Andrew Bird at the Guggenheim

I know I've been talking about libraries a lot over the past week or so. I'd like to switch gears a bit and talk about one of mine and Jen's favorite musical artists: Andrew Bird. We enjoyed his music for a while, but when we went to one of his shows last year and heard this:

Recently...

It's Friday morning, and Jen just dropped me off from taking our cat, Cosby, to the vet. He's doing fine, he just needed his regular checkup. Dr. Hotchkiss gave him a clean bill of health, but they have to get a sample of his "used water" so Cos is at the vet now. It's odd and quiet without him here - I usually write posts for you all with him in my lap. I miss him, but we will get to see him again at 5. (Although it is nice that he is not attacking the various papers and magazines out on the desk now.) I don't have any single thing on my mind I want to share this morning, so let me do some housekeeping and update you on a few smaller things today.

Rediscovering my "Lost Albums"

I think we all have albums from our past that we don't want to ever recognize that we loved as teenagers. The albums you hear on the radio from time to time - when you hear them you think How did I ever think this was good? Stuff that is so patently bad that for a moment you question the whole of your taste in music? I think mine were Bush and Alanis Morrissette. My aversion to these albums caused me to lump everything that I liked at that time together in a whole pile of musical bad - something I wanted to sweep under the proverbial rug and forget about.

Well, a recent gift from Jen helped bring some of this forgotten, or "lost" music out, and back into my listening repertoire. A few weeks back, she surprised me with this album:

New Music Purchases

Last night, after having some delicious Mexican food at one of our favorite places here (Esperanza's), we headed over to Barnes and Noble on Hulen to browse through their music section and see if there was anything out that we wanted to purchase, or listen to.

Pants On The Ground

I really enjoyed Neil Young’s contribution to the internet phenomena that is the Pants On The Ground song.

Music Recommendation For Your Weekend

Steadfast reader, please watch this video:








































If you are impressed (as Jen and I were when we first head this song live), then you should check out the music of Andrew Bird, and if you are so inclined, read this fascinating article about him:

Andrew Bird Discovers His Inner Operatic Folkie, By Jonathan Mahler

And have a great weekend!

- Jason Dean

Yo-Yo. Ma.

I think everyone has the one album or record that they can remember being so important to them, in some way. It might have turned you on to music, it could have been an album that helped you through a really bad time in your life. It might be associated with some very powerful event in your life – falling in love, loss of a friend, or something else. Everyone I have talked to about this agree that there is some extremely important piece of music in their lives, one which they hold very dear to their hearts.

The most important piece of music in my life are Bach’s Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, performed by Yo-Yo Ma.

I first heard this piece on a TV special about Yo-Yo Ma on PBS when I was a young teenager. The music was beautiful, and I really wanted to hear more. I went out and purchased this album, and listened to one suite each night. Never before had I understood classical music – but this was just the one solo cello so I could focus on the music itself. The music is very moving, at times joyful and playful, and at other times very sad and almost depressing. Ma has truly mastered this music, and has made it his own. It also belongs to me, I think. This album has almost become the soundtrack to my own life. I listen to it a great deal – while writing, in the darkroom, and in many other situations. There are certain memories of mine attached to specific movements in the suites, so that when I listen to them, I can call up those memories.

If you like music, I’d say give it a listen. It might not have the same effect on you that it does on me, but it’s a wonderful album.

- Jason Dean

St. Vincent

St. Vincent

One of my favorite musical artists is the group St. Vincent, headed by Dallas native Annie Clark. I’ve seen her in concert twice, and was very pleased both times. Her debut album is very inventive and creative, and I would recommend it to you.

But, that’s not what I am writing about today. A single from her new album was released recently, and I wanted to share the video with you, and let you know this is the album I am most excited about this summer.

Without further ado, here is the video, I hope you like it.

- Jason Dean