Tag Archives: music
Speak Softly and Carry a Guitar: The Bitch Magnet Reissues
The 1970s and 80s were full of loud rock and metal bands with larger-than-life personalities. Or to put it more bluntly, let’s say image-conscious bands full of egomaniacs, on stage with oversize drum sets, walls of amplifiers, and elaborate light … Continue reading
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Contrasting Early and Late Art Pepper
Many musicians’ careers go like this: early efforts bristling with rawness and urgency, a successful creative peak where a bit of polish is added but doesn’t overwhelm, and then a long downward slope where earlier ambition is replaced by simply … Continue reading
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Discovering a New Drummer: Marcus Gilmore
Lately I’ve been listening to Vijay Iyer’s 2005 album Reimagining. Even though Iyer is a one-of-a-kind pianist, since I’m a drummer, let’s be honest, I’m paying lots of attention to the drummer, Marcus Gilmore. Instead of the standard, swingin’, ding-dinga-ding … Continue reading
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Two Songs that Confound Me, or Midnight Plane to Houston*
I think it’s fairly safe to say that librarians often get caught up in the details. I personally get a little carried away by airport carpets, proper grammar, and imagined inconsistencies in song lyrics. So without further ado, here are … Continue reading
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I (Somewhat) Hate Being Irish
Perhaps the only holiday I dislike as much as Christmas is St. Patrick’s Day. I also loathe being Irish. That’s right. Amongst other things, I have little pride in my ancestors’ alcoholism, bad skin, belligerence, and boiled potato cuisine. But … Continue reading
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The Tragic True Story of John Henry
You all have probably heard at least one version or variation of the song “John Henry.” In the first part of his book, Steel Drivin’ Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend, historian Scott Reynolds Nelson describes … Continue reading
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A Dozen Albums You Might Have Missed from 2011
This isn’t a “Top Ten” list because it has twelve items. And it’s not a “Best Of” list either. It’s just a dozen music CDs from 2011 that I thought were worth checking out and talking about. Battles – Gloss … Continue reading
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Batting 1000!
Today’s Eleventh Stack post is our 1,000th published essay. That’s 1,000 days of book, music and film recommendations, fun facts about library programs and services, and interesting intellectual detours. To celebrate, we’ve put together a short booklist of library items … Continue reading
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A Nutcracker Tribute
When I was four years old, my mother enrolled me in ballet school. It was one of those things she had always wanted to try but, as a working class child growing up in Detroit, it was a luxury her … Continue reading
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