While there may not be quite as many highs as from her California days, there’s still much to be gleaned from Joni Mitchell’s often overlooked post-Mingus period. Even her more forgettable albums from the 1980s offer something to behold, while the mid-1990s volley of Turbulent Indigo and Taming The Tiger have aged surprisingly well. Yet it is the duo of Both Sides Now and Travelogue that stand as tall as any of Joni’s earlier work–her matured voice paired with orchestral arrangements in a stunning exploration of both jazz standards and her own songbook. “Sweet Joni from Saskatoon / Don’t go, don’t go too soon.”

Stardust – Joni Mitchell 1982-2007 (A Mixtape)

Lagniappe (la·gniappe) noun ˈlan-ˌyap,’ – 1. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. 2. Something given or obtained as a gratuity or bonus.

One of our favorite records of the year, James Elkington’s Wintres Woma is one of subtle nuance, its depth and breadth unfurling with each consecutive listen. Here, Elkington pays tribute to The Kinks, beginning with a proper nod to the greatness of Dave Davies with 1969’s “This Man He Weeps Tonight”. “Too Much On My Mind”, via the 1966 lp Face To Face, finds a pensive Elkington before culminating with “Get Back In Line”, one of our favorite sleepers off 1970’s Lola Versus Powerman. Elkington in his own words, below.

James Elkington :: This Man He Weeps Tonight (The Kinks)

Whenever people ask me if I prefer The Beatles or The Rolling Stones (which they never do), I always say The Kinks (in my mind). Ray Davies’ ability to craft universally-beloved songs from a very terse and individual standpoint is an inspiration to even the most terse individuals among us, and the quality and quantity of great Kinks material from the second half of the 60’s is unreal. This song was originally slated for a Dave Davies solo album, but instead became the B-side to the 1969 single, “Shangri-La”, and dates from a period where they simply could not put a foot wrong. My three year-old can really belt out the chorus when we’re in the car, and he was the one who indicated to me just how good this song is.

James Elkington :: Too Much On My Mind (The Kinks)

This is a track from the 1966 album Face To Face: The first band that I wrote songs for was called The Zincs, and as we approached our first show we realized we just didn’t have enough of them. The ‘old-beyond-his-years’ resignation of the lyrics in this song was something I could sympathize with, and the arrangement was simple enough to learn quickly, so we played it, and I feel like its been kicking around the back of my head ever since. I still love it.

James Elkington :: Get Back In Line (The Kinks)

This was one of Dave Davies’ faves, and comes from 1970’s Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround (Part One). Quite how Ray manages to write a song that is both political and personally emotional without being either overtly earnest or saccharine is a mystery, but I wish more people would figure out how to do it (myself included). I love everything about this song; the tune, the words, the brevity, the organ part, and the fact that the bass-line is always walking down, but not always how you’d expect. This song always spoke to me, but the rest of the album is just as good and worthy of everyone’s attention. And there you have it.

Lagniappe Sessions Archives / imagery via d norsen

Clocking in at an incredibly potent 53 minutes, Music Is The Weapon was shot in Lagos in 1982 chronicling the Nigerian juggernaut that was Fela Kuti. Helmed by French director/cinematographer Jean-Jacques Flori, the film surrounds itself with the interchangeable music/politics that was Kuti’s orbit. A weapon, indeed. Stream the documentary in its entirety, below.

Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can be heard twice every Friday – Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.

SIRIUS 488: Jean Michel Bernard – Générique Stephane ++ Sun Ra – We’re Living In The Space Age ++ Honeyboy Martin & The Voices – Dreader Than Dread ++ Johnny & The Attractions – I’m Moving On ++ Andersons All Stars – Intensified Girls ++ King Sporty – DJ Special ++ Freddie Mackay – When I’m Gray ++ Hopeton Lewis – Sound And Pressure ++ The Upsetters – Popcorn ++ Willie Williams – Armageddon Time ++ Sister Nancy – Bam Bam ++ Nora Dean – Angie La La ++ The Upsetters – Taste Of Killing ++ The Skatalites – Herb Man Dub ++ Lloyd & Glen – That Girl ++ The Jamaicans – Ba Ba Boom ++ Hopeton Lewis – Let Me Come On Home ++ Byron Lee – Hot Reggae ++ Ernest Ranglin – Below The Bassline ++ Errol Dunkley – The Scorcher ++ Los Holy’s – Cissy Strut ++ Slim Smith – Hip Hug ++ The Reggae Boys – Selassie ++ Dave Barker – Funky Reggae ++ Johnny Clarke – Rebel Soldiering ++ Mad A – Aouh Aouh ++ Clarendonians – You Won’t See Me ++ Ebo Taylor – Love And Death ++ Peter King – African Dialects ++ Dorothy Ashby – Soul Vibrations ++ Sun Ra – Angels & Demons ++ Alton Ellis – Whiter Shade of Pale ++ Mor Thiam – Ayo Ayo Nene (Blessings For The New Born Baby) ++ Fatback Band – Goin’ To See My Baby ++ The Aggravators – Dub Is Shining ++ West African Cosmos – Emeraude

*You can listen, for free, online with the SIRIUS three day trial — just submit an email address and they will send you a password.
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August 1st – in celebration of Jerry Garcia’s 75th Birthday – Aquarium Drunkard & The Jerry Garcia Family Present: Grateful Shred & Friends, live at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles. Tickets: HERE.

w/ Delicate Steve ++ King Tuff ++ William Tyler ++ Emmett Kelly ++ Eric Johnson ++ Jenny O ++ Omar Velasco ++ Leslie Stevens & more . . .

A conversation with Robyn Hitchcock can at times feel a lot his lyrics; just when things seem grounded, the skies open up and we’re off in the clouds for a whimsical journey. A very affable fellow, there’s great humor spiced through his words, often moving quickly between the visceral and surreal. Following a conversation this past month in San Francisco, we caught up with Hitchcock to chat about his career, living in Nashville, and his excellent new self-titled album.

Aquarium Drunkard: At the show last month you mentioned how happy you are with the new record. What aspects pleased you with this one?

Robyn Hitchcock: Just everything worked at once. It was just a series of really good coincidences. I got a very good crop of songs. Brendan Benson, we’d been talking for a year or two about doing something. It turned out something meant producing a record.

AD: What all did he bring to the table as far as his production?

Robyn Hitchcock: He brought a few things. He brought, or helped bring, some of the musicians that I recorded with. The bass is Jon Estes and the drummer Jon Radford. And his studio. It was quite a collaborative venture. He’d look at the songs and make suggestions, sometimes for the structure. He’d suggest chord changes which I then wouldn’t use…you know, he’s another musician and songwriter. He’s my partner so he kind of stood up to me. Especially as you get older you can kind of call all the shots, and if you do that you never really surprise yourself. But I wasn’t passive either, I wasn’t the passenger. It wasn’t like ‘okay Brendan, bend me and shape me any way you want’. It was much more. Me and the guys would sort of work out moving parts, and the structure. The structures are pretty much mine, but a lot of the sort of mechanics of it were worked out. In regards to bass and drums, it was all looked at. It wasn’t like, ‘okay Robyn’s got the chords, we’ll just back along.’ Which is how it sometimes goes, because I like getting new musicians when they’re fresh and haven’t too much time to live with the song. But these people lived with the songs almost instantly. They’re really kind of tuned up. The record sounds like we’ve been playing together for years, but actually a lot of the players had only just heard the songs that evening.

Robyn Hitchcock :: Mad Shelley’s Letterbox

Earlier this year Netherlands-based reissue outfit Music From Memory released the wonderful and exquisitely strange compilation, Outro Tempo: Electronic And Contemporary Music From Brazil 1978-1992. A collection of exotic, otherworldly futurism and electronics, born from the most poignant of circumstances, the assemblage finds traditions and soundscapes blending into a new form. Via the label:

“As Brazil faced the last years of its military dictatorship and transition to democracy, a generation of forward-thinking musicians developed an alternative vision of Brazilian music and culture. They embraced traditionally shunned electronic production methods and infused their music with elements of ambient, jazz-fusion, and minimalism. At the same time they referenced the musical forms and spirituality of indigenous tribes from the Amazon. The music they produced was a complex and mesmerizing tapestry that vividly evoked Brazilian landscapes and simultaneously reached out to the world beyond its borders.”

This alternative vision not only fuses jazz, ambient music, and minimalism with indigenous roots, but also naturally evokes the spirit of Tropicália, a fertile movement of its own, and one whose oceanic guitar meditations find themselves awash in synthesizer and chant in the back half of Nando Carneiro’s grandly sweeping “G.R.E.S. Luxo Artesanal / O Camponês.” It’s an intoxicating moment — imagine Bola Sete merged with Caetano Veloso. The art-pop approach toward the traditionally more vocal focused performances can be found in gorgeous fashion in the album’s closing track by Luli E Lucina. And further treasures abound, amongst them the industrial no-wave opera that is Cinema, and their track “Sem Teto,” the Eastern-leaning dub-pop of Os Mulheres Negras’ “Só Quero Um Xodó,” and the patiently rewarding, avant-garde reflections of Marco Bosco’s “Sol Da Manhã.” As a whole the collection an embarrassment of riches — from the rainforest percussiveness of Fernando Falcão and the misty Blade Runner atmospherics of Anno Luz, to the free-jazz stylings of Bené Fonteles and the pure vocal mastery of Andréa Daltro.

Fearless and bold, Outro Tempo truly offers sounds unlike any heard elsewhere. It’s escapism born out of a difficult history, but one that offers an intrinsically positive emotional spirit.  words / c depasquale

Priscilla Ermel :: Gestos De Equilíbrio