Still Life with Commentator

Still Life with Commentator
Studio album by Vijay Iyer & Mike Ladd
Released	March 6, 2007 (2007-03-06)
Recorded	March 26, 2006 — June 17, 2006
Studio	Hotel Neutor, Salzburg Listen, NYC
Genre	Jazz
Length	1:05:35
Label	Savoy Jazz SVY 17628
Producer	Scotty Hard, Mike Ladd
Vijay Iyer chronology
Raw Materials (2006) Still Life with Commentator (2007) Tragicomic (2008)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

Still Life with Commentator is a studio album by jazz pianist Vijay Iyer and hip hop artist Mike Ladd.

Reception

Mike Shanley of JazzTimes stated "This disc exists in a musical Bermuda Triangle that conjoins jazz, electronica and that mutant, undefined style of pop music created by the likes of Björk. The liner notes describe Still Live With Commentator as observations on the way modern technologies-broadcast news, consumer goods-affect us as individuals. Comparing themselves to Naturalist poets who wrote about the landscape of nature, Iyer and Ladd use as their subject matter the visage of Dan Rather or the title sequence of CNN. That’s right-in attempting to comment and critique the media that bombards us, lyricist Ladd can’t write a lyric without referencing some product (“Tiny motors in Elmos out to tickle/Teddy Ruxpins with concealed weapons”) or celebrity (Dr. Phil, Billy Joel, Oprah). Either he’s trying too hard to make a point or he’s just as guilty as the media he skewers for relying on popular tripe to shape his words. Iyer’s music meets the edgy challenge of this piece, especially on two instrumentals that capture the intentions of the album. But it’s not enough to balance out the heavy-handed words, especially when Pamela Z sings in an overdone, operatic soprano wail".