The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians has long used that line to describe their music: “Great Black Music, Ancient to the Future” and their membership has, over the years, included people who I’d say deserve that appelation: music I hope is remembered, is fundamental to the interesting things that come in the future of innovative, intelligent music. But for the latter half of the phrase, “ancient to the future,” it’s always brought to mind Steve Coleman’s music. Coleman is a badass alto saxophonist, as you can see in this clip: … and with his various groups over the …
Category: MUSIC
Start Wearing Purple
I know, I know, I’m way behind. Anyway, somewhere in the comment boards at Scott Eric Kaufman’s excellent Acephalous–my favorite, er, can I call it an “academic blog”?–someone teased Kaufman, asking “d’you think you maybe like Gogol Bordello too much?“ Which made me immediately go and look ’em up, and man am I glad I did. Here’s one of the songs that amuses me to no end: While this may be the first rock song I’ve heard that when the singer busts out a little braggadocio, proceeds to references both Diogenes and Foucault (let alone Passepartout, a Jules Verne character, …
Hollyday?
UPDATE: Hollyday apparently is still out there. He’s been teaching school for a while now, but (according to articles more recent that the one I linked, but which I can’t find now) he is apparently thinking of recording again, maybe making a comeback of sorts, though not on the scale of his original, brief career as a professional performer… There are a few updates out there, if you search for them. ORIGINAL POST: Surely I’m not the only person who remembers this guy? Well, Christopher Hollyday now apparently works as a band teacher but still gigs occasionally. (He was always …
But How Can I Forget
Have I mentioned My Little Airport? Excellent little Hong Kong indie band, at least from the album The OK Thing to Do on Sunday Afternoon is to Toddle in the Zoo. I’m definitely picking up all three albums. The best I can describe their music is it’s cute, twee, blippy, clockwork, breathy, girly, indie-pop. (In disarmingly unabashed Engrish, among other languages.) I also really like this song: Get this widget | Track details | eSnips Social DNA
Amusements
A few random amusements for you, before I toddle off to get some real work done: A terrible audio track that my friend Jack posted that WILL make you laugh. Sunset Grill is a webcomic made by my friend Kat. Anyone notice that Obama mentioned non-believers in his inauguration speech without calling them unAmerican? That was interesting.
Another Good One Gone
Yeah, we only really hear about the famous people who we lose. The not-famous people, those are personal tragedies, but the famous ones, they’re not so much tragedies to us as a moment to pause and reflect about how a human being could be excellent. Or maybe I’m just cold? Or distracted? I mean, obituaries and goodbyes propagate through the blogosphere and people mostly post videos of the person singing or ranting, or choice quotes from their books, or whatever. Maybe people are moved to tears, maybe not. Me, I just kind of pause and go, “Huh. Another good one …
Code Monkey
Excellent little video for an excellent little song by an excellent songwriter my friend Mike Hartman has somehow, via Facebook, gotten me into. I know, I know, I’m way behind the curve. Shut up and enjoy the video while I go throw around some furniture.
A Few Words About What?
I had my students read and respond to an essay of Nora Ephron’s titled “A Few Words about Breasts” at some point early in semester. Well, now the semester is over and I’m finalizing grades, which means checking my gradesheets against the homework just to make sure everything’s right. I stumbled once again upon a really funny little error that totally changed the meaning of the title of one essay. It should have read: A Few Words About Nora Ephron’s “A Few Words About Breasts” … except the student seemed to have felt as if the repetition was objectionable (good …
No Depression in Heaven
I don’t usually use soundtracks for posts, but hey, it’s always worth doing something a little different sometimes, right? My friend Jack was, when I first met him, a devoted inhabitant of that space where black and white and poor and crazy meet in early American music. He introduced me to musicians like Ralph Stanley and the Blue Sky Boys, and showed me how they connected to people like Howlin’ Wolf and Mississippi Fred McDowell. It was with Jack that I first heard McDowell, and Robert Johnson, and so much other music, and was initiated into the secret history of …
Time After Time
Music for when everything’s feeling difficult: Time After Time, sung by Cassandra Wilson, from the album Traveling Miles. Here are the lyrics. Yes, a Cyndi Lauper song, on my blog. The song won’t be here too long, for copyright reasons. But someone needs a copy, so… Here’s a video with the lyrics synched up: