Rauw Alejandro

September 2025 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for Welsh National Opera’s production of Giacomo Puccini's Tosca by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of September 2025

1. Trio of Bloom- Trio of Bloom
Nels Cline, Craig Taborn and Marcus Gilmore.

2. Vox Clamantis- Pärt: And I heard a voice
Spectral spirituality.

3. Olivia Dean- The Art of Loving
Near-perfect pop.

4. Satoko Fujii and Natsuki Tamura- Ki
Spartan piano and trumpet duo.

5. Cécile McLorin Salvant- Oh Snap
My kind of mixtape.

6. Atmosphere- Jestures
My review.

7. Mulatu Astatke- Mulatu Plays Mulatu
Ethiopian twilight.

8. Rochelle Jordan- Through the Wall
Don’t stop ‘til you get enough.

9. Les Arts Florissants- Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice
Oui français.

10. Jeff Tweedy- Twilight Override
One’s too many and thirty ain’t enough.


The Top Three Reissues and Reimaginings of September 2025

1. Joni Mitchell- Joni’s Jazz
One side now.

2. Kassa Overall- CREAM
My review.

3. Gary Bartz- The Eternal Tenure of Sound: Damage Control
Slow jamz.


The Top Ten Songs of September 2025

1. El Michels Affair featuring Norah Jones- "Carry Me Away"
Surf.

2. Kali Uchis featuring Raven Lenae- “Cry About It!”
Rainin’ in my heart.

3. Mariah Carey featuring Anderson Paak- “Play This Song”
Grown-and-sexy.

4. Rauw Alejandro featuring Mon Laferte- "Callejón de los Secretos"
Boulevard of broken dreams.

5. Tortoise- “Layered Presence”
Slow and steady.

6. Danny Brown- “Starburst”
Glitchy and twichy.

7. Black Lips- “Sx Sx Sx Men”
Filthy numerology.

8. Speed- "Peace"
Only one mode.

9. Lorna Kay- “I’m Never Drinking Again (Again)”
Hair of the dog.

10. Mike Reid and Joe Henry- “History”
Lovely lament.


The Top Ten Performances of September 2025

1. Callie Day and Isaac Cates at Grant Recital Hall
My Instagram clip.

2. 10cc at Ranch Mart Shopping Center
My review.

3. Kid Congo Powers and the Pink Monkey Birds and Dan Jones and the Squids at recordBar
My Instagram clips here and here.

4. Isaac Cates’ Affirmations: A Night of Worship with Oleta Adams, Callie Day, Angela Crawford, Alicia Peters-Jordan and Chrystal Rucker at the Church of the Resurrection
My Instagram clip.

5. Devin Gray at The Ship
My Instagram clip.

6. Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda and Antonio Sánchez at Helzberg Hall
My Instagram snapshot.

7. Deftones, Idles and the Barbarians of California at T-Mobile Center
My review.

8. Henry Scamurra, Isaiah Petrie, Spencer Reeve and Jade Harvey at the Prairie Village Jazz Festival
My Instagram clip.

9. Nathaniel Gumbs at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
My Instagram clip.

10. Rex Hobart and the Honky Tonk Standards at SarKoPar Trails Park
My Instagram clip.



The previous monthly recap is here.

June 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer of Lili by There Stands the Glass.

Screenshot of the trailer of Lili by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in June)

1. Migos- Culture III

My post-vaccination party soundtrack, 1/2.

2. Billy F Gibbons- Hardware

My post-vaccination party soundtrack, 2/2.

3. Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion- Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part

I love the elements I love more than I loathe the elements I loathe.

4. Anthony Braxton- 12 Comp (Zim)

My review.

5. Chris Thile- Laysongs

Anxious gospel.

6. Tyler, The Creator- Call Me If You Get Lost

Goblin grows up.

7. Julian Lage- Squint

A different type of power trio.

8. Wild Up- Julius Eastman, Vol. 1: Femenine

A vital conceptualization.

9. Mac Lethal- Winter Heartbreak II

My review.

10. Angel Bat Dawid- Hush Harbor Mixtape Vol. 1 Doxology

Ancient to the (lofi) future.


Top Ten Songs (released in June)

1. Megan Thee Stallion- “Thot Sh*t”

“Lit since brunch.”

2. Little Simz- "Rollin' Stone"

Quenched.

3. Rauw Alejandro and Anitta- "Brazilera"

Carnival.

4. Moor Mother- "Zami"

Traveling the spaceways.

5. Billie Eilish- "Lost Cause"

Dead flowers.

6. Petra Haden- "Silence"

Song for her father.

7. Becky G and El Alfa- “Fulanito”

Rhythm nation.

8. Jennifer Hudson- "Here I Am"

Aria for Aretha.

9. Bfd Da Packman- “Wendy Williams”

“Back to Walmart.”

10. Brittney Spencer- “Sober & Skinny”

You got a fast car.


Top Ten Concerts (first monthly ranking since March 2020!)

1. Irreversible Entanglements- Stephens Lake Park Amphitheatre (Columbia, Missouri)

My review.

2. Johnny Rawls- Gladstone Summertime Bluesfest 

My notes.

3. Bird Fleming and Bill Summers’ “Voyage of the Drum”- Dunbar Park

My review.

4. Second Nature Ensemble- Westport Coffee House

My review.

5. En Vogue- Hy-Vee Arena

My review.

6. Mike Dillon and Nikki Glaspie- 1900 Building

My review.

7. Adam Galblum Quartet- Market KC

Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli revived.

8. Kian Byrne- Second Presbyterian Church

A singer-songwriter sweats it out under the setting sun.

9. Roman Alexander- KC Live

My review.

10. The Kansas City Chorale- Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church

Docked several notches for a clergyman’s abhorrent mask-shaming.


Top Ten Movies (viewed for the first time in June)

1. Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Gesundheit!

2. Lili (1953)

A French twist on The Wizard of Oz.

3. La ciociara/Two Women (1960)

Sophia Loren and Eleonora Brown suffer unspeakable trauma.

4. Polish Wedding (1998)

Love in Hamtramck.

5. Murder, My Sweet (1944)

Psychotropic noir.

6. I Accuse! (1958)

Straightforward depiction of the Dreyfus affair.

7. Lisztomania (1975)

Richard Wagner is Satan in Ken Russell’s gonzo freakout. 

8. Terri (2011)

Teen cringe.

9. The Shadow on the Window (1957)

And Jerry Mathers as the murder witness.

10. Small Town Crime (2017)

Negligible noir.


May’s recap and links to previous monthly surveys are here.

The Saddest Air Horn

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

Concierto Virtual en Tiempos de COVID-19 Desde el Coliseo de Puerto Rico, a jarringly depressing album released by Rauw Alejandro in May, may be the definitive release of the Coronavirus era.  The audio companion of a free virtual performance is a permanent record of the international trauma.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with the energetic effort of the Puerto Rican pop artist, the decision to issue the show as an official live album is bizarre.  Alejandro’s exhortations and a steady stream of air horn blasts are greeted with eerie silence.  The necessary absence of an audience is an unintentional repudiation of the sterility marring almost every responsible livestream performance.

Released last week, Alejandro’s debut studio album Afrodisíaco exudes the warmth lacking in Concierto Virtual. His lively interplay with stars including Anuel AA and J Balvin are hopeful affirmations. Even so, Alejandro’s extremely awkward live album stands out as an emblematic document of this difficult moment.