boxes of lp’s down from closets to spin this summer. Now, my oldest son knows how to clean and handle a record and loves spending time looking at the pictures and reading the lyrics. He plays copies of old Beatles, Grateful Dead, and Rolling Stones lp’s and even likes how you have to get up every 20 minutes or so to “play the other side,” a concept previously unknown to him. I’ve gone back to vinyl in many ways, spinning everything from old jazz records (tonight includes Dexter Gordon’s “Biting the Apple” and Jimmy Smith’s “Jimmy Smith at the Organ” on Blue Note) to newly purchased re-releases (such as the first Grateful Dead record in glorious mono and 3 different Funkadelic titles to finally getting to things I purchased on vinyl but have remained sealed, such as the fantastic “Light on the South Side” compilation and accompanying photo book put out by the masterminds at Numero Group. Check out the trailer here:

Might I add I’m pretty gaga over the abundance of great new music out right now. Current playlist includes: White Denim, Yuck, Thee Oh Sees, The Night Beats, Bon Iver, Shabazz Palaces, Ema, tUnE yArDs, Fleet Foxes, Marissa Nadler, Wild Beasts, Wax Museums, and Cosmonauts.

And just to further the glory of physical product, I need to give a shout-out to squeezebox, a lovely little used book-cd-record-dvd store that just opened in Evanston. Where else would I have found a copy of the double-lp of the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival from 1972, featuring tracks from Bonnia Raitt, Bobby ‘Blue” Bland, Howlin’ Wolf, and Sun Ra? Thanks, Tim!

I Don’t Like Music

neilrigler — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 03:43:19 +0000

Record Store Day 2011 is now in the books and I’m sitting here with stacks of new vinyl and cd’s wishing I could sit here with stacks of new vinyl and cd’s for much longer than the hour or so I have left tonight before I snuggle into a record jacket for the night. What did I get today? Great stuff. What have I been listening to lately? So much. I’m constantly discovering great new tunes and by golly I’m going to invest a few minutes into a blog entry about it.

(What am I listening to while writing this list? Sing For Your Meat: Tribute to Guided By Voices – thanks, Record Store Day!)

Things I’ve listened to recently I totally dig and your should too:

Off! – First Four EPs – Guilty pleasure. Keith Morris from Black Flag and the Circle Jerks teamed up with members of Burning Brides, Rocket from the Crypt, and Redd Kross (!) last year to pump out 4 ep’s of fast, loud, punky goodness. Today there was a single with a few tunes recorded live at Generation Records in NYC. Love it.
Zakary Thaks – Passage to India. One of the great garage bands of all time – fuzzed-out guitars, Beatle-y harmonies, great songs, and a good measure of weirdness. This recent compilation has it all.
LateNightTales: Midlake – One of my favorite current bands gets their shot at this awesome series. Every song on this compilation is a gem, and not just their Black Sabbath cover. The 70′s acoustic-psychedelic-folk feel they trade in sent me shopping – I’ve bought cd’s from Bob Carpenter, Jimmie Spheeris, and Bread, Love, & Dreams. Beautiful.
TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light. I love this band. Their post-punk-electronic-rock mix is infectious and one of the best bands I’ve ever seen live. Their new CD is tremendous.
Many jazz titles: Mike Reed’s Loose Assembly – Empathetic Parts, Charles Lloyd Quartet – Mirror, Nathan Davis – If, Orrin Evans – Listen to the Band, Mal Waldrom Quintet – Live at the Village Vanguard, Rudresh Mahanthappa & Steve Lehman – Dual Identity
Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo de Cotonou – Cotonou Club. Afro funk masterpieces – their first record in 4 years – worth the wait!
The Feelies – Here Before. Speaking of worth the wait – their show last year in Millennium Park was 22 or so years since the previous time I saw them and was pure joy. Their new cd craft brilliant arrangements and brilliant songs.

OK, I have so so so many more I could write about but I started listening to Eleventh Dream Day’s recent Riot Now! and want to slip into a more passive listening experience. Here are a few quick photos from my Record Store Day:

It all started here late last night with 2nd Hand Tunes opening at midnight. People drove in from Gurnee and Wadsworth (45 – 60 mins.) which made for great people watching and general music geekery. I’m pretty psyched I got a copy of the Dangermouse / Daniele Luppi 45″ with Jack White and Norah Jones, Mumford & Sons recording with Indian musicians, and the first Grateful Dead lp in Mono!

Saturday started out at the Jazz Record Mart, meeting Brian and Nikki, and hearing a great hour of duos performed by two current Chicago all-stars: Josh Berman on trumpet and Jason Adasiewicz on Vibes. Great power and depth to their set, and wouldn’t you just know it – listening to great live music is a delightful addition to and encourager of a shopping experience!

The afternoon kicked off with a visit to Reckless in Wicker Park and a dynamite set from Tyler Jon Tyler. Great garage pop from this trio, topped off with female vocals and catchy-as-hell tunes.

Other visits: The Numero Group’s one day only pop up store on Milwaukee Ave., Dusty Groove (all hail!), and Permanent Records (rock on!).

An exhausting and totally satisfying bunch of hours doing what I love to do, and am lucky enough to live in a city still filled with the house of wonders that is the independent record store. Don’t worry – I’ll be back before RSD 2012!

Let’s all go to the library

neilrigler — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 04:34:43 +0000

There’s just something about libraries and book stores that will always stir my heart, as the words of Anthony Powell’s novel title or name of a wonderful bookstore back in Durham, NC put it: Books Do Furnish A Room. So imagine my delight at this little collections of photographs of libraries of the rich and famous, found here at Flavorwire (thanks to the link from the best blog ever, largeheartedboy. (go there. daily. trust me.)) But the king of them all, and my new hero is Karl Lagerfeld. I don’t know much about him, but with this photograph of his collection, I am nothing but jealous. Behold:

A Carnival or Top Ten List, of Sorts

neilrigler — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 01:30:59 +0000

OK, so it’s not in time to influence any holiday shopping lists, but here are a few cd’s that boiled their way to the top this year for me. Or, more specifically, spent more time in the pile on the passenger seat of my car than others. I’ll try to include some links along the way.

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings: I Learned the Hard Way They embody everything I love about music. DapTone does it their own way with vintage equipment to make modern dance funk soul madness. And Sharon Jones is the best lead singer performing today. And I love her.
The Roots: How I Got Over The masters of Hip-Hop create a truly memorable record with a great set of guests. Check it out here.
Madlib: Madlib’s Medicine Show series Every one of these cd’s (11 in the last year) is a brilliant mix of a sub-genre of groovy beats. Everything this guy touches is worth a listen. Check him out here.
Local Natives: Gorilla Manor Infectious vocals, fun beats, smart orchestrations, and an instantly like-able cd. Check out their site here.
The Tallest Man on Earth: Wild Hunt Superb singer-songwriter stuff – Sweedish subtlety. Visit him here.
Caribou: Swim It’s great dance music. No, wait, it’s intimate and thoughtful. No, it’s just perfect. Go spin “Leave House” here and be converted.
Tame Impala: Innerspeaker So if it comes down to most plays this year, I think this one wins it outright for me. A great headphones cd – a phrase I felt obliged to invoke at least once here. Psychedelic, swirly, droney, and lovable. Listen here to “It’s Not Meant to Be.”
Best Coast: Crazy For You Wow – can I possible love her voice and lyrics and sunny pop more? Simple. Lovely. Check out “Boyfriend” or “When I’m With You” here.
Paul Weller: Wake Up the Nation I pretty much love everything this guy does, and have followed his shifts for years. Seeing The Jam in 1982 changed music for me forever. Worship here.
John Grant: Queen of Denmark So I really like Midlake and their own cd this year was solid, but this collaboration with John Grant wowed the British press and me right along with it. Lovely and a must-listen.
Superchunk: Majesty Shredding Seeing them outdoors here in Chicago in June was a highlight of the year. I just love this band with all of my partially North Carolina-based heart. They just keep doing it. Still crazy and rockin’ after all these years. Go here to start your adventure. Might I add the giant Merge boxed set from last year just might be one of my favorite possessions.
The Soft Pack: The Soft Pack Explosive, totally catchy, perfect rock & roll. Great live shows this year. A winner from first listen. Here is their website.

Nods must be given to: The National, The Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, Midlake, Neil Young, Gil Scott-Heron, The Besnard Lakes, The Radio Dept., Emeralds, Drive-By Truckers, Surfer Blood, Mavis Staples, Deerhunter, LCD Soundsystem, Flying Lotus, and Foxy Shazam (best male lead singer)

Still to come: best jazz, international, and reissues.

In Memory of Our Dog, Chaucer

neilrigler — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 19:41:58 +0000

Last week our doggie, Chacuer, died. He was 12 1/2 years old, our first baby, and a key part of our life in many ways. I wrote this poem to him and read it at a little funeral service we held for him. We love you and miss you, Chee-Chee!

How m’ I apposed-ta know?

You came running into the room

A sun porch

A scampering of brothers and sisters

Then Connie pointed you out

Him – he’s the one

How was I apposed-ta know?

How much you would teach me

And what it meant to fall so wildly in love with a doggie

My doggie

Our little Chee

Before you I only drove through the neighborhood

Same turns, same buildings

How was I apposed-ta know all the other stuff you’d show me

How important it is to stop and sniff everything

Two times

And wee on everything

Even if you don’t gotta wee

And to stop and say hello to your neighbors

To other dogs

To notice the places where there is and isn’t grass,

Or ice or trash

or the first signs of a new season

The streets and yards were your world and through you we met

George and Phyllis and Duke and Snowy

How else would we have known to spend afternoons and summer evenings

watching you run around while

watching our friend enjoy yet another drink?

His love and acceptance of you helped show us what you were all about.

and then you taught me about evening playtime

waiting for me by the door as I stepped out of the elevator

your little tail whipping back and forth

your body flat to the ground

before you pounced upwards and rocketed down the hallway

then a tennis ball or the Frisbee

bouncing off other doors

as you raced around, spending the saved energy of the day

and there were late night walks and secret wees in the courtyard

and watching you run around after a bath, shaking and rubbing yourself on the furniture

and then your brothers were born and we needed a new house

and you helped us make sure there was a backyard for you to make into the center of the universe

How was I apposed-ta know?

What did it mean to own a house?

Where were we supposed to keep the cookies and how many were you supposed to get?

Oh – they are right here, you’d always be happy to tell us

And then we’d tell ‘em

Tell you, Chaucer

Tell ‘em we love him so much

And you’re a good boy

And then you showed us where the good places to hide your ball were

Always under the biggest piece of furniture

Just like back on Linden Place

And then you showed us where on the couch was the perfect place to sit

So you could bark at everyone and tell ‘em

Whatever it was that always seemed to important to tell ‘em

How was I apposed-ta know how hard it would be to go on a vacation, or even to leave the house

For more than 6 hours at a time?

Martin loved you and fed you and let you lick his toes while we were gone

And then you’d greet us

Dancing in circles with excitement

Whether we were gone for two hours or two weeks

You were always happy to be there at the door

And you always had to go first

And you made sure to tell whoever tried to cut in front of you

How was I apposed-ta know what it meant to drive you to the beauty parlor and

Have you dig your nails into my leg then shiver in fear?

How was I apposed-ta know our whole family would go to Wisconsin for two days

Just to have your trachea looked at

How was I apposed-ta know we’d fly with you to New Jersey, or bring you to the synagogue,

Or to the school playground on warm afternoons?

You were mommy’s smee

Teaching her

how the sunlight moves from one window to the other

when it’s a good time to have a drink or a nap

and how to deal with your humping licking honking and deep breathing

while talking to clients around the country and world

you’d show her your belly and snuggle into your little bed

and tell her no matter how hard it got

she should always remember how cute you are

and how your little tongue hung out of your mouth

and the importance of you in spite of it all

and you were my chee

teaching me which chewies were the best

which cookies you liked

making sure I always gave you a little taste of whatever I was eating

How was I apposed ta know I needed to put my plate on the floor

That you licked mommy’s yogurt spoon

And I was always supposed to bring you home a giant meatloaf sandwich?

You snuggled up close to our tushies at night

Or on the couch for a nap

You barked at repairmen and deliverymen and babysitters

You jumped and licked at Grandma or Grandpa or Uncle Jon or Caitlin, Anna, or Eva

You hid food and chewies under cushions sofas and toys

You showed us how tough you were by pushing your feet backwards and growling

Often at either little girls or

Huge dogs that could easily eat you for breakfast

You tracked mud and show around the house, you weed on pillows and blankets

You got it the way of our feet and prevented our children from comfortably joining us

In the morning

But we always loved you so much so much

You taught us how to love you and we did and you loved us right back as if

Your whole existence depended on it

You helped us to see the world through your beautiful black eyes

Even if we sometimes needed to clean the gook out of ‘em

And now, my dearest meech, you are gone

We loved you and your mommy cared for you endlessly and you got to sit on her lap

During your final minutes of life

And I got to hold your paw and kiss you goodbye

Now I’m not signing holiday or birthday cards with your pawprint

Now I need to gather the photos and movies of you

Because it’s those photographs and memories

All that we have are these to remind us of you

Chee chee

Meech

Jimmy the dose

Neechu

Smeech

Neechiest

Eeve-um

Chaucer

We love you and we miss you so

There’s a Yorkie-sized hole in our universe

And the bed’s too big without you

Music savages the calm beast

neilrigler — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 15:54:26 +0000

Yes yes it has been forever since I’ve said anything here by by golly once the school year gets going it’s just hard to keep track of everything. I’ve been overloading on music these days (no surprise) – I kinda feel like Madlib in this picture:

And that’s only what’s on the dining room table and bedroom floor! My latest explorations have taken me into 1970′s soul jazz, spacey funk grooves, hip-hop madness, and DJ beats. Somehow I’ve been finding both Madlib and J Dilla’s names attached to many of the cd’s currently on my desk or on the front seat of my car, so props to them.

I think this has been an amazing year for music in general and I can’t recommend enough the work done at the king of all music blogs, largehearted boy. Go ahead – click there – I dare you. MP3′s, links to top ten lists and blogs and videos. And – books! Incredibly this guy manages to feed my literature mojo just as much as my endless music needs. How in the world does he do it? I’m truly impressed and thanksful. Need more? Check out this awesome list of the best music blogs around – yes, Virginia, there is more out there than Pitchfork (even though of course that is part of the daily web browse!).

Alright, I just needed to return to the blogosphere and hopefully will be a more frequent flyer. Happy listening!

Not even close – pigeons on the roof

neilrigler — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 05:19:41 +0000

OK so for a little while there about a month back I had grand visions of daily blogging, sharing observations and insights while interacting with the digital universe. Quite simply, it didn’t happen. Oddly enough, the first factor was teaching a writing workshop for two weeks, done entirely with pen and notebook. It was a beautifully intense and slow experience and left me exhausted and wanting to read the words of others. Then, I devoted just about all of my free time to hanging out with the boys in their non-daycamp hours. No comment needed there.

So instead I’ll just add a few thoughts about these recent ventures:

1- The Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago.

I was fortunate enough to register for tickets to the lecture by Matthew Witkovsky, the exhibition curator, and attend the member preview. He not only presented a fascinating and insightful overview but also inspired me to return to the exhibit for a second viewing later that afternoon. The composition of the photographs and their implied commentary covered a range of ideas far beyond what I was able to understand the first time through. At first I was mostly just dazzled by the range of locations and the subjects in his portraits. Then after learning about the history behind each image and being taught what to notice, the buffet of images became even more satisfying. I know some people want art to speak for itself, and there is certainly something to be said for the initial encounter between image and audience, but knowing more allowed me to see more – a thought I’d apply equally to literature, music, architechture, psychology, food, and whatever else I could add to that list. Don’t miss this exhibition!

2- Konono #1 at the Empty Bottle.

No this is not from the show I saw but gives you a great sense of the hypnotic rhythms generated by these Congolese masters. Instruments assembled from used car parts – thumb pianos amplified through electronics that would make Thurston Moore jealous – and waves of percussion turned into songs averaging well over ten minutes and a non-stop dance party. The music is great to listen to while driving or grooving on headphones, but live it’s just something else that needs to be experienced. I’ve been enjoying African music for many years now and for whatever reason this has been a banner year for it, including seeing Fela! on Broadway just after it opened and buying endless cd’s from Dusty Groove. Seeing them in a venue where I usually see experimental and punk bands worked perfectly!

3- Widespread Panic at the Chicago Theater.

I’ve been listening to and seeing this band since the late 80′s in college and it just keeps getting better. Sure there are those who will only listen to the original version of the band with Mikey Houser on guitar. After he passed away in 2002, George McConnell was the guitarist for a few years before Jimmy Herring took over in 2006. At that point, two great strands in music came together, at least in terms of music I listened to. My exposure to Colonel Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit in 1991 was musically life-changing with its eclectic mix of covers and extended jams all played by incredibly talented musicians. I remember seeing them in Chicago with a 13-year-old Derek Trucks on guitar at the Lounge Ax and many other venues around the city (Biddy Mulligans, anyone?) and always being impressed and exhausted after hours of grooving to their music. In addition to Bruce, Oteil Burbridge (now with the Allman Brothers), AptQ258, Count Mbutu, Matt Mundy, and Jimmy Herring cranked out bluegrass + jazz + funk + Latin + soul + rock in an always perfect blend. When Jimmy joined Widespread Panic, and as I’ve seen now in six shows in the past few years, the combination is potent and memorable. There’s even a great sense of humor to them – just last night they openend their Boston show with “Pigeons” and dedicated it to the Kings of Leon, who were showered with pigeon poop so much in a show in St. Louis a few days ago they had to stop their show after only three songs. What more can be said about that?

Been gone so long – time to get back on the train

neilrigler — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 05:40:03 +0000

Well that didn’t last long – the idea of blogging daily about a cd and book. I had grand visions of blogging from my phone, of constantly updating this blog with little thoughts, but by golly it is not so easy. I’m thinking of the blogs I love to read each day and am just stunned at the commitment it takes. If only I didn’t have a job, wife, kids, books to read, e-mail to respond to, a house to clean… Yeah, well, in perspective I guess I need to figure out where to fit the blogosphere and my digital life into the rest of it. In the meantime, it was my younger son’s birthday today, my older son had his last day of school, my last day is Friday, and my head is sunburned from a day at Six Flags with the boys.

CD#9: Various Artists – Dig the New Breed: Singles from the New Millennium (Acid Jazz)

Oh Acid Jazz, how I love you as a label and how can I begin to give enough props to all of the groove you’ve brought to my life. Eighteen years ago when I was working at the Inside Track on Armitage Ave. in Chicago, we had a cardboard box with a few of the great early compilation cd’s Acid Jazz put out, namely the Totally Wired series. Through them I got to know the music of Galliano, Snowboy, and the Brand New Heavies, among many others. Now, there is a new collection of music and artists bringing the noise and the funk and the groove, ‘specially Smoove, with a few appearances on this disc. The winner for me is a great twist on Gil-Scot Heron’s essential “The Revolution Will not be Televised,” spinning it positive. Check it out:

Just pop this cd into your summer and make it instantly groov-a-licious. Did I forget to mention the Mod Father himself, Paul Weller, appears on a track here? Guaranteed to make you smile.