I don't often post satirical videos, but thanks to Gwarlingo reader Elly Weiss, I had the pleasure of watching this hilarious "commercial" for the "all-time greatest hits by the beloved twelve-tone masters" this morning and wanted to pass it along. The fact that the video was posted by the Arnold [...]
Robin MacArthur and Tyler Gibbons are Red Heart the Ticker (Photo by Doron Gild) Two weeks after Hurricane Irene I'm wandering the back-roads of Marlboro, Vermont, making my way to Robin MacArthur and Tyler Gibbons, also known as the music duo Red Heart the Ticker. Route 9--the main thoroughfare [...]
How aware are we of sound as we move through the course of our day? Which sounds do we register and which do we ignore? Do we even give the subject much thought? "Quintetto" by the Italian artist collective Quiet Ensemble is an intriguing blend of music, sound and installation art. [...]
Today is the birthday of jazz legend Sonny Rollins. At the age of 81, Rollins is still touring, making new music, and recording records. The long, remarkable career of Sonny Rollins is a good example of how sustaining it can be for an artist to have time alone to think, practice, [...]
As the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, there is no shortage of news stories, official ceremonies, and tributes. But this weekend I've been contemplating how the arts community fits into all of this speechifying and memorializing. What is the artistic legacy of 9/11 now that it is a decade behind [...]
Here at Gwarlingo I've been neglecting the musicians in recent weeks. I've been consumed with Irene, the secret gardens of Rockefeller Center, Jane Hirshfield's new book, poetry bombing, Barry Underwood's incredible landscape photographs, and these Japanese manhole covers, which have suddenly gone viral after being posted on Andrew Sullivan's The Dish [...]
In March of this year I had the opportunity to see the musician, writer, and artist Joseph Keckler perform to a packed house at MacDowell Downtown, The MacDowell Colony's free series of artist presentations and performances in downtown Peterborough, New Hampshire. The buzz in the room was palatable, and yet no [...]
"I’ve long been drawn to...'gnostic' texts–-those rejected, supposedly heretical texts from long before Christianity became an organized religion." (Photo by Greg Kessler) Paul Brantley is a man who moves between worlds. A multifaceted musician, he has performed as a cellist with Trey Anastasio, recorded for Béla Fleck and James [...]
On my recent visit to the UK I talked to several music lovers about the British music scene. One classical pianist I met in London recommended the choral work of British composer Jonathan Harvey and urged me to investigate the excellent website Sound and Music, which covers the contemporary [...]
Wilco's new record The Whole Love will be released on September 27th. It is the first album on the band's own label dBpm Records (shorthand for decibels per minute). The new label will handle “all future Wilco recordings and more,” in association with ANTI- Records, which will aid in distribution [...]
For all of you Bon Iver fans who have been patiently waiting for new music, your wait is about to come to an end. Bon Iver's new self-titled album will be released on June 21st. In the March issue of Rolling Stone, Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon offers a [...]