It is annoying when reviewers fall back on the lazy construct of the “perfect world.” “In a perfect world,” they write, “so-and-so would be a star,” or “such-and-such would be a hit.” This happens most often when an artist has the audacity to title a collection Greatest Hits when there are few if any hits, as traditionally defined, to be had within. Such gave rise to the more accurate and subjective term “best of.”

So it brought a mixture of surprise and amusement to see that Matthew Shipp’s new collection was dubbed Greatest Hits. Never mind that it covers only one 11-year swath (and on only one label, at that) of his voluminous career. Or that none of the songs came close to being a “hit” (it’s possible none have even been played on terrestrial radio or sold more than a few thousand copies).

This is not, of course, a perfect world. And even if it was perfect, Shipp probably would not have enough hits to fill an album. Not that his work isn’t to be admired or that he should not be wished all the success in the world. But if the world truly was perfect, then there must be something edgy and abstract enough to appeal to those who don’t soak up popular culture like brainless sponges. If a perfect world means that every good thing is seen as such, worth the same amount of attention and praise, that’s worse than the homogeneity of current popular music, and far from perfect.

So what is this, then? Is it the best of Shipp’s work on Thirsty Ear Records? A strong case could be made in support of that statement. But it is indeed a collection of Greatest Hits in the only place that matters: In Matthew Shipp’s mind. That’s not to suggest that he is deluded. Rather, given the parameters defined by the kind of music he likes and wants to make, this is the best there is. Reviewers ought to judge things at least in part based on what they perceive to be the artist’s intent. The Ramones should not be judged by the same criteria as Wayne Shorter, for example, for they are trying, on the micro level, to achieve very different things. On the macro level, however, they both are wildly successful at entertaining their audiences by doing what they do very well.

Such is the case with Shipp.  When he was asked a couple of years ago about his tenure at Thirsty Ear, he said:

It takes me outside myself, which as an artist it is so easy to be completely self absorbed – but bringing in other people and having a hand in some CDs is very gratifying because it reminds you that there is a whole big world of music out here and it’s not just about you. And it’s easy to think it’s just about you because it’s so hard to survive as a jazz musician that that mindset kicks in just as a defense mechanism. And also, yes, it’s giving me a chance to explore how others deal with organizing sound in a way that I would not if I was not as involved.

With that goal in mind, it is clear from the songs on Greatest Hits that he has achieved it. While his music has been varied enough — and was so even before his association with Thirsty Ear — over his career, it has gone in directions over the past decade that would have seemed unlikely without that push and pull from the artists with which he has worked and the aesthetic of which he was a part.

Take the album-opening “Gesture,” from 2000′s Pastoral Composure. He plays with musicians he had played with before — William Parker on bass, Gerald Cleaver on drums and Roy Campbell on trumpet — if not in this precise configuration. Shipp’s insistent block chording still serves as the bedrock, here, but there is a feel to this, an augmented lyricism, perhaps, that wasn’t as present in his earlier work. It is no more or less rewarding than what came before, just different, illuminating a path that he would explore more fully moving forward.

Much is made (and not too much, mind you) of Shipp’s embrace of electronic collaborators in the Blue Series, and the third track, “Cohesion” from Equilibrium, is the first of that example here. It’s a fairly standard Shipp song, the melodic content put across by Khan Jamal’s vibes instead of the horns found on the first two tracks. But it isn’t long into the song before it becomes obvious that this is something different. That is when Flam’s synths and programming pop up. They affect the song most rhythmically, the beat suddenly chopped up, staggering and lurching forward. The effect is immediate: the listener must sit up and pay attention. How does this rub up against Parker’s bass, Cleaver’s drums and Shipp’s piano? More to the point, how do those musicians respond? This is where Shipp is “exploring how others deal with organizing sound,” and the result is a driving, propulsive track.

All is not bleeps and bloops here, however; far from it. Shipp drops two solo piano pieces here: “Module” from One and “4D” from the album of the same name. Rather than stick out, they seem to adapt to their surroundings. Shipp’s playing, so wonderfully dense and rich, seems to suggest accompaniment even when it lacks it. “4D,” in particular, needs no assistance, but the mind fills it in anyway, ascribing bass and drums to Shipp’s heavy left hand.

At other times, he plays in ways that seem informed by those electronic interactions even when they are not present. The staggering beat to “Stage 10,” coupled with Shipp literally playing every part of the piano — he plucks strings inside it and stomps the pedals to create sound — make it sound like there is more going on than would seem possible by piano-bass-drums format. Would he have gotten to this point in 2012 without the collaborations of the previous decade? Knowing Shipp’s restless nature, it is safe to say he would be somewhere in this vicinity. But all of those interactions surely have affected him for the better, have delivered him to this particular address.

That’s why, ultimately, this album feels more cohesive than one would have a right to expect. Even though there is a core of musicians — Shipp, Parker, Cleaver, and drummer Whit Dickey chief among them — that made a majority of the sounds here, the various configurations and intents here would lead one to expect a rather disparate listening experience. But these all sound like — no surprise — Matthew Shipp songs, and so there is a flow here that makes this sound of  piece.

That, as we started out talking about goals, would seem to indicate a successful album, one that set out to entertain and enlighten, and met that goal with amazing results. There will be days that this will be your favorite Matthew Shipp album because it touches on such a large chunk of his back catalog in one shot. But you’ll do yourself a disservice if you stop here, for this isn’t just a compendium of radio hits that saves you from pulling out a dozen other CDs to hear them. It is a primer, the old iceberg tip. Hear this, fall in love, and then keep digging. You’ll be amazed at what you find.

I haven’t had a new story out in a while, so it is with great pleasure that I announce a new publication: My story “Even Clowns Know When to Cry” is in the latest and last issue of PULP! from Twit Publishing.

The cops asked me afterwards if I could identify the clown who threatened me, and I just laughed. How the hell can you identify a clown? I mean, enormous rainbow wig, whiteface, exaggerated lips and a red bulb nose… sure, let me see a lineup, officer.

This was a long-gestating story, so I’m happy to have it out in the world. It leads off what looks like a splendid issue of PULP! so you would be wise to pick up a copy. It’s in convenient paper or ebook versions.

The story started life as a possible song title. Listening one day to the Pontiac Brothers’ song “Clowns Join the Circus” from the great Fuzzy Little Piece of the World album, the term “even clowns know when to cry” popped into my head. It sounded like a great country music song title, and at times I took a crack at writing it… with little success.

Years later, I got the image in my mind of a guy in the hospital being visited by a clown… who threatens him with violence. Over the course of several months, with a handful of false starts along the way, I wrote what became this story.

While you wait for your copy of PULP! to arrive (there’s hardly any waiting at all if you go the ebook route… just sayin’), listen to the sweet sounds of the Pontiac Brothers.

Each year it seems my tastes stray farther from Hipsterville. I’m not strapping on the Members Only jacket and listening to Phil Collins just yet, however. It’s just that, well, I like guitars. And songs with decent lyrics. And melody.

In past years, I would pontificate a bit about each, etc. This year, I won’t even pretend that this is anything other than what it is, records that earned repeat listens in my world in 2012.

1. Japandroids – Celebration Rock
2. Jack White – Blunderbuss
3. Tame Impala – Lonerism
4. A.C. Newman – Shut Down the Streets
5. Bob Dylan – Tempest
6. Bob Mould – The Silver Age
7. Divine Fits – A Thing Called…
8. Chuck Prophet – Temple Beautiful
9-11. Guided by Voices – Let’s Go Eat the Factory/Class Clown Spots a UFO/The Bears for Lunch
12. The Tallest Man on Earth – There’s No Leaving Now
13. Mark Lanegan Band – Blues Funeral
14. dBs – Falling Off the Sky
15. Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory
16. Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
17. Kelly Hogan - I Like to Keep My Self in Pain
18. Six Organs of Admittance – Ascent
19. Sun Kil Moon – Among the Leaves
20. The Sea and Cake – Runner

Some artists certainly left me wanting this year, but with the end of the world coming tomorrow, I’ll give them a pass. I will note some welcome returns, however. It was great to see names like Young Fresh Fellows, Redd Kross, Paul Buchanan (of the Blue Nile), Graham Parker and the Rumour, and Dwight Yoakam back on the racks, among others.

Maybe 2013 will bring the time needed to actually get back to listening critically and taking notes and… aw hell. If we’re still here, I could do worse than to do what I did this year: steal a spare moment here and there and enjoy.

Hey there, Bouchercon-goers! A whole passel of us  Snubnose Press writers are going to hold our own special Noir at the Bar event from 7-8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5, at the Wonderbar, 2044 E. Fourth St., in Cleveland. It’s during Bouchercon, but you don’t need to be an attendee (or even know what Bouchercon is) to come out to this free event.

Get ready to hear from me and Josh Stallings, Jedidiah Ayres, Jonathan Woods, Eric Beetner, Les Edgerton and Dan O’Shea, all reading from our recent Snubnose releases.

If the Noir at the Bar held during the 2011 Bouchercon in St. Louis is any indication, it will be a fun night of reading, drinking and merrymaking (not necessarily in that order).

Everyone ought to have copies of our books for sale, so bring some cash and a thirst for hard-hitting noir fiction (and booze) and come out!

I took in two shows last night, something usually reserved for my Mission Creek Festival week of no sleep. But it worked perfectly, with a show by Stew at the Mill followed by a set by the Dirty Three at Gabe’s (and still home by midnight!). That’s a lot of talent in town on one night (a reminder of the go-go 90s when bands still toured), and I was so inspired by this  nexus of creativity in my town that I thought it time to dust of TIRBD for a day. So…

I didn’t know what to expect from Stew. The musician has shown he has bountiful chops when it comes to telling stories in song — his Broadway musical, “Passing Strange,” is on Netflix, and is highly recommended, and this from someone who hates musicals — but what would he do with this commission from Hancher to write songs about Iowa City? He’s a New York guy. Worldly. Sophisticated. Sure, he spent a couple of days here doing research. But how could he possibly do justice to our fair town?

What I should have realized is that Stew is at his best when he writes about… Stew. Yes, Iowa City was his putative subject, and the songs include enough references to both bring a smile to locals’ faces and surely a frown of confusion to those of outsiders. But have no doubt: Stew was singing about Stew last night. And that’s why these songs worked so well.

His clever song about the Black Angel was not about the famous statue in Oakland Cemetery. It was about a black woman who moved here from Chicago seeking a better life, a journey he has covered before. His song about “Dirty John’s,” the affectionate name for John’s Grocery, wasn’t about that family-owned corner grocery store with the stunning beer selection, but rather about his own decision to quit drinking in public. He wrote not of our flood, but of the similar devastation on a personal level brought about by the end of a relationship. There are writers who create characters through which they can tell stories far removed from their own experience — Bruce Springsteen or the Hold Steady’s Craig Finn, who Stew mirrors with his speak-singing style, come to mind — but there are others, like Stew, who filter everything through their own experience.

Superficially, that might have been a disappointment to some. Why not write about someone’s actual flood experience? Why not spend some time hanging out at George’s/ the Library/ the Ped Mall/ etc. and write about that? Why not a song about the City of Literature designation (OK, that might not be a criticism shared by all)? That surely would have pleased those who attended the two shows last night. But to give the songs resonance, and frankly, the universality that a good song requires, Stew had to comment on Iowa City by singing about Stew.

He did so with stunning backing. The band of locals more than did justice to Stew’s songs, taking the opportunity to color in the corners of the often-loose arrangements and add their own personalities. In fact, the only criticism to be leveled is that Stew cut them off too soon in spots, more worried about getting in his next line than in letting these talents find a groove and play there a little while.

Later that same night…

If I ever make a movie, Dirty Three will be on the soundtrack. The trio’s dark, sinister songs have a truly cinematic quality, slithering along quietly, contemplatively, before the coiling tension of these three musicians reaches a point where all of that energy must be released. The amount of sheer sound coming from this guitar-drums-violin combo is stunning, and the variety of textures coaxed from those instruments is impressive.

To someone not paying attention, the band name might seem a misnomer, perhaps “Dirty One plus Two” seems more fitting. Violinist Warren Ellis is a dominating stage presence, a larger-than-life, sort of outback Ian Anderson stalking around the stage, hunched one minute, unleashing a wicked kick the next. And his playing, when he enters a song, drives every piece to new heights.

But no matter how compelling Ellis’ playing  may be, it wouldn’t work without the percussive drive of drummer Jim White or the soundscapes of guitarist Mick Turner. These two — who make wonderful music on their own as the Tren Brothers — lay a foundation of roils and squalls that often sit in counterpoint to Ellis’ lines, creating a stormy sea from which the violin’s sonorous wail can burst.

At its best, the band’s music has the qualities of adventurous jazz, with enough of a structure to keep the listener grounded while allowing each of the three to venture off and explore a while. The band’s latest work misses that structure, more free-flowing in nature, seemingly truly improvised. That’s impressive in theory, but the strongest moments Thursday night came on the band’s older, more composed work.

What you miss when only experiencing the Dirty Three as a studio band, is Ellis’ stage banter. Every song is introduced with, “This song is about…” followed by a sprawling, tangent-filled story that seems to loop back on itself before coming to a close around the time Ellis runs out of breath. One could balk about being robbed of the chance to come to your own conclusions about the inspiration for these instrumental excursions, but then you realize that a) Ellis is full of shit (though entertainingly so), and b) you can’t remember what he was talking about by the time the song begins anyway.

I was left with a head full of thoughts about my town and ears full of a faintly persistent ring. All in all, a night well spent.

It was as if Steve Earle wanted to redeem himself in my eyes (or rather, ears) and decided to pick a set list that appealed primarily to me. At his show last night at the Englert in Iowa City, Earle didn’t try anything strange, such as the DJ-enhanced set a few years back that kept me away from his shows for a while. He wasn’t peddling a protest album or a bluegrass album. Instead, it felt like a legacy-building night. “Remember this? And this? And this?” he seemed to say with the performance.

He opened with the first song from his new album, I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive‘s “Waiting on the Sky.” Earle sounded in fine form, his mandocello (that’s my guess, anyway) and voice both strong. The sound mix wasn’t great, as the electric guitar of Chris Masterson (who doubled as half of the show-opening duo The Mastersons) drowned out everything else whenever it came in, and Will Rigby’s drums (would that he’d have brought his reunited dBs to open) seemed mixed with a full-on rock band, rather than the folk band in front of him, in mind.

Still, these quibbles were rendered moot as the set progressed. Earle took things from quiet folk to country-folk to folk-rock to straight-up rock as he went. Early on he dropped in three songs from his debut, Guitar Town – “My Old Friend the Blues,” “Someday” and “Guitar Town” — and sprinkled back catalog tracks liberally throughout the set. Most surprising were the four songs he plucked from the 15-year-old El Corazon — “Taneytown,” “N.Y.C.,” “Telephone Road” and the penultimate “Christmas in Washington.”

The latter was requested earlier in the day, when Earle read from his novel, also called I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive. After fielding several questions that actually pertained to his writing (a pleasant surprise, that), people began making song requests for that night’s show. One person asked for “Christmas in Washington,” calling it “Come Back Woody Guthrie.” Given that Guthrie’s 100th birthday is being celebrated this year, it seemed like a safe bet. Sure enough, Earle’s second encore started as a solo version of the song, preceded by an intro/lecture about the importance of voting this year. His band rejoined him halfway through, with Masterson finally making use of the pedal steel that teased us all night. They then launched into a version of Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land,” complete with the later verses that have been conveniently left out of school song books.

It felt more like a career overview than a tour stop in support of a specific album. Perhaps that was because Earle had already been through town once in support of the record, though I’d like to think it was more a function of the artist having reached a point in his career where he’s comfortable simply playing what he wants to play, promotional concerns be damned. Either way, it was a good show that reminded me how much I like and appreciate Earle’s music after a few years of finding his albums a bit lukewarm.

So, I saw a Mike Viola show the other night. Paid five bucks for a front-row seat.  Jealous?

You should be. Sort of. While that’s not the steal it sounds like, it was a uniquely cool experience. It was a show done through the auspices of StageIt.com, which allowed Viola to webcast a show from his basement.  Artists can set the price for their show; Viola chose “Pay What You Can,” with a suggested price of $5. To watch the show, you buy a ticket with “notes,” which each are worth a dime. So, Viola’s show was 50 notes, or none if that’s what you felt you could pay. It would seem that his audience could be limitless, but StageIt.com caps things at a certain number (that I couldn’t ascertain by looking at the website), probably to cap bandwidth costs.

I logged in a few minutes late, and Viola was already playing. He sat in front of his webcam strumming an acoustic guitar and singing. The sound was excellent, and the visuals, though a bit grainy thanks to what must be less-than-ideal light in his basement, fit well with the notion of a rock show.

After his first few songs, Viola seemed to notice the chatroom messages scrolling along his screen, and began to engage the 60 or so people tuning in. He responded to comments and questions, and played a couple of requests. It was both the most intimate and most isolating way to see a performer. The view and sound was better than any concert venue, and Viola was responding more directly than he could in that setting. But it was remote. I couldn’t shout encouragement or clap; I couldn’t feed off of the energy of those around me (at the same time, there were no hipsters taking phone calls and no one spilled beer on me).

I’d hate to see live performance go this way entirely, but for artists for whom it is not practical to stage lengthy tours to hit small pockets of fans all around the country/world, it’s a nice option. Viola is a perfect artist for this. Wildly talented yet commercially marginalized, he can appeal directly to his most rabid fans and give them a unique experience. Very unique, mind you: these shows aren’t recorded or archived. Once the screen goes black, the show is gone, just like a live experience.

In this case, he played for about 50 minutes (shows are 30 minutes, with the option for the artist of doing a 20-minute “encore”), shared stories and responded to questions from fans and colleagues (including one who convinced him to yell to his daughter upstairs to bring down his ukulele for a song). It was clear that he became more comfortable with the format as he went, growing more animated as he learned how to connect with an invisible, silent audience.

And it hopefully was lucrative. By my math, if the 60 viewers each paid $5, Viola’s take was between $180 and $255 (StageIt.com’s FAQ regarding it’s cut of the take is a bit ambiguous). In addition, viewers can “tip” the performer with their “notes,” and again, if my math is correct, Viola took in another $70 or so in tips. So that makes $250-$300 for an hour’s work, not counting the preparation for the show and setting things up with StageIt.com. Not a bad haul.

And Viola has four more shows scheduled, one for each of the next four Wednesdays.  He promises something different from that first show. In a follow-up e-mail to viewers, Viola wrote, “If you enjoyed yourself last evening I’m SO HAPPY! but it will never happen like that again. it will ALWAYS be different… next week there will be other surprises and no surprises. I’m not trying to inflate this idea, I’m just riding on the excitement of the possibilities for US and StageIt.”

I know I’ll tune in again, and I would imagine word-of-mouth from this first show will mean others will, too.

My debut short story collection, The First Cut, is now available from Snubnose Press.

The book, which gathers 14 short crime fiction stories, includes pieces previously published in a handful of crime fiction outlets, one older story and a new, previously unpublished tale.

The collection begins with “Cut,” published on Thuglit in 2007. It was subsequently anthologized in the Thuglit print collection, Blood, Guts and Whiskey. Other stories were published with Beat to a Pulp, Thrillers, Killers & Chillers, Crime Factory, Shotgun Honey and elsewhere.

The oldest story, “The Bluffs,” was published more than a decade ago in the regional journal, The Wapsipinicon Almanac. The newest is “Be on My Side,” a story previously unavailable.

Of the book, Chris F. Holm (Dead Harvest) says, “The First Cut is one hell of a collection, chock full of heart, brains, and guts — sometimes literally. Whether he’s portraying hardened criminals or fragile marriages, John Kenyon’s hand is deft, and his ear is true. He knows the tropes, and delights in turning them on their heads. Pick a story, any story. You think you know where it’s going? Then he’s got you right where he wants you. In this stunning debut, Kenyon proves The First Cut is, in fact, the deepest.” -

Ken Bruen (The Guards) writes, “John Kenyon’s stories are noir writ large with a wondrous skewed humour. The kind of stories I’d love to use as chapter headings for me next three books. I knew I was in biz, these stories sing, soar and entrance like the best of HBO darkness and humour. This is the real deal Black brilliance so fluid it seems easy.”

The collection is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online retailers.