An Open Letter: Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Folks -

Effective Friday, I resigned my post as editor of OffBeat Magazine. OffBeat started at the same time that I moved to New Orleans - Summer, 1988 - so it has been a part of my life in New Orleans since I arrived. I started writing for it in 1997, first as a book columnist, then as a book columnist and a rock columnist, then as a features writer and CD reviewer. In 2004, I moved to Gambit to be the music editor, but when Gambit couldn't hire me back after Hurricane Katrina, OffBeat offered me the vacated editor's chair, which I occupied from January of 2006 until days ago.

I can't thank Jan Ramsey and Joseph Irrera enough for the opportunity they gave me. I strengthened my writing and critical voice while working at OffBeat, and my thoughts about many things changed during that time. When I freelanced, I thought the magazine would benefit from broadening its vision to be more inclusive of such aesthetic fellow travelers as regional Americana acts. After a very short time in the editor's chair, I realized that there were always going to be more New Orleans and South Louisiana stories that I'd want to tell than I'd have space for, and folding in Mississippi bluesmen and Texas country artists became a low priority.

Jan and Joseph gave me a platform to explore stories, methods of storytelling, and media for storytelling, and for that I thank them. Most of what I know about technology I learned in the process of trying to solve a problem at the magazine or on its website. Working at OffBeat has given me a reason to think seriously about the role of technology in contemporary media and how it can serve storytelling and community-building needs.

John Swenson recommended me to Jan and Joseph, and for that among many things I thank him. Working at OffBeat also gave me a chance to help tell the story of New Orleans after Katrina, which was important to me at so many levels. In 2006, a writer proposed a column after life in his neighborhood after the storm and floods, and I said yes. The column's debut encountered delays, and in the time when I was waiting for the copy, I realized that every story we did was a post-Katrina story, and that every story we would tell for the next few years would have Katrina as a backdrop whether it was written into the text or not. At that point, I told the writer the yet-to-arrive column wasn't needed anymore. We have covered how the New Orleans music community returned and in what form it has reconstituted itself, and that has been our honor.

The growth and success of the magazine came with a price, though. Working on the magazine, the Weekly Beat and the website forced me to be an editor most of the time and writer when I could squeeze it in. I'm very proud of my work as an editor, but I wanted to get back to a better balance and the thing I've done since I reviewed a Stranglers album in the high school newspaper - write.

At some point in the next two to three weeks, I'll debut MySpiltMilk.com, my website focused on "the cream of New Orleans and beyond." In the meantime, I'll write here. I'm still in business, and you can reach me through Twitter, Facebook, and by writing alex@myspiltmilk.com. My snail mail address is Alex Rawls / 3805 Laurel St. / NOLA 70115 and my phone number's 504-813-1576.

I'm sorry that I won't be working with Ben Berman, Elsa Hahne, Aaron Lafont and Katie Walenter on a daily basis anymore; they've been great colleagues and friends. I'm also privileged to have worked with so many talented writers during my time at OffBeat, but it's time to move on. I look forward to seeing you and/or working with you at MySpiltMilk.com.

Alex

This Week and More: May 28, 2012

Tonight, YACHT plays One Eyed Jacks. Here's a Spotify playlist with music from the week and more.
1. "The Doorway" - Pierced Arrows: Playing tonight at Siberia.
2. "Better Off Dead" - The Wipers: Classic and too often overlooked American punk from Portland.
3. "(I'm) Out of It" - The Nomads: Great Swedish garage punk (who I thought of because they do a great version of "Better Off Dead" on Powerstrip.
4. "Sixteen Saltines" - Jack White: from Blunderbuss. I have yet to pay attention much past this point in the album.
5. "E=MC2" (12" remix) - Big Audio Dynamite: From the second disc of the Legacy Edition of This is Big Audio Dynamite, which I skipped when it came out. Now I love how this version opens up the dubwise bass.
 6. "Freaking Out" - Toro Y Moi: Cool, contemporary/retro funk & the title track from last year's EP.

7. "Mama Used to Say" - Junior: Retro funk inspired by "Freaking Out."
8. "Banana Ripple" - Junior Boys: I have a soft spot for this electropop duo since they're from Hamilton, Ontario, where I lived for 10-plus years. But not while they were together.
9. "I'll Be Your Mirror" - YACHT: Playing One Eyed Jacks tonight.
10. "Ne Dis Pas (Girl Don't Tell Me)" - Souvenir: A lovely French Beach Boys cover from Caroline Now, an album of well-chosen Beach Boys covers including "I Wanna Pick You Up" by Alex Chilton.
11. "Credit in the Straight World" - Young Marble Giants: An obsession when I DJ'ed at CFMU in Hamilton.
12. "Listen to My Heels" - Theresa Andersson. From her new Street Parade album, which is really smart and more playful than is immediately obvious.
13. "Wild" - Beach House: Each time I listen to a track or three from Bloom, I think I need to spend more time with this album.
14. "Hold Me Close" - Flux Pavilion: Playing the Republic Wednesday.
15. Step - Kid Sister w/ Estelle: People loved or hated Kid Sister's Ultraviolet. The middle of the album gets thin for me, and I knew "Pro Nails" too well when the album came out to still get excited about it, but the first third of album's great fun.
16. "Ripe" - GIVERS: I wanted to see if I still like this album as much as I did when it came out. I do.
17. Aboulaguine Akaline - Bombino: A highlight from this year's Jazz Fest, along with Seun Kuti.
18. Too Many People - Paul McCartney: Maybe the first album I bought (Ram) and the first Fab Macca album on Spotify. I'm very pleasantly surprised at how good and eccentric it sounds.

(Coming soon: MySpiltMilk.com)

Caroling Pub Crawl

Tuesday night is the 3rd Caroling Pub Crawl. Once again, we're taking beer and Christmas to the people of Uptown whether they want us or not. Last year, we successfully wassailed and were fed & offered booze by one family, and while I can't promise we'll meet with similar results this year, it should be another spirited celebration of the season. As someone who sings in the key of L, I can testify that singing ability is not required. Christmas sweaters are a positive addition to the event but similarly not required.

We meet at 7 p.m. at the Kingpin and wander from there. The route and stops will be worked out on the fly, but last year we went to Magazine Street and trolled along there through bars and restaurants and that worked pretty well. Kat and I found a house with great Christmas lights that might need some singing.

If you need a little help getting in the mood, here's my Spotify Christmas mix and this year's downloadable Christmas mix. Here's the song list for the latter:
1. O Come All Ye Faithful - Julian Koster's Singin Saw
2. Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time - Sufjan Stevens
3. Happy Sound's Christmas - Happy Sound
4. This Christmas Day - Don Rich
5. I'm Your Christmas Friend - James Brown
6. Black Christmas - The Harlem Children's Chorus
7. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear - Lew Charles
8. Little Drummer Boy - Ellis Marsalis
9. Santa's North Pole Band - Line Material
10. Run Rudolph Run - Keith Richards
11. Welcome Christmas - from How the Grinch Stole Christmas
12. The Christmas Song - Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66
13. Deck the Halls - Mirror Image
14. Love for Christmas - the Ebbonaires
15. Funky Funky Christmas - New Kids on the Block
16. It's Christmas Every Day - Hank Thompson
17. Blue Christmas - Tommy Wills
18. Joy to the World - St. Amanita
19. I'll Be Home for Christmas - Wayne King and His Orchestra
20. You're All I Want for Christmas - Brook Benton
21. Good King Wenceslas - John Fahey
22. It Doesn't Often Snow on Christmas - Pet Shop Boys
23. Marshmallow World - Darlene Love
24. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Andre Kostelanetz
25. (It's a) Happy Holiday - The Shells
26. Be There for Christmas - Ledisi
27. Jingle Bells - Marcus Roberts
28. The Christmas Polka - Jim Reeves
29. Merry Christmas, Everybody - Stompin' Tom Connors
30. I'll Be Home for Christmas - Al Green
31. Santa Doesn't Cop Out on Dope - Sonic Youth

My Kind of Merry Christmas

"Christmas songs have to be joyous, even if for all the wrong reasons," John Waters told me in 2004. "They have to be amazing.” I've let that be my guiding logic when I collect Christmas songs for CDs, playlists on Spotify, or this, this year's downloadable Christmas mixtape. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas.

1. O Come All Ye Faithful - Julian Koster's Singin Saw

2. Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time - Sufjan Stevens
3. Happy Sound's Christmas - Happy Sound
4. This Christmas Day - Don Rich
5. I'm Your Christmas Friend - James Brown
6. Black Christmas - The Harlem Children's Chorus
7. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear - Lew Charles
8. Little Drummer Boy - Ellis Marsalis
9. Santa's North Pole Band - Line Material
10. Run Rudolph Run - Keith Richards
11. Welcome Christmas - from How the Grinch Stole Christmas
12. The Christmas Song - Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66
13. Deck the Halls - Mirror Image
14. Love for Christmas - the Ebbonaires
15. Funky Funky Christmas - New Kids on the Block
16. It's Christmas Every Day - Hank Thompson
17. Blue Christmas - Tommy Wills
18. Joy to the World - St. Amanita
19. I'll Be Home for Christmas - Wayne King and His Orchestra
20. You're All I Want for Christmas - Brook Benton
21. Good King Wenceslas - John Fahey
22. It Doesn't Often Snow on Christmas - Pet Shop Boys
23. Marshmallow World - Darlene Love
24. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Andre Kostelanetz
25. (It's a) Happy Holiday - The Shells
26. Be There for Christmas - Ledisi
27. Jingle Bells - Marcus Roberts
28. The Christmas Polka - Jim Reeves
29. Merry Christmas, Everybody - Stompin' Tom Connors
30. I'll Be Home for Christmas - Al Green
31. Santa Doesn't Cop Out on Dope - Sonic Youth

For those who like a more active Christmas celebration, Kat and I will once again lead the third annual Caroling Pub Crawl at 7 p.m., December 13 leaving from The Kingpin (1307 Lyons St.). We hope you'll join us, and as is the case every year, talent is optional.

The Rich at Play

What's wrong with Mick Jagger's Superheavy? I'll start and end by questioning the imagination that went into it. Over at Spotify, I posted a playlist of an alternative version of the album - songs by the same name but by other artists before Jagger, etc. The process took all of nine minutes.

Hold the Line(s)

Today, Peter Finney wrings his hands in The Times-Picayune about the condition of the Saints' offensive and defensive lines. They weren't impressive, but they were my one source of concern going into Thursday's game simply because of the amount of change in both units during a very short pre-season. Our O line has two new bodies in Olin Kreutz and Zach Streif (as a starter), and our front seven on defensive is undergoing major transition, particularly in the first two weeks with Will Smith out. With all that change going on, it didn't surprise me that they didn't play as well as units as they needed to, and I suspect if that game took place a month from now, we'd see a stouter set of lines.

ESPN's Fickle and Had Bad Taste

ESPN has a new boyfriend in the NFC. A few weeks ago, the sports networks was steady on the arm of Mike Vick and all his new hunky pals on the Philadelphia Eagles. Eagles were "The Dream(y) Team" and were obviously ready for the Super Bowl.

After the preseason suggested that the Eagles' offensive line may have trouble protecting Vick and opening holes for Ronnie Brown, ESPN's love has moved to the Atlanta Falcons. This morning, on "Mike and Mike," Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic picked Atlanta to win the NFC South (neither see the Saints even earning a wild card spot in the playoffs!), and Golic has the Falcons going to the Super Bowl.

Later in the morning, Colin Cowherd spoke out against the conventional wisdom that put the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl in favor of the Falcons because the Falcons have a very forgiving schedule. The only problem with that analysis is that the Saints have a very similar schedule with two breaks the Falcons don't get. Saints play the Bears in the Superdome while the Falcons have to go to Chicago. The Falcons face one more Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback (one of Cowherd's yardsticks) in Michael Vick when they play the Eagles in a game that's sure to have Twilight-like implications in the battle for ESPN's love, while the Saints play the wounded New York Giants and the boy-next-door Eli Manning.

I'm always surprised by how much statistical information ESPN collects before throwing it all out in favor of the results it wants or the intangibles its narratives.