Carry On

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OUR TOWN 2020

Columbia writers, musicians make something of a tough year

BY AARIK DANIELSEN Columbia Daily Tribune

During a year in which chances to leave the house and enjoy the arts in-person were few and far between, Columbia culture-makers had us covered.

Musicians released albums and authors wrote books that were easy to access and explore from the safety of home.

Here are just a few of the more interesting local artifacts made to this point of the year:

TO STREAM OR SPIN

Maxito Lindo, “Furthest Friends”

With a little help from friends, Max Garcia-Rubio delivers one of the most weird, wonderful local records of the year. The Maxito Lindo sound deftly manages to unite spare singer-songwriter tropes with lovely, disruptive flourishes of sound and noise.

The Burney Sisters, “Letter to You EP”

This youthful sister act just keeps turning in songs that are mature beyond most artists’ years. Kind-hearted folk, Beatle-esque melodic sensibilities and the sandpaper edges of Americana find balance with the Burneys.

OK Samaritan, “Wobble Top EP”

There’s only three songs here, but these locals prize quality over quantity, dialing in to the heart of alternative-rock and making a record marked by great guitar sounds and thoughtful songcraft.

The music of John Galbraith

Where to start? Galbraith’s various projects have released three albums so far in 2020 — unless something dropped in the middle of this sentence — touching various corners of indie-rock and bluegrass. Galbraith even managed to release a concept album about COVID-19, finding both wry and poignant angles on the pandemic.

TURN THE PAGE

“The Paris Hours” by Alex George

There’s rarely a dull moment for this local author, who also heads the Unbound Book Festival and co-owns Skylark Bookshop. In a work that has been widely reviewed — all the way to the New York Times — George transposes the class struggle of “Les Miserables” into the Jazz Age. His prose is as exquisite as the Parisian cityscape, yet keeps time with the aching heartbeat within.

“Pole Dancing in the Night Club of God” by Walter Bargen

Missouri’s first poet laureate — and a proud Boone County resident — Bargen writes poems full of history and humor. Here, he imagines a Biblical cast of characters at a moment resembling our present day. Rather than mock fish out of water, Bargen’s verses level the playing field, finding common ground across the ages.

“The Full Scoop” by Jill Orr

Orr concluded her Riley Ellison mystery series in 2020, a string of books that nimbly weaves together twists, turns and belly laughs. Orr’s protagonist, a fumbling 20-something obituary writer, is incredibly endearing and has kept readers anticipating her every next move.

LOCAL FOLKS MADE GOOD

With its long history, and inextricable ties to higher education, Columbia has been a home or a waystation for many creators who have kept the country humming. Here are a few more great works of music, literature and film that have been brushed in some way by the area.

Sheryl Crow, “The Globe Sessions” (1998)

Crow’s third album is her darkest — and perhaps her best. Songs like “My Favorite Mistake” and “Anything But Down” convey the acute angles of heartbreak while “There Goes the Neighborhood” satirizes suburban ideals. Crow famously attended the University of Missouri, graduating with a degree in music.

White Rabbits, “Milk Famous” (2012)

Convening in Columbia as college kids, this band went on to Brooklyn and a three-record run of terrific, moody indie rock, capped off by their best.

William Least Heat-Moon, “Blue Highways” (1982)

One of the most famous modern travelogues — perhaps second only to Kerouac’s “On the Road” — came from the author born William Trogdon, an MU grad who continues to make his home away from the road in the area.

Scott Cairns, “Idiot Psalms” (2014)

Until recently, the soulful poet called Columbia home and taught at MU. Cairns remains one of our truly great American poets, excavating the roots of Western Christianity as he considers every element of what it means to be human.

The poets abide: Many terrific poets still share a Columbia area code, including former Missouri poet laureate Aliki Barnstone, Marc McKee, Gabriel Fried and Jennifer Maritza McCauley. Dive into their work wherever and whenever you can.

The films of Robert Greene

A True/False Film Fest favorite, Greene kept coming back to Columbia until he decided to stay, taking a job at MU’s Murray Documentary Journalism Center. All of Greene’s works blur boundaries and take long, hard looks at the almost imperceptible line between reality and performance. His two most recent, “Bisbee ‘17” (2018) and “Kate Plays Christine” (2016), are revolutionary acts of filmmaking.

adanielsen@columbiatribune.com 573-815-1731