A half dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:
Adam Greenwald of Minneapolis:
1 Disco Death Records. Brought to you by the fine fellas of the now defunct Dead Media, Disco Death, 721 W. 26th St. near Lyndale, is now serving up $6.66 specialty coffee drinks, records and good vibes. And they have a basement lab for film development to boot!
2 Collapsing Stars. Before the pandemic put the kibosh on album release plans, this Twin Cities based folk-rock quartet drummed up quite the buzz being named a top 100 SXSW artist by NPR Music. Catch them live at Icehouse Oct. 8 for their long-awaited album release party.
3 Explosions in the Sky, "Big Bend." Remember this one? Originating as a soundtrack to a PBS nature documentary in 2021, "Big Bend" is best viewed in its entirety on the band's YouTube channel. Pro tip: save the playlist to your library and revisit often.
Jon Bream, Star Tribune critic:
1 Yola, First Avenue. In 2020 at the Fine Line, this Brit living in Nashville impressed. At First Ave, she wowed. What effortlessly spectacular singing on country-soul, disco, full-bore rockers and impassioned covers of Aretha Franklin, Elton John and Anita Baker. Vocally, there were shades of Dusty Springfield and Tina Turner with more power, and Yola was as chatty and charming as Adele.
2 "Moonage Daydream." Like David Bowie's career, this authorized documentary is artful, unpredictable and often exciting. Filmmaker Brett Morgen had access to Bowie's archives (paintings, sculptures, interviews, concert and private footage) but he didn't make a linear or comprehensive biopic. Using only Bowie's speaking voice and those of interviewers, Morgen gives us a film that matches what Bowie calls the throughline of his work: chaos and fragmentation.
3 "Monarch." There is only one reason to watch Fox's cliched new country music soap opera, which is sudsier than bubble bath. Beth Ditto stands out as the underdog, untelegenic, hard-working, married lesbian daughter of country's royal couple (Susan Sarandon and Trace Adkins). She has a tremendous singing voice (the best in the family) and acting ability.
