101 Albums
Somebody asked me for 10 albums, so here are 101:
Stephen Mejias
Sort By: Post Date TitlePublish Date
Sidi Touré: Koïma
While 2011’s Sahel Folk was a quiet, intimate collection of duets—Touré and a friend meeting over a cup of tea—Koïma, Sidi Touré’s second full-length album for Thrill Jockey, is a much more jubilant affair.
The Brooklyn Flea Record Fair
Saturday, May 19, 11am6pm: The Brooklyn Flea Record Fair will be held at Smorgasburg.
Philips CitiScape Downtown
I’ve been curious about Philips’ new CitiScape Downtown headphones ($99) ever since reading Tyll Hertsens’ review, so I ran into Best Buy this afternoon and checked them out.
Video: Eric Chenaux, "Put In Music"
Eric Chenaux, at Casa del Popolo, Montreal, performing "Put In Music" from the beautiful album, Guitar & Voice.
Video: Neneh Cherry and The Thing, “Accordion”
My review of Neneh Cherry and The Thing’s upcoming album, The Cherry Thing, is scheduled to appear in our August issue. Last month, we heard the band’s version of Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream.” Now we can check out the video for “Accordion,” a selection taken from MF Doom and Madlib’s 2004 album, Madvillainy.
Record Store Day 2012: The Haul
Steve Gritzan stands before the beautiful green gates of his shop, Iris Records, at 114 Brunswick Street in Jersey City, NJ.
Initially, I had planned on enjoying a low-key Record Store Day, visiting my local independent shop, Iris Records, and simply leaving it at that. But things never go the way I plan. The allure of J&R Music World in Lower Manhattan, just a short trip across the Hudson, was too great to resist. And if I was going to be in Manhattan, how could I not head over to In Living Stereo? The hi-fi shop was hosting an all-day event with live music, sales on used records, and free beer. It was my duty to attend. And, of course, In Living Stereo is just steps away from my very favorite record shop, Other Music, so I would have to drop by there, too.
Here’s what I picked up along the way:Neneh Cherry and The Thing: "Dream Baby Dream"
Courtesy Neneh Cherry and The Thing
People have been understandably curious about The Cherry Thing, the surprising collaboration between Neneh Cherry and free-jazz monster, The Thing, scheduled to be released on June 19 by Smalltown Supersound.
For now, we can hear the band’s version of Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream.”The Kymera Project: A Visual Mixtape
As I’ve mentioned, I enjoy making connections between all kinds of seemingly disparate things and ideas, but I take special interest in finding connections between different musical genres or artists. I obsess over this game, as though finding common ground between Drake and Ryuichi Sakamoto—an easy example, but a valid one—will somehow make me a stronger person, make me more intelligent and attractive, allow me to better understand others, make the world a more beautiful place.
It’s in these connections that stories are made. And I love stories. Caught by the idea that everything happens for a reason, that every event is leading to someplace meaningful and magical, I’m hungry for connections, like a DJ attempting to create the perfect mixtape, one that can represent a sum of life’s experiences, wonderful and mundane.
Seems I’m not alone. (Whew.)
Through Kickstarter, director Trevor Undi and producer Sean Barney hope to fund their Kymera Project, a sort of “visual mixtape,” setting songs to images to tell a story that takes place in New York City.