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Review: Jonsi
(Above: This live version of “Grow Till Tall” doesn’t begin to capture the emotion of experiencing it in person.) By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star When bands play Liberty Hall, they usually park...
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Review: Metric
(Above: Metric get raw for “Monster Hospital” on August 12, 2012, at the Beaumont Club in Kansas City, Mo.) By Joel Francis The Daily Record It took a few songs for Metric’s set to get off the ground...
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Must-see bands at the 80-35 Festival
(Above: Ziggy Marley will perform at this year’s 80-35 festival, but there are many great bands waiting to be discovered.) By Joel Francis The Kansas City Star Over the past six years, the 80-35 music...
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Social Distancing Spins, Day 3
By Joel Francis Our trawl through my world of vinyl continues. Various Artists – Stroke It Noel: Big Star’s Third in Concert (2017) To butcher the cliché, probably not everyone who bought a Big Star...
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Social Distancing Spins, Day 9
By Joel Francis A 30-day lockdown in my hometown of Kansas City, Mo. was announced today. It looks like this trek through my record collection will continue a while longer. Bruce Springtsteen – Western...
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Social Distancing Spins – Day 18
By Joel Francis The journey through my record collection continues. Pet Shop Boys – Actually (1987) The Pet Shop Boys’ second album is the strongest in their still-growing catalog (Behaviour is a...
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Social Distancing Spins – Days 26 and 27
By Joel Francis Nice weather and conference calls are an anathema to playing records. Jay-Z – The Black Album (2003) Reading Jay-Z’s book Decoded has me turning back to his old albums for the first...
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Social Distancing Spins – Day 38
By Joel Francis Watching the anti-quarantine protests and five o’clock follies, I am trying to take comfort in these words by Walt Whitman: Meditating among liars, and retreating sternly intomyself, I...
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Social Distancing Spins – Day 53
By Joel Francis Insurgence DC – Broken in the Theater of the Absurd (2019) Insurgence DC formed in the late ‘80s, but Broken in the Theater of the Absurd is just their third album, arriving 19 years...
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Social Distancing Spins – Days 62-65
By Joel Francis Robert Fripp and Brian Eno – Evening Star (1975)Brian Eno and Kevin Shields – The Weight of History (2018) The second album from King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp and former Roxy...
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