Kevin Warwick, Reader associate editor
CHIRP Record Fair When you see Permanent Records honcho Lance Barresi stepping out to take a breather and “get more cash,” you know there are treasures to be had. And when within minutes of digging, you snag a rare copy of L.D. Eye from Michigan weirdo punks the Crucifucks, you know you’ll get a good haul. Three frazzled hours later, you’ve found the Brainbombs’ Fucking Mess, Zeke’s Dirty Sanchez, and a cheap Megaforce pressing of Kill ‘Em All, and it’s only a dozen days until the next paycheck.
Julie Shapiro, artistic director of the Third Coast International Audio Festival
Phil Smith, “Lullaby” for In the Dark Radio I’d like to think—no, I’m sure of it—that I’d still be remarking on this beautiful song-story, built around a single sentence turned every which way, even if I weren’t in love with those sacred 20 minutes of reading (the same) books to my nearly two-year-old before bed every night. Here it’s the musicality of voice, the repetition of inflection, the sheer simplicity of text, as form marries function and melody haunts—this short semantic deconstruction begins to feel as primeval as a lullabye. Recommended listening mode: Looped.
Teranga Beat I’d heard tales of a Greek artist who traveled to West Africa and scored unreleased master tapes of 70s and 80s Senegalese mbalax from a producer’s house. I finally broke down and paid import prices for a bunch of these albums (on the Greek-owned Teranga Beat label). They’re about the best-sounding recordings of this type of music I’ve ever heard. It feels like you’re sitting in a dark, sweaty Dakar nightclub, clinging to a warm bottle of La Gazelle.
