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Posts Tagged ‘music’

Funky Science Fiction!

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , , , on April 9, 2012 | 1 Comment »

I recently rewatched one of my favorite movies, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.  I intended to read while it played, and just look up when the “best” parts came on, but I was instantly hooked again.  I had to to gaze, amazed, at every second.  Some parts of act III lag a bit, but [...]

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Whiffenpoofs

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , on March 19, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

One fringe benefit of working at a performing arts magnet school is getting to be around some of the professionals who occasionally visit.  A couple of weeks ago, I got to sit in on a performance by the Whiffenpoofs, a men’s chorus from Yale.  Their work was amazing, and they interacted with the kids very [...]

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Thistle & Shamrock

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , , on March 12, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

It’s been years since my local NPR station dropped one of my favorite shows, The Thistle and Shamrock, a weekly hour-long update on all things current in the world of Celtic music.  Luckily, they’ve started keeping some podcasts and archives of recent shows on their web site. I listen to it a lot while grading [...]

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Cast Away

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , , on March 5, 2012 | 4 Comments »

I watched this a few weeks ago, and it’s the best movie I’ve seen so far this year.  Not too many actors could have sold the scene of mourning for Wilson so authentically, grieving for a lost volleyball.     Just as impressive is the quiet speech Hanks gives about the inspiring power of endurance.  [...]

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Epic LOLs in Milton’s Paradise Lost

Posted in Language and Literature, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 1, 2012 | 3 Comments »

I’m reading John Milton’s epic Paradise Lost, and what impresses me most (besides how aggressively macho Milton makes every detail—perhaps how Ray Bradbury would write if he were on steroids) is how funny it can often be.  Two scenes in Book 2 will demonstrate: As the deposed demons discuss what to do about their infernal [...]

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Another February Song

Posted in Arts, tagged , , on February 4, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

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Heavenly Choir Gets Etta James “At Last”

Posted in Arts, tagged , , on January 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Divine R&B diva Etta James died a few days ago.  Especially for anyone whose musical experience begins with Bieber and ends with Swift, enjoy this beautiful view of what more music is capable of.

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Recommended Listening: Bill Miller

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , on January 9, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

I first came across Bill Miller’s music as a teenager when I saw Tori Amos in concert, touring for her second album.  I remember liking the show well enough, but I remember being blown away by the opening act, a Native American folk rocker named Bill Miller.  I’d never heard anything like him, and I [...]

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Classic Jazz for a Rainy Monday

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , on December 12, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

There used to be an older black man in my congregation at church, and someone told me that he was a huge jazz fan, and had heard a lot of the classic stuff when it had first come out.  So I asked him one day what he recommended.  He told me about “Yardbird Suite,” as done [...]

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The Kingston Trio Performs “M.T.A.”

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , on November 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

I’m very grateful to have been raised by parents who clued me in to neat old stuff like this.

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Coldplay and Course of Empire

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , , on November 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

I really like this.  

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Words and Music

Posted in Arts, Language and Literature, tagged , , , , , on October 20, 2011 | 1 Comment »

A fascinating and wonderful article ran in the Guardian last week.  The author eloquently ruminates over the parallel evolution of literature and music in the 19th century, and laments a perceived divergence since the 20th.  His descriptions of the intertwined nature of the two media are divine: To read Molly Bloom’s great gush of resigned affirmation [...]

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Please Help My School Get $$ From Glee

Posted in Arts, Random, tagged , , on October 17, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

The hit TV show Glee is giving away $1,000,000 to needy school music programs around the country.  As of today, only one high school in Las Vegas is competing–mine.  Anyone can go to this web site and vote for our school.  You can even keep voting every new day–so it’s a lot like a real [...]

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The Rabbit of Seville

Posted in Arts, tagged , , , , , , on October 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

A follow-up to a post a couple of weeks ago, about a Bugs Bunny version of Wagnerian opera.  Here, we see his take on Rossini: Incidentally, ever notice that these old Warner Bros. cartoons all had musical names?  Looney Tunes Merrie Melodies Silly Symphonies

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John Williams’ Greatest Hits

Posted in Arts, tagged , on September 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

It’s uncanny how many of our favorite movie themes have been written by the same pop genius.  Ladies and gentlemen, presenting some of the greatest hits of John Williams:        

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