Rosalía

The Top Albums of 2025

Since Debí Tirar Más Fotos was released on January 5, I’ve listened to the album by There Stands the Glass' 2020 Artist of the Year several times a week. Bad Bunny’s blend of vintage and futuristic sounds remained fresh, a trait that’s made Debí Tirar Más Fotos my favorite new album throughout the year. Selections two through ten in the following account battled for second place. Notable omissions including Cécile McLorin Salvant, SML and Morgan Wallen are represented in my ranking of the best songs of 2025. As always, there’s no overlap between the two listings.


1. Bad Bunny- Debí Tirar Más Fotos
Shake it like a Polaroid picture.

2. Rosalía- Lux
Her beautiful dark twisted fantasy.

3. Linda May Han Oh- Strange Heavens
My review.

4. Clipse- Let God Sort Em Out
So be it.

5. Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson- Bone Bells
A perfect tandem.

6. Patricia Brennan- Of the Near and Far
Chamber jazz.

7. Billy Woods- Golliwog
Dank.

8. Gerald Clayton- Ones & Twos: Expanded Edition
My review.

9. John Glacier- Like a Ribbon
Icy.

10. Clarice Jensen- In holiday clothing, out of the great darkness
Bach-based drones.


11. Charles Lloyd- Figure in Blue
Hushed brilliance.

12. Armand Hammer- Mercy
Gold produced by the Alchemist.

13. Vox Clamantis- Pärt: And I heard a voice
My kind of praise and worship music.

14. Sylvie Courvoisier and Wadada Leo Smith- Angel Falls
Angels flying too close to the ground.

15. Karol G- Tropicoqueta
The rumors are true: I’m in the tank for the Columbian star.

16. Vijay Iyer and Leo Wadada Smith- Defiant Life
Resistance.

17. Mike- Showbiz!
No business.

18. Emily D’Angelo, Ben Bliss, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Metropolitan Opera- Tesori: Grounded
My review.

19. Military Gun- God Save the Gun
Bang! You’re dead.

20. Destroyer- Dan’s Boogie
Luxurious dissipation.

21. Tucker Wetmore- What Not To
My review.

22. Nick Shoulders- Refugia Blues
High and lonesome in the Ozarks.

23. Mister Water Wet- Things Gone and Things Still Here
The best album out of Kansas City in 2025.

24. Kelela- In The Blue Light
Live.

25. Carl Allen- Tippin’
My review.

26. Sō Percussion- 25x25
An eight-hour anniversary celebration.

27. Tyler, The Creator- Don’t Tap the Glass
Golf wang forever.

28. Nels Cline- Consentrik Quartet
My review.

29. Laura Jurd- Rites & Revelations
European folk-jazz fusion.

30. Anouar Brahem- After the Last Sky
ECM-core.

31. Camila Nebbia, Marilyn Crispell and Lesley Mok- A Reflection Distorts Over Water
Free trio.

32. Mike and Tony Selzer- Pinball II
Tilt.

33. Ches Smith- Clone Row
With Mary Halvorson, Liberty Ellman and Nick Dunston.

34. Sumac and Moor Mother- The Film
Horror show.

35. James McVinnie- Dreamcatcher
My review.

36. Olivia Dean- The Art of Loving
Pop life.

37. Salif Keita- So Kono
Transcendent.

38. Young Miko- Do Not Disturb
Ring the alarm.

39. Oren Ambarchi- Ghosted III
Haunting.

40. Juana Molina- DOGA
A lovely comeback.

41. Aruán Ortiz- Créole Renaissance
Solo piano.

42. claire rousay and Gretchen Korsmo- quilted lament
Meaningful ambience.

43. Cosmic Ear- Traces
My review.

44. Trio of Bloom- Trio of Bloom
Innovative power trio.

45. Grupo Firme- Evolución
Instant party.

46. Dijon- Baby
Princely.

47. Atmosphere- Jestures
My review.

48. Tim Berne- Yikes Too
My review.

49. Jeff Tweedy- Twilight Override
So many songs.

50. Al Foster- Live at Smoke
With Chris Potter, Brad Mehldau and Joe Martin.

November 2025 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer for English National Opera’s production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” by There Stands the Glass.

The Top Ten Albums of November 2025
1. Rosalía- Lux
A beautiful dark twisted fantasy.

2. SML- How You Been
Real good.

3. Camila Nebbia, Marilyn Crispell and Lesley Mok- A Reflection Distorts Over Water
Ripples.

4. Thomas Morgan- Around You Is a Forest
Duets with Ambrose Akinmusire, Bill Frisell, Henry Threadgill and more.

5. Young Miko- Do Not Disturb
Ring the alarm.

6. Juana Molina- DOGA
Buen perro.

7. Víkingur Ólafsson- Opus 109
Bach, Beethoven and Schubert.

8. Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones- New Monuments: Live in Vilnius
Volcanic eruption in Lithuania.

9. De La Soul- Cabin in the Sky
Just shy of heaven.

10. John Scofield and Dave Holland- Memories of Home
A bit too domesticated.



The Top Reimaginings and Reissues of November 2025
1. Rufus Wainwright and the Pacific Jazz Orchestra- I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Wainwright Does Weill
An excellent concept executed to perfection.

2. Willie Nelson- Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle
Silver wings.

3. Chet Baker- Swimming by Moonlight: New Music from the Documentary ‘Let’s Get Lost’
Crossed off everybody’s list.

The Top Ten Songs of November 2025
1. Charli xcx featuring John Cale- "House"
A sensational shock.

2. Danny Brown featuring Quadeca- “Book of Daniel”
Old Testament.

3. Navy Blue featuring Earl Sweatshirt- "24 Gospel"
New Testament.

4. Boldy James, Nicholas Craven, 50 Gwuap, Taj and Dave Hill- "Trifecta"
Jackpot.

5. Maria Becerra, El Alfa and Xross- “Hace Calor”
Fiery.

6. RNB.FOEMOB featuring That Mexican OT- “Let Go of My Cup”
Lean.

7. By.Alexander featuring Hawa, Ghostface Killah and Rapsody- “The Decoupling of the Nuclear Family”
Tomorrow’s sounds today.

8. Sharp Pins- “Popafangout”
A trip to Itchycoo Park.

9. Colter Wall- "Memories and Empties"
Set ‘em up, Joe.

10. Julian Lage- "Opal"
Bejeweled.


The Top Ten Performances of November 2025
1. Samara Joy at the Folly Theater
My review.

2. OHMA at the 1905 (Portland)
My review.

3.  Hayden Pedigo and Jens Kuross at the Ship
My review.

4. David Chael, Danny Embrey, Gerald Spaits and Brian Steever at Green Lady Lounge
My Instagram clip.

5. Claire Rousay and Gretchen Korsmo at Holocene (Portland)
My review.

6. Cory Weeds, Chris Hazelton, David Rourke and Rudy Petschauer at Westport Coffee House
My review.

7. Adam Galblum and Matt Villinger at the Market at Meadowbrook
My Instagram clip.

8. Lena Khalaf Tuffaha at Arrupe Auditorium
My Instagram snapshot.

9. Matt Otto, Aaron Sizemore, DeAndre Manning and Mike Warren at the Music House
My Instagram snapshot.

10. Luke Tartar at Portland International Airport
My Instagram clip.



The previous monthly recap is here.

Burning Brains: The Top Fifty Songs of 2024

Original image by There Stands the Glass.

My musical predilections were more informed by recent obsessions than by global events this year. I traced the footsteps of Mozart, flirted with Catholicism, read compulsively and watched the lines in my face deepen into chasms. Creeping maturity is evinced by several of the selections below. Yet my affinity for carefree fun clearly has yet to evaporate. As always, there’s no artist overlap on my songs and albums lists. A corresponding Spotify playlist is here.

 

1. Tierra Whack- “Burning Brains”

2. Charli XCX and Lorde- “Girl, so confusing”

3. Heems featuring Vijay Iyer and Sid Vashi- "Manto"

4. Meshell Ndgegeocello- "Travel"

5. Joel Ross- “bach (God the Father in Eternity)”

6. Tank and the Bangas featuring Samara Joy and Robert Glasper- "Remember"

7. Maxo Kream and Tyler, The Creator- "Cracc Era"

8. Sexyy Red- "Get It Sexyy"

9. Tinashe- "Nasty"

10. Joaquín Sabina- “Un última vals”


11. Mary J. Blige- “Here I Am”

12. A$AP Rocky featuring Jessica Pratt- “Highjack”

13. 070 Shake- “Winter Baby/New Jersey Blues”

14. Amyl and the Sniffers- “U Should Not Be Doing That”

15. Tyler, The Creator featuring GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne- “Sticky”

16. Rosalía and Ralphie Choo- “Omega”

17. Horsegirl- “2468”

18. Ella Langley- “Hungover”

19. The Harlem Gospel Travelers- “Jesus Rhapsody, Pt. 1”

20. El Cousteau featuring Earl Sweatshirt- “Words2LiveBy”


21. GloRilla- “Yeah Glo!”

22. Hiatus Kaiyote- “Telescope”

23. Anna Butterss- “Shorn”

24. Marsha Ambrosius- "Wet"

25. Jeff Parker ETA IVtet- “Freakadelic”

26. Camila Cabello featuring Playboi Carti- “I LUV IT”

27. Michael Kiwanuka- “Lowdown (part 1)”

28. Scott H. Biram- “Inside a Bar”

29. Waxahatchee- “Burns Out at Midnight”

30. Ducks Ltd.- “On Our Way to the Rave”


31. Carly Pearce- “Fault Line”

32. La Luz- “Always in Love”

33. The Weeknd featuring Anitta- "São Paulo"

34. Staples Jr. Singers- “I’ve Got a Feeling”

35. Arooj Aftab- “Raat Ki Rani”

36. That Mexican OT featuring DaBaby- “Point Em Out”

37. Miranda Lambert- “Alimony”

38. Hinds- “En Forma”

39. DannyLux- “Maldito Alcohol”

40. JD McPherson- “Shining Like Gold”


41. Lainey Wilson- “Keep Up With Jones”

42. Nettspend- “Perc Soda”

43. Sprints- “Heavy”

44. Bonnie “Prince” Billy- “London May”

45. Yahritza Y Su Esencia featuring Michelle Maciel- “Nivel Dios”

46. Idles- “Gift Horse”

47. Madi Diaz- “God Person”

48. Dwight Yoakam and Post Malone- “I Don’t Know How to Say Goodbye (Bang Bang Boom Boom)”

49. Sierra Ferrell- “I Could Drive You Crazy”

50. Kabin Crew and Lisdoonvarna Crew- “The Spark”


There Stands the Glass’ top albums and songs of 2023 are ranked here.

November 2023 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer of Opernhaus Zürich’s production of Richard Wagner’s Götterdämmerung by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums of November

1. Bertrand Chamayou- Letter(s) to Erik Satie

Correspondence with John Cage.

2. Sullivan Fortner- Solo Game

Two sides of the pianist.

3. 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne- Welcome 2 Collegrove

Duffle bag boys.

4. Yuhan Su- Liberated Gesture

Good vibes.

5. DJ Manny- Hypnotized

Superior footwork.

6. Viktor Orri Árnason and Álfheiður Erla Guðmundsdóttir- Poems

Icy.

7. Thandi Ntuli and Carlos Niño- Rainbow Revisited

Sunshine.

8. Nitai Hershkovits- Call On the Old Wise

Wisdom of the elders.

9. Blockhead- The Aux

Underground all-stars.

10. Sarah Davachi and Quatuor Bozzini- Long Gradus

Deceptive drones.



Top Ten Songs of November

1.Tokischa- "Candy"

Not so sweet.

2. Danny Brown featuring Kassa Overall- "Jenn's Terrific Vacation"

An unexpected update of 2011’s “Fields”.

3. Rico Nasty, NCognita, Simon Said. and Raedio- "Lackin"

Complete.

4. Björk featuring Rosalía- "Oral"

“I just don’t know.”

5. Atmosphere- “Traveling Forever”

Never-ending tour.

6. 070 Shake featuring Ken Carson- "Natural Habitat"

Uncaged.

7. Larry June, Cardo and the Alchemist- "The Great Escape"

Free.

8. Majid Jordan- "Eyes Closed"

Smooth operator.

9. Yahritza Y Su Esencia and El Yaki- "Nos Equivocamos"

We were wrong.

10. Willi Carlisle- “When the Pills Wear Off”

Reckoning.



Top Ten Performances of November

1. András Schiff at Helzberg Hall

My review.

2. Juan Diego Flórez at the Folly Theater

My review.

3. Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Listening Forest at Crystal Bridges Museum (Bentonville)

My Instagram clip.

4. The Danielle Nicole Band and Katy Guillen and the Drive at the Uptown Theater

My Instagram snapshot.

5. DJ Lucas, Papo2oo4, Subjxct 5, Paris Williams, Lil Heavn and N1n4 Freakquency at Farewell

My review.

6. Kelly Hall Tompkins at the Folly Theater

My review.

7. UMKC Opera’s “The Magic Flute” at White Recital Hall

My review.

8. Jackie Myers, Rich Wheeler and Sebastian Arias at the Market at Meadowbrook

My Instagram snapshot.

9. The Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society’s “Intersect & Interdependence” at Charlotte Street Foundation

My Instagram clip.

10. East Hill Singers at Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church 

My Instagram snapshot.



The previous monthly survey is here.

Wide Open Spaces

Original image captured at the Gorge Amphitheatre on August 13, 2022, by RSB.

*Overwhelmed by holiday commotion, I forgot to use the embedded photo in a previous post.  Behold my favorite music-related image of 2022.  My daughter captured the celebratory moment at a (Dixie) Chicks concert at the magnificent Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington last August.

*I played tracks by Mister Water Wet, Flora, LeVelle, Matt Villinger’s All Night Trio, Rosalía, Kae Tempest, Moor Mother and Anna Butterss and discussed Kansas City’s music scene on a recent episode of the Eight One Sixty radio program.

*Here’s my annual screed about the detrimental effect of the “Kansas City nice” aesthetic.  At the risk of beating a dead gelding, I’ll again advise my well-intentioned friends that not only does unmerited praise of mediocre locally based artists undermine their personal credibility, the prevailing practice risks confining Kansas City to the cultural status of a one-horse town.

*Much to the chagrin of many musicians and their fans, I don’t engage in provincial aggrandizement at the Kansas City jazz blog Plastic Sax.  I call it as I see it in the site’s reviews and editorials.

March 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Original image of the curtain call of UMKC Conservatory’s Così fan tutte by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (Released in March)

1. Rosalía- Motomami

Unparalleled pop.

2. Jóhann Jóhannsson- Drone Mass

Lethal minimalism.

3. Nigo- I Know Nigo!

Elite rappers (and Kid Cudi) collaborate with the polymath.

4. Brad Mehldau- Jacob's Ladder

My review.

5. Benny the Butcher- Tana Talk 4

Buffalo barbarity.

6. Drug Church- Hygiene

Unclean.

7. François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles- Claude Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande

A ravishing rendition of the mesmirizing opera.

8. Sélène Saint-Aimé- Potomitan

Expansive jazz from France.

9. Destroyer- ​​Labyrinthitis

A not entirely embarrassing form of yacht rock.

10. Cécile McLorin Salvant- Ghost Song

Spectral art music.


Top Ten Songs (Released in March)

1. Kae Tempest and Lianne La Havas- "No Prizes"

Gold.

2. Celeste- “To Love a Man”

Torched.

3. Fana Hues- "Bad Bad"

Wicked good.

4. Normani- "Fair"

Un-break my heart.

5. The Supremes- “Witchi-Tai-To”

Wut.

6. Your Old Droog- “Fela Kruti”

“Music for people who check their email in the club.”

7. Ibibio Sound Machine- “17 18 19”

Rock down to electric avenue.

8. Lous and the Yakuza- “Kisé”

Mosh pit? Mosh pit!

9. Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lupa- “Sweetest Pie”

Irresistible empty calories.

10. Ho9909 featuring Bun B- "Slo Bread"

Inspired collaboration.

Top Ten Performances of March

1. Sparks- Crystal Ballroom

My review.

2. Godspeed You! Black Emperor- Roseland Theater

My review.

3. UMKC Conservatory’s Così fan tutte- White Recital Hall

My Instagram snapshot.

4. Ted Poor and Cuong Vu- Jack London Revue

My review.

5. Steve Cardenas- recordBar

My review.

6. Arnold Young and the RoughTet- The Ship

My review.

7. Vanessa Rubin- Lincoln Hall

My review.

8. Timber Rattle- 9th & State

My review.

9. Angela Ward Trio- Blue Room

Herbie Hancock endorsed my Instagram video.

10. Pat Metheny in Kansas City: The Genesis of Genius- Polsky Theatre

My review.



Last month’s survey is here.

February 2022 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of Abbey Lincoln in the trailer of Nothing But a Man by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (Released in February)

1. Joyce DiDonato- Eden

Serpent repellent.

2. The Kahil El'Zabar Quartet- A Time for Healing

My review.

3. Binker and Moses- Feeding the Machine

England swings.

4. Sofía Reyes- Mal de Amores

A Mexican mélange of Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande.

5. Big K.R.I.T.- Digital Roses Don't Die

The graying of the Dirty South.

6. Del McCoury- Almost Proud

My related essay.

7. Gidon Kremer- Weinberg: Sonatas for Violin Solo

Eastern European angst.

8. The Adam Larson Trio- With Love, From Chicago

My album and concert reviews.

9. Rokia Koné- Bamanan

Metropolitan Malian music.

10. Bad Boy Chiller Crew- Disrespectful

Cretin hop.


Top Ten Songs (Released in February)

1. Jana Rush featuring DJ Paypal- ​​“Lonely”

Ornette Coleman gets the Chicago footwork treatment.

2. Claire Rousay and More Eaze- “floor Pt. 2”

Android dreams of electric sheep.

3. Rosalía- “Saoko”

Transformation.

4. Cécile McLorin Salvant- "Until"

Time stands still.

5. Pusha T- “Diet Coke”

“That’s a joke, right?”

6. $not and A$AP Rocky- “Doja”

Wildcatting.

7. Maren Morris- “Background Music”

Nashville existentialism.

8. Robert Glasper featuring Yebba- "Over"

My favorite Black Radio III track.

9. Willie Nelson- “I’ll Love You Till the Day I Die”

Backatcha, Willie.

10. Lívia Nestrovski and Henrique Eisenmann- "Sete Estrelas"

My concert review.


Top Ten Movies, Television Broadcasts and Streaming Programming (viewed for the first time in February, in lieu of a full resumption of live music)

1. Jeen-yuhs (2022)

My notes.

2. Donda Experience Performance (2022)

“Do I look happy to you?”

3. Nothing but a Man (1964)

Ivan Dixon and Abbey Lincoln star in an excruciating study.

4. Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

Hypnotic.

5. Cathie Wood interview on CNBC

A robust defense of poor performance.

6. Houston at Wichita State

Bruising double-overtime men’s basketball thriller.

7. Puccini's Madama Butterfly

Timeless heartbreak at Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia.

8. Rosita (1923)

Mary Pickford as a Spanish street singer.

10. Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show (2022)

Forgot about Dre.


Last month’s survey is here.

A Tough Pill to Swallow: The Top 50 Songs of 2021

Screenshot of Injury Reserve’s “Knees” video by There Stands the Glass.

My ranking of the fifty new songs I loved most in 2021 bears little resemblance to There Stands the Glass’ Top Albums of 2021 list.  The disparity is intentional.  A forthcoming accounting of the 50 best live performances I caught in 2021 will contain further deviations.  Injury Reserve’s disquieting “Knees” meant the most to me in recent months.  The rest of the songs are sequenced by personal preference with a bit of flexibility for optimal playlist appeal.  Here’s the Spotify playlist.


1. Injury Reserve- "Knees"

2. Coi Leray- "No More Parties"

3. J Balvin and Skrillex- “"In Da Ghetto"

4. Tokischa and Rosalía- "Linda"

5. Priya Ragu- "Lockdown"

6. Little Simz- "Rollin' Stone"

7. Cake Pop, Pritty, Aaron Carter and Ravenna Golden- "Satin Bedsheets"

8. The Streets- "Who's Got the Bag"

9. Celeste- "Tonight Tonight"

10. Billie Eilish- "Lost Cause"

11. Badbadnotgood- "City of Mirrors"

12. Chlöe- "Have Mercy"

13. Sir the Baptist featuring Anthony Hamilton- "Jesus in the Ghetto"

14. Rod Wave- "Tombstone"

15. Remi Wolf- “Anthony Kiedis”

16. Blackstarkids- "Juno"

17. Shannon & The Clams- "Year of the Spider"

18. Olivia Rodrigo- "Brutal"

19. Amyl and the Sniffers- "Freaks to the Front"

20. Willow featuring Cherry Glazerr- “¡Breakout!”

21. Elle King and Miranda Lambert- “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)”

22. Roman Alexander featuring Ashley Cooke- "Between You & Me"

23. Tinashe- "Bouncin'"

24. Megan Thee Stallion- "Thot Sh*t"

25. IDK with Swae Lee and Rico Nasty- "Keto"

26. Jungle- "No Rules"

27. Jana Rush- "Disturbed"

28. Nightmares on Wax- "Miami 80"

29. Earl Sweatshirt- "2010"

30. Slowthai featuring James Blake and Mount Kimbie- "Feel Away"

31. Pooh Shiesty featuring Gucci Mane- "Ugly"

32. Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar- "Family Ties"

33. Saweetie featuring Doja Cat- "Best Friend"

34. City Girls- "Scared"

35. Kevin Gates- "Plug Daughter 2"

36. Maxo Kream- “Cripstian”

37. Tony Allen and Danny Brown- "Deer in Headlights"

38. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss- "High and Lonesome"

39. Samantha Fish featuring Tech N9ne- "Loud"

40. Rauw Alejandro and Anitta- “Brazilera”

41. Céu - “Chega Mais”

42. Adele- "All Night Parking"

43. Cécile McLorin Salvant - "Ghost Song"

44. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis- “Albuquerque”

45. Willie Nelson- "Too Sick to Pray"

46. Brittney Spencer- "Sober & Skinny"

47. Lauren Alaina- "It Was Me"

48. Moby, Mark Lanegan and Kris Kristofferson- "The Lonely Night"

49. Loretta Lynn- “I Don’t Feel at Home Anymore”

50. Sarah Brand- "Red Dress"


Links to 16 previous year-end There Stands the Glass surveys begin here.

September 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

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

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

Top Ten Albums (released in September)

1. Mathias Eick- When We Leave

My review.

2. Borderlands Trio- Wandersphere

My review.

3. Nala Sinephro- Space 1.8

My review.

4. Drake- Certified Lover Boy

Infuriatingly undeniable.

5. Roscoe Mitchell- Dots: Pieces for Percussion and Woodwinds

Solemn incantations from the auspicious octogenarian.

6. Moor Mother- Black Encyclopedia of the Air

Urgent poetry.

7. Pat Metheny- Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV)

My review.

8. Lea Desandre- Amazone

Sensual baroque chamber music.

9. RP Boo- Established!

Zany Chicago footwork.

10. The Count Basie Orchestra- Live at Birdland

My review.


Top Ten Songs (released in September)

1. Tokischa and Rosalía- "Linda"

Besos.

2. Priya Ragu- "Lockdown"

Not so solitary.

3. Chlöe- "Have Mercy"

Oh Lord.

4. Lauren Alaina- "On Top of the World"

My album review.

5. Lydia Loveless- "Let's Make Out"

“The maid won’t be here until nine or ten.”

6. Amyl and the Sniffers- “Don’t Need a **** (Like You to Love Me)”

Rock’s not dead.

7. Paul Wall and Rich The Factor- "Countin' Paper"

Stacks.

8. Kirby- "Coconut Oil"

Silky.

9. Lady Blackbird- "Fix It"

Peace piece.

10. Jonas Kaufmann and Helmut Deutsch- “Im Rhein, im schönen Strome”

I’ve contracted a nasty case of Lisztomania.


Live Music

The books I read outnumbered the shows I attended in September.  I intend to venture out a lot more in October. I’ve even timed a trip to Detroit to catch a concert by an artist listed above who has conspicuously bypassed Kansas City for years.


Top Ten Films (viewed for the first time in September)

1. Lawrence of Arabia: Director’s Cut (1962)

T.E. Lawrence as white savior.

2. Body and Soul (1925)

Paul Robeson’s first film.

3. Hoří, má panenko/The Firemen’s Ball (1967)

Shameful Czech corruption.

4. The Golden Ring: The Making of Solti’s Ring (1965)

My notes.

5. Street Girl (1929)

Betty Compson stars in a racy Jazz Age musical.

6. 奇跡/I Wish (2011)

Japan is now at the top of my travel wish list.

7. Cairo (1942)

Loopy wartime musical with Ethel Waters.

8. Take a Giant Step (1959)

Johnny Nash plays a beleaguered teen.

9. The Outhouse: The Film, 1985-1987 (2019)

“My” version of the Kansas venue- Tupelo Chain Sex, Sonic Youth, the Georgia Satellites, etc.- receives short shrift in the documentary.

10. The Courier (2021)

By-the-numbers cold war spy thriller.

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