Night After Night

Hit parade.

Every Tuesday morning I make a brief appearance on 101.9 RXP, a local radio station that serves up a remarkably fresh mix of classic rock, alternative rock and contemporary hits. You're probably familiar with the station's morning-show host, Matt Pinfield, essentially the face of alternative rock on MTV during the late 1990s as the host of 120 Minutes and its successors.

I've always admired Matt for his encyclopedic knowledge of popular music and his unbridled enthusiasm, so working with him has been a serious treat. I've also come to hugely dig his co-host, RXP program director Leslie Fram (a radio vet whose amazing track record earned her the nickname "First Lady of Modern Rock"), and cool-headed, efficient producer Matt Ianni.

In my capacity as Time Out New York music editor, most Tuesdays I shout out the week's biggest shows, and also mention a few newly announced bookings for which tickets will soon be available. This week was different: The station is currently asking its listeners to submit their lists of the top 20 rock songs of all time; during Labor Day weekend they'll be counting down the top 1,019 picks. They asked me to submit a list, then had me come in and reel it off this past Tuesday, where I turned up between a live performance by Dolores O'Riordan (who seized the moment to announce a Cranberries reunion) and a chat with Imogen Heap.

Pulling my list together over the weekend was surprisingly easy, since I tailored it to RXP's format; had it been open to pop (hello, Thompson Twins), R&B (Stevie, Diana, Marvin, Michael, ad infinitum) and hip-hop (Run-DMC, Public Enemy, De La Soul, Jay-Z...), I'd probably still be wrestling with it. RXP's rules made it even easier: You couldn't repeat an artist, and six iconic acts -- Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, the Rolling Stones (pre-Sticky Fingers), the Beatles (pre-Rubber Soul) and Bob Dylan -- could be set apart as "Legacy Artists," the equivalent of bonus cuts.

Compiling my list required 10 minutes of flow -- what are the songs I absolutely can't get out of my head, the ones I'll drop everything to hear any time they're playing -- plus about 30 minutes of finessing and a quick consult with Dr. LP, who pointed out a few glaring omissions.

So here, for your delectation or dismissal, is my admittedly very personal countdown:

Top 20 Rock Songs

1. Kiss, "Detroit Rock City"

2. Cheap Trick, "Surrender"

3. Thin Lizzy, "The Boys Are Back in Town"

4. Joy Division, "Love Will Tear Us Apart"

5. Bram Tchaikovsky, "Girl of My Dreams"

6. Public Image Ltd., "Public Image"

7. Black Sabbath, "Paranoid"

8. Talking Heads, "Life During Wartime"

9. The Clash, "London Calling"

10. Electric Light Orchestra, "Telephone Line"

11. Bruce Springsteen, "Born to Run"

12. Steve Forbert, "Romeo's Tune"

13. Yes, "Your Move/I've Seen All Good People"

14. Living Colour, "Cult of Personality"

15. Queen, "You're My Best Friend"

16. Romeo Void, "Never Say Never"

17. Aerosmith, "Dream On"

18. Squeeze, "Tempted"

19. Paul McCartney and Wings, "Live and Let Die"

20. R.E.M., "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville"

Legacy Tracks

Elvis Presley, "Blue Suede Shoes"

Chuck Berry, "Roll Over Beethoven"

Buddy Holly, "Not Fade Away"

The Rolling Stones (pre-Sticky Fingers), "Gimme Shelter"

The Beatles (pre-Rubber Soul), "If I Fell"

Bob Dylan, "Sweetheart Like You"

Kudos to Matt Ianni for having "Girl of My Dreams" ready to play on the air as my spiel ended. It killed me to cut Michael Penn's "No Myth," the Moody Blues' "Nights in White Satin" and, yes, Kansas's "Carry On Wayward Son." Other almost-rans included "Suite Judy Blue Eyes," "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," "Touch of Grey" and "Barracuda." And "Killer Queen" threatened to replace "You're My Best Friend" right up until the moment I hit send.

Still, overall I'm plenty happy with this tally. Comments? Criticisms? Bring it. Then go cast your own vote and see if you still feel so tough.

Let's get small.

The Chelsea Symphony at Bargemusic
The New York Times, August 24, 2009

I've nothing to add except... yummmm, ice cream.

Risky business.

Bard Music Festival: Wagner and His World at Bard College
The New York Times, August 17, 2009

There are two things I omitted from this Bard Music Festival review that I wish I'd said, and one thing I wish I'd had space to elaborate upon. So, in order...

First: I wanted to mention, but just plain forgot under deadline pressure, that nothing from Richard Wagner's Ring cycle was included in the opening weekend's programs, which otherwise touched on everything from the fascinating if mostly hapless juvenilia that preceded Die Feen to the fully assured Parsifal prelude. Read Mark Swed's Los Angeles Times blog post for an account of what I missed during the second weekend.

Second: I dearly wish I'd had space and time to say once again that the Bard Music Festival is among the most deeply edifying arts presentations I've ever had the privilege to attend. Being among so dedicated and engaged an audience is a reward unto itself; nowhere else have I overheard such intense between-concert conversations... which only make you look forward to the next episode in an admittedly overwhelming presentation all the more fervently. That line you winced to see in Bard's press materials: part boot camp for the brain, part spa for the spirit? I'm very proud to have coined it.

Third (and please remember this if you're a singer): Pei-Yao Wang, mentioned way down deep in my review, was one of the most attentive, sympathetic accompanists I've ever heard. Witnessing her watching, listening and responding to her various partners at Bard was unquestionably among the highlights of this festival -- right up there with the fabulous Christine Goerke nailing every role she sang.

She's the boss.

"It's Her Turn to Call the Tune"
The New York Times, August 14, 2009
(photograph by Ángel Franco)

A brief article about Melissa Smey, the new executive director of the Miller Theatre at Columbia University, one of New York's most significant musical institutions. Melissa is no newcomer to Miller, having served as the venue's general manager since 2001. Working alongside George Steel -- who had an article of his own in the same issue of the Times -- she played a significant if largely unsung role in Miller's happy tale, and took over programming the theater's jazz series in 2006.

About that series, solid and admirable but seldom as bold as Miller's classical offerings, Ms. Smey intends to bring it up to speed; Evan Parker and William Parker were two boldface names significantly dropped during our conversation. Read on to learn a bit more about a bright young professional who is also quite possibly the only person in the music industry, performers aside, who uses the words "cool" and "awesome" when describing how she feels about the music of Helmut Lachenmann.

Hello, it's me.

Regular visitors to this blog are familiar with my occasional lamentations regarding a workload that hasn't allowed me to do much writing here during the last several months -- okay, let's be honest, the last year. I'm continually grateful for the generous platforms I'm afforded in my work at Time Out New York and The New York Times, but I've never stopped feeling guilty over abandoning a readership I genuinely appreciated here.

Signing up for Twitter helped a little, allowing me to feel connected to readers in a more interactive, real-time landscape. But every time I've turned on my computer, launched my browser and seen this blog pop up, I've been confronted with a sense that I've been derelict in my responsibilities.

The irony is that even if it's been a while since I was literally a nightly concertgoer, there's been no lack of topics worth writing about that somehow didn't fit into my day gigs. And an in-box increasingly stuffed with pitches from musicians and publicists evidently unaware of my day-after-day gigs has suggested, perhaps ironically, that people are still discovering this blog. Still, I've felt so swept up by the daily grind that I haven't even managed to post links to my (fewish) new Times articles and reviews in a timely manner this summer.

Last week, during the preliminary chit-chat before a formal interview, a friendly professional acquaintance for whom I have the deepest admiration told me that he still checked in here regularly. I reeled off my usual excuses and regrets.

"A link to a Times piece and maybe four lines about things you thought wouldn't fit into that context is enough," my interviewee said. "Even that can be valuable." I'm paraphrasing, but I think I'm representing the conversation honestly. And it was a welcome kick in the pants. A bit more discipline and a bit more abandon -- that's all it would take.

So...

If you're a past reader grown used to not seeing anything here, my apologies for disappearing. And if you're a new visitor, welcome. Whatever the case, let's get this party re-started. Times links forthcoming within 24; for now, time for that inevitable...

Playlist (slight return):

Donny McCaslin - Declaration (Sunnyside)

Henry Threadgill's  Zooid - This Brings Us To, Vol. 1 (Pi Recordings; due out Oct. 27)

Vic Chesnutt - At the Cut (Constellation; due out Sept. 22)

Converge - Axe to Fall (Epitaph; due out Oct. 20)

John Adams - Doctor Atomic Symphony; Guide to Strange Places - St. Louis Symphony Orchestra / David Robertson (Nonesuch)

David Sylvian - Manafon (Samadhi Sound; due out Sept. 14)

Tanya Morgan - Brooklynati (Interdependent Media)

George Frideric Handel - Organ Concertos, Op. 7 - Richard Egarr, Academy of Ancient Music (Harmonia Mundi)

George Strait - Twang (Universal Nashville)

Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You (Regal/EMI)

Noveller - Red Rainbows (No Fun)

Job for a Cowboy - Ruination (Metal Blade)

Caspian - Inertia (The Mylene Sheath)

The New Lost City Ramblers - 50 Years: Where Do You Come From? Where Do You Go? (Smithsonian Folkways)

Rapoon - Melancholic Songs of the Desert (Soleilmoon)

Sonny Fortune and Rashied Ali - "Impressions" (WBGO-FM Jazz & Beyond webcast)

Kyle Bobby Dunn - Six Cognitive Works (Kning Disk); Fervency (Moongadget)

Kiss - Kissology, Vol. 2, disc two (VH1 Classic DVD)

The court of the Crimson king.

Rhys Chatham's Crimson Grail and Liquid Liquid at Damrosch Park
The New York Times, August 10, 2009

Takin' it to the streets.

On Wednesday evening at Lincoln Center, the Asphalt Orchestra, Bang on a Can's funky new street band, made its public debut with a rousing set of charts by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, Meshuggah, Charles Mingus, Tyondai Braxton and Goran Bregovic. Presented by Lincoln Center Out of Doors, choreographed by Susan Marshall and costumed by Elizabeth Clancy, the 12-piece ensemble raised an entertaining ruckus, delighting in-the-know observers as well as slightly startled passersby.

On Time Out New York's music blog, The Volume, we ran a brief rehearsal video not quite a month ago. My colleague Hank Shteamer posted his observations and photos on the blog this evening. You'll find a succinct, smart piece by Justin Davidson on the New York magazine site. Look for Tony Tommasini's New York Times review on Friday.

You can catch the Asphalt Orchestra somewhere outside of Lincoln Center this Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at 7pm, with different tunes and drills each night. After the jump, the rest of the peerless iPhone photos I sent out via Twitter during the event, with the accompanying tweets and a few untweeted outtakes.