Recently Enjoying

Yes, it's been far too long that this has lain dormant and I still do need to upload my best of 2017 lists at some point, but I also hope to get back around to doing some regular updating around here. I'm hopeful that some time will start to free up for me. In the meantime, I wanted to talk about a few things that I've really been enjoying lately.

Tom Petty - An American Treasure (Warner Bros.)
To honor the first anniversary of Tom's passing, we have this lovingly curated four disc collection of previously unreleased songs, live tracks, alternate versions and demos. Considering he already released a collection like this, Playback, back in the late 1990s, I wasn't sure how much more there could be. Quite a lot, as it turns out. Despite following his career in the latter half of the 90s and again in more recent years, I'd never been a dedicated fan. I still don't own many of his most celebrated albums, but this collection is wonderful. It's amazing to realize just how many killer songs this guy has written over the years. It's really well curated and presented in a lovely package, I can't recommend it enough.

Playing Changes: Jazz For the New Century - Nate Chinen (Penguin Random House)
I'm still only about halfway through this book, but I've already found it to be quite an enjoyable read. It's really interesting to read about the more recent jazz history and touchstone musicians, especially because I've been familiar with only about half of the artists Chinen has covered. The way he delved into the seeming divide between traditionalists like Wynton Marsalis and those who pushed back against him has been great to read, making it clear that there really is no "right" side to such a debate.

Bitchin Bajas - Rebajas (Drag City)
I remain, even here in the 2018, a CD guy. It's the format I grew up on and the format that was dominant when I fell in love with music. I'm happy that the vinyl resurgence has kept stores, labels and physical formats afloat, but it's not really for me. I own a turntable, but I usually stick with used records when it comes to my vinyl purchasing. Ignoring the "what sounds better" part of the debate, for me it becomes quite simple - for the price of most new records on vinyl I can pick up two to three albums on CD, which are more convenient and portable for me. Anyway, all this is to preface showing appreciation for Drag City finally releasing a 7CD box that collects the vast majority of songs by the Bitchin Bajas, previously limited to digital and vinyl formats. It's a cool package filled with such great music.

Citizen Illegal - José Olivarez (Haymarket Books)
I've been making a more concentrated effort to explore poetry and art created by those coming from a non white male viewpoint. I've read some of José's work before, including a book of poetry he published with my brother-in-law, so I guess some disclosure necessary there, but this is a fantastic collection. Thoughtful, engaging, at times hilarious, other times uncomfortable, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.