Blog Post
Greek urban folk song
by Maxine
This Saturday, April 25, Rebetiki Istoria, a group that plays Rebetiki, a genre of urban popular song that developed in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century in Greece, Asia Minor and the United States, will give a rare performance in Ann Arbor. The group plays bouzouki, a six stringed lute, guitar and there is a vocalist. The songs are often sad, reflecting the difficulties of life of the urban poor. This is a special opportunity to hear the classic form of this music. The performance will be at the Walgreen Drama Center Stamps Auditorium, 1226 Murfin, North Campus. Free. 936-6099.
To hear some of this music, check out the Library's recording of Archodorebetika as well as other recordings of Greek music.
Blog Post
Kids in Motion with Classical Music
by iralax
Once again, you and some very lucky young children have two chances this Friday morning, April 24, (9:30 & 10:30) to listen and step to wonderful classical music. Kathryn Goodson and Eric Amidon will play piano and cello as Gari Stein leads you in listening, dancing and swaying to the beautiful music and a story. The program is a partnership with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra and is always a great way to have fun learning at the Library!
Blog Post
김진표 5집
by Employee 37
2003년 jp4 이후, 5년만의 신보.
래퍼 김진표가 2003년 jp4 이후, 5년만의 신보를 발표하고 대중 속으로 파고들었다. 16트랙 전곡 작사, 작곡, 편곡까지 올 프로듀스를 맡은 김진표는 그의 작업실 ‘소리현상소’에서 거침없는 래퍼의 귀환을 일궈냈다. 3년을 넘게 작업한 이번 JP5는 여전히 저돌적이다. 그러나, 세상을 관조하는 미학의 깊이는 수록곡 면면에서 오롯이 드러난다. 김진표는 이번 음반에 대한 애정의 객관적 정표로 뉴욕에서 브라스 세션을 녹음하고 마스터링까지 함으로써 충실한 사운드를 걸러냈다. 수록곡 전곡을 그 누구에게도 손을 대게 하지 않음으로써 그의 음악적 성취를 충분히 엿보게 한다. 집시풍 사운드부터 트랜스까지 시대를 초월해서 보여주는 여러 가지 음악 스타일은 그의 음악적 스펙트럼을 투영하고 있다. 그 위에 뿌려져있는 다양한 스타일의 랩핑 역시 농익었다는 평가를 아울러 받아냈다. 트랙을 넘겨가다 보면 김진표가 바라보는 세상과 인생에 관한 고민과 성찰이 또렷이 각인되어 있다.
Review courtesy of yesasia.com. Click here for English.
Blog Post
The Story Of The Boll Weevil Jass Band
by shannon riffe
Travel back in time to the late 1950’s when a new jazz band made up of a motley crew of residents and students was formed in Ann Arbor. Known as the Boll Weevil Jass Band (aka The Weevils) they played gigs at fraternity and sorority houses and staged several public concerts. On Sunday, April 19, 3pm - 4:30pm at Malletts Creek Branch, music expert (and co-founder of the Weevils) Mike Montgomery will discuss Dixieland Jazz in Ann Arbor and play excerpts from Weevil recordings to illustrate the various musical conventions used, such as breaks, stop-time, after beats, double-time and changing keys.
Blog Post
Future of Music
by eby
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Recently on Digg Dialogg they interviewed Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. The questions were voted on by the community and a few of them revolved around the future of music. Nine Inch Nails has gotten some press about their use of Creative Commons on recent releases, selling limited edition, deluxe and various digital formats. Notable was their release of the instrumental work Ghosts I-IV under a CC license while still ending 2008 as the top selling album on Amazon.com.
Questions from the interview include advertising, tips for bands getting started and opinions on the future of the industry. You can watch the interview in full online
For those interested in the topic of music and the changing industry we have:
The future of music - Covering a little history and a lot of the future of the music industry, this book gives a glimpse at what might be available in a few years. CDs and traditional music stores will be replaced by various digital distribution channels, an increase in consumer choice and avenues of discovery.
Appetite for self-destruction : the spectacular crash of the record industry in the digital age
For a more general overview and debate we also have:
Off the record : the technology and culture of sound recording in America - If you're interested in a bit more history of sound recording then this is the book for you. From Thomas Edison to high fidelity to the home recording movement, the history, successes and failures are covered.
The anarchist in the library : how the clash between freedom and control is hacking the real world and crashing the system - How the digital age is evolving and affecting our culture is the focus of this book. While touching on music and P2P, this one is much more broad and philosophical in scope.
Free culture : how big media uses technology and the law to lock down culture and control creativity - The title says it all and the book is of course also available online in multiple formats licensed under a Creative Commons license.
The pirate's dilemma : how youth culture is reinventing capitalism - From punk to hip hop, the reuse and remix culture and how it is shaping our economy.
Free-conomics
Related to all this is the idea of making money by giving things away. Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail is currently working on a book about this and you can read many of his ideas on the subject on his blog. He gave a talk about this idea at the O'Reilly Media Tools of Change Conference and you can listen to it below:
Blog Post
1950s Dixieland Jazz in Ann Arbor
by iralax
On Sunday, April 19 from 3:00 to 4:30 pm, ragtime music expert (and former Boll Weevil band member) Mike Montgomery will discuss Dixieland Jazz In Ann Arbor and tell The Story Of The Boll Weevil Jass Band. Montgomery was the pianist and co-founder of the Weevils. He will discuss what Dixieland Jazz is, where the name came from and play excerpts from Weevil recordings to illustrate the various musical conventions used by almost all traditional jazz bands (e.g., breaks, stop-time, after beats, double-time, changing keys). Recordings will include excerpts from sessions with an African-American congregation in Ypsilanti, selections from the group’s 10-inch 78 rpm record, and much more. Be at Malletts Creek Branch this Sunday to learn about a unique moment in Ann Arbor jazz history.
Blog Post
Nina Simone Compilation Reveals Depth of Catalog
by Caser
It's a voice that sounds ages old, a deep undulation from an ancient bayou. Her songs are stories at once universal, yet deeply personal. When Nina Simone (1933-2003) tells you, "my back is strong / strong enough to take the pain / inflicted again and again," in the touchstone track Four Women (click this link to hear the song now), it is with tremendous, unarticulated context -- a single page out of a volume on America's penchant for violence -- that gives her words the power to silence a room, to make you stop for a moment and admire the depth of expression that this artist wields.
Last year, RCA/Legacy released To Be Free, a 3-CD compilation of Simone's work, which best serves as an introduction to the singer's unparalleled musical style. For the seasoned fans of her music, this album also contains live recordings from club shows during the late 60s and a 23-minute DVD of a television special she did in 1970.
Because her delivery is both deep and piercing, and her musical style blends folk, soul, jazz, and blues on nearly every recorded track, Simone has few contemporaries; that said, newcomer indie artist Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons has a strikingly similar, fault-line shaking vibrato, and Andrew Bird -- who plays the Michigan Theater tonight -- often crosses genre lines in his music. Check out all of these artists from the AADL's extensive music collection today.
Blog Post
National Library Week Concert: Candy Band
by shannon riffe
They're back! Candy Band - the famous Detroit rock group comprised of four stay-at-home moms who were sick to death of “whiny music” for kids - will return to the Downtown Library on Tuesday April 14, 1 to 2pm to perform a live concert. You have never heard ‘The Alphabet Song’ or ‘It’s Your Birthday’ played like this! They were a smash when they appeared at AADL in September – do not miss them this time around!
Blog Post
Happy Birthday Marvin Gaye!
by darla
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr., better known as Motown legend Marvin Gaye, was born April 2, 1939. Celebrate this singer/songwriter's birthday by checking out some of his music from the AADL. Try Blue Velvet: The Ultimate Collection by his early R&B band The Moonglows, or pick up some of his solo classics like the 1971 release What's Going On, his 1973 release Let's Get It On, Love Songs, or the Marvin Gaye Concert Anthology.
To learn more about this Grammy winning musician and his tragic personal life, check out the biography Mercy, Mercy Me: The Art, Loves and Demons of Marvin Gaye, Trouble Man: The Life and Death of Marvin Gaye, or What's Going On? : Marvin Gaye and the Last Days of the Motown Sound. Many Marvin Gaye fans also recommend reading Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye, which isn't terribly well-written, but is largely based on interviews for a projected autobiography that was cancelled after Gaye's death in 1984.
Blog Post
A little Raphael Saadiq for your soul:
by manz
Raphael Saadiq has been playing music since the ripe old age of six. His professional music career began with the R&B-dance group Tony! Toni! Toné!. He then moved onto the short-lived, grammy nominated group Lucy Pearl. In 2002 he released his first solo album, Instant Vintage, followed by Ray Ray, both critically acclaimed. He got into producing and has collaborated with Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Isley Brothers, Stevie Wonder, and Joss Stone, among many others.
Last fall’s release of Saadiq’s The Way I See It was nominated for three R&B related Grammy Awards. The album is definitely new soul that is comparable to old soul, with remnants of The Delfonics, The Four Tops, and Al Green springing to mind. If you close your eyes you might just think it's the 1960s.