(Update, January 2019 – this page is in the process of being updated.)
About the Blog:
‘Misfit City’ is an exploration of Dann Chinn’s diverse and questionable taste in music, and an attempt to share it with whoever is interested. The blog covers a wide range of musical approaches and styles, and reflects on them in detail.
Between 1997 and 2004 ‘Misfit City’ was an online music webzine: Dann has now revived and continued the work as a blog and Facebook page. As such, it’s an ongoing archive, containing new material written from late 2011 onwards plus reviews, articles and musings written (and sometimes misplaced) from about 1990 onwards. Coverage is currently being re-arranged back into chronological order (according to event and/or release date, rather than date of writing), superseding the previous ahistorical mess.
Dann hopes to expand ‘Misfit City’ into other areas, given time and inspiration – but for now it’s just one man and his ears.
About the Blogger:
Dann Chinn has been listening to music for as long as he can remember, and writing for almost as long as that. Over the years he’s built up a broad patchwork of musical knowledge, an interest in exploring further and a tendency to write about it. Sometimes, all of these things come together quite well. All opinions, errors, grand follies and flashes of genius on these pages are his.
In addition to various things he’s had to do to pay the rent, Dann has also worked as a production manager and/or performer with small opera and theatre companies, and as an occasional contributing writer/photographer to various publications. Outside of these activities and the music reviewing he writes fiction, joins promising people together and gets distracted too often. He lives (slightly precariously) in London with his wife, his young son and far too many soundfiles.
The odd spelling of his first name started out as an attempt to remind people of the genuinely odd spelling of his last name. It didn’t work, but it stuck.
Dann’s Playlist, January 2019
(in no particular order, and excluding items formally sent for review):
- Simple Minds: ‘Sons And Fascination/Sister Feelings Call’
- Pram: ‘The Stars Are So Big, The Earth Is So Small… Stay As You Are’ and ‘Across The Meridian’
- John Coltrane: ‘Both Directions At Once’
- İlhan Mimaroğlu: ‘Wings of the Delirious Demon and Other Electronic Works’
- Harold Budd: ‘Lovely Thunder’
- Fleetwood Mac: ‘Tusk’
- Kamasi Washington: ‘Heaven And Earth’
- Vangelis: ‘The Dragon’, ‘See You Later’ and ‘Spiral’
- Dutch Uncles: ‘Out of Touch, In the Wild’
- Nicola Alesini & Pier Luigi Andreoni: ‘Marco Polo’
- Bongwater: ‘The Power Of Pussy’
- Yes: ‘Fly From Here’ and ‘Relayer’
- Ensemble Modern: ‘Zappa: The Yellow Shark’
- Miles Davis: ‘Filles De Kilimanjaro’
- Jean-Michel Jarre: ‘Rendez-vous’
- Marvin Gate: ‘Here, My Dear’
- National Chamber Choir of Ireland etc: ‘Tarik O’Regan- Acallam na Senórach (An Irish Colloquy)’
- Andrew Lloyd Webber: ‘Variations’
- Frank Zappa: ‘You Are What You Is’, ‘Sheik Yerbouti’ and ‘Lumpy Gravy’
- Mike Oldfield: ‘Crises’ and ‘Ommadawn’
- Chainsaw Jazz: ‘Disconcerto’
- It Bites: ‘The Big Lad In The Windmill’
- Elizabeth Valetti: ‘Innocenti’
- far too many classic rock songs which my seven-year-old son has gotten into after watching ‘School Of Rock’
Misfit City 
Hi Dann great to see you back, it looks great and a relief to see some decent writings on original musc. well done G P Hall (pete)
Thanks, Pete. Hope you enjoyed seeing the review of your ‘Mar-Del-Plata’ album reposted from the original zine. More of those old reviews are coming soon – meanwhile, make sure to have a read of some of the other reviews which might appeal to you (such as those of Tony Harn, Bears in America, Steve Lawson, North Atlantic Oscillation, etc…)
Hey Dann,
Good to see you in London the other week. The site’s looking great – Congrats!
Lee
Cheers, Lee. Nice to have you on board and reading. Please feel free to chip in on the comments anytime. I’m trying to get some dialogues going on after my monologues… 🙂
Hi Dann yes it was a wonderful review i sent it to my current record label, will have a look around your misfit city and check on those suggested.best wishes GP
Thanks for following my blog!
I just happened upon your blog and am loving what I’ve heard so far! Thanks for sharing great music.
Dann – as a result of some musical recommendations from you I have just listened to a couple of pieces of classic music on my own kit for the first time including Kate Bush Hounds of Love. Thanks!
Hi Dann,
to remind you – I’m the cellist and have a duo with BJ Cole – you kindly wrote a review intro about us two years ago when we did a gig in the Union Chapel with Ben & Daylight series – I just came across what you wrote – Bj & I have worked together for 20 years! and right now experiencing a renaissance – our Gnossienne Suite (our arr. of the piano Gnossiennes by Erik Satie) is about to be released – can I keep you posted for playlist?
We just played at the Karamel Klub N22 once monthly venue music & poetry
Best regards,
Emily
http://www.emilyburridge.com
cellist,composer,performer,producer
Mellow cello Music