There Stands the Glass

The Top Ten Albums of July 2026 (through July 26)
1. Play Time- Magic Object
My review.

2. Lesley Mok- transient
My review.

3. Charli xcx- Music, Fashion, Film
Pop nihilism.

4. Oscar Maydon- Música En Mi Jetski
The cure for the summertime blues.

5. Matt Otto- Ephemeral
My review.

6. Nu Jazz- Un Jazz
My review.

7. Orquesta Akokán- América!
Mambo!

8. Punch Brothers- The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers
Highfalutin pickin’.

9. Willow- The Thread
Arena-jazz.

10. Jack White- Frozen Charlotte
He’s back in Wichita.

The Top Three Reissues and Reimaginings of July 2026 (through July 26)
1. Gary Stewart- One Track Mind
Jukin’.

2. Seamus Blake- EH!: Plays the Music of Eddie Harris
Trying to make it real.

3. Nicholas Payton and Butcher Brown- A Supreme Blue
A bad idea made good.

The Top Ten Songs of July 2026 (through July 26)
1. Shenseea- “Brucksweat”
Sweltering.

2. Larry June and DJ Fresh- “Organic Motion”
Blurry.

3. Tinashe- “Crash Out”
Psychotic reaction.

4. Ken Carson with Playboi Carti- “deaf note”
What?

5. Fathers- “STUB”
Nate Smith, Kiefer, Carrtoons and Kenny Beats.

6. Dinner Party- "Piece of Mind"
Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin and 9th Wonder.

7. Syd featuring James Fauntleroy- "Any Time"
Diamonds and pearls.

8. Nick Hakim- “The Reason”
Slow jam.

9. Show Me the Body- “Do What’s Right (Happy)”
Backsliding.

10. Rome Streetz featuring Westside Gunn- "Marathon Or Race"
Tortoise and hare.

The Top Ten Performances of July 2026 (through July 26)
1. Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams and John Doe at Starlight Theatre
My review.

2. Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society’s “A Convocation of Exoplanets” at Charlotte Street Foundation
My review.

3. Graham Nash at Muriel Kauffman Theatre
My review.

4. Gerald Spaits’ Sax & Violins at Greenwood Social Hall
My review.

5. Drew Williams, Ben Tervort and Brian Steever at the Ship
My Instagram snapshot.

6. The Overland Park Civic Band at Thompson Park
My Instagram clip.

7. JWB with Ernest Melton at 515 Music Hub
My Instagram clip.

8. Trinity Jazz Ensemble at Prairie Baptist Church
My Instagram clip.

9. Eboni Fondren at Vine Street Brewing
My Instagram snapshot.

10. Sally’s Tomato at Black Dolphin
My Instagram clip.

The previous monthly recap is here.

Screenshot of Komische Oper Berlin’s production of "Semele" by There Stands the Glass.

Two hip-hop albums I’ve listened to compulsively in the last several days have almost nothing in common. Playboi Carti’s synthetic Whole Lotta Red is a decadent exercise in willful stupidity. R.A.P. Ferreira’s organic Bob's Son: In the Garden Level Cafe of the Scallops Hotel resembles the extracurricular activities of an undergraduate teacher assistant in an elite university’s philosophy department. I love ‘em both. The loony idiocy of Whole Lotta Red is propelled by exhilarating digital beats. And while the Atlantan’s lyrics are absurd, Carti possesses the flow of a futuristic jazz artist. Ferreira actually is a sort of jazz artist. Bob’s Son sounds like a J Dilla remix of a collaboration between Frank Zappa and the Last Poets. Yet one element of Bob’s Son is disappointing. A few of his raps about rapping- one of my biggest pet peeves- can be interpreted as insults of mumble rappers like Carti. Why so reactionary? My world is big enough to accommodate the wildly disparate work of both men.

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I’m already backsliding. Three days after concluding my opera-a-day marathon, I began watching Komische Oper Berlin’s production of "Semele", a remarkably saucy George Friedrich Handel opera I’d yet to see. I was rewarded by the discovery of "Endless Pleasure, Endless Love" at the end of the first act. Playboi Carti would approve.

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I review The Standards, Vol. 1, the new album by the Christopher Burnett Quintet, at Plastic Sax.

July 2026 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Never Too Much: Playboi Carti and R.A.P. Ferreira