9 posts tagged “npr”
Are there any podcasts that you never miss an episode of?
Submitted by Kadeeae.
As I've pretty much given up the radio, I get almost all my NPR exclusively from podcasts. Particularly, the 7am News Summary, the weekly technology, movies, books and pop culture podcasts and a few alt.npr joints. But my all time favorite podcast is Tiki Bar TV.
The musical quartet Devotchka uses upright bass, glockenspiel, tuba, accordian, trumpet and theramin in an exotic mix of South American rhythms, Eastern European gypsy melodies and North American folk music.
DeVotchka:
DeVotchka: An Evening of Russian Chanson at Walt Disney Concert Hall May 24, 2007
DeVotchka:
Featured on a mix CD from Dru to Fel. I haven't heard it yet and don't know which DeVotchka track it is. I believe Dru's instructions require headphones, a walk around the neighborhood and powerful contemplation.
DeVotchka:
90% of the Little Miss Sunshine Soundtrack features this Denver band. There's "Till The End of Time" which most people would know if they heard it and then there's this one. I prefer this one.
- Malajube: Indie-Rock for Francophiles, NPR: World Cafe, 04.23.07In a burgeoning Montreal music scene, the pop-rock band Malajube has made a name for itself in part by sticking to its roots. Spurning English, the five French-Canadian friends belt out upbeat tunes in their native tongue, but have won over fans in the U.S. in spite of the language barrier. In 2004, they released their first album (Le Compte complet), which was a success in Quebec, but their rise to international success accelerated upon the release of 2006's Trompe l'Oeil.
Good Morning!
Audio: Share a great love song.
This is real love:
Bonus: NPR is all about MLK, today, and has newly found tapes of one of his speeches and a whole lotta other good material.
Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul, talks with Alex Chadwick about her performance on a Golden Globe-nominated song. Franklin is one of several artists who collaborated on "Never Gonna Break My Faith," featured in the film Bobby.
- Aretha Franklin's Globe-Nominated Performance, NPR: Day to Day, 01.10.07
I was on an Aretha kick when Bobby came out but I had no idea she had a song on the soundtrack and, much like the movie, I bet 99% of you (and me) hasn't heard or seen it before right now. This is a shame, really, as Robert Kennedy counts as one of the few political figures I have read a biography of and who I find incredibly complex and interesting. Coupled with one of the finest voices in the world?
Di-sas-ter! < /happyslip >
The title character is a black man who was raised in a martial-arts dojo after his father was murdered by an assassin. He seeks revenge, and the recovery of his father's hachimaki headband, which identifies the wearer as the world's greatest warrior. The (very violent) action takes place in an alternate reality that juxtaposes samurai duels with cell phones and cigarette lighters.
- TV's 'Afro Samurai' Fuses Martial Arts, Hip-Hop by Charles Solomon, NPR: Diversions, 01.04.07
and...
If you missed the premiere of the new Spike cartoon Afro Samurai, you can watch the full episode on Spike's Web site.
- TV Squad, 01.06.07
Maybe I could save it up with The (white) Rapper Show and make a cross-cultural double feature.
At around 3:40, Hudson screams, "I'm staying, I'm staying, and you, and you, and you, you're gonna love me!" and the band bursts into full power right here with the song's main musical motif - a simple but incredibly effective melodic passage that manages to accentuate Hudson's singing beyond where her voice alone could take it...yet never detracts or attempts to compete with her performance. She holds that note - "meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" before taking it back again into, "you're gonna love me" and the band makes sure that the longer you listen, the deeper you get pulled in with the gravity of it all.
- Jennifer Holiday/Hudson: You're Gonna Love This by Oliver Wang, soul sides, 12.26.06
For me, I pretty much lose it at 2:06 into the song. There's a particular "no way" right there, right before the bridge, that hits me in my core. I've seen this damn movie twice this week and both times at that point, I just want to run out of the theatre. As one of the commentators said on NPR's African-American Roundtable earlier this week, she just takes us there.
Anyway, O-Dub has downloads available of both versions.
My Best of '06 answer in two parts. This is the second in a series of extended entries about those parts.
- Jenny Lewis Questioning God on 'Rabbit Fur Coat', All Things Considered, 02.22.06"I didn't intend to write a bunch of songs about God," she says. "I was surprised when I had all of the songs completed and there were so many God references throughout. I guess that's what happens when you're about to turn 30... I think being broken-hearted is not the only thing you want to sing about."
- Review by Peter Relic, Rolling Stone, 02.06.06Gossip's third album was partly produced by Fugazi's Guy Picciotto at the studio (Seattle's Bear Creek) where Lionel Richie recorded "Dancing on the Ceiling," which is all you really need to know about the band's new direction. Brace Paine's dirty guitar lines grind in the Olympia, Washington, tradition, and the addition of drumming powerhouse Hannah Blilie means the trio's unvarnished blues punk now strides confidently onto the disco tiles. The change suits Beth Ditto's Poly Styrene-meets-Patti LaBelle belting just fine, especially when the martial grind of "Keeping You Alive" explodes into a floor-filling chorus.
- A Quiet 'Veneer' from Jose Gonzalez, NPR, 01.23.06Veneer is an exercise in simplicity, with a somber and contemplative tone deepened by an affinity for bossa nova and flamenco. At 27, Gonzalez has aligned himself with folk artists who operate under the belief that quiet truly is the new loud.
- Danity Kane, Teen Ink, 11.06The CD will stand in a high place in music history because of its pure musical perfection. The harmonies all fall into place to create a beautiful sound that intrigues not only the ear, but the mind. By mastering these essentials of music, Danity Kane sets itself apart from other groups.
