Can you believe that we have already slipped more than halfway through January? I'm still getting used to the idea that it's not 2008 anymore, and we're almost to February....
Back in Chicago now after spending several days in Princeton for meetings of the North American Coordinating Council on Japanese Library Resources. Saw some old friends, made some new ones, and had my third encounter with the massive cold wave I first met last week in Minnesota and then here in Chicago. While in Princeton, I was pleased to find a copy of the new Soseki book, Theory of Literature and Other Critical Writings, on the shelves at Labyrinth Books. I resisted the urge to buy it, but couldn't resist another find: a nice used copy of Masao Maruyama's Thought and Behaviour in Modern Japanese Politics, a bargain at $25.00.
I've just updated the CD acquisitions page here with the new music I've collected over the past month or so. A random sampling:
Mavis Staples, Live: Hope at the Hideout (2008, Anti-). Acclaimed new live album recorded at a club here in Chicago (Staples’ hometown) last summer. Very funky, very tasty. (1/09)
Thelonius Monk, Plays Duke Ellington (1987, Riverside). Recorded on two days in July, 1955, this captures one of my favorite pianists playing works by one of my favorite composers. What’s not to like? (1/09)
Etta James, At Last (MCA, 1990). The classic debut album, first released back in 1960. It’s remarkable how little dated it sounds today. (1/09)
Kanye West, 808 & Heartbreak (2008, Roc-a-fella). I have to give this one some more listens, but am I wrong to keep hearing traces of another great Chicago soul man: Curtis Mayfield? (1/09)
Bryan MacLean, IfYouBelieveIn (1997, Sundazed) Late 1960s home recordings by the other singer-songwriter in the great psychedelic band, Love. These would have benefited from the full studio treatment, but even in these barebones versions, the tunes give ample evidence that Arthur Lee wasn’t the only creative soul in the band. (1/09)
Soundtrack, Yes Man (2008, Lakeshore). Mostly terrific older recordings by Eels, with one fine new song (“Man Up”) and a few odd-duck numbers from the film sung by Zooey Deschanel and performed by “Munchausen by Proxy.” (12/08)
