http://inklingsandyarns.com/2012/09/watercolor-background-tutorial/ Suzanne Vega has only one New York show scheduled on her tour supporting the new acoustic effort Suzanne Vega Close-Up, the late January show at Lincoln Center’s Allen Room. It sold out easily, and others may be added, but there is a slight melancholy about the fact, indicative of the city’s lethargy in celebrating its […]
Category Archives: Music
Suzanne Vega interview for Gothamist.
09-Feb-10Frontignan Had to happen, I suppose, that the man who took up wearing “I (Heart) SV” shirts in 2009 should get the opportunity to interview her in 2010. If you’ve spoken to me recently you know that the interview did not go nearly as smoothly as I wanted. But it’s up now and you can take […]
Local Radio.
07-Jan-10On New Year’s Day, I listened to the Woodstock radio station WDST, which is just about the only independent radio station I’ve ever heard. They had their “top 100 songs of the decade.” Apparently this list was determined by listener vote in some way or other. The list is so idiosyncratic it reads like a […]
Diseased, Mesmeric, Astonishing Music.
13-Sep-09Was with a friend last night and we discussed music that is astonishingly good but keeps you inside of your head too much, music you can listen to over and over again until your body feels diseased by the music’s mesmeric intensity. Well here’s Glenn Gould playing the conclusion of the first movement of Bach’s […]
Anniversary.
11-Sep-09For the day, “Anniversary,” written by our best New York singer-songwriter, on September 11th, 2002. The link to the audio is here. The lyrics, which beautifully capture the city in many ways: Fall and all attendant memories Crowd the day with unrelated histories Each year leaves its unresolving fantasies To hang around each corner Hang […]
The Ohio Valley.
06-Aug-09I spend the night just south of Youngstown. All day I had in my head the great song about Youngstown, the most expressive piece of art I know about these “rust belt” towns. Once they were iron, now rust. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVXYzcb3r-w
Suzanne Vega Live.
27-May-09I went with a friend to see Suzanne Vega play an acoustic show at the Sanctuary Concerts in Chatham, New Jersey. If you rely on the radio to give you a sense of what’s happening in the pop music world, you haven’t heard much from Ms. Vega recently. In corporate radio terms she remains a […]
Gospel Music, inspired by Jazzfest
29-Apr-09All good Gospel music is the same; all bad Gospel music is bad in its own way. Great experiences in the Gospel tent at Jazzfest led me to do some online investigation. One of the best churches for the whole experience is that of Noel Jones in Los Angeles. For the music try: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_BxswCQRtU&feature=related This […]
Paul Barnes, Liszt, Music, and God.
19-Feb-09It’s curious and wonderful how certain doors open into further corridors. Paul Barnes, the transcriber of Philip Glass’s Orphee, turns out to be a kindred soul in his own right. One of his passions is the religious music of Franz Liszt, which has been sadly neglected (especially by the Church, which stands in desperate need […]
“Drugs” by the Talking Heads.
23-Apr-09A link to this song can be found here. Sometimes the value of a song is the sense it conveys of inner experience. This is true of the Talking Heads song “Drugs.” There is not much musical structure to it. Its value depends a great deal on its production: I have heard live performances which […]