Michael Patrick Brady » Music

ALARM Magazine | Issue #36 | Loop 2.4.3

mpb — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:54:25 +0000

ALARM Magazine | Issue #36
ALARM Magazine #36 is out now, and in it you’ll find my feature on Loop 2.4.3, an experimental percussion duo from Brooklyn. Their album, Zodiac Dust, is a very sedate, subtle exploration of the potential in a drumkit. Rather than revel in explosive pounding, they opt for a smoother, more melodic approach. I have a few more pieces pending for ALARM, probably coming out in the next issue: a feature on Chicago-based jazz vibraphonist and bandleader Jason Adasiewicz and a review of Lightning Bolt’s tremendously awesome Earthly Delights.

My Favorite Albums of 2009

mpb — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:55:36 +0000

I have to say that my proudest moment as a music critic so far has been the quotation of my review in the Wikipedia entry for Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion. Though I did not dislike the album entirely, my less-than-ebullient review was pegged as the “negative” example amidst a sea of nearly universal praise. That album did not make my 2009 favorites list, obviously. The 15 that did are presented below without pretension. I do not claim that they are the best, nor do I claim any kind of comprehensiveness. I definitely did not hear everything that came out this year. These are just the albums that brought me the most pleasure in 2009, and hopefully, if you haven’t already checked them out, you will now. If you want a deeper insight into my thoughts on each, please visit the links to the specific reviews and blog posts for those albums that have them.

My Favorite Books of 2009

mpb — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:50:17 +0000

This year, the books I read and reviewed covered a variety of topics, from the ancient world and the bounds of the universe to the origins of religious thought and the potential of scientific reason. I managed to get through a lot of compelling work, but several books stood out as particularly impressive. This list is comprised of my favorite books that came out this year, all of which I had the pleasure of reviewing. Links to my full reviews may be found with their entries below.

Thankfully, I was also able to fit in a lot of reading even beyond what I reviewed this year. I tore through Lawrence Durrell’s The Alexandria Quartet, following the poetic unraveling of his pre-war characters to their satisfying (and disillusioning) conclusions. Jean Edward Smith’s FDR was a powerful portrait of what I believe is our country’s greatest president. On a trip to Paris, I picked up a copy of Umberto Eco’s Baudolino at Shakespeare & Co. and, unsurprisingly, was bowled over by the author’s sense of humor, style, and command of history. The War For All The Oceans brought the naval battles of the Napoleonic Wars to life, each page home to an astonishing tale of derring-do. I mention all of these books in the hopes that others may take interest in them, though they are not from the current year.

Related Content

My Favorite Albums of 2008

My Favorite Albums of 2007 (Plus Some I Thought Were Terrible)

9. The Inheritance of Rome
Chris Wickham
(My Review @ PopMatters | Blog)
Buy At Amazon
A broad and comprehensive survey of the post-Roman world, Chris Wickham’s book is dense and layered with lots of intriguing anecdotes about the Middle Ages, as he argues that the era should be judged not as an unfortunate lull in human progress but rather as a significant period in its own right. Wickham can occasionally spend too much time on tedious archaeological evidence, but the richer passages concerning the Carolingian and Byzantine Empires more than make up for it.

8. The Roman Forum
David Watkin
Buy At Amazon
This book isn’t out till December, but I’ve got an advance copy and I’m enjoying it very much. It’s a compact, focused analysis of the Roman Forum’s status as a historical site, artistic marvel, and archaeological excavation. It is very thorough and illuminating, illustrating the different ways that people have viewed the Forum and how they attempted to shape it. Watkin has a pithy, conversational tone and a deep, impressive knowledge of the Forum’s history and development.

7. Ulysses and Us: The Art of Everyday Life in Joyce’s Masterpiece
Declan Kiberd
(My Review Pending @ PopMatters)
Buy At Amazon
Ulysses has a reputation as a difficult book, and rightfully so, but author Declan Kiberd argues that this should not limit its appeal to scholars and intellectuals. It’s an epic of everyday life that should (and can) be enjoyed by all, once all the worrying about hidden clues and obscure meanings is disposed of. At its heart, Ulysses is a touching story of two men searching their home city for meaning, and Ulysses and Us shows readers how to make that case to the uninitiated.

6. The Evolution of God
Robert Wright
(My Review @ PopMatters | Blog)
Buy At Amazon
Robert Wright’s history of the development of modern religion is a provocative and highly informative book. He shows readers how humanity’s concept of a deity grew from small, local gods into the universal beings we’re familiar with. While I wasn’t impressed with Wright’s theories regarding the “zero-sumness” of interactions between the different religions, his research and historical narrative is top notch.

5. The Invention of Air
Stephen Berlin Johnson
(My Review @ PopMatters | Blog)
Buy At Amazon
Innovation is the engine of human progress, driven by the confluence of energy, ideas, and well-formed communication networks. The Invention of Air uses the story of Joseph Priestly, the discoverer of oxygen, to illustrate how scientific and technological progress can be nurtured and grown. The book is part biography and part popular science tract, with a broad scope and a long zoom.

4. Judas: A Biography
Susan Gubar
(My Review @ PopMatters | Blog)
Buy At Amazon
22 lines of scripture are all that exists of Judas Iscariot, yet his influence on the human psyche is tremendous. Author Susan Gubar constructs a “biography” of Judas, really more of an exploration of how art, politics, and culture represent Judas and what that projected image says about ourselves. Gubar traces Judas through Gnostic gospels, Renaissance art, and contemporary film in search of a full account of the most controversial apostle.

3. Marcus Aurelius: A Life
Frank McLynn
(My Review @ PopMatters | Blog)
Buy At Amazon
Frank McLynn is a strong, confident writer who leaves no stone unturned, and he follows up the excellent Richard & John: Kings at War with a very thoughtful biography of Rome’s greatest emperor. McLynn looks at not just Marcus the Statesman, but also Marcus the Philosopher. Though the in-depth look at stoicism is, at times, rocky, the book’s incredible depiction of life and culture in ancient Rome is stunning in its clarity and scope.

2. The Landmark Herodotus
Robert Strassler, Editor
(My Review @ PopMatters | Blog)
Buy At Amazon
This hefty tome is full of extraordinary tales of the ancient world, from a writer who lived in a time where myth and truth were often intertwined. This new edition of Herodotus’ The Histories augments the sweeping chronicle of ancient lands and peoples with maps, footnotes, and other supplementary materials to provide a solid context for what is already an incredibly compelling text.

1. You Are Here
Christopher Potter
(My Review @ PopMatters | Blog)
Buy At Amazon
You Are Here is a triumph of popular science writing, compressing the story of the universe into a slim, comprehensible book. Potter’s clear, direct writing helps shed light on the mysteries of reality, from the largest celestial bodies to the smallest subatomic particles. He also impresses with virtuosic explanations of philosophy and quantum mechanics that shock and amaze.

Six | The Black Heart Procession

mpb — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:28:24 +0000

My review of The Black Heart Procession’s Six ran today in the Boston Phoenix.

Very similar to the Castanets release I reviewed recently, Six is a very dark, moody album, though with a little more of an autumnal twist. It somehow manages to be morose and a little bit fun, and along side the recent cold weather, this album put me in the right mood to come to terms with the fall. Fern Knight’s Seven Years of Severed Limbs has a similar effect, and I always like to pull it out this time of year. Six celebrates the bleakness of the season.

The Inheritance of Rome | Chris Wickham

mpb — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:23:30 +0000

My review of The Inheritance of Rome by Chris Wickham ran today at PopMatters.

I picked up this book based on some buzz I heard, and though I don’t think it lived up to the hype, it was a generally satisfying reading experience. Wickham is an academic writer, and his survey of medieval development gives all elements equal weight and attention, when in all honesty, some subjects are far more intriguing than others. His chapters on the dissolution of Roman control are incredibly interesting, but as primary sources begin to become more scarce, the quality of The Inheritance of Rome becomes spotty, most compelling for the more literate cultures like the Byzantine Empire or Carolingian Francia, more tedious for cultures like Anglo-Saxon England, which are mostly pieced together through archeological evidence.

Fool’s Gold | Fool’s Gold

mpb — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:17:17 +0000

My review of Fool’s Gold’s self-titled album ran today in the Boston Phoenix.

The album is an intriguing mix of styles, blending familiar pop melodies with exotic, world music rhythms and accents. The band alternates between Hebrew and English lyrics, and runs through a variety of styles gathered from across continents. The first track, “Surprise Hotel” sounds a lot like the later Talking Heads experiments in world pop, but the album finds its own sound quickly. It’s a fun, danceable album, full of smart, well-composed party music.

Texas Rose, The Thaw & The Beasts | Castanets

mpb — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:06:13 +0000

My review of the new Castanets album, Texas Rose, The Thaw and The Beasts ran today in the Boston Phoenix.

This is a “post-country” album, mixing traditional folk and country elements with progressive accents spread throughout. The traditional sounds are used in unconventional ways, giving Texas Rose a unique, desolate sound that seems on the brink of complete decay. It takes a while to get comfortable with Ray Raposa’s vocals and the wayward shamble of the music, but eventually the desolate mood takes hold.

Two Dancers | Wild Beasts

mpb — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 23:44:21 +0000

My review of Wild Beasts’ Two Dancers ran today in the Boston Phoenix.

Hayden Thorpe’s falsetto is going to get a lot of attention, and it should, but I think some credit should be given to the more grounded vocals of Tom Fleming, as well. His performances help keep Two Dancers from becoming a novelty and switches things up enough so Thorpe’s tracks don’t all blur together. “All The Kings Men,” in particular, would be enough to make this album a must listen. The band’s tight, restrained music is a solid foundation for the vocal playfulness.

Dream HDTVs on a Budget at Forbes.com

mpb — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:27:49 +0000

My latest article at Forbes.com, about affordable high-definition televisions with cutting-edge features, ran today. In it, I talk about a few ways that consumers can pick up a current LCD or plasma television that has great features without spending too much money. This typically entails opting for a smaller display size, choosing plasma over LCD, or avoiding excessive or unnecessary specifications. Features you might expect to be premiums, like LED backlighting or Internet capabilities, are actually quite attainable, and large-screen sizes aren’t entirely out of the question for the budget-minded shopper.

Marcus Aurelius: A Life | Frank McLynn

mpb — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:52:16 +0000

My review Marcus Aurelius: A Life, by Frank McLynn, ran today at PopMatters.

Last year, Richard and John: Kings at War turned me into a big Frank McLynn fan. It was my kind of book, a thick, engrossing look into history, an excellent narrative enhanced by a gift for characterization and a wonderful use of vocabulary. Marcus Aurelius isn’t as flashy or exciting as its predecessor, but it is just as engaging and enlightening. The subtitle of the book isn’t totally accurate. The book isn’t just about Marcus’s life but also the life of his most famous work, his Meditations, a collection of clear-headed philosophical maxims that had a profound effect on modern thought and continues to attract readers of all statures. The book is a great portrait of Roman culture and will definitely delight those with an interest in antiquity.

Popular Songs | Yo La Tengo

mpb — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:32:34 +0000

My review of the new Yo La Tengo record, Popular Songs, ran today in the Boston Phoenix

I’ve always liked Yo La Tengo, but never counted myself as a rabid fan. Their music is sweet, pleasant, and reassuring, but I never found it captivating or invigorating. As I get older, though, I think there’s a larger place for it in my life. Popular Songs is a very good record, barring the unfortunate two-track, 25-minute instrumental epilogue. Aside from that, however, it’s cool, laid-back, and at times dreamy. A nice, relaxing record for a lazy summer afternoon.