Archive for category Music
Anna Trodglen on Radial Cafe Art Opening
Tea Party: This is a tea party depicting the fictional meeting of Beatrix Potter (rabbit), Tasha Tudor (corgi dog), and Louis Wain (cat). Beatrix Potter is of course the beloved creator of Peter Rabbit. Tasha Tudor was an American children's illustrator who loved to paint her corgi dogs. Louis Wain was a famous cat artist of the Victorian era and painted from an asylum for forty years. I wanted them so much to meet and share animal stories. This is a very special painting for me.
Anna Trodglen (or her musical pseudonym Grace Braun) is a name you likely recognize from the Atlanta music scene, given that she has fronted the band DQE since the mid-1980s as its singer/songwriter. In addition to her musical pursuits, Trodglen is a painter who is in the final stages of prepping for her January 8 Art Show at the Radial Cafe (1530 DeKalb Ave NE Atlanta GA 30307), where Trodglen’s paintings and prints will be on display. In addition, as detailed at a recent Facebook announcement: “Anna and her DQE bandmates Dugan and John will be performing a short acoustic set at 9pm. There will also be a raffle for a free custom painting. Food and wine will be served. Anna’s paintings will be hanging at Radial Cafe through the month of January.” We also got a chance to discuss the children’s book she is currently working on, City Mouse, Country Mouse. My thanks to Trodglen for her time and to my friend, Dugan Trodglen (Anna’s bandmate and husband) for helping make this interview feasible. Each art piece in this interview is accompanied by a description by Anna. The art opening is this Friday, January 8, 2010, from 8:00 to 10:00 pm at at Radial Cafe.
Tim O’Shea: How did the Radial show come about?
Anna Trodglen: Susan Archie, the talented and well known graphic artist and designer, introduced me to the idea and gave me the contact information.
O’Shea: The show will feature your paintings and prints–how long have you been painting pieces in this style? How many pieces will be in the show–and was it hard for you to pick which pieces of yours would appear?
Trodglen: I have been painting exclusively animals (mostly cats and dogs) since July of 2008 when I began working with dogs at a doggie day care, boarding and grooming facility called Paws Playhouse. I initially painted the dogs of Paws Playhouse to decorate the facility and amuse the workers and clients. Gradually with support and encouragement I began to paint in this style more and more frequently until it became a life calling. There will be between fifteen and twenty paintings in the show of various sizes, depending on what will fit. The paintings chosen will be based on the smile factor- what I think will make me happiest and hopefully the viewer as well. It is never too hard to pick. I generally keep the best ones of my dog Jack for myself, Like Dorian Grey, Jack has a painting in the attic and…
1980s News: Cocteau Twins Concert in Ohio
Posted by admin in Music, streaming video on December 30, 2009
Thanks to a tweet by SomeBadIdeas (and a retweet by Colin Meloy [of the Decemberists]) I got to watch this YouTube clip of some 1985 news coverage for a Cocteau Twins appearance in Columbus, Ohio.
I’m not sure if my favorite part is the fellow with a typewriter or the concertgoer who explains “I’m a genetics major and (inexplicable nervous head bob movement) everything.” or the co-anchor at the end of the piece who appears to fake fall asleep.
Radio: Dave FM’s Inside Eddie’s Attic
As much as I love music, I have an embarassing admission to make. I have never set foot in the local major musical venue in Decatur, Georgia (aka my backyard), known as Eddie’s Attic. I mean, I’m looking at the venue’s website right now, and this Wednesday they’re featuring Peter Bradley Adams (formerly of eastmountainsouth) and that is just one of many people I’d love to see live that they seem to host on a regular basis.
But what got me thinking of Eddie’s Attic was listening to the radio show, Inside Eddie’s Attic this past Sunday the host (and founder of the venue) Eddie Owen played a great collection of live holiday tunes recorded at the attic. If you’ve never listened to the show, you’re in for a treat.
Now, I just need to make the time and finally get myself down to the attic myself. This Christmas Eve Eve is looking better and better by the minute, honestly.
What Rock Am I Hiding Under: Vevo
Posted by admin in Music, streaming video on December 14, 2009
So earlier today, I was perusing the LA Times music blog, Pop & Hiss. In particular, I enjoyed learning about Vevo in this piece written by Todd Martens. Much to my surprise, this was the first I had heard of Vevo.
Vevo, which launched last week, hopes to become the Hulu for online music videos. I’m of the era that grew up on MTV when it’s bread and butter was playing music videos, not wall-to-wall coverage of spring break vomit sessions or more recently, alleged reality shows structured to glorify year-round vomit sessions. So I welcome a chance to watch online music videos.
Clearly and understandably, this online platform is targeting consumers far younger than myself (Honestly I have no idea who Kid Cudi is…). But it is also offering videos that I would enjoy, for example, check out this Lyle Lovett 1987 classic, If I Had a Boat. I’ve never seen this video, which intersperses interviews of elderly men with stories that have tangential connections to the lyrics.
YouTube: The Muppets’ Bohemian Rhapsody
Posted by admin in Music, comedy, streaming video on December 6, 2009
I may be the last person on the planet to see and link to this gem, but what the heck. Hat tip to my sister, Theresa, who made me aware of it–and aptly hyped it as: “It’s even better than Beaker’s Ode to Joy.” Ladies and germs, the Muppets’ rendition of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
Kaya Oakes on Slanted and Enchanted: The Evolution of Indie Culture
Posted by admin in Literature, Music, comics, commerce, pop culture on November 18, 2009
Slanted and Enchanted
In the introduction to her book, Slanted and Enchanted: The Evolution of Indie Culture, Kaya Oakes writes: “If we understand culture to mean something more than a style of music, a visual aesthetic, or a literary mode and try to define it from its Latin root, cultura—“to cultivate”— then we can see how indie artists have traditionally worked together to cultivate many things: credibility, freedom, the ability to promote their own work and to control how it’s promoted, self-reliance, open-mindedness, and the freedom to take creative risks. Likewise, if a culture is truly a group of people working and living together, independent artists have traditionally embraced the value of networking, making connections, and striving toward doing their art, their way. If being independent in your choices about what you listen to, look at, read, and watch implies a lack of compromise, then many of the people still making music and art independently would absolutely fit that definition. Indie’s ambiguity can partially be chalked up to its emphasis on making its participants feel individual and unique. But before any of us were able to be creatively independent, we had to build on the practice of our independent predecessors. Because indie’s history is in many ways a shadow history— one that parallels and reflects mainstream culture but also poises itself as being a subculture of outsiders— the threads connecting the twentieth- and twenty- first-century indie movements are not always readily apparent, especially in this day and age, wherein young artists face a plethora of choices about what kind of art they will make and how to distribute that art. Young fans often encounter art that builds on traditions of independence with which they may not be familiar.” (The entire intro can be read here at Oakes’ site). In the book, Oakes (who co-founded Kitchen Sink magazine) set out to examine the evolution of the indie movement and the scope of its impact. My thanks to Oakes for her time and insight into the DIY dynamics.
Interactive List: NPR’s The Decade’s 50 Most Important Recordings
So when my friend, Ralph Klein, told me about NPR’s project, The Decade’s 50 Most Important Recordings, he admitted that he was not familar with some of the recordings. Musically pompous fellow that I can be, I thought to myself–well I’m sure I’ll be able to ID all 50 of them fairly easily. Boy was I wrong. I own under five of the 50 and I only recognize about 35 of the recordings.
Consider this list (which NPR conveniently breaks down into smaller chunks with sample recordings for each artist), which I provide after the “more” link.
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.
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.
Podcast: Sound Opinions Featuring Phoenix
Sound Opinions
Normally my favorite part of American Public Radio’s Sound Opinions is toward the end, when the show’s listeners call in with their supporting or counter points to the opinions of Chicago-based music critics, Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot. But this week, the show (which describes itself as “the world’s only rock and roll talk show”) introduced me to the French band Phoenix, through an interview and in-studio performance.
The set that Phoenix played on this episode included:
- Lisztomania
- Playground Love
- 1901
I often appreciate how the show will mix snippets of the studio version into the show as a juxtaposition for the live versions that listeners get to hear.
If you’ve never heard of the show, do yourself a favor and give it a listen on your MP3 player (or at the show’s site on your computer). If this episode does not interest you, check out some of the archive (they wisely provide links to a variety of musical artists) as DeRogatis and Kot cover a variety of musical genres each and every week.