I will say again. There is just so much great music being made w there is no need to solely rehash what was recorded 10 years ago, 20 years ago, or in the Summer of Love. My associates that collect and listen to nothing but bootleg cassettes of The Radiators, my friend who continues to see all the shitty, original hair-metal bands in venues that get smaller and smaller and in more obscure, out-of-the-way strip malls, and, of course, the Grateful Dead people, are OK to talk music with and some of them get loose but seldom go out and pursue a new or up-and-coming band. They’ll spin another poorly-recorded concert with songs they’ve heard a thousand times and they may as well be eating a moldy sandwich.
That’s not a pursuit of new music; it’s a pursuit of memories, and that’s a poor approach for music lovers when there is so much great music being recorded now, everywhere.
Many musicians haven’t revealed if they’re putting out anything in 2017, and just as many more probably haven’t started recording the next big record. But there’s already a lot of stuff in the can, including, sadly, a new record from Quiet Riot.
These aren’t reviews, and they’re not really previews. They’re encouragement.
Dale and Ray, “Dale and Ray” Honky-tonker Dale Watson teams up with Western swing icon and Asleep at the Wheel frontman Ray Benson in what should surely be the country album of the year. But because country awards go to vanilla pop stars in cowboy hats, this will be a darling album to those with refined tastes who despise the mainstream.
The Sadies, “Northern Passages”Canada’s purveyors of psychedelic country and garage rock don’t know how to put out a bad album. It’s just not in their DNA, and hopefully after the release of this in February, they’ll find a way to bring the Nudie Suits, the rock, and themselves back to Durango.
The Jesus and Mary ChainTheir first album in nearly 20 years, the explosive Reid brothers’ return, with perhaps less violence and drug consumption as the ’80s go-round.
Body Count, “Bloodlust”I had no idea Body Count still existed due to Ice-T’s career in Hollywood. This is a record I’ll never buy, but that doesn’t dismiss my hope that Ice-T is still taking stark notice and audible shots at the political climate and street activity.
Old 97s, “Graveyard Whistling”Let’s hope for the murder ballads, train songs and rock that this Dallas quartet has made for decades.
SpiritualizedThe English rock outfit’s forthcoming record coincides with the 20th Anniversary of “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space.” Records are often judged by their ability to live up to a band’s past, and this will be no different with Spiritualized capable of blasting the hype.
Son Volt, “Notes of Blue”The music of Jay Farrar has carried a raw, and perhaps better, representation of the blue collar of Belleville, Illinois, than that of his band mate from decades ago. He’s explored American music without being a genre poster child, the forthcoming being Son Volts abstract exploration of the blues.
But wait, there’s more! Cloud Nothings, The XX, The Infamous Stringdusters, LCD Soundsystem, Bruce Springsteen, Nikki Lane, The Feelies, Joan of Arc, Thievery Corporation, Sepultura, My Morning Jacket, The Arcade Fire, among others, also have stuff happening.
Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager. [email protected].
