5:24 p.m. - 2006-07-31
ME! ME! Read about ME!!!
That's how I've been whiling away the terrible summer! Remember how I had a solo cd, "Fob"? You know, with the music and the cat-in-a-necktie picture? And all my fretting over it? Remember? "Fob"?
Well, they reviewed it in the July issue of Cadence magazine, which issue I just got ahold of this past week. There's no writer credited, since they stuck the review not in the regular jazz-cds-on-a-label sections but in "CDRing", an uncredited two-page ghetto of reviews devoted specifically to cdrs. The section begins with the disclaimer: "CDRing is a column devoted to commercial but individually replicated compact discs. Consumers should be aware of possible longevity, tracking, and durability issues which affect CDRs in much greater proportion than mass produced compact discs with their standard of replication and coating."
Buyer beware, motherfucker!
So, the anonymous review (written by a writer for Cadence, so no doubt a middle-aged man, so we'll refer to him as a "he") begins by comparing the pieces on the cd(r) with the titles of the pieces...unfavorably! He lists the titles (see a long past entry of Stevergo if you're interested, I think from October) and writes, "Invoking a zany commingling of space-age pop by way of music concrete, Brady's song titles and list of instruments, including vibraphone, keyboards, theremin, and percussion, hint at a sense of eccentricity that is somewhat absent from the music contained within."
So, my great titles created expectations that my music couldn't possibly live up to. DAMN MY CLEVER WORDPLAY!!!! Cadence writer must hate me and my music!
But not exactly, because in the next paragraph he says all sorts of nice things like "masterful capacity on the vibes as well as a knack for penning memorable melodies", "intensely lyrical and dynamically nuanced", "never overly flashy" and "light touch". Then, it becomes apparent that he prefers the three multi-tracked cuts with all the drums and noisy theremins and stuff to the solo vibes material, which he doesn't examine in any detail. He calls "Blaze On, Idiot Sun, Blaze On" "a riot compared to the rest of the program. A feedback drenched free-form tirade featuring his entire instrumental arsenal, Brady pens an indictment against the Sun that knows no equal." And my work is now officially done.
So, the cadence critic at least kind of likes me a little. It was interesting for me to read, since he's the first person who I don't know personally to weigh in on this "Fob" outing. And the ending of the review really blew my mind. Cadence writer writes "it would be nice to hear him stretch out in other instrumental configurations. A nice but sonically limited release, Brady has far more potential than this solo disc reveals." But...if "Fob" is the only playing of mine he's ever heard...how does he KNOW I have more potential?
Then it hit me, something I've long suspected: critics have MYSTICAL POWERS!
