Here are some of the CDs spinning ‘round my ears these days:
Subsonica -- "L'Eclisse" (Sony Italia)
Although Turin's greatest group doesn't really sound like Citizen King, Subsonica always reminds me of the defunct Milwaukee outfit. That's because the band mixes rock and roll with funk, reggae, turntablism and electronica, creating a sound that is unique but accessible and melodic and fun. This latest disc is, to my ears, less immediately satisfying than its predecessor -- 2005's "Terrestre" -- but catchy numbers like the four on the floor "La Glaciazione," the stark "Ali Scure" and the melodic "Nei Nostri Luogi" have enough pull to keep my digging deeper.
"Downtown 81" Soundtrack (Rephlektor/Recall)
"Downtown 81" is a film starring the late Jean Michel Basquiat and its appropriate that the film's soundtrack is loaded with music by the No Wave and other Downtown bands active in Manhattan at the dawn of the ‘80s. There's the Latino swing of Coati Mundi and Kid Creole and the Coconuts, the underground funk of Liquid Liquid and (Milwaukee native) James White and the Blacks, the post-punk art rock of DNA and Suicide, the nascent hip-hop of Melle Mel and the Japanese new wave of The Plastics -- among others. If you were in New York and into music in 1981, this was the soundtrack of your passion and of your days and nights on St. Mark's Place.
Cryptacize -- "Dig That Treasure" (Asthmatic Kitty)
With three people -- including Chris Cohen of The Curtains and former Kill Rock Stars artist Nedelle Torrisi and a drummer hired after the others saw a video of him playing the cowbell -- performing on drums, harmonica, autoharp and guitar, you can imagine that this 11-track disc is a little out of the ordinary. But the basic, lovely arrangements and Torrisi's delicate voice elevate this set even higher. It's dreamy, it's quiet, but never too smooth (check out the guitars on "No Coins," for example). It may also be one of the year's best records (although in January, I'm a little afraid to make that claim without a qualifier, like "may").
Lee "Scratch" Perry -- "Chicken Scratch" Deluxe Edition (Heartbeat)
Issued on vinyl about 20 years ago now, this collection of Lee Perry's recordings for Coxsone Dodd's Studio One label -- many in collaboration with the likes of The Wailers, The Soulettes (with Rita Marley) and The Gaylads -- was a revelation when it arrived, bringing back to light a lot of ska that was long unavailable. This new CD version includes new liner notes and even more tunes. Many of the tracks here have never appeared before on CD. Dodd gave Perry his first job in the music business and "Chicken Scratch" documents the output of this early relationship between two of Jamaican music's greatest personalities and producers.
Rafter -- "Sex Death Cassette" (Asthmatic Kitty)
This second full-length -- the first was "Music for Total Chickens" -- is the work of Rafter, raised in a hippie commune in California. The car crash of styles, brilliant exuberance and embrace of oddity exhibited no doubt can be traced to Rafter's love for Guided by Voices, but he also lists Fela Kuti and Stevie Wonder as influences and those seem to make sense, too, in this everything but the kitchen sink approach to DIY rock.
Temposhark -- "The Invisible Line" (Rephlektor)
Placebo and Bjork like this London-based eletronica-ish rock band, which has collaborated with Imogen Heap and Killing Joke's Youth. That will give you a bit of an idea of what they do. Emotive vocals fuel melodic tunes that sometimes feel like modern rock laced with technology and other times more like almost straight up club music, drawing on swirling effects and clacking drum machines. The results, however, are less schizo, more pop -- and more pleasing -- than you might think. If you liked Duran Duran, believe it or not, there's something for you here, too.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
