My City Paper Wammies Post is up

I tried to help the Wammies this year and had some success, but ultimately they ignored many of my ideas leaving me frustrated once again.  They just won't do the research necessary.  Here's my Washington City Paper blogpost

Pazz & Jop Critics Poll 2011 Results

Amina Alaoui, melancholy Moroccan singer, whose Arco Iris album on ECM made only my top 10, and no one else's.

The Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics poll of 700 critics is out.  Tuneyards won for top album and Adele "Rolling in the Deep" for top single.  Neither made my list.  my album list  includes 2 African artists; 1 Brazilian;  1 Southern soul; 2 rap; 1 neo-soul r'n'b; 1 rock; 1 pop-r'n'b and 1 country.  No one else voted for my African, Brazilian, and southern soul choices.  Tinariwen and Bombino were the top placing African artists in the the poll The poll can still use more critics into non-rock genres but it's hard to recruit them.  My singles list includes many songs heard on WKYS radio.  It includes 3 r'n'b radio hits; 4 rap/r'n'b combo hits; 1 pop hit; 1 southern soul line dance song; and 1 reggaeton number (from 2010 that had its impact for me in 2011). Was I mostly bored by rock in 2011--yes!

Live Music in the DC Area from January 18th

Events from my Yahoo Group once a month emailed calendar.To subscribe-send an e-mail to dcbworld-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Wed. Jan. 18 

Revelers at Artisphere (Cajun supergroup with members of Red Stick Ramblers and Pine Leaf Boys);

Rafrechi (good Maryland Haitian-born singing group does hip hop influenced Konpa) free from 6 to 7 at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (and streamed and archived online); 

Deborah Willis, author of book "Posing Beauty: African American Images From the 1890s to the Present" at the National Portrait Gallery;
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Thurs. Jan. 19

Mavis Staples (soul/gospel) for $100 (! ) at the Hamilton, 600 14th St NW (new DC upscale restaurant club in old Borders/Garfinkels location);

Rudresh Mahanthappa (Asian Indian jazz) at Blues Alley (on the 20th also);

Robert Earl Keen at the Birchmere Bandstand;
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Fri. Jan. 20

Ethiopian Christmas; 

Collie Budz (dancehall) at 930 Club;

California Honeydrops r'n'b swingdance music at Tortoise & the Hare, 567 23rd st. South in Arlington;

K-Holes @ Comet Ping Pong; 

 Teen Punk band benefit show w/ Foozle, Guilty, Coxey Brown, the Black Sparks @ St. Stephens Church; 

 Scott Miller @ Iota;

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Sat. Jan. 21 

Tet Festival 2012 from 9 AM – 3 PM at J.E.B Stuart High School, Falls Church, VA
Host: Vietnamese Community of Washington D.C. Metropolitan;

Ozomatli with Chopteeth at 930 Club (Latin-funk-rock headliners and local Afrobeat openers);

California Honeydrops r'n'b swingdance at Glen Echo;

Tropical punch with Maracuyeah, Boogat (Montreal), Empressarios, Sol Power at Warehouse/Loft, 411 NY Avenue NE, Washington, DC ;

Dru Hill at Rams Head Live in Baltimore;

Syleena Johnson at Blues Alley;
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Hardway Connection still at it

The Maryland-based Southern soul outfit, the Hardway Connection, are still at it (despite numerous personnel changes), performing in the DC area and in the south for years.  They have no website but recently added a now mostly un-updated Facebook page.  They played at Harmony Hall in Ft. Washington Saturday night January 14, and at Lamont's in Pomonkey Sunday January 15th.  They had been recently playing in Upper Marlboro on Thursdays, and maybe still are.  I need to talk with them and figure out their schedule.  They usually perform at Lamont's every other week.  Here's a feature piece I wrote about them in the City Paper a  while ago:

It Must Be the Blues 

African, Latin, Caribbean, Soul, rock, blues and more

I have written about rock, African, Latin, Caribbean, soul, blues and other styles of music over the years for fanzines(Thrillseeker and others), newspapers (Washington Post), magazines (Option), and websites.  I also have been doing a monthly Yahoo emailed DC and Baltimore concert calendar.  This blog will serve as a catch-all for my thoughts and scribblings on music.  Circa 2012 I am currently contributing to the Washington City Paper.