How was it that John Adams became so celebrated? I'm not asking for rhetorical effect, not trying to denigrate the man, it's something that genuinely puzzles me. It seemed like one moment his records were being released on New Albion and ECM, and the next they're all on major labels. Was it Nixon in China that did it? Because while that had one or two good arias, there seemed to be an awful lot of filler. Then again, I'm sure that's the way with most operas. Anyway, here's something from around [...]
Anyone who has known me for more than a hot second, or who has read the "Info" page of my Facebook profile, is probably aware that, like Oprah Winfrey, my all-time favorite quote by someone else is from the iconic American writer Maya Angelou: "The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them." I've also seen it written, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them," but the gist is still the same: Stop! Look, listen and learn. I also like "People don't change, they just get [...]
Joe writes: Cannonball is in the top 3 on iTunes after a Welsh teacher named John Adams performed it on X Factor last night. It's a reminder that even when an album sells a million plus - as Damien Rice's O did, driven by this single - it might only have reached a fraction of its potential audience. Simon Cowell deserves a lot of credit for (amongst other things) bringing songs like Cannonball and Hallelujah to the attention of people who otherwise wouldn't have heard them. I'm pleased - Cannonball is one of the great songs of the past decade. [...]
7" single, released in 1980 Private Lives - Where Do I Go (A-Side) Private Lives - On Your Own (B-Side) Here is the elusive first single by Private Lives. There seems to be quite a few fans of John Adams and his various outputs which has provided an alternative music soundtrack to the 80's including synth pop, dance pop, moody balladeering and, as here, new wave power pop. I wrote to Cherry Red a while back suggesting they [...]
Last episode, Taylor K. Brown and I, Taylor K. Long, took you through the wild world of Katy Perry, Kanye West, sci-fi, sex metaphors, R. Kelly, Fleet Foxes and Starbucks. If you missed it, you can relive the glory here. This time, the Taylors go through an in-depth personality analysis of David Lynch, and explore demographic requirements for Kid Cudi music videos, daring to ask the question: Why the hell is Drake here? Go forth, listen! Taylor on Taylor (A Podcast): Episode 2 (download/listen)
A tour-de-force by composer John Adams highlights this trilogy of "American Classics."
San Francisco: experimentalism, a meeting of East and West, progressive sounds, rock, blues, consciousness expansion. For decades, it's been the place to go to be artistically free, away from the stuffiness of East Coast pretention and pomp. Or so they say. Listening to the music of six San Francisco composers Monday night - some natives, some transplants drawn by its inexorable call to musical liberation - I'm reminded of the idea that San Francisco's modern classical sound is, more than anything, a rejection of academic pedantry and an embracing of music that is close to the composer's soul. The [...]
Minimalism is a term that gets thrown around quite a lot in the musical world today. For pop music fans, it can mean anything from a lo-fi drone on a single chord to an ambient track inspired by Brian Eno. It gets used colloquially to talk about a band who has scaled back bombastic studio production on a new album. In the classical music world, minimalism is one of those genre terms that plagues those artists who fall under its umbrella. Minimalism eventually came to signify music built out of repeating gestures, simple snippets of five- or six-note melodies that [...]
For Jenny John Adams - Don't Turn And Walk Away Enjoy!
Over the Christmas holiday I was back at home in the US and took the opportunity to rescue my turntable from storage and rip a few more obscure singles. Some of these were requests, but most were just random picks. I did not have time to scan the covers before flying back to Europe and if there are any problems with the rips just let me know - I went through them quite quickly. Enjoy! Search Party - Lost Paradise Red Bamboo - [...]
Originally etched at http://somacow.com Etchie from Etchie and Broncho http://etchieandbroncho.com John Adams Pres Movies Stealing Music Mickey = Bartender Etchie + Bruce Campbell + Shatner The Vault http://www.imdb.com/title/tt03 86846/ Green Screen 4 Ever
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Leila Josefowicz kicks arse. She broke out the "Violectra" for John Adams ' Dharma at Big Sur and you're glad she's Kerouac… rather than someone declaiming in best Beat tone Jack Kerouac's words over the music. (That was Adams' first idea for this orchestral work. Thank God Adams saw Tracy Silverman playing electric violin at an Oakland jazz club). It's the sole reason that Leila's Violectra came into being. It was born to play this concerto. Dharma at Big Sur is a violin concerto about arrival. It's about [...]
A few thoughts on today's Globe article about Cambridge rap phenom Sam Adams... 1 - If the Globe had the story before me (which they clearly did, since the interview was conducted two days prior to my hearing about Sam Adams), why did they wait nearly two weeks to print and allow themselves to get scooped by The Phoenix and The Herald ? (Don't say [...]
As promised here is the solo album by former Private Lives frontman John Adams . It's very dance orientated and typical of the late 80's sound. And he looks very debonair, too. Strip This Heart Passion Strong Stranger Than Love Message To Rudi What Do You Want From Me No Turning Back Don't You Think It's Time Someone To Believe In Hold Back The Tears Download There [...]
One of the true monsters of minimalism will serve as BIG EARS 2010 Artist in Residence
John Adams ' Violin Concerto comes across like a melodic discourse on gravitational forces, but a touch more tender. Alien tensions built slowly from the BSO, with little far-off explosions. The center around which this Adamonic universe whirled was Leila Josefowicz . She's the personal champion for this concerto, making it her signature piece, a task only a Hilary Hahn could envy. She plays entirely from memory, giving full impression of a piece taken within - the raw stuff of notes [...]
Fire Next Time - Stay With Me Now (7" Single, 1988) Ice Cold In Alice - Causing A Commotion (7" Single, 1988) Black - Have It Your Own Way (7" Single, 1987) John Adams - Strip This Heart (from Strong , 1987) The Shine - Shadow Dancing (7" Single, 1985) Commentary: I wasn't that thrilled with the last Fire Next Time single I bought, but this one is an absolute belter of a single. I'm still looking for the album, North [...]
For a long time I've been puzzled by the critical and popular acclaim for the composer John Adams. That's not meant in any disrespectful way. I've got used to the music I like being ignored. When the cultural mavens decided that Adams was as good as I'd always thought him to be, it left me standing confused in the middle of a busy road while the cultural traffic sped by. It's a shame that listeners who will readily soak up the latest offerings from Reich and Glass (or Terry Riley, Charlemagne Palestine et al) seem [...]
Come ogni venerdì approdiamo alla nostra rubrica sulle uscite discografiche della settimana. Anche oggi arrivano nei negozi molti dischi, tra cui gli annunciati e attesi ritorni dei The Cure , di Anastacia , di Pink e dell'icona Grace Jones . Oltre agli ultimi lavori degli Snow Patrol e dei Marillion , quest'ultimo per chi lo volesse in originale visto che era possibile scaricarlo gratuitamente . Tra gli italiani sicuramente molti attendevano i nuovi album di Gigi D'Alessio e di Andrea Bocelli . [...]
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Antony and the Johnsons - "Rise"
Santigold – The Keepers (Duke Dumont Remix)
