boston progress radio

Shuffled! is a regular column appearing most Thursdays here on BPRLive. Each column, we welcome someone from the API* community to share some thoughts about the music they listen to. Check out the Shuffled! archive for past articles. (Apologies readers, we are no longer linking to online playlists.)

Today’s Shuffler: Charles Kim

All is music, they say. Charles, also known as Chuck, has been on a quest to figure out what exactly that means. His love of music ranges from the rhythmic samba of Brazil, to the swinging jazz of the US, and the dissonant vocality of Korean Arirang. But again, all is music. He finds harmonic beauty in his work as a community-based arts organizer and music instructor. He also finds melodic freedom through the halls of academia. While currently studying the relationship of the aesthetic to the spiritual life, he hopes to one day be a professor who begins each lecture with a Stevie Wonder tune and ends with a mass cipher.

His unauthorized thoughts can be found at: charleskim.wordpress.com.

All is shuffle…

So for those of you that know about my ridiculous music collection, shuffling my music is like jumping into an abyss. Don’t know where I’ll land, what I’ll run into, what I’ll grab hold of. I actually haven’t listened to about 70% of my collection yet (my music mentor gave me his $20k collection before I left to Boston). Now, you’re probably either jealous or unnerved by such a gargantuan thing. Or just annoyed that I won’t get to my song reflections. So in order to make this a bit more viable for me, I’ve decided to shuffle the playlists I’ve created since high school. Here goes…

Café Com Pão
Chico Pinheiro
Chico Pinheiro was introduced to me by my jazz mentor Kamau Kenyatta (myspace.com/kamaukenyatta). He’s this Brazilian cat who’s taking the jazz world by storm. A young guitarist and composer. Also my favorite Brazilian artist. I feel like you could just cut up segments of his solos and create global pop hits out of the melodies. He’s just that amazing. Fearless, soulful and intellectual. Each time I listen to this tune, I always have to take a seat wherever I’m at, light up a smoke and just appreciate what’s around me. It’s just one of those kinds of songs.

Paranoid Android
Radiohead
Ah yes… the one and only Radiohead. This is the song that helped me recognize that all is music. Radiohead has this insatiable greed to take influences from all genres of music and make it their own. I remember I was sitting in my college dorm room when I first heard this tune. You should’ve seen the look on my face. It was a not-fully-formed-yet stank face mixed with one of wondrous surprise. This song takes you on a ride… through the melodic and gritty… the acoustic and the electronic… the grooving and the rocking.

Gravity’s Hold
Tim Be Told
Just met these guys over the weekend in NYC. We were sharing the stage for Kollaboration. Beautiful, sincere and melodic music. I’ve been listening to these guys non-stop. I had the wonderful privilege of growing up in a strong, secure Korean-American church community. And for those of you that know, we got a particular sentiment and sound in our church music. I feel like these guys took that sentiment to the next level (but I’m also assuming that they too have such a history). It’s not church music per se. It’s universal in the sense that it’s just damn good. The music tears my heart out. Love it.

Of Dreams to Come
Robert Glasper
The Boston Progress folks will laugh when they see this. For those of you that don’t know, I’ve been utterly obsessed with Robert Glasper these days. He’s probably THE freshest, hippest jazz artist I’ve heard in years. He plays with the harmonic sophistication of jazz, the rhythmic cadence of gospel, and with the underlying impulse of hip hop. I mean, this cat not only plays with the greatest jazz cats in the world, but he’s also the music director for Mos Def, Q-Tip, Maxwell, Bilal, etc. He was also Dilla’s go-to guy for the keys. Enough said right? This song in particular takes my mind and soul on a journey. The feel is a waltz… but you would’ve never guessed it. There’s this consistent push and pull where the rhythm itself is dissonant. It’s incredible really. It’s just one of those tunes where you gotta pour out some wine, light some candles, and just blast it. It’s a trip, to say the least.

Romulus
Sufjan Stevens
I’m a sucker for folk. I love the simple guitar and singer music. There’s such a nakedness to it that commands my respect (well… if it’s good). This song is just one of those perfectly crafted tunes. Just enough guitar, just enough piano, just enough mandolin… etc. I love Sufjan’s compositions. They’re just pleasant to listen to.

Man… I could do this all day! When’s the next time I can shuffle???

Last 5 posts by shuffled

• Shuffled! North Star of the BROWNSTAR Revolution - December 10th, 2009
• Shuffled! Pen Khek Chear - November 25th, 2009
• Shuffled! Maanav Thakore - November 19th, 2009
• Shuffled! Jerry Ma - August 13th, 2009
• Shuffled! Tanzila Ahmed - August 6th, 2009

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