Komar & Melamid / David Soldier

The People's Choice Music: The Most Wanted Song, The Most Unwanted Song

1997

Avant-Prog

The supposed result of a survey regarding the American population's musical likes and dislikes, The People's Choice Music is one of the avant-garde world's greatest pranks, particularly for the 22-minute post-modern opus "The Most Unwanted Song." An operatic cowgirl rapping about Wittgenstein! Kids screaming about where to do your holiday shopping over a drum machine-driven polka beat! Lots of bagpipes, tubas, accordions, and sporadic noise bursts! Adding to the absurdity, someone reissued this masterpiece on 8-track tape this year.

- Paul Simpson

D.J. Rogers

D.J. Rogers

January, 1973

Soul

Cut for the Shelter label in 1973, before Rogers gained some exposure on RCA and Columbia, the eponymous album features plenty of the gospel-inflected soul the singer/producer/arranger would become known for. In fact, the bulk here is squarely bent on the kind of community-driven positivism found in the black church. And the music certainly reflects the lofty sentiments, as strings, choral singing, and urbane soul grooves ensure a truly inspired mix.

- Stephen Cook