Project 1001: Modern Kosmology by Jane Weaver
Discovering something new to me is the whole point of this project. I’m so glad this is today’s selection! This album is impressive. Jane Weaver was completely unknown to me before now. But I very much enjoyed this entire album. Lots of cool soundscapes and some really interesting concepts within the songs. While cutting the record, Weaver was influenced by ‘70s prog rock, Pink Floyd, krautrock1, and space-rock band Hawkwind.2 All these inspirations and her own previous work amalgamate into something very listenable and different. I highly recommend you give this disc a spin. My rating:
Let me know if you have known about Jane Weaver and what you think of the album and the playlist below.
Louder called Modern Kosmology Weaver’s “most focused and beguiling release yet”.
“But for all their sonic innovation, Weaver remains a singer and songwriter first and foremost, and on Modern Kosmology, she achieves a greater clarity by stripping her new sound back to its core elements.”3
The Financial Times (yes, the Financial Times!!!) wrote:
“Jane Weaver shares with Goldfrapp an imaginative attraction to two seemingly divergent musical paths from the 1970s, the acoustic bewitchments of English psychedelic folk and the analogue futurism of synthesiser music. Her impressive sixth album Modern Kosmology traces affinities between the styles.”4
And AllMusic raved about the album:
Playing most of the instruments herself, with help from the occasional drummer or guitarist, she creates a world of sound that envelops the listener in much the same way that the tendrils of synths wrap around her rich, woody vocals. From the opening notes of the album, she weaves a sonic spell that doesn't break, or even bend. The tempos may change, the mood may shift a bit here and there, the arrangement may go from dense to sparse, but through it all Weaver conducts the sound like a magician in full command of her powers.5
Enjoy and listen without prejudice. Cheers!
Prime Playlist: 226. Modern Kosmology by Jane Weaver
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For details about this project, read this: Project 1001 Albums
Charts
• Peak on Billboard 200 album chart: n/a
• Singles on Billboard Hot 100 chart: n/a
• RIAA certification: n/a
Released on May 19, 2017. Here’s what else was happening:
Pop Culture
• Number one song: “That’s What I Like” by Bruno Mars6
• Number one album: Damn by Kendrick Lamar7
• Number one movie: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 by James Gunn8
• Most watched TV programs: Sunday Night Football, Thursday Night Football, The Big Bang Theory, The Walking Dead, This is Us, Empire, Grey’s Anatomy, The Bachelor, The Voice, Modern Family, Designated Survivor, How To Get Away With Murder, Survivor, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Scandal, Chicago Fire9
• NYT bestseller, fiction: Golden Prey by John Sandford10
• NYT bestseller, non-fiction: Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant11
Some other albums released around that time
• Harry Styles by Harry Styles
• The God Box by David Banner
• World Be Gone by Erasure
• The King & I by Faith Evans and The Notorious B.I.G.
• One More Light by Linkin Park
• Crooked Teeth by Papa Roach
• Back to Us by Rascal Flatts
• Different Days by The Charlatans12
Sport
• May 14 PGA Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: 21-year-old South Korean Kim Si-woo shoots final round 69 to win by 3 strokes ahead of Louis Oosthuizen and Ian Poulter.
• May 20 142nd Preakness Stakes: Javier Castellano aboard Cloud Computing wins in 1 minute 55.98 seconds.
• May 28 Indianapolis 500: Japanese ex-Formula 1 driver Takuma Sato of Andretti Autosport becomes first Asian to win the race; Brazilian Hélio Castroneves finishes just 0.2011 seconds behind13
Notable Births
TBD
Historical Events
• May 21 Barnum & Bailey Circus performs for the last time at the Nassau Coliseum in NYC after 146 years.
• May 22 Japanese researchers from University of Yamanashi report birth of mice from freeze-dried sperm stored on the International Space Station.
• May 22 Suicide bombing at Manchester Arena, England, after Ariana Grande concert kills 22 and injures 59.14
Notable Deaths
• May 14 Brad Grey, American film and TV producer (Happy Gilmore, The Departed, The Larry Sanders Show, Sopranos), Chairman of Paramount Pictures, dies of cancer at 59.
• May 14 Powers Boothe, American Actor (Sin City, Deadwood), dies at 68.
• May 18 Chris Cornell, American musician (Soundgarden, Audioslave), commits suicide at 52.
• May 18 Roger Ailes, American TV executive and CEO of Fox News (1996-2016), dies at 77.
• May 23 Roger Moore, British actor (The Saint, James Bond), dies at 89.
• May 26 Jim Bunning, American Baseball HOF pitcher (9 x MLB All-Star; perfect game 1964; no-hitter 1958; Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies) and politician (US Senator Kentucky 1999-2011; US Representative 1987-99), dies of a stroke at 85
• May 26 Zbigniew Brzezinski, Polish-American national security advisor to President Carter (1977-1981), dies at 89.
• May 27 Gregg Allman, American Hammond organist, guitarist and vocalist (The Allman Brothers Band - "Whipping Post"), dies of cancer at 69.
• May 29 Manuel Noriega, Panamanian general and dictator (1983-89), dies at 8315
For those unfamiliar with krautrock, here is a primer of sorts Beginner's Guide to Krautrock
Ibid.