eye avenue

La Grande

2012-02-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

Just picked up Laura Gibson’s new album, La Grande, and heard it last night. You might be interested in the backstory — yes, it does have to do with the very La Grande some of us know well — and watch this music video:

More here and here.

Etta James, R.I.P

2012-01-20T12:57:00.000-08:00

Legendary blues singer Etta James has passed on. Read more

Etta is probably particularly remembered for her "At Last":

(will try to find a better video on this piece)

One of my personal favorites was her "I'd Rather Go Blind":

Stop SOPA/PIPA

2012-01-18T11:11:00.000-08:00

In solidarity with Google, Wikipedia, Fark and many others, today I offer at least these links: http://www.stopthewall.us/?gclid=CP_9xvub2q0CFYUZQgod3xGInw

http://www.savetheinternet.com/pipa-whiplist

Sugar Plum Fairy

2011-12-20T09:41:00.000-08:00

A little Christmas music, delivered differently ...

Amnesty International and Bob Dylan

2011-12-12T09:40:00.000-08:00

You have probably already heard that Amnesty International, as a fundraiser, is to release in late January 2012 an album of some 70 covers of Bob Dylan pieces. You can now listen online and pre-order here: http://www.facebook.com/amnestyusa?sk=app_115392725211599

The 4 CD collection is $24.99, with digital downloads ("high bitrate" MP3s) for $19.99. (I will prefer to rip my CDs to FLAC, thank you.)

And here's the complete tracklisting: http://www.nme.com/news/bob-dylan/60580

Bravura

2011-12-11T22:04:00.000-08:00

Once again I am off on my annual quest to find tolerable Christmas music. One of my stellar finds a year or two ago was Tom Waits' Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis. Probably my reigning favorite piece of Christmas music would be the Estonian Chamber Choir's New Joy album. And of course, there is Bach's Christmas Oratorio. And so on.

Last night, plumbing the depths of the interwebs, I chanced upon Bravura Records, a recording studio that deals with producing high-resolution digital music. They have some utterly wonderful freebies as their Christmas gift to the user. These are 24-bit jazz pieces in AIF format (iTunes-compatible, but please play them through the best audio equipment you have for full effect), and even at 90 - 100mb per, they are well worth the download. They sound great, and only begin to hint at Bravura's even-higher res normal offerings. Read about how Bravura came to be, and get your free downloads here.

Loudness, Unabated

2011-12-01T10:57:00.000-08:00

Having recently upgraded my audio system(s) -- and taking on, as a fresh empty-nester, a project to optimize the entirety of my music collection and digital playback scenario -- I have been revisiting old music. And, now that I have brought my turntable out of mothballs and integrated it into the new upstairs system, I am often shocked at how much better vinyl sounds than many recent CDs. And how much better older CDs can sound than newer CDs. I am really becoming wary of remasterings, even ones that purport to be digital remasters to high-resolution 24-bit lossless files. Chalk this all up to the "Loudness Wars", which is exposed and tracked by sites like TurnMeUp.org. For an illustration, watch this:

To help disclose the reality here, I am using a plug-in component for my favored (at his particular time) digital player for Windows, Foobar2000. The component is the Dynamic Range Meter (I downloaded mine from the author's site at http://www.dynamicrange.de/de/free-downloads). The software is based on work done by the Pleasurize Music Foundation. This thing measures a DNR value, or the decibel range in a digital music file. Pleasurize believes most everything should have a value of 12 to 14, and that something as low as a value of 3 is flat unacceptable.

With my newer equipment and optimizations (software tweaking included), lousy sonics of source material are now more apparent, and I am running Foobar2000 with the Dynamic Range Meter on suspect files, eventually intending testing all my digital collection (this will definitely take a while to get through everything). Sure enough, digital files that don't sound that great often turn out to have been ripped from "modern" CDs and display low DNR values. Thankfully, most classical and jazz albums I have tested so far are not so bad; the worst offenders are rock, pop, and re-issue compilations.

This appalling situation is driving me down a path of (a) buying only vinyl music from here on out, or (b) downloading only audiophile-acceptable high-res digital files from appropriate sources*, or (c) both. And probably working out how to make truly high-quality vinyl rips of my own.

* I have purchased good 16-bit and 24-bit music from the B&W Society of Sound and directly from some artist sites. I have also downloaded music from HDTracks with good results, but some audiophile forums warn against some HDTracks remasterings. I will be exploring these and more sites in the future and will keep you apprised.

Crazy Clown Time

2011-11-24T06:07:00.000-08:00

Just got my hands on this new David Lynch album the other day. By no stretch of the imagination is David Lynch or this masterpiece, IMHO, for everyone. YMMV. It is on my personal list as a candidate for Album of 2011. Here is a sample:

A Different Take On Swan Lake

2011-11-22T09:39:00.001-08:00

From the Great Chinese State Circus:

Larger Than Life?

2011-11-17T08:59:00.000-08:00

Back in June, Pink Martini announced that its wonderful singer, China Forbes, would be out for at least a year to undergo vocal cord surgery and recovery. In the meantime, her stand-in was to be Storm Large, a Portland icon we last covered a couple of years ago. Take a look at what the aptly-named singer has been doing lately with the band, mostly as she accompanied them during their recent European tour.

Visit Pink Martini's website for news on their latest releases and China Forbes updates.

2011-11-10T10:19:00.000-08:00

Around eight years ago, a small package appeared in my mailbox. Inside was a CD from my niece, featuring a band I had never heard although the cover artwork looked familiar. Turned out that the art was done by Edward Gorey, whose work you may know from the animated illustrations that accompany PBS-TV's Mystery series. Gorey had lived near my niece in her Cape Code neighborhood until his then-recent death. His legacy includes many books and illustrations, mostly dealing with the delightfully macabre. Shortly before Gorey died, as a fan and admirer, he sent an unsolicited box of his unpublished works to Martyn Jaques, the founder and frontman for the Brit neo-cabaret (I really don't know how to concisely describe the group; some say "surrealist pornography") trio, The Tiger Lillies, sensing that he and Jaques were kindred spirits. Inspired by Gorey's writings and illustrations, Jaques created the music and lyrics for what was to become "The Gorey End", a collaboration with the Kronos Quartet. Alas, not to be published until after Gorey's demise.

"The Gorey End" soon became a household staple, and my then-ten- and twelve-year old kids declared it to be the finest CD they had ever heard. "The Gorey End" chronicles the woes and tragedies of the Hipdeep family and other unfortunate characters, much in keeping with my children's interest at the time in the books of Lemony Snicket ("A Series of Unfortunate Events", etc.) For several years, we heard it again and again, finally retiring it to very occasional use after the kids developed other musical interests in their high school and college years.

The other night, "The Gorey End" became my Album of the Evening. I wanted to hear the Tiger Lillies again on my new PSB speakers, especially after I had been listening to another "cabaret" group -- the wonderful, bring-a-smile-to-your-face-anytime Portland-based group, Vagabond Opera -- all week. And as well I had been revisiting a lot of my Kronos Quartet music.

(Hey, I heard sonic nuances I never knew were there!)

The Tiger Lillies, if you haven't heard them, amaze in their delivery of material that makes you wonder if you are about to laugh or cry. In a few seconds, "The Gorey End" can flip from irreverent, almost deranged zaniness to startling beauty or haunting sadness. Martyn Jaques in his distinct falsetto (counter-tenor?) seems to hold nothing back. The track titles give you a feel for the album's contents:

1. Hipdeep Family Intro
2. ABC (Arsenical Bun)
3. Weeping Chandelier
4. Jesus on the Windshield (aka Jesus PL or The Birdpop Jesus)
5. The Besotted Mother
6. Gin
7. Learned Pig
8. Hertha Strubb
9. Dreadful Domesticity
10. QRV
11. L'Histoire de K
12. Trampled Lily
13. Hipdeep Family

"Gin" has become something of an anthem for The Tiger Lillies, as shown by this YouTube example:

My daughter tells me she believes that she has watched every Tiger Lillies video on YouTube (often surreptitiously), and there are many. I'm going to try to catch up with her now.

Album of the Day - Vagabond Opera

2011-10-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

Portland's own Vagabond Opera has a new album, their fourth, called "Sing For Your Lives", just out this last September. You can hear excerpts from their site at http://www.vagabondopera.com. In the meantime, here is an introductory video from a few years past, among many others you can explore at YouTube:

Death By Misadventure

2011-10-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

So we learn from the British press this morning that Amy Winehouse's death was by alcohol poisoning. Characterized by the Brit coroner as "death by misadventure." (Can't help but also think of Janis Joplin ...) More on this great talent.

Tim Hawkins on Aging Rock Stars

2011-10-21T08:25:00.001-07:00

Laura Gibson & La Grande

2011-10-15T16:36:00.001-07:00

We've been Laura Gibson fans around here ever since we heard her collaborations with the Portland Cello Project. And she has worked with Colin Meloy (Decembrists) and others in the Portland music scene. We have at least a couple of her CDs -- If You Come To Greet Me and Beasts of Seasons -- and continue to be charmed. A couple of weeks ago we heard that she has signed with a new label and will bring out a new album before too long. Hear the title track - La Grande -- from that album here. Gibson, incidentally, comes from another small Oregon town, Coquille. Now I wonder exactly where Jeremy Peterson ate that muffin?

Feist: Metals

2011-10-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

Leslie Feist (of Canada's Broken Social Scene) is doing it again. I have been listening to her new Metals album, and it just keeps me wanting to play it again and again ... I thought of citing Get It Wrong, Get It Right as my Song of the Day, but the rest of the album keeps pulling me in, too. Started off as gentle background to my work day, but it is definitely going beyond that. You can stream some cuts at http://www.listentofeist.com/metals/ and take a look/listen to one of a number of her YouTube promos:

Radiohead, Again

2011-10-05T10:33:00.001-07:00

Radiohead and Colbert

2011-09-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

Monday Radiohead appeared on the Colbert Report. Not to be missed, in spite of annoying commercials.

Liszt and Apple's iPad

2011-09-13T16:17:00.000-07:00

Violinist Giora Schmidt uses an iPad as a digital music stand. Read the Ariama piece here about how he never took his hands off his instrument while negotiating 35 pages of the Liszt Piano Sonata in B minor score.

Also take a look at Schmidt's site to learn more about his work and view and hear some examples.

The Slow Version

2011-09-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

NPR gives us a reading of a remarkable rendition of Ray Charles' iconic Georgia on My Mind, slowed to an almost ridiculous but mesmerizing tempo. Read the back story and hear Ray from a 1965 concert performance here.

Bad As Me

2011-08-23T11:36:00.000-07:00

Coming out in a couple of months (now pre-ordering), Bad As Me is Tom Waits' first studio album in several years. As you may know, he earlier promised that he would make a surprise announcement today, but word was leaked along with a preemptive notice by Amazon, spilling across the great wide Internets, about the album beforehand. Learn more on his site, here and here:

Thanks again to friend and fellow-huge-Waits-fan John for being on top of this.

Calle 54

2011-08-09T21:54:00.000-07:00

Just stumbled across a 2000 documentary on Latin jazz tonight via Netflix streaming. Absolutely terrific. A French/Spanish film, directed by Spanish music lover/filmmaker Fernando Trueba, it was set mostly at Sony studios on 54th in Manhattan (hence the name of the film, I would suspect), where some of the hottest Latin jazz artists I have ever heard were gathered. I actually recognized only a few of the performers, like Tito Puente and Gato Barbieri, though some more names seemed to ring a bit of a bell. Many, many performers and magnificent performances. (I will be researching the work of some of these people right away!) One of the highlights was a high-energy conga/dance piece. The final number, a piano duo by reunited, long-separated Cuban father-son Bebo and Chucho Valdes, was especially remarkable and moving. I am going to see if I can track down a DVD of this thing, as the sonic quality seems worthy of replay on a good sound system; even sounded decent streamed. Highly, highly recommended.

All Is Not Lost, Or Is It?

2011-07-29T10:18:00.001-07:00

I have mixed feelings about this ... musical mediocrity aside, OK Go is a group who has done some entertaining and novel dance and video pieces. And their latest project is particularly interesting to me, from my Web development perspective, as it exploits HTML5, the "latest and greatest" so-called Web standard. Trouble is, it isn't yet really standard, and as OK Go's piece shows us, we are still cursed with browser incompatibility. Try it. And discover that it runs only on Chrome. Not a big problem for me, as I have five browsers right at hand here on most all of my machines (where I usually spawn an alternate browser from a Firefox display by using one of several "view this in ..." Firefox extensions). But I'll bet it is an inconvenience or even a show-stopper for many others. Ten years ago, I said that surely browser wars would subside by now ... but they may as bad or even worse now. . At least nobody is using the accursed ten-year-old IE6 still ... or are they? Job security, I guess.

The defanged version here:

While we are at it, let's revisit an earlier OK Go vid or two.

Music of the Day

2011-07-04T10:15:00.000-07:00

Kim asked me thia morning for ideas on suitable music for today's forthcoming get-together with family and friends. So I turned to my FLAC library, fed from my basement Linux music server to my chairside MacBook on to an HRT DAC then to NAD amp and finally out through vintage Polk tower speakers. As my default screen interface is in alpha order by artist, I immediately saw Allen Toussaint and played his West End Blues several times during breakfast. This led to the revelation that I should just queue up my entire Louis Armstrong collection (starting with the great Essential Louis Armstrong compilation -- Columbia Legacy remaster K 89280-S1) for the day. Trouble is, I keep finding myself unable to treat it only as background; I am continually diverted from my other tasks leading up to our celebration and find myself stretched out in front of the stereo in listening mode.

Here's a taste from a live performance in the early 30s:

Speaking in Tongues

2011-06-18T16:43:00.000-07:00

Arcade Fire is releasing a new DVD version of its acclaimed Suburbs album, and also including a couple of new cuts. One is a title you might recognize from the 1983 Talking Heads album. Listen for David Byrne helping out a bit:

Arcade Fire - Speaking in Tongues (feat. David Byrne) by MergeRecords

Btw, if you are an audiophile who loves the Talking Heads, you may know about the remastering about five years ago of the Speaking in Tongues album, as it included 24-bit, 96KHz versions, and is well worth seeking out, if you can still find it.

And here is the other new cut from Arcade Fire, Culture Wars:

Arcade Fire - Culture War by MergeRecords

Saturday Night with Maria Joao

2011-06-04T22:16:00.000-07:00

Just spent an i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e couple of hours experiencing a 1999 performance by the stunning Maria Joao Quartet, another terrific discovery on Roku's ClassicalTV channel (also available at www.classicaltv.com).

Here is a quote from ClassicalTV on this thing:

This recording was made when Portuguese singer Maria João appeared at the Bayerischer Hof night club in Munich with Marcio Doctor (percussion), Miroslav Tadic (guitar) and her long-standing partner, the brilliant pianist Mario Laginha. In this intimate venue, Joao's vocally and physically dynamic performance created an electric atmosphere.

And that's putting it mildly ...

Now I must get back to scouring the Internet for anything more I can hear/see of her tonight. YouTube has dozens of clips, showing her extraordinary range of abilities, but none I have seen so far bring together what the Munich night club performance does. Two I have seen so far stand out, however: one is a live improv piece with Bobby McFerrin, and another has Joao collaborating with legendary jazz pianist Aki Takase. Not to mention her amazing covers of music from Bjork to Tom Waits to Lerner & Loewe. And the dancing! Maybe that has something to do with her mother who came from Mozambique. It's ... well ... all good.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

2011-05-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

("It will be live.") So said Gill Scott-Heron, who died last Friday. Undoubtedly a great influence on rap and hip hop that was to follow, when I first heard him in the early 70s he was known for his stance on hipocrisy in politics and entertainment, and was even regarded by some as the "black Bob Dylan". Here is one of his most memorable pieces ...

The Day

2011-05-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

Moby gives us another free MP3 download, this an orchestral version of his The Day, included in a different arrangement on his new Destroyed album. Nice, peaceful, meditative. Along with the album is a selection of Moby's own fine, mood-fitting photography, also shown on the site.

Happy Birthday, Bob Dylan

2011-05-24T22:08:00.001-07:00

Seventy. Believe it or not. Today my favorite is either Bob Dylan's Dream or Moonshiner. Fat chance getting some Dylan here but here are some covers, first from Judy Collins WAY back when ...

Then Cat Power (Bob Forrest also has a great cover of Moonshiner from the I'm Not There OST, too, btw) ...

Tomorrow, who knows what Dylan song I will want to hear? So many great things to pick from ...

Vivian Maier Update

2011-05-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

Back in December 2010, we talked about Vivian Maier. A traveling exhibition of her remarkable photographs is underway. The Vivian Maier website also is now showing quite a number of images, including one of my favorites, a self-portrait made in New York City in 1953, as shown here.

Oregon Symphony at Carnegie Hall

2011-05-14T18:54:00.000-07:00

As part of New York's Spring for Music festival, Carlos Kalmar and the Oregon Symphony performed at Carnegie Hall last Thursday to critical acclaim. You can hear the concert at NPR's Classics in Concert site, and read The Oregonian's David Stabler on the event, along with more photos and video. And even more today.

The New York City classical music station WQXR also arranged for a live broadcast of the concert in 3D binaural, optimized-for-headphones form. See here and here for more information.

Better yet, listen directly from WQXR:

The National Jukebox

2011-05-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

Now hear online historical recordings from the Library of Congress:

http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/

For example, here is the incredible Enrico Caruso (pictured), surely the most famous operatic tenor of the early 1900s:

Looks like there are 176 Caruso pieces here. One I just spotted was Enrico doing the "O soave fanciulla" duet from Puccini's "La Bohème". Will have to give that a listen, for sure. Wonder who the soprano was? It will take some time to read up and work through this stuff -- and build up some playlists.

One of my anticipated future retirement projects was to be an attempt to digitize my very small collection of Caruso, mostly one-sided 78s, but now I may simply listen to those arias and more online. Brought to us by ... your Government!

Kora Time

2011-04-23T22:02:00.000-07:00

After watching news tonight, much of it dealing with African nations, followed by a travel show on Nigeria, I found myself in the mood to hear the soothing sounds of the kora virtuoso from Mali, Toumani Diabate. Here is a sample of his amazing work on the 12?-string kora, an instrument that is somewhat a blend of guitar, lute and harp.

If you like this stuff -- and how could you not? -- you can pick up any of his many albums (a couple with the late, great Ali Farka Toure, one of Mali's most famous musicians). You won't find a bad one in the bunch. My Ali & Toumani album (recorded in 2005, released 2010) remains one of my favorites in my entire collection, and it's very accessible to Western ears. Heck, let's check them out together on the final cut of that album ...

Aha! I just found this little one-minute snippet that will introduce you to Diabate's instrument:

Can't stop. Here's more, live at Studio 360:

The Nikon Way

2011-04-15T09:20:00.001-07:00

How to clean your lenses ... with John Coltrane!

John Butler Trio: Ocean

2011-04-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Co-worker James, a guitar/mandolin/banjo guy himself, sends along this Australian discovery he made:

Japan Relief and Flyer Goodness

2011-04-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

Flyer Goodness, one of my favorite art and design blogs, has assembled a collection of very noteworthy Japan Relief posters, which you can see here. The site has tons of other wonderful posters and flyers to see.

Viva Roku

2011-04-03T12:48:00.000-07:00

Just discovered that ClassicalTV is now a channel choice for Roku streaming. While a fair amount of really good stuff (both free and pay-for-view) is available on classicaltv.com, one or two hours of sustained viewing from my computer chair, especially at work, doesn't quite work. But to curl up at home on the easy chair and watch on a Hi-Def screen along with "real" loudspeakers is another matter.

First thing that caught my eye -- and the next two hours of my time -- was the (legendary?) Viva Vivaldi concert in 2001 Paris by mezzo-soprano Cecelia Bartoli and Il Giardino Armonico backing her up on period baroque instrumentation. I know that some regard Cecelia as too flamboyant or overwrought, but I am always spellbound by her work. Here is a link to a snippet of that concert.

So if you own a Roku box to stream Netflix, crank it up and subscribe to the free ClassicalTV channel.

Wild Is The Wind

2011-04-03T01:39:00.000-07:00

First time I heard it was by Johny Mathis, from the 1957 movie of the same name (which made quite an impression on my at the time of my youth):

Since then, many, many singers have covered the song, including the rather famous version by David Bowie in the 70s:

More recently, even Cat Power did it:

But tonight, it was while Kim and I watched a performance from a re-run of Austin City Limits that we saw/heard (the great, IMHO) Esperanze Spalding do her cover. That inspired an Internet search where I found that she has a number of YouTube vids of differently-arranged tour performances of this piece, including ...

Now, while Esperanza's rendition has become one of my favorites -- although she may not quite have a big enough voice for the song, as evidenced by comparison with what has to be my All Time Favorite, Nina Simone from 1964:

You might also want to listen to WITW covers by, say, Amel Larrieux or Randy Crawford, all good stuff. Yeah, I know, Barbra Streisand has covered WITW, too. But, heck, so has the Clan of Xymox.

The Universal Sigh, Super Collider, Etc....

2011-03-31T08:26:00.000-07:00

You have probably already heard about Radiohead's new, limited edition "newspaper", The Universal Sigh. Haven't seen it and don't know if I ever will. In more Radiohead news, they are said to have just issued a limited edition vinyl recording of a couple of tracks, one new plus Super Collider, something heard only in live shows, such as this raw and rugged example from 2008:

This one's not a heckuva lot better ...

Neil Inducts Tom

2011-03-25T23:15:00.000-07:00

A few years back, musing about what I would take with me to the "desert island", Tom Waits immediately was on the short list ... and still is. I have long wanted to post something worthy of the man and his beautiful work, and try occasionally (just do a search in this blog's archives) but there is SO much to choose from. Here is something very special -- again I must credit friend John for finding this clip from the March 14, 2011 ceremonies -- which gets another of my favorites, Neil Young, in on the proceedings. If you don't know Tom Waits by now, this is a wonderful introduction.

Visit the Tom Waits site anytime. Buy his music; he's been making records since the 70s. Tom Waits feels like an old friend.

A Bit Of Allen Toussaint

2011-03-18T22:21:00.001-07:00

My turn now to share one with Ivi and Jordan ...

Pass The Peas

2011-03-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

Ivi, her horn playing boyfriend Jordan, and I are mostly exploring the FLAC library for jazz gems tonight. And all the relatives of jazz -- funk, gospel and on and on. Ivi introduces us to Maceo Parker and one of her favorites, right here:

Nachtwey in Japan

2011-03-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

James Nachtwey's work, last visited here over two years ago, registers again as he travels to Japan to document the earthquake/tsunami aftermath. See this Time slideshow.

Tezeta Band

2011-03-17T09:24:00.000-07:00

Here is one brought to my attention by Mom-In-Law, Janet. This band is self-described as "sound of memory, of nostalgia, of sweaty soulful dance music, part jazz, part motown, part Ethiopian folk music, inspired by and arranged from the Golden Age of Ethiopian music, the late 1960’s and early 1970’s." One of its horn players, Curt Bieker, is related to one of Janet's neighbors. Give them a listen at their MySpace site or at http://tezetaband.com/.

Victor Wooten and the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival

2011-02-27T13:34:00.000-08:00

At about 5:30am today, Ivi appeared on the doorstep, snow-covered, having just pulled into town after a couple of days in Moscow, Idaho at the annual Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. She and her fellow jazz ensemble members attended workshops and performed in student events. (Ivi tells us that a camera sending live audience projections to the large screens during the big band performance zeroed in for at least thirty seconds on her and Jordan as they danced in the pit) The visiting artist who most blew her away was the "crazy-good" Victor Wooten. Here is a sample from about a year ago:

And from Wooten's own site, a notice of his forthcoming March 8 Virtual Release party for an anniversary of his Show of Hands album:

I see that Wooten will be continuing to tour with Bela Fleck and The Flecktones, possibly to a venue near you.

Another Kind of Music

2011-02-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

Coming Up - 100 Lovers

2011-02-26T15:42:00.000-08:00

DeVotchKa, one of our favorites, is scheduled to release its new album, 100 Lovers, next Tuesday. In the meantime, you can stream it from NPR.

Robert Johnson Revisited

2011-02-19T02:49:00.000-08:00

Robert Johnson, born Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 - August 16, 1938) is among the most famous of the Delta Blues musicians.

Crossroads Blues (Alternate Take)

Hell Hound On My Trail

I Believe I'll Dust My Broom

Kind-Hearted Woman Blues

Love In Vain

Phonograph Blues

Preaching Blues (Up Jumped The Devil)

TKOL

2011-02-19T00:11:00.000-08:00

Everybody who knows me knows that I am a rather devoted Radiohead fan.

A few days ago, I put in an online pre-order -- sound unheard -- for Radiohead's "The King of Limbs", to be available for download at its site on February 19 or as a special vinyl/CD/artwork/digital download combination package by postal mail in May. As I was sitting around on this Friday night, unwinding from the workweek and relaxing with my new Andreas Scholl and catching up with reading, I made a mental note to remember to visit the download site on the 19th to collect the goods. Then it dawned upon me that it was already the 19th for the Brits, so I jumped online and pulled down the 368 MB Zip file (I chose the WAV option rather than MP3: eight tracks at around 50 MB each).

Taking advantage of the absence of Kim and Ivi (they are gone for several days in a whirlwind junket on the west side of the state to visit prospective colleges for Ivi this fall), I was able to crank up the stereo with impunity at the late hour, which is no problem for Nik, either, who also stayed behind and is a night owl, anyway. So for the past couple of hours, we have been infused with the new Radiohead. So far, "Codex" is my favorite cut. Radiohead's stuff is always so sonically rich that I am bound to discover more nuances upon repeated listenings. I highly recommend getting it in WAV format -- and it is well worth hearing with your best headphones, too.

I have no idea, yet, what the album title is all about.

PDX Jazz Fest

2011-02-18T21:11:00.001-08:00

Starting today, the Portland Jazz Festival extends through February 27 with an intriguing theme, "Bridges and Boundaries: Jewish and African Americans Playing Jazz". Esperanza Spalding, local girl made good at this year's Grammys, will be a headliner and is designated the festival's "community ambassador". Her friend, Tel Aviv-born woodwind player, Anat Cohen, is also to perform. A group I look forward to hearing, and which is said to exemplify the spirit of the event, is the Afro-Semitic Experience, described as "three Jews and three African Americans playing Klezmer soul".

Read more about the festival in tonight's piece from The Oregonian.

In the meantime, let's hear Linda Hornbuckle, a Portland jazz/soul/gospel singer who came to our attention a few years ago via OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) and its ArtBeat program:

Andreas Scholl, Klaus Nomi and The Cold Song

2011-02-17T21:03:00.000-08:00

Just received a new CD today from Amazon of songs and arias by Henry Purcell, the Baroque master, as sung by the incredible countertenor, Andreas Scholl. Here is an amazing taste of his work as found on YouTube, where Scholl performs Purcell's astonishingly-modern-sounding "The Cold Song" from his 1691 opera, King Arthur:

As long as we are here, we should see if we can find the interpretation by the late Klaus Nomi, possibly the most famous and controversial avant-garde countertenor of modern times:

Okay, let's find the lyrics ...

What power art thou
Who from below
Hast made me rise
Unwillingly and slow
From beds of everlasting snow

See'st thou not how stiff
And wondrous old
Far unfit to bear the bitter cold

I can scarcely move
Or draw my breath
I can scarcely move
Or draw my breath

Let me, let me,
Let me freeze again
Let me, let me
Freeze again to death
Let me, let me, let me
Freeze again to death...

Yes, I did think of this as I walked to work this morning, cold wind blowing, just above freezing ...

(Maybe sometime we will have to hear Nomi's "Samson and Delilah Aria" ... maybe even his rendition of Chubby Checker's "The Twist". I'll try to track those down; sorry, won't try to play my own FLACs online.)

More on Esperanza

2011-02-15T18:13:00.000-08:00

Today's The Oregonian ran this piece as a front-page story. Portland seems rightly proud of its hometown Best New Artist. In the article, Spalding cites Thara Memory as one of her mentors. (An aside: Ivi was lucky enough to meet Thara Memory and attend one of his workshops a year or two ago in her jazz studies.)

Another Valentine

2011-02-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard of Esperanza Spalding yet, you will soon.

Esperanza Spalding: Short And Sweet

Here's some sample press from Atlantic.com.

eye avenue picked up the now-Grammy's Best New Artist in October 2010; check out her PBS interview and performance.

(In case you're wondering, the Short and Sweet piece was a free download from her site; no animals were harmed, etc.)

A Bit of Beethoven for Valentine's Day

2011-02-13T12:08:00.000-08:00

Last night, Kim and I made the one-block walk to our local college campus theatre where two faculty members (Matt Cooper, piano and Lisa Robertson, violin) were putting forth one of their periodic violin and piano recitals. Among other pieces (Janacek, et.al.), they performed Beethoven's Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 30, in C Minor. Wanting to make immediate comparisons of that performance upon returning home, I jumped online and we spent the next couple of hours listening to many different interpretations.

They ranged from an interesting version by the very young Yehudi Menuhin on violin with his sister, Hephzibah, on piano, from many years ago (date?), to this one (also date unknown, obviously several years old), with Itzhak Perlman's violin and Vladimir Ashkenazy's piano:

Another interesting performance was by Jacqueline Wedderburn-Maxwell, who I understand is a teenage South African violinist who started playing at age five, now studies in England, and seems to be a rising star:

Vivian Maier

2010-12-30T09:55:00.000-08:00

Here's something that doesn't happen every day. Vivian Maier, a Chicago nanny who passed away in 2009, has been discovered to be a closet street photographer, working from the 1950s to 1990s. Based on a just a scratching of the surface of some 100,000 negatives, her work looks to be absolutely masterful. Here is a clip from a recent Chicago TV broadcast on Vivian:

Read more on the tribute blog started by John Maloof, who discovered her work at an auction. The blog includes John's story of the discovery, plus links to other media commentary on her photography.

The Blizzard

2010-12-25T12:48:00.000-08:00

Camera Obscura (Scottish indie poppers of Honey In The Sun fame) covers this 1964 Jim Reeves Christmas classic:

Sorrowful Songs, More ...

2010-12-20T14:40:00.000-08:00

Last month, we marked Henryk Gorecki's passing with this remembrance. Today, I came upon a worthy addendum to that piece, this done by the blog of the ASC (American Society of Cinematographers.)

A New Joy

2010-12-19T18:47:00.000-08:00

I have mentioned this before. I just finished a hearing of the Estonian Chamber Orchestra Choir's A New Joy - Orthodox Christmas, a collection of Orthodox Russian church music that had been suppressed by the Communist government in the past. This CD is just about "perfect" on all counts: wonderful source material, spellbinding performance and exquisite recording. We found it about four years ago; I think it might have been cited by David Stabler of The Oregonian. Still is the go-to Christmas music I recommend to anyone who asks. You can get a lo-fi preview here.

Captain Beefheart, Gone For Now

2010-12-17T18:48:00.000-08:00

I remember when I brought my first Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart) album, Trout Mask Replica, home to my late 60s Hollywood apartment, where a co-worker had stopped by to drop off some papers and asked how I could possibly listen to that stuff. I wondered how he couldn't. I came upon Beefheart through his association with the wonderful Frank Zappa. When I hear people like Dr. John and Tom Waits, the Captain often comes to mind. Beefheart was a sort of psychedelic blues musician and an avant-garde precursor to punk. He was a poet, sculptor and painter (one of my treasures would be his Doc At The Radar Station album that features cover art that Beefheart painted himself). Captain Beefheart died today, but let's see if we can find some Captain Beefheart for you now:

More ...

Here's a piece from the LA Weekly blog today: "Top 14 Reasons Why Captain Beefheart Was a True American Genius".

Hallelujah

2010-12-11T07:45:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night, Leonard Cohen performed at the Rose Garden in Portland, a performance that I missed, even though it greatly pained me to do so. (Check out The Oregonian's run-up piece and review.) Nevertheless ...

Last night, winding down on a Friday from a week of intense work, I sat back for a bit of my kind of luxurious living -- five hours of uninterrupted music. Earlier in the day, friend Jamesa brought me a surprise in the form of a new DVD documenting a 1972 tour of Leonard Cohen. Entitled, Bird On A Wire, the film is said to have languished in storage by Cohen's manager, Marty Marchat, until Marchat's death when Cohen acquired and hid it away, only recently turning it over to the original director, Tony Palmer, for re-edit and completion. Now released, Kim and I starting watching at about 7pm, followed by a hearing of just about every Leonard Cohen album that I have so far committed and converted to my FLAC library, finally slipping off to bed around 1am.

The film, while ragged in places and including some unneeded VietNam footage, does show Cohen in very human form, and is undoubtedly a must-see for any serious Cohen fan.

Arising at 6am with Leonard still resonating in my head, I started prowling the Web for more backstory on the film while listening to still more that we had not heard by bedtime. Then, at the National Film Board of Canada website, I discovered this 1964 documentary, "Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen":

This early film is quite intriguing and even shows Cohen's youthful skills as a stand-up comic. Another must-see, but be warned: this 44-minute online experience needs pretty decent bandwidth Internet connection.

More on Leonard Cohen: http://eyeavenue.blogspot.com/2009/09/happy-birthday-leonard.html

London Calling

2010-11-29T08:31:00.000-08:00

The Clash, with frontman Joe Strummer, was probably at the top of my most-listen band of the 70-80s punk era. Now I find that the Clash Radio blog has for awhile made available for download podcasts (in MP3 and Ogg) of the late/great Strummer's half-hour BBC radio show done between 1998 and 2002. Here and maybe here. Mixed audio quality, but great, great content. In the meantime, if you haven't seen the posthumous 2006 film tribute, The Future Is Unwritten, here is a preview:

Song of the Day: I Want To Sing That Rock And Roll

2010-11-20T19:27:00.000-08:00

By Giilian Welch from her 2001 Time (The Revelator) album

Check out this perfornamce on YouTube.

Here's another of my favorites, from the 2004 Cambridge Folk Festival a few years ago.

Here, Gillian works with The Decemberists -- one of our favorite "local" indie folk rock groups out of Portland -- Friday night:

Henryk Gorecki Leaves Us

2010-11-12T21:54:00.000-08:00

Today we learn of the passing of Polish composer Henryk Gorecki, undoubtedly best known for his "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" for soprano and orchestra. I remember well my first listen nearly twenty years ago, staring out into a rainy Los Angeles night from my darkened downtown loft, hearing Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta.

Here is a different performance (in Auschwitz) of the music, but one which conveys the feeling from that night. The text of this movement is said to be taken from a prayer inscribed on a cell wall by a 17-year-old Polish girl who was imprisoned and tortured by the Gestapo in 1944.

Soprano: Isabel Bayrakdaraian, Sinfonietta Cracovia, conducted by John Axelrod.
Taken from "HOLOCAUST - A Music Memorial Film from Auschwitz". For the first time since its liberation, permission was granted for music to be heard in Auschwitz and a number of leading musicians were brought there to perform music for the film.

I have to wonder how many people across the planet are listening to Gorecki's symphony now, tonight ...

Happily, my music collection also includes the Gorecki string quartets commissioned by the Kronos Quartet. A remembrance is posted here by Kronos' David Harrington.

Some background on Gorecki if you are not familiar is here and many other places on the Web, like Wikipedia.

Esperanza Spalding

2010-10-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight, on the PBS NewsHour:

Dylan and Google

2010-10-18T10:45:00.001-07:00

If you are a Google user (who isn't?!), you may be aware of Google Instant, a realtime progressive search mechanism that is demonstrated to good effect by ... Bob Dylan!

This video has generated a fair amount of Internet buzz, with an example and some history here.

NPR 24/7 and some tangents

2010-10-14T08:24:00.000-07:00

NPR announces their new All Songs 24/7 Music Channel. Also find there a listing of NPR member stations with continuous music streams (I think they are categorized as Rock/Pop/Folk, Classical, Jazz/Blues and Other). This kind of stuff may not be ideal for audiophiliac-type hard listening (about the best you can expect from Internet radio MP3 streams is 128kbps), but it is a good way to keep music in the background at home or in the office.

I have made quite a few discoveries of music I would not have found otherwise by listening to Internet radio, going back to the early Internet days of Shoutcast. We used to listen often to KCRW's Eclectic 24 and other kcrw.com programs (when I lived in L.A. I was addicted to KCRW, Santa Monica College's public radio station), but now Kim usually has Radio Paradise streaming via Roku while she goes about life in the kitchen and rest of the house. My bedside Logitech Squeezebox usually puts me to sleep/wakes me up to the alt/indie pop/rock stream from OPBMusic. All of these sources are recommended, but one of my very favorites that I connect with now and then is David Byrne's stream of whatever is on his current playlist: right now he has a terrific playlist of tangos featured.

Geminus Guitar Duo

2010-10-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Foti Lycouridis and Hideki Yamaya are the Portland-based Geminus Guitar Duo, and last night they performed at our local library.

Their instruments are 6-, 7- and 10-string guitars, restored mostly from 19th century instruments they have salvaged throughout the world, often via eBay.

Their program consisted largely of music of that time as well, and represented pieces and composers that were quite new to me. Their program ranged from Johann Kasper Mertz, an 1800s Hungarian guitarist/composer, to some more contemporary Greek dances by Argiris Kounadis.

If you visit their fascinating Website, you can see that Lycouridis and Yamaya have heavyweight CVs and some terrific examples of their work.

The Wilderness Downtown

2010-10-10T05:55:00.000-07:00

When the new Arcade Fire album, The Suburbs, was released a couple of months ago, I found myself somewhat nonplussed. Long a fan, it nevertheless has taken some time for the album to gradually grow on me. One of my favorite cuts is We Used To Wait. If you have installed the Chrome browser and have a decent amount of bandwidth and processor, arguably the best way to hear that song is by visiting thewildernessdowntown.com.

The Creole Choir of Cuba

2010-10-09T16:07:00.000-07:00

Credit the B&W Society of Sound for bringing this one to my attention. The Creole Choir of Cuba is a group of Haitian migrants to Cuba, doing a'capella "undiscovered music of the Caribbean". Visit their Website, YouTube and Myspace site to hear this intoxicating stuff. In the meantime ...

Hilary Again

2010-10-09T07:32:00.000-07:00

Fresh from our mention the other day, Hilary Hahn appeared on the radar again last night when the PBS Newshour did a piece on her collaboration with composer Jennifer Higdon, which you can see here. (Here is a most interesting NPR (National Public Radio) interview on the same subject, also.)

A plus was Hilary's bonus performance of Bach's Sarabande in D minor...

You might also like to check out one of the earliest interviews with Hilary I heard back in 2004 on NPR. Over the years, NPR has included Hilary in quite a few pieces, which I encourage you to explore on its site.

Finally, I must turn you on to one of my favorite CDs ... Bach: Violin and Voice in which Hilary accompanies Matthias Goerne and Christine Schafer in a variety of Bach cantatas and selections from the Mass in B minor and the St. Matthew Passion.

The Jazz Loft

2010-10-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in jazz history, this piece from the ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) is a must-read. And, if like me, you also have forever admired and been inspired by the photography of W. Eugene Smith, you gotta read this story.

http://www.ascmag.com/blog/2010/05/10/w-eugene-smith-david-x-young-and-the-jazz-loft/

Hilary and More

2010-10-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

Profound disappointment. This weekend Hilary Hahn (remember her from this post?) will be performing with the Oregon Symphony. And I won't make it. Here is a piece from The Oregonian on Hilary.

Other good things went down in Portland this week. Arcade Fire was in concert, with Calexico as its opening act. Holy cow! I understand that Calexico was even covering Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" something that brings back my hours of listening in punk-era Los Angeles, with and without Kim. Again, The Oregonian (by way of Jeff Baker, its book editor) comments.

My typical Saturday night at home, searching out musical treasure on the Internet, has now at least these three ways to go...Wonder if that Joy Division cover is out there somewhere? But, of course:

Can't stop there, of course. Joy Division itself:

Now that that is taken care of, I am going to return to violin and Arvo Part's Spiegel Im Spiegel, which I was hearing when I read about the Hilary concerts ...

Six Years of Noah

2010-09-09T16:20:00.000-07:00

I tried something like this in the pre-digital 70s, but, alas, couldn't get past the first 30-some days.

Lots of people do this, I guess. Here's another one, a bit less ambitious:

An Offer From David Byrne

2010-09-08T07:08:00.001-07:00

All The Pretty Little Horses

2010-09-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to and exploring the music of Odetta today, triggered by the previous post on Water Boy. In doing so, I came upon her rendition of All The Pretty Little Horses, said to be an old slave lullaby sung by a mother who had to leave and lost her child to tend to the master's children:

I'm a pretty big fan of Calexico, so was delighted when I then found their take on this song:

Next, here is Laura Gibson's recent rendition. Gibson is gaining a big following here out of Portland:

Water Boy

2010-09-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

Have been away for nearly three weeks in the Midwest with my brother and sister, dealing with our mother's funeral and its run-up and aftermath. While going through her belongings, we came upon a CD mix that brother Dennis has custom-compiled for her some years ago, including Odetta's Water Boy. When we were playing the CD, he mentioned that his favorite rendition was Don Shirley's, but he had been unable to locate or hear it for years. So, returning home, I can now present the Don Shirley Trio, circa 1962, with Water Boy:

This, too, was one of my favorites, nearly once forgotten (by me). The trio's (piano, cello, string bass) playing is wonderful, subtle, moving stuff.

Of course, Odetta's take on this is very special itself:

Beyond Shutter Island

2010-08-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

Last night, Netflix sent along a copy of Shutter Island. I had forgotten that it had entered the queue -- we have a practiced tendency to preload the thing based on particular actors or directors without too much other information. As Leonardo DiCaprio is one of our favorites, he becomes a "first-round default". Before we sat down to view the thing, Kim looked up a few reviews and stayed with me to watch only rather reluctantly, now expecting only violence and scariness and little else.

The music turned out to be, by far, the best thing about this movie. I was taken by surprise when we started hearing the likes of Max Richter and Brian Eno, and it just kept coming -- stuff by John Adams, John Cage, Krzysztof Penderecki, Morton Feldman, Lou Harrison and more. And it was all interwoven into the film with a very subtle touch. Really interesting was a mix by Robbie Robertson that played during the final credits roll, overlaying Max Richter's On The Nature of Daylight with (the late/great) Dinah Washington's rendition of This Bitter Earth.

This Bitter Earth / On The Nature of Daylight Mix

Captured: America in Color from 1939-1943

2010-08-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

The Denver Post's always-interesting photo blog recently published an array of color photos, taken between 1939 and 1943, by photographers commissioned by the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information. See them all on the Denver Post's Plog.

The photo at left was done by Jack Delano, one of the famous FSA photographers recruited by Roy Stryker to document the Great Depression, its aftermath and other Americana. As such, Delano was on the same team as the likes of Dorothea Lange and John Vachon (Vachon, interestingly, was "rediscovered" recently when a series of his very rare Marilyn Monroe photos from the 50s was published this year). I also find it interesting that Delano was also a composer of music.

Back Again, The Society of Sound and Afro Celts

2010-08-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

After a 4,000 plus mile July auto/photo trip from Oregon to/through Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah and back, I am ready to return to home bound life and new music listens.

Hoping not to sound like a commercial, I just made a foray into the Society of Sound (sponsored by the highly-reputed audiophile British loudspeaker makers, Bowers & Wilkins (B&W). I had often heard of the Society of Sound as being a source of 16-bit and 24-bit lossless digital music of extremely high quality through blogs, Stereophile, etc., but I have finally got around to starting a three-month trial membership, which lets me download selected samples. If what I downloaded and heard last night is a good indication of what can come of a full subscription (I think it is only about $60/year), I'm pretty much getting right in line.

One of the files I grabbed was a 10-minute piece called Mojave by Afro Celt Sound System (a group I used to hear often on a public radio New Age program whose name escapes me at the moment). Absolutely stunning running through my Xonar Essence sound card into my old Sennheisers. (And today I received a UPS package from John Grado, containing my Grado cans fresh back from repair by Grado Labs, so I have to try that configuration, too.) And I heard just the 16-bit FLAC version, so can't wait to hear a 24-bit version. You can get a little taste of some of Afro Celt's music -- including a lower-fi version of Mojave -- on its MySpace site. Or check them out at the Society of Sound blog. Great stuff. Btw, it appears that the Society of Sound album is a special remix-remastering available nowhere else, at least in this particular compilation.

Peter Gabriel Covers Tom Waits For The Voice Project

2010-06-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

Peter Gabriel » Tom Waits from The Voice Project on Vimeo.

Thanks again to John for turning me onto The Voice Project and sharing with me our interest in the music of Tom Waits.

Do It In Your Living Room

2010-05-31T10:43:00.000-07:00

Friend John tells me that his friend Keith and other fans helped pull off this "2010 Living Room Tour" event, inviting the Trashcan Sinatras to perform in a Portland living room to unofficially kick off their U.S. tour. Read about it here.

Try the Trashcan Sinatras Myspace page if you want to hear some of their music.

Bettye LaVette, The Morning After

2010-05-31T10:32:00.002-07:00

A couple of days later, and more listens, I must admit that my enthusiasm is waning somewhat. As much as I like Bettye, her take on every piece in this album (see Bettye LaVette and the Brits) seems pretty much the same so far. You be the judge.

Bettye LaVette and the Brits

2010-05-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

Found out about this while listening to that great radio humor-news show, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on NPR Radio this morning:

If you even begin to like soul-funk-rhythm/blues goddess Bettye LaVette as much as I do, you will probably love this stuff. I'm ordering my own copy immediately.

Visit Bettye

Lost, and Then Some ...

2010-05-26T02:54:00.000-07:00

Okay. People keep asking, so I may as well get it over with.

Daughter Ivi talked me into staying up with her for the finale Sunday night of LOST.

What a disappointment. Smaltzy, cliche-ridden, cop-out, juvenile, boring are all terms that come to mind, even though I suppose that in a general way it is almost the best that could be hoped for, given the corner the writers seemed to have painted themselves into. Some nice moments here and there, but mostly gratuitous and rather insipid. Reminded me of Indiana Jones films in places. Jack (I suppose that one mark of the show's success is how I think of such characters as "Jack" and not Matthew Fox, for example) seemed rather foolish and pathetic. "Sawyer" continues his stream of overacting (probably trying to act his way out of bad writing), etc. The worst of it all -- Ivi and I were both in agreement on this -- was the music; the soundtrack seemed like something from a cheap Hollywood film or TV show from years past, almost canned off-the-shelf stuff that might be included in do-it-yourself video or slideshow production software for amateur home users. If I had never seen any interviews of the writers, it might have helped; they seemed uninspired, almost juvenile, a bit too full of themselves and the "importance" of their themes and willing to go off in whatever direction their whims seemed to take them. You could almost imagine storylines coming out of a Cheech-and-Chong-like pot-smoking session.

I have refused to let Lost waste any more of my life, so I am avoiding any reviews or post-mortems, but I do get the drift that as many people loved it as hated it, and it continues to be controversial. Perhaps some sort of movie sequel(s) will emerge later on. Heck, maybe a video game.

ADDENDUM #1: I recently rather accidentally discovered my latest fix for TV dramedy: Six Feet Under. For some reason, I had never heard of that five-season HBO series that had launched in 2001 or 2002, nor did I know anyone else who did. Stumbling across the fact that Radiohead had some part in its OST, I had to take a listen. Figuring that if Radiohead was involved, it couldn't be all bad, so I Netflix'd the first disk of season one, and have become hooked. Closing in by now on season five, I have to move Six Feet Under to position two, just behind my current "all-time" TV fave, Mad Men. Battlestar Galactica is probably number three, and Lost has slipped to fourth spot. If you haven't done Six Feet Under, I highly recommend that you give it a go. I do get sick and tired of, say, characters like Brenda, but after all that is how it often works out in real life with people you still stick with. These are characters you come to really care about, in contrast to the Lost characters, who mostly gradually became increasingly meaningless. But the Six Feet Under acting is great (the women actors are especially impressive), and the writing and other qualities don't let up. (By the way, I have imagined and speculated on an end to that series -- please, no spoilers -- that would perhaps be something like I had hoped for with Lost, only done right ...)

ADDENDUM #2: I also find myself currently following ABC's Flash Forward, for escapist fare that suits my sci-fi fancy when I come home from work so wiped out that I cannot seem to leave my easy chair. Mostly good fun. Lost's "Charlie" really comes on as a great sometimes bad guy in this thing, and I find myself somewhat drawn to the Janice and Dmitri characters, but the others are mostly forgettable.

ADDENDUM #3: On one of those recent occasions when I fell asleep in aforementioned easy chair, I was to awaken for about half an hour to catch a chunk of a new BBC Hamlet done in modern trappings, led by the Doctor Who character (a favorite of my kids in that series; I forget his name) playing a barefoot, rock tee-shirted, levis-wearing crazy-making Hamlet. This one must be revisited when it comes around again, or maybe I will seek out the DVD -- there must be one -- when I get a chance.

The Tallest Man on Earth

2010-05-08T08:31:00.001-07:00

Friend John suggests this one ...

Song Of The Day: Sorrow

2010-05-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

This piece is from High Violet, a new album from The National.

You can stream the album in its entirety from NPR First Listen until its release date on May 11. Don't know if the embed above will go away at that time. I pretty much like everything on High Violet; but I have been a fan of The National for some time now ...

The Jerusalem Project

2010-05-04T23:51:00.000-07:00

Jordi Savall is responsible for one of my favorite CDs, period. It is the 1991 soundtrack to the film (which is worth a watch, too), "Tous les matins du monde".

So my interest was aroused when I learned that he was doing The Jerusalem Project at the Lincoln Center this week. This thing seems to be a pretty ambitious presentation of music that came out of the religions and cultures that influenced the city's development over the past six centuries, using authentic instrumentation and voicing when possible. Much different than the Baroque music from Tous les matins du monde, it is nonetheless a compelling listen. You can stream it from NPR now, all two and a half hours' worth. Listening to this -- and I haven't finished it all yet -- is today's birthday present to myself.

Singing Poetry

2010-04-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

Natalie Merchant has just released an album, Leave Your Sleep, generated from a six-year-long project to put to music the words of a number of mostly 19th- and 20th-century poets: Robert Graves, Ogden Nash, others. Here is a sample:

Whether the singing of these things is a better experience than the reading of them, I suppose, is a question. But, they certainly do provide some inspiration to revisit or discover the originals. And I will be listening to this music again.

Find an NPR piece on this project here.

Jacques Offenbach, E.T.A. Hoffman, et. al.

2010-03-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched the Met production of Offenbach's Tales Of Hoffman on PBS-TV:

I don't know much about Hoffman (played by Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja) himself, except that he was a real 19th-century German poet/musician/artist.

Always rowdy and a bit weird, this zany Fellini-like production included the androgynous muse (Kate Lindsey), topless ladies dancing with dwarves, guys making out with mannequins, an incredible coloratura performance of the singing "doll" (Korean soprano Kathleen Kim) in Act I (seen by Hoffman through his rose-colored glasses), and much more craziness from the 19th century, perhaps a precursor to French and German cabaret.

This opera, as you may know, is probably most famous musically for its second (or third?) act barcarolle, probably one of the best known pieces in all of opera. I browsed up half a dozen or more performances, of which the following was my favorite variant, as done by Romanian opera sisters, Irina and Christina Iordachescu:

Keep on an eye on your local PBS station and don't miss this production when it inevitably reruns.

What The Still Photo Still Does Best

2010-03-24T09:23:00.000-07:00

Friend and fellow photog John sends along a link to this New York Times piece on recently-deceased civil rights photographer, Charles Moore and the role of photojournalism.

Toby Works Out - Practicing With A New Drum Kit

2010-03-22T08:23:00.000-07:00

Remember Imelda?

2010-03-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

Here is some information on the unusual David Byrne project on the life of Imelda Marcos, for the soon-to-be-released Here Lies Love album:

Learn more here and here.

Also don't miss the video for the Please Don't track.

Don't know who Imelda is? She was one of the most famous women in the world at one time -- do some Googling and sharpen your knowledge of world history.

Johnny Carson and the Rat Pack

2010-03-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

A friend sends along this rarity, for those who might be old enough to appreciate it:

Veering A Bit Off Topic Here

2010-03-05T07:18:00.001-08:00

But I can't resist ...

How Did Beethoven Really Sound?

2010-03-04T09:03:00.000-08:00

Over the years Michael Frederick has assembled in the Frederick Historic Piano Collection an array of antique, restored pianos from about 1790 - 1907, all housed in a Massachusetts village. A recent article from Slate takes us on a fascinating visit, comparing modern piano sound with that of the Beethoven era.

A Couple For Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T11:40:00.000-08:00

First, the Tom Waits classic:

And something for Kim (by Roberta Flack):

Song Of The Day: This Land Is Your Land

2010-02-08T20:33:00.000-08:00

This Land Is Your Land by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.

Last night we watched "Up In The Air", an Oscar nominee this year. This song led off the film, and is not what you may be used to hearing from Woody Guthrie, its composer, or, say, Pete Seeger.

Sharon Jones did her version a few years ago. Although I am a fan of her gospel/funk/soul sound that makes me imagine a blend of Mavis Staples and Tina Turner, I had never heard it before. But you can now:

Coincidentally, we happened to see Sharon Jones a couple of weeks ago on Saturday Night Live, so you can probably find a video clip of her performance then.

Song of the Day: Blagdon Lake

2010-01-30T10:10:00.000-08:00

Blagdon Lake by Beak (Invada Records)

Beak is three-person group, including Geoff Barrows of Portishead, whose work I have followed and admired for many years. Also Matt Williams and Billy Fuller.

At today's currency conversion rates, I paid a mere $1.12 to download a FLAC version (many other formats are available, more than I usually see in one place). You can do the same or just get more information at http://beak.bandcamp.com/album/beak

We Shall Overcome

2010-01-18T06:57:00.000-08:00

Here, in celebration of MLK, two takes on the iconic hymn. First, in the 1960s by Mahalia Jackson, then Diana Ross in the 1990s:

Song of the Day: Wedding Bells by Lissie (EP: Why You Runnin')

2010-01-04T11:10:00.000-08:00

More like the song (and EP, from Fat Possum Records) of the Past Few Weeks!

First heard Lissie doing this remarkable (and almost unrecognizable) Hank Williams cover on KCRW, then OPBMusic and NPR. Right now, I can't seem to get enough of Lissie. And she has triggered some memories and other side-thoughts ...

My brother used to live in a place where the Mississippi River flows "sideways". I would sometime stopover at his Davenport, Iowa home on my flights from LA to D.C. or New York, and see dearest niece Gabrielle, then a very small child (whose own child, Toby Ellis, just recently served up the drumming while laying down some tracks on a project with Crazy Horse's -- of Neil Young fame -- bass player and vocalist, Billy Talbot). Across the street from their apartment the train passed several times a day, and "Rock Island Line" (originally sung and perhaps composed by Lead Belly, and popularized during my boyhood by Lonnie Donegan) figured frequently in our songs and conversation. This was the "Quad-Cities" area (actually I think it encompassed five cities). One of the constituent cities, just south of the river, was Rock Island, Illinois.

So when I found that Lissie Maurus originated in Rock Island, I took notice. Now she is in Ojai, north of Los Angeles, a neighborhood also well-known to me. Listen to her on her MySpace page, during her guest appearance on KCRW (try to ignore Jason Bentley's unfortunate questions and comments) and as previewed on NPR's World Cafe.