Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25238
OF MUSIC TO NOTE Stumbling upon good new music is like finding a perfect destination-reality is even bet- ter than the expectation. Sharing a new find is a bittersweet pleasure: The more the word spreads, the more costly the ticket gets. But turning others on to good music makes it worth seeing when appreciation sinks in. Here are many of the things I enjoyed most on my musical adventures in 2001: debuts, new directions, fresh amalgamations and just fine music that have worn a spot in my CD tray for most of the year. TEXT: GEOFFREY FELDKAMP 1> BRASSY Got It Made (Wiiij'l R"corcis. " 001) Muffin Spencer (sister of blues rocker jon Spencer) leads this mostly British foursome that she's dubbed "obnoxious and cheeky, cheap and cheerful." While her brother was stateside pioneering avant punk- blues, Muffin spent the decade plowing through crates of samples and honing her craft in the Manchester club scene. This music is reduced to straightforward, looping pop hooks with bounding bass and drums that will bend the hearts of hip-hop and girl punk fans alike. The music is loaded with fresh, bass heavy, driving beats that snap rock in your face without missing any of the energy of a good mosh. Muffin and her mates might remind you of Luscious jackson, Cibo Mato or the female. vocalist of the Human League. 2> Tli.E WORD n' A't: " /( )~r . The Word (Ropeadc)jl R",'ol'cio; 2001) The story behind The Word (both album and band name) is best left to the CD liner notes. Simply put. john Medeski and Luther Dickson long dreamed of combining their improvisational sounds into a gospel record. With a few moments of fortuitous coinci- dence, it finally came together around a young House of God pedal steel guitar player named Robert Randolph. (Until his appearance at the Bowery Ballroom in fall 2000, the 24-year-old Randolph had never performed outside the church.) From the moment Randolph first appeared with the North Mississippi Allstars in the Bowery, the combined prowess of the mix was undeniable. The collection of songs on the album is primarily a mix of "sacred steel" gospel, vintage rock and traditional blues. The Word steps into a fat round cruiser of raw blues and roots and tears out onto a smooth Delta-boogie- blues, Hawaiian-steel-gospel fueled road trip. 71