Community Radio St. Louis highlights VIII

Monday morning standouts:

In The Middle Of The Night

• Ocaso-Melissa Aldana (Aldana's warm saxophone tone on this February release reminds me of Ben Webster.)
• My Funny Valentine (Live At Newport)-McCoy Tyner (Sublime piano playing from Tyner and trumpet playing from Clark Terry.)
• Our Old Street-Pat Metheny (Another thoughtful atmospheric guitar piece from Metheny.  If you like the feel of his "One Quiet Night" CD, you'll likely enjoy this February release.)

Early Morning Mix

• El 4-5-6-Los Brito (Fun bossa nova vocals and brassy instrumentation.)
• Blues Rhapsody-James Booker (Expertly blended blues and boogie-woogie piano styles.)
• Joan Ambrosio Dalza: Saltarello and Piva (Christopher Wilson, lute, and Shirley Rumsey, lute) (Pleasant, accessible pre-Baroque lute stylings.)

Why not sing?

Sometimes, when people break into song in a sitcom, drama, or stage production, I'm inclined to follow comedian Neal Brennan's lead and say, "Just tell me."

While watching the Good Friday Mass on Catholic TV Network, I thought, "These extended portions of the Mass don't need to be sung, but why not sing them anyway?"  While watching the Easter Sunday Mass, I thought,  "The gospel is usually read instead of sung, but again, why not sing it?  After all, these Masses are centered around the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which are central to this faith, so why shouldn't the celebrants sing about them?  After all, if ever there are times when it's appropriate to ask the congregation to lean in and pay close attention, it's when recounting these momentous events."

That said, if you're relying on closed captioning, it might be wise to have a hymnal and missal handy when the captioning descends into linguistic and grammatical garble.  During the Easter Sunday opening hymn, "The Strife Is O'er, The Battle Done," closed captioning turned the verse, "The powers of death have done their worst," into "Dust mite your spouse have done their work." 

I'm not sure the accomplishments of dust mite spouses warrant breaking into song, but if you're so moved, that's your prerogative.

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates it.

Context? CDXXX

During a 1984 Kansas City Royals baseball game, I heard a radio announcer say, "The problem for the catcher and the knuckleball--Look at the size of the glove that (one player) is using...You don't know where the knuckleball's gonna go, and if the runner breaks, as (another player) did that time and you get the ball in the glove...the catcher has to go fishing around in that big glove to find the ball, ...get a grip on it, and get it down to second base.  That all takes time."

According to the proverb, "A poor workman blames his tools."  I don't know if any player affected by that scenario has ever blamed it on a large glove, but nothing says a baseball announcer can't point it out.

To date, that's the only time I've heard a play-by-play broadcaster call such attention to the connection between a particular pitch and the size of a player's glove. 

The foot-biting default option XXXII

Storms left my cat, Collette, somewhat rattled yesterday.  I was concerned that she spent much of yesterday morning sitting on a grocery bag by the refrigerator, looking subdued.

I was relieved when she started acting like herself again by walking over to me and biting my feet repeatedly.  I imagined a band covering "Back On My Feet Again" by The Babys with the revised lyrics, "She's biting my feet again!"

Having your cat bite your feet is an odd occasion for rejoicing, admittedly, but I was glad to see Collette bounce back after the menacing clatter of thunder.

Online radio sampler highlights CCXCV

Today's standout selections:

KPRS-HD2 (Kansas City, MO)

• Stop To Love-Luther Vandross (To me, this ranks second only to "Never Too Much" as an uptempo Vandross tune.)

KWVA (Eugene, OR)

• Skyline Rocking-Kelissa (This endearing new reggae release shines with warm, sunny lyrics about appreciating one's home.) 

KXLU (Los Angeles, CA)

• Fear Of Flying-Bowery Electric (This instrumental's heavy, steady beat fails to wear out its welcome, even after five and a half minutes.)

WAAI (Cambridge, MD)

• Daydream Believer-Anne Murray (Murray's voice suits this cover of the much-played Monkees hit well, striking the right balance between confidence and starry-eyed idealism.)

WCNR (Charlottesville, VA)

• Don't Save Me-Haim (In early 2013, I heard an interview with the band Haim, along with impressive tracks from their debut album, on WXPN.  At the end of the interview, I thought, "Wow...There's real talent there.  'Forever,' in particular, really made me take notice.  Everything these songs require--solid vocals, energy, and confidence--is there.  I hope they have a successful career."  And, so they have.  This track from that first release is an example of how this band hit the ground running.) 

WXXI (Rochester, NY)

• Kenji Bunch: Broken Music For Cello And Piano (Clancy Newman, cello; Natalie Zhu, piano) (I have to respect a piece that encompasses such divergent themes that it reminded me of a waterfall, a spy thriller, and a dirge.)

WZUM (Pittsburgh, PA)

• Close Your Eyes-Warren Vache (This is some cool, cookin', self-assured trumpet and rhythm section playing.)
• Night Train-Teddy Edwards & Houston Person (Two saxophonists sock this jazz standard home.)

Context? CDXXIX

A radio personality joked Monday that he'll likely be "eating Graham crackers for the next month" after spending a princely sum at an American Girl doll store.  He stressed that it was worth it, though, to make his daughter happy.  

I've had similar feelings at times about the expenses associated with cat ownership.  I've always wanted my current cat, Collette, and my previous cat, Sylvia, to be happy and healthy, however, so there's no question for me about priorities.

Persistent earworm alert CDXXIX

After seeing a strong live performance of it on "Saturday Night Live UK," Wolf Alice's "White Horses" has grown on me for three reasons:

• Rhythmically, it has a strong, driving energy reminiscent of various bands from the '90s.
• Having four vocalists reinforces the conviction of the lyrics.  Speaking of which...
• ...Lyrically, this is an impressive tribute to one's heritage, even when you're not sure of its components, and everyone in your life who means something to you.

I regret not knowing of this tune when it was released last year, but I've been making up for lost time in recent days.