First of all, I've changed my name to "Blair". Frankly, I've been thinking for some time that "Thurston" really sounds a little too butch, whereas "Blair" really doesn't.
When I originally made up the name "Thurston Kelp" (I know you'll be interested in this!), I wanted to use "Thurston" because I thought it sounded British, but I was never really satisfied with it, and worried that it didn't sound British enough. Now that I'm Blair, though, my name sounds British as all get-out. Or at least the "Blair" part does. Now "Kelp" seems like the problem -it's so, mmmm... short. I may eventually have to take the whole thing in and have it hyphenated, once and for all.
But that's not your problem, or at least it hadn't been until recently! I'm also all excited about all the awards and the Superbowl and everything, even though some of them happened already, and I'm not sure which ones or when!
I was fortunate enough to take in the Superbowl (and, by the way, perhaps this is a good time to apologize for being so tardy lately with the damn kolumn, but I really have been so busy picking my name and everything. But I know, I was thinking about you guys all the time and how I must be disappointing you, or you may have been even concerned, thinking, oh! I've missed my deadline by almost three weeks, surely that's long even by my so-called standards, is there a substance problem with old Blair or what?)) (By the way, I also considered "Rusty", Rusty Kelp, but it didn't sound British enough, it sounded more like a burlesque MC. Of course the reason we got into this whole mess in the (first) place was because my original editor at the Cape Codder ((who shall remain nameless, at least until I remember his name, wait! -it was Karen! What a great name!))) who objected to my original (or, as I just typed, "orinal") pseudonym, R. Nalton Thruppy.))))) and, anyway, it was a pretty good game.
I particularly enjoyed when, early in the game, the Colts' kicker, Adam Vinatieri (until this year one of the Pats' biggest heroes), missed a field goal, and a jubilant roar went up in front of tv sets all over New England as spoiled, bitter Patriots fans celebrated his momentary failure and embarrassment. Rarely do you get to see so many revel so heartily in misery of such a tangential degree. If only he'd kept missing, northeast football fans would've been over the moon, overcome with joy that we might have finally traded one of our greats just prior to his disgrace instead of just after like usual.
As a person who always enjoys seeing rich people inconvenienced, I very much appreciated getting to see the millionaires collide in horrible, near-monsoon conditions -in other words, perfect football weather! I must say I was looking forward to an unsightly debacle at halftime, figuring Prince, who's only a little fella anyway and arguably past his prime, to be squashed flat by the torrential downpour; but what to my wondering eyes did appear but a near-perfect (after all, he did cover "Proud Mary", so let's not get carried away), seemingly effortless, entirely inspired show! Damn! What a guy!
And, sure, I guess a lot of papers probably got you this news faster, but I'll bet not in this kind of detail.
The Colts won by pretty much, probably about 36 to about 12 for the other team.
I'd like to thank my research team, but I don't have one. They're all gone. I'd also like to mention that the Red Hot Chili Peppers stink bigtime (even bigger time than usual at the Grammies, which I could've lived without seeing the last fifteen minutes of. When will they add "the hipness"?)
It's winter on Cape Cod. Go to sleep.
NEXT TIME (figure early April or thereabouts) ? the ALL-KELP OSCAR SPECIAL!!!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Friday, December 29, 2006
Kelp's Last-Minute Shopping Tips
Here's my Christmas present, to you, right off the bat, no foolin' around like usual, because this is IMPORTANT: Marisa Monte, "Infinito Particular" (EMI); buy this album right away. Especially if you like Brazilian music, and extra-especially if you like both Brazilian music and the Beatles, because that's how melodic and lilting and perfectly crafted this stuff is -so good, it makes you resort to using the B-word. Or, perhaps more accurately, the C-word, as in Caetano, Caetano Veloso, for many years the cornerstone of MPB, which stands for "Musica Populiera Brasileira", i.e. modern Brazilian popular music.
Both Marisa and Caetano draw from the well of Joao and Astrud Gilberto, who first popularized Brazilian samba music in 1964 with the latter's famous recording of "The Girl From Ipanema" with Stan Getz, which established a template that's still very much in evidence in modern Brazilian pop: samba rhythms, sophisticated chord voicings (very frequently on acoustic guitars), and an aversion to breaking a sweat. Astrud Gilberto never sounded like she was working -she sounded like someone humming idly and carelessly while swinging in a hammock in a hillside breeze.
One difference is that while Marisa Monte's singing is equally effortless, it's a good deal more polished. A friend of mine who saw Gilberto sing confirmed that she that it was part of her style to sing just a little flat, as if singing in tune might've been a little too much trouble (in fact, he said she sang the one note in "One Note Samba" flat enough that it wasn't much fun.) Monte's pitch, on the other hand, is flawless, yet it sounds so easy that you imagine she couldn't sing a bad note if she tried. She never pushes, never betrays any sign of exertion, like singing was breathing, and the effect is remarkable.
She's been around for about 15 years or so, and she's a superstar at home; and her latest releases "Infinito Particular" and "Universo Ao Meu Redor" (both of which she released simultaneously this year on EMI) are all I know about her (except for a cut on David Byrne's Cole Porter compilation a few years ago, and a smattering of her work with New York producer Arto Lindsay, both of which they easily surpass; among her other fans are Laurie Anderson and Ryuichi Sakamoto). "Infinito Particular" is especially wonderful, an album that's just gorgeous all the way through -there isn't a bad song on it.
Care for a test drive? Go to marisamonte.com, and check out her video of a song called "Ate Parece." Now, I could be wrong about this, but I'm fairly certain I've never recommended a video in this column - I probably watch about three of them a year. However, this one is as stunning as it is simple and unassuming: just a single close-up of Monte singing the song directly to the camera, which occasionally starts to absent-mindedly drift off to the side as if it were slightly distracted -at which point the singer the singer gently bats the lens back toward her face. Again, hypnotic, effortless, perfect -you've just got to check this out.
A good American companion piece would be the BMG re-issue of Sam Cooke's "Night Beat" album, which completely surprised me. For one thing, I thought I'd heard pretty much all of his best stuff already, and that much of it was over-produced and over-commercialized, needlessly gussied up with strings and ultra-white sounding background choruses, and a portion of his catalog does lean that way. Not "Night Beat", though, which is sparse, atmospheric, and economical throughout, like a soulful version of Sinatra's "In the Wee Small Hours Of the Evening", with the same late-night vibe, and nary a string or a background vocal anywhere!
Other faves of '06: "The Essential Yo Yo Ma" (Legacy/Sony Classical); "The Harry Smith Project", Hal Wilner's fascinating box set of live, modern performances of obscure folk material by Elvis Costello, Wilco, Beck, Garth Hudson, the McGarrigle Sisters, and many others, which features a coupler of wild, hilarious David Thomas (Pere Ubu) performances, one to an arrangement by Van Dyke Parks (an unlikely but delightful match); Paul Simon's "Surprise", which features some swell sonic landscaping courtesy of Brian Eno; the Beatles by way of Sir George Martin (and his son's) re-workings for Cirque Du Soleil, which is sometimes heinous but frequently pretty swell if you can get over some ill-advised mash-it-ups; Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint's enjoyable "The River In Reverse"; Los Lobos's "The Town and the City"; and an ancient album of the 12-string Portuguese guitar called "Guitarra Portuguesa" by Carlos Paredes that I saw Costello had recommended on Amazon that -sure enough- blew me away.
I was also grateful for Bob Dylan's "Theme Time Radio Hour" show; for "Deadwood" and James Spader and William Shatner's hilarious turns on "Boston Legal"; and even for "Dancing With the Stars" for some reason I totally can't explain (yo, Emmitt!)
Not to mention an old book by former chef Anthony Bourdain called "Kitchen Confidential" that I can't seem to buy enough copies of (there's always been one friend or another who I think needs it desperately); or the movies "Hustle and Flow", "Millions", "Prime", "Winter Passing", "Northfork", and "The Best of Youth"; and the deep-fried turkey and oyster dressing dinner they serve at the Coast in Orleans. Go forth and purchase, and Merry Christmas!
Both Marisa and Caetano draw from the well of Joao and Astrud Gilberto, who first popularized Brazilian samba music in 1964 with the latter's famous recording of "The Girl From Ipanema" with Stan Getz, which established a template that's still very much in evidence in modern Brazilian pop: samba rhythms, sophisticated chord voicings (very frequently on acoustic guitars), and an aversion to breaking a sweat. Astrud Gilberto never sounded like she was working -she sounded like someone humming idly and carelessly while swinging in a hammock in a hillside breeze.
One difference is that while Marisa Monte's singing is equally effortless, it's a good deal more polished. A friend of mine who saw Gilberto sing confirmed that she that it was part of her style to sing just a little flat, as if singing in tune might've been a little too much trouble (in fact, he said she sang the one note in "One Note Samba" flat enough that it wasn't much fun.) Monte's pitch, on the other hand, is flawless, yet it sounds so easy that you imagine she couldn't sing a bad note if she tried. She never pushes, never betrays any sign of exertion, like singing was breathing, and the effect is remarkable.
She's been around for about 15 years or so, and she's a superstar at home; and her latest releases "Infinito Particular" and "Universo Ao Meu Redor" (both of which she released simultaneously this year on EMI) are all I know about her (except for a cut on David Byrne's Cole Porter compilation a few years ago, and a smattering of her work with New York producer Arto Lindsay, both of which they easily surpass; among her other fans are Laurie Anderson and Ryuichi Sakamoto). "Infinito Particular" is especially wonderful, an album that's just gorgeous all the way through -there isn't a bad song on it.
Care for a test drive? Go to marisamonte.com, and check out her video of a song called "Ate Parece." Now, I could be wrong about this, but I'm fairly certain I've never recommended a video in this column - I probably watch about three of them a year. However, this one is as stunning as it is simple and unassuming: just a single close-up of Monte singing the song directly to the camera, which occasionally starts to absent-mindedly drift off to the side as if it were slightly distracted -at which point the singer the singer gently bats the lens back toward her face. Again, hypnotic, effortless, perfect -you've just got to check this out.
A good American companion piece would be the BMG re-issue of Sam Cooke's "Night Beat" album, which completely surprised me. For one thing, I thought I'd heard pretty much all of his best stuff already, and that much of it was over-produced and over-commercialized, needlessly gussied up with strings and ultra-white sounding background choruses, and a portion of his catalog does lean that way. Not "Night Beat", though, which is sparse, atmospheric, and economical throughout, like a soulful version of Sinatra's "In the Wee Small Hours Of the Evening", with the same late-night vibe, and nary a string or a background vocal anywhere!
Other faves of '06: "The Essential Yo Yo Ma" (Legacy/Sony Classical); "The Harry Smith Project", Hal Wilner's fascinating box set of live, modern performances of obscure folk material by Elvis Costello, Wilco, Beck, Garth Hudson, the McGarrigle Sisters, and many others, which features a coupler of wild, hilarious David Thomas (Pere Ubu) performances, one to an arrangement by Van Dyke Parks (an unlikely but delightful match); Paul Simon's "Surprise", which features some swell sonic landscaping courtesy of Brian Eno; the Beatles by way of Sir George Martin (and his son's) re-workings for Cirque Du Soleil, which is sometimes heinous but frequently pretty swell if you can get over some ill-advised mash-it-ups; Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint's enjoyable "The River In Reverse"; Los Lobos's "The Town and the City"; and an ancient album of the 12-string Portuguese guitar called "Guitarra Portuguesa" by Carlos Paredes that I saw Costello had recommended on Amazon that -sure enough- blew me away.
I was also grateful for Bob Dylan's "Theme Time Radio Hour" show; for "Deadwood" and James Spader and William Shatner's hilarious turns on "Boston Legal"; and even for "Dancing With the Stars" for some reason I totally can't explain (yo, Emmitt!)
Not to mention an old book by former chef Anthony Bourdain called "Kitchen Confidential" that I can't seem to buy enough copies of (there's always been one friend or another who I think needs it desperately); or the movies "Hustle and Flow", "Millions", "Prime", "Winter Passing", "Northfork", and "The Best of Youth"; and the deep-fried turkey and oyster dressing dinner they serve at the Coast in Orleans. Go forth and purchase, and Merry Christmas!
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