Author: Matthew Barlow

This is the second part of my completely subjective best of 2018, music-wise.  Part I was published on Monday.  Music is a central part of my life, there is almost always music playing in our house, in our cars.  Or I am playing music.  I have a collection of musician friends, I am always amazed by their creativity.  And in the dark times we live in, I find I need music more than ever to give me some balance.  So, without further ado, the best of the second half of 2018: Wooden Shjips, V (Thrill Jockey) Essential psych rock from San Fran’s favourite sons.  More of the same, but this is a good thing, big basslines, fuzzy guitars, stoned vocals.       Black Thought, Streams of Thought Vol. 1/Streams of Thought Vol. 2 (Human Re Sources) We know Black Thought from his day job as the frontman of Philadelphia’s long-running The Roots.  From this position, Thought has distinguished himself as one of the best lyricists and deft word-smiths of hip hop.  Streams of Thought, both volumes, is essentially his solo début.  Damn.     Iggy Pop & Underworld, Teatime Dub Encounters ep (Caroline International) The legendary Iggy Pop and the equally legendary Underworld.  A collection of songs recorded in a hotel around the time of the Trainspotting 2 soundtrack.  Iggy is hilarious and profound, Underworld provide the soundtrack and Carl Hyde’s vocals serve as a counterpoint...

As we sat around over the holidays discussing the past few years, we realized that we called 2016 a tire fire.  That made 2017 a dumpster fire.  So what was 2018?  We struggled with this, but ultimately, we decided it was just a clusterbombfuck.  We invented a brand new word for 2018!  Last year wasn’t as brutal with killing musicians as 2016 and 2017 was, I guess.  But we still lost some greats last year.  Pete Shelley, of the Buzzocks is gone.  Country legend Roy Clark also checked out. The legendary French chansonier, Charles Aznavour left.  And so did Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane.  The great French-Algerian singer, Rachid Taha died of a heart attack. Rapper Mac Miller lost his battle with drugs.  The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin went to her Great Reward. Ed King of Lynyrd Skinner died. Charles Neville checked out.  So did the rapper XXXTentacion.  Legendary punk drummer, Charlie Quintana is dead.  Delores O’Riordan, frontwoman of the Crandberries is gone.  The legendary brains behind the Muscle Shoals Sound, Rick Hall left us.  Steve Soto of the Adolescents passed away. The brilliant drummer Vinnie Paul died.  The Grateful Dead’s John Perry Barlow (no relation) joined Jerry Garcia in the sky.  OK, I take it back.  2018 was a mean killer too. But we have some great music from last year’s clusterfuckbomb.  And this is my completely...

Jah Wobble The Butterfly Effect Rough Trade Jah Wobble is a legend.  He was the founding bassist of Public Image Ltd., the most essential of post-punk bands.  PiL (comprised initially of John Lydon, Keith Levene, Jim Walker, and Wobble) essentially invented post-punk with their first two albums, 1978’s First Issue and 1979’s Metal Box. Wobble brought a new way of playing bass to rock music, heavily influenced as he was by reggae and dub.  His big, fat basslines were the perfect counter punch to Levene’s jarring, metallic guitars and Lydon’s singular voice. Wobble quit PiL in 1980 and seemingly faded into obscurity.  There is an apocryphal story of him working on The Tube in London in the mid-80s and announcing into the PA system, ‘I used to be somebody. I repeat, I used to be somebody.’ He resurfaced in the early 90s with The Invaders of the Heart, heavily influenced by dub, reggae, as well as Middle Eastern music.  The album, Rising Above Bedlam, featured the hit single ‘Visions of You,’ with Sinéad O’Connor on vocals.  It was and remains one of the most mesmerizing songs I’ve ever heard, as much for Sinéad’s voice as Wobble’s bass.  Since then, he has regained his musical mojo and has released more albums, eps, and singles than I can count. Wobble’s music is instantly recognizable, I don’t think there is another bassist in the history of...