A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:
Birthday Suits, Blind Shake and Vampire Hands, Turf Club. Vampire Hands with Colin Johnson were transcendent and compelling -- seriously making me wish Johnson would move back to Minnesota and continue on with this great band. Birthday Suits brought unrivaled energy, excitement and intensity to the stage. Great Minnesota music by this same lineup three Januarys in a row.
Retribution Gospel Choir, "Hide It Away." Alan Sparhawk has made great music with Low. This first single from his other band's "2" is a great start to the next decade and has me excited to hear the rest of the album.
Young@Heart, PBS. Watching these senior citizens do an excellent job singing Sonic Youth and Coldplay was inspiring. Great movie and great story.
BRENDAN NELSON, ST. PAUL
TO CONTRIBUTE: POPMUSIC@STARTRIBUNE.COM
"I Am Ozzy" by Ozzy Osbourne. His bleeping autobiography is more outrageous than his reality show, more toxic than his diet of drugs 'n' booze and probably less accurate than your absent-minded uncle. Favorite chapter: "Des Moines," which includes his courting Sharon and biting a live bat onstage.
"Dreamgirls," Orpheum. The modern LED backdrops and the added "Listen" (from the film) enhance this 1980s warhorse. The stand-out is not the screaming Moya Angela as Effie but the nimble, comical and versatile Chester Gregory as the Morris Day-meets-James Brown Jimmy Early. Gregory's got soul.
