Yeah, I know … e’rybody and they grammomma’z doin’ lists this time of year but …
Last weekend, I was working on ideas for the Weekly’s cover to go with our music writers’ playlists for 2009. The above started out as my “sketch” for it using the album art of some of my own selections for the year. We ended up changing the words and most of the album art when I got the writers’ actual picks. But I figured since I already made this graphic, I may as well list mine too. So … uh … yeah. Here it is starting off with ones pictured in the type.

Prince “Dreamer” from Lotusflow3r
Kid Cudi feat. Kanye West & Common “Make Her Say” from Man on the Moon: The End of Day
Neko Case “I’m An Animal” from Middle Cyclone
Two Fingers “What You Know” from Two Fingers
Jay Z & Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind” from The Blueprint 3
Miike Snow “Cult Logic” from Miike Snow
The XX “Islands” from 2.0
Bats for Lashes “Pearl’s Dream” from Two Suns
2000F & J Kamata “You Don’t Know What Love Is” from DigiLove 12″
Däm Funk “Hood Pass Intact” from Toeachizown
Drake & Lykke Li “Little Bit” from So Far Gone
Bassnectar “Cozza Frenzy” from Cozza Frenzy
Lucero “Smoke” from 1372 Overton Park
Amanda Blank “A Love Song” from I Love You
Animal Collective “My Girls” from Merriweather Post Pavillion
Mos Def “Casa Bey” from The Ecstatic
Mayer Hawthorne “Green Eyed Love” from A Strange Arrangement
Major Lazer “Pon de Floor” from Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do
The Avett Brothers “The Perfect Space” from I and Love and You
Maxwell “Badhabits” from BLACKsummer’snight
Chromeo “Night By Night (Skream Remix)”
Oasis “(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady (Devendra Banhart’s The 29th May Mix)”
from Dig Out Your Soul Bonus Disc #2
Passion Pit “The Reeling” from Manners
Phoenix “Countdown (Sick For The Big Sun)” from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Pearl Jam “Just Breathe” from Backspacer

Steve Martin packed out the Jaqua Concert Hall last Sunday night. I only saw the first three songs but I’m willing to bet the whole show was a hoot. Steve was working in jokes between the banjo jams and had the crowd captivated from the instant he walked on stage. If you were at the show, leave comments and let me know whatcha thought.

Also, Bill Maher returns to Eugene to make us laugh and re:up his stash Friday, Nov. 13th.

I love the illustration style and animation in this video. While watching it (again) this morning on Air’s YouTube channel, I came across the one below – Air & Phoenix doing “Sexy Boy”. I guess I never realized that the two bands worked together. But thanks to some random skimming, I found out that Thomas from Phoenix also sang on “Playground Love” (from The Virgin Suicides score … still one of my favorite albums).

Click to enlarge:

Here are a couple of shots from Glover’s OBF performance last Friday night. Click here or on either image to see the whole gallery.
For a proper review, check out Gwen Curran‘s piece at the RG. I don’t think I could sum up the experience up better than she did here:

… he taps out mind- bending polyrhythms with a dexterity that shows him as a percussionist as well as a dancer.

Directing the chamber ensemble of eight string musicians with his feet and his eyes, he moves with, against, and in between the rhythms of the composer. Sometimes his feet seem to be barely moving and then he will stomp or jump. He finds the unique groove in every piece, putting percussion in concertos, suites and quartets that usually do not have an obvious beat.

The last part she described is what wowed me the most at the show. Savion would throw hip hop and funk grooves (that actually worked) over the classical composition and then spin back into some super intricate rhythms that would compliment the song in a totally different way.

Mind. officially. blown.

In the q&a he did in the studio Friday morning, he mentioned his next production may be a show called Percussion Discussion. Just Savion and a percussion ensemble … in the dark. It would give the audience the chance to focus completely on the sounds he’s creating without watching his steps.
Some may say that he musta gotta hold of some of that Eugene green but I think he’s really onto something. His feet were the drums in Classical Savion and he was hitting rhythms I never would’ve expected. So I’d definitely be into seeing listening to Percussion Discussion.

This morning Savion Glover gave a demonstration and speech geared towards children at the Hult’s Soreng Theatre …

Savion began by stating that he’s really a hoofer … not so much a tap dancer. Then he explained the difference between the two. Tap is more for the audience’s entertainment. Hoofing is for the entertainment, I mean, “edutainment” of both the artist and audience. He said a hoofer will start off with some moves that acknowledge the crowd and then transition into a zone of their own. It’s something that could easily be compared to a jazz solo. Think Coltrane catching the Holy Ghost. Eventually the hoofer will check back in with the audience to see “who’s listening or who’s getting it.”

Savion then gave a brief history of how he became the dancer that he is today. He started out as a drummer in a band called Three Plus. “There were three other guys in the band and I was the plus.” He began learning tap at the age of 7 and quickly attracted attention which lead to roles in Black and Blue and The Tap Dance Kid. Glover aborbed everything he could from the old school hoofers and continued practicing. He eventually caught the eye of Gregory Hines and landed a role in Tap along side Sammy Davis Jr. and Hines. Later on in his career, he choreographed a show himself (the award-winning Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk). Most recently, he co-choregraphed the steps and was the central motion-capture dancer for the main character, Mumble, in Happy Feet.

And then Savion moved into demonstrating some steps and talking about the variety of vibes in rhythms. He also explained how the wood platform was his instrument. (The platform has pickups like a guitar and was designed by Hines.)

After the demonstration, he did a quick Q&A with the audience. I was just waiting for the Sesame Street question. ; ) Glover said he really enjoyed his time on the Street and that it was cool to learn a lot of the behind-the-scene secrets that he wouldn’t share with the young audience. Didn’t want to spoil the magic for anybody.

He ended by inviting one of the young’ns up that asked a question. The boy, Isaac Luger, mentioned earlier that he was drummer so Savion asked him to play a paradiddle on the stage. When Luger started, Glover began to improvise to the rhythm. It was definitely the highlight of the hour. Afterwards, Isaac was all smiles taking a bow, saying thanks and soaking in the applause. He even told Savion that they make a great team. And Savion replied, “Well we’ll have your people call my people and we’ll set something up.”

When the show was over, I went over to Isaac to give him props for his performance and he gave me his official quote for the Weekly:
“It was a fabulous experience to be invited on stage by one of the world’s greatest hoofers!”

Goooooood stuff!

CLICK HERE (or on any image) to see more photos from “Savion On Tap”.

AND DON’T FORGET:
1. Tomorrow night – Classical Savion at the Hult Center.
2. You can still pick up EW’s Guide to the OBF at the Hult or check it out online.

Also be sure to grab Supa Qool DJ Uncle Q’s Maxwell Mix!