Archive for November, 2009
Podcast: Leonard Lopate Talks with Ray Davies
The Kinks Choral Collection
Earlier this month, WNYC’s Leonard Lopate chatted with Ray Davies (of the Kinks and many solo efforts) about his latest musical effort, The Kinks Choral Collection. The project with the Crouch End Festival Chorus marks Davies’ first release for Decca Records.
Once you’ve listened to the interview, be sure to check out Davies’ video blog documenting part of his collaboration with the chorus. I have not had a chance to buy my copy of the release, but the little snippet I’ve heard of the Village Green Preservation Society gives me a hint of how great a collaboration it is. Lopate gets Davies to talk about his thinking on the project, I really think it’s near to impossible for Lopate to do a bad interview. And this 25-minute discussion is no different.
If you like the chorus, by the way, you can become a chorus Facebook fan by visiting this link.
RIP Jim Axel
Posted by admin in Uncategorized on November 17, 2009
Long before the era of 24/7 news channels, in the 1970s, I grew up in a house that never missed the local news on the TV (or radio or newspaper for that matter. And back in the 1970s and 1980s–when you were watching Channel 5 (then a CBS affiliate) WAGA-TV–you were watching news anchor Jim Axel. The man commanded my attention and informed me as a kid, he’s part of my news junkie childhood memories.
Jim Axel died on Saturday, after a long battle with cancer. AJC’s Rodney Ho and Doug Richards (former WAGA, currently WXIA). Both articles link to WAGA’s coverage of his passing, but I linked to Ho and Richards’ pieces mostly because of the tributes that flow out of the comments sections in both posts. I was pleasantly surprised to see a comment from Axel’s former co-anchor Chuck Moore (another name I grew up respecting).
A few things are clear in reading the comments, Axel cared about his friends and his co-workers — almost as much as he loved his family. And Axel was at peace with his passing and how he had lived his life. And not everyone can pull that off. It’s not easy–and there’s a lesson to be taken away from that. Yet again, years after leaving TV news, Jim Axel one last time gave this news junkie some information that he could use.
Monte Schulz on This Side Of Jordan
Posted by admin in Literature on November 11, 2009
This Side of Jordan
Fantagraphics Books has surprised me on many levels this past year (all good levels, of course). So when I heard it was publishing Monte Schulz‘s prose novel, This Side of Jordan, I contacted the author (with some help from friend of the blog/Fantagraphics’ Associate Publisher Eric Reynolds) to discuss the book through an email interview.
As detailed by the publisher: “This Side Of Jordan is a story of another America, eighty years distant yet familiar, too, a vibrant and scandalous tapestry of eccentric characters from a nation embroiled in criminal liquor traffic, thrilled by Jazz Age fads and frolic, drunk amid the glittering showgrounds of a booming circus whose flag-topped tents are about to come down. Through mayhem and merriment, past the violence and hypocrisy of Prohibition, along miles of dirt roads and busy Main Streets, we see in this wonderfully evocative narrative a simple yearning for love and hope. This Side Of Jordan is about the distance we travel in America to find our rightful place. …
He spent ten years writing Crossing Eden, from which This Side of Jordan is drawn as the first of three interconnected novels; the second and third, Fields of Eden and The Big Town, will be published in 2010 and 2011.
Monte Schulz received his M.A. in American Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He lives in Northern California. He is the eldest son of Charles M. Schulz (PEANUTS).”
My thanks to Schulz for an interview in which the quality of his answers greatly exceed that of my questions. Once you’ve read the interview, please be sure to visit the Fantagraphics website for a 23-page PDF excerpt from the book.
Tim O’Shea: Your first novel, Down by the River, was published in 1991. How has your writing voice matured in the past 19 years?
Monte Schulz: My basic style of writing hasn’t changed in thirty years. The issue was always doing what I was best capable of. “Down By The River” was the pinnacle of what I could achieve in a novel back then, but after it was finished, I discovered I was capable of so much more. Stylistically, however, I’ve always favored and embraced a lyrical prose, and these ‘20s novels have just given me more room and opportunity to express it. Also, I’ve read much more than I had back then, so my work since that first novel has been informed by writers I knew nothing of at that time – Bellow, Marquand, Cozzens, Kantor, etc. Then, too, I think I’ve refined what I like best about artistic writing, while improving my sense of character and story, and better differentiating voices in dialogue, something that is very much on display now in “This Side Of Jordan.”
Video: John Irving on Last Night in Twisted River
Posted by admin in Literature on November 10, 2009
No, I did not decide to make this John Irving day at the blog. But I do love what technology offers me about my favorite novelist. John Irving video at my fingertips.
From the writer’s website, he shares some of his thoughts on the new book. Here’s a snippet:
“I always begin with a last sentence; then I work my way backwards, through the plot, to where the story should begin. The last sentence I began with this time is as follows: He felt that the great adventure of his life was just beginning as his father must have felt, in the throes and dire circumstances of his last night in Twisted River. And theres the title, waiting for you at the end of the story Last Night in Twisted River.”
And for an even more enjoyment, here’s a clip of Irving discussing the book and his work in general, I’m particularly struck when he says “Don’t take the people you love for granted.” :
TV: John Irving on the Bonnie Hunt Show
I felt giddy just typing the headline. I enjoy The Bonnie Hunt Show. In some ways, it’s a throwback to the era of the 1970s Mike Douglas show–but with a twist. Hunt, a former oncology nurse, frequently campaigns for her cancer charity (as is her right–and for which I admire her). So it did not surprise me that she got novelist John Irving to discuss his battle with prostate cancer (he was on the show last week), as shown in this clip.
Irving is my favorite living novelist, and I am glad he is still living. Oh, and if you didn’t know, his new novel, Last Night in Twisted River, was released late last month. I cannot wait to read it.
Music: Bruce Hornsby’s Intersections [1985-2005]
Bruce Hornsby's Intersections
My appreciation of Bruce Hornsby‘s music dates back to his first RCA album with the Range, The Way It Is. I’ve not religiously followed him through the years–heck I only recently found out that he has a jazz trio, in addition to his work with his current band, the Noisemakers. But my wife and I recently realized we both had enjoyed Hornsby’s work almost from his start. So recently when I was at my favorite CD Warehouse in Roswell I was pleased to run across a copy of his 2006 box set, Intersections.
Back in my college days, I worked in the music library at the Georgia State University School of Music. Part of my job (and this tells you how long ago it was) was to prepare educational cassette tapes of classic jazz albums for the students to study. I knew little about the blues and jazz at that time (and I remain that way, honestly). But one thing that amazed me about many of these albums (particularly the historical archive releases–such as the Smithsonian collections) were the alternate takes and demos that the musicians did of their songs.
For me, that’s the appeal of Hornsby’s live material. As much as I dislike the Grateful Dead, the way they approach music (and the time he spent playing with them) has informed how he revitalizes decades old songs of his. For example, there is at least four different versions of The Valley Road in this box set. On the way into school yesterday, I shared two versions with my son. I make assumptions about my son’s musical leanings and invariably he proves me wrong. In this case, I played the bluegrass version and the blues version (with Bonnie Raitt, if my ear is right), assuming he’d be partial to the blues version. To my surprise and delight, he enjoyed the banjo work on the bluegrass version immensely more.
The box set includes a DVD and a small book that collects memorabilia and reviews/articles about Hornsby’s musical journey. Hornsby’s musical history is a rich one (and the list of collaborators he has appearing on this box set is staggering to realize) and I’m really glad to see in one collection a fairly clear map of the journey he’s taken so far, as wel as the folks he’s encountered along the way.
Mike Bender on Awkward Family Photos.com
Posted by admin in comedy, photography on November 4, 2009
Awkward Family Photos.com
Since arriving on the web earlier this year, Awkward Family Photos.com has amused, struck a chord and/or sparked an interest from a variety of people. As described at the site: “Let’s be honest– we’ve all got them. At some point in our lives, someone close to us has made us pose for an uncomfortable photo. Well, here’s your chance to share your family’s awkwardness with the world. Submit family photos, wedding photos, vacation photos, engagement photos, baby photos, etc! …Although this site is all about having a sense of humor, our intention is not to be mean-spirited. This is a celebration of awkwardness. ” Recently I caught up with Mike Bender, who along with Doug Chernack co-founded the site. My thanks to Bender for his time.
Tim O’Shea: You just finished up the Awkward Family Photos book for Three Rivers Press, is it still on target for a May 2010 release? What was the biggest challenge in compiling the book?
Mike Bender: Yes, the book is still on target. The most challenging part of putting the book together wasn’t so much finding the photos, but making sure they were all cleared legally and high-resolution enough to meet publication standards. These were things we didn’t fully understand when we started the process, but are fairly complicated. However, the publisher has been great and really helpful in moving these things along.
RIP Ray Browne
Posted by admin in pop culture on November 3, 2009
I feel a bit like an idiot when I admit, I had no idea who Ray Browne was–and I should have known, considering he is the fellow who established the academic study of pop culture. He died of natural causes on October 22.
Browne, as noted in obituaries in both the Washington Post and the New York Times, was a distinguished university professor emeritus at Bowling Green State University. As detailed by the New York Times, he taught there from 1967 to 1992. “A folklorist and literary scholar who specialized in Twain and Melville, he founded the university’s department of popular culture, the first such academic department in the country, in 1973,” according to the New York Times.
I aim to track down some of his books and learn more about him. But I have to pay tribute to the man who indirectly fostered a love for pop culture in academia and laid the foundation (on a core level) for blogs like mine.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/28/AR2009102804766.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/education/28browne.html?_r=1&emc=rss&partner=rss
Documentary: Oprah Gets A Gig for Life
According to Brian Stelter over at the NYTimes’ Media Decoder (and as confirmed by Discovery Channel’s own press release), Oprah Winfrey “will narrate Discovery Channel’s all-new 11-part series LIFE, set to premiere in March 2010″.
Does she actually need the money and isn’t she running the risk of overexposing herself? OK the latter part of that question is truly absurd, I’ll admit. Once you have the power to set up a school in a foreign country and are in the process of developing your OWN cable channel (no really its her OWN channel as in “Oprah Winfrey Network”) with Discovery (to replace Discovery Health) in 2010, you really cannot be overexposed.
If you have ever heard Oprah introduce Doris Kearns Goodwin enthusiastically (as she did around the time of Obama’s inauguration, when Kearns Goodwin appeared as a panelist) you know that Oprah can even make sedate presidential historians sound as exciting as the day Tom Cruise was hopping on Oprah’s couch. With that kind of voice power and sometimes (seemingly oddly placed) enthusiasm, I must admit I look forward to hearing what kind of intonation she’ll opt for when tackling subjects like “the star-nosed mole that hunts underwater using bubbles to smell its prey, to epic spectacles, including millions of fruit bats darkening the Zambian sky”. I just like to imagine here saying, as a teaser: “Next week’s episode, we visit with the star-nosed MOOOOOOOOOOLE!”
Yep, should be fun.
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