Tag Archives: music

“Porous, Promiscuous Phenomena”

Jorge Carrión’s article was translated by Erin Goodman, and appeared in the NYTimes on January 26, 2020, entitled “Rosalía and the Art of the Remix.” Rosalía is new to me, but personal and professional ties to Catalonia and Spain incline … Continue reading

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Artie Shaw on Glenn Miller

I transcribed this snippet from the Ken Burns documentary about jazz. It inspires me to make mistakes at what I’m doing. [Glenn Miller]… was sort of the Lawrence Welk of jazz. It was one of the reasons he was so … Continue reading

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged | 2 Comments

Musicianshift

http://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/arts/music/terry-riley.html “For me music is a daily practice that I try to deepen in the sense that I get to understand more about what music really is, and sometimes what I think it really is is the simplest elements — … Continue reading

Posted in Commentary, Quotations | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Robert Johnson

It was in… popular juke joints — segregated stores or private houses that doubled, after hours, as recreational places — that his now legendary music career began… The young musician had trained on a diddley bow — one or more … Continue reading

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Hoodie Apocalypse

Tyler, the Creator, 28, started the Camp Flog Gnaw Festival eight years ago in the parking lot of LA’s Nokia Theater. Music is performed, but I found the fashion statements “culturally interesting.” Overall, Camp Flog Gnaw found a way to … Continue reading

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

War and Art

In this article about Hilma af Klint two themes draw my attention. First, not having been clobbered by twentieth-century wars is a sad and sobering distinction to apply to a city. While there is not currently any comprehensive display of … Continue reading

Posted in Anthology, Quotations | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

“Life Is a Racket” (Nick Tosches)

“The things I wanted to be when I was a kid were an archaeologist, because of dinosaur bones; a garbage man, because they got to ride on the side of the trucks; and a writer,” he told The Times. “If … Continue reading

Posted in Quotations | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Critic Almost Ran Out of Praise

Here’s a review of Nick Cave’s album “Ghosteen” that has a left-handed conclusion. On one level, it shouldn’t be surprising that it’s as good as it is: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have been in a career-high purple patch … Continue reading

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

The World We Mustn’t Live In

Two thoughts slam me at once. They can’t be correlated, but mustn’t they? The first thought is that we live in a tired, busy world; a world of busy tiredness; a world of tired busyness. Such is our world: tired … Continue reading

Posted in Commentary | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Road Ahead

At age 16 Megan, a Texas native, recorded “The Road Ahead,” a CD of twelve sweet country standards. In “Waltz Across Texas” she is joined in a duet by her dad David. The CD was the fruit of their travels … Continue reading

Posted in Album | Tagged , | 1 Comment