On Demand
Spinning On Air Archive
- 2009
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
January 2004
Jim O'Rourke
Friday, January 30, 2004
Composer and multi-instrumentalist Jim O'Rourke visits to discuss his work with Wilco, Sonic Youth, and Stereolab, and to share his own genre- and expectation-defying music. Jim O'Rourke is a busy musician. His own recordings range from elaborately arranged tuneful songs to electronic free improvisation. In addition, he's a new member of the well-established alternative band Sonic Youth, he mixed the new Wilco CD, plays on Stereolab's latest, and a lot more. He's also a virtuoso collector of recordings, and on this show O'Rourke joins host David Garland to share his enthusiasms and music.
Adam Pierce, the Mice Parade and Bubblecore
Friday, January 23, 2004
Adam Pierce is a composer and multi-instrumentalist (drums, guitar, etc). His projects include the bands Mice Parade, Igloo, and The Dylan Group; he also founded Bubblecore, a label that releases albums by those bands and others. The music itself is hard to define, but it makes exciting sounds by mixing fast drum patterns, acoustic guitars, subdued vocals, vibraphones, and electronics into unusual combinations. On this show Adam Pierce joins host David Garland to share his new Mice Parade release "Obrigado Saudade," and recordings by his other bands, and label mates Nobukazu Takemura, Rex, HiM, and others. He'll also tell us a bit about how the vegetable world responds to music.
Some Modern Chansons
Friday, January 16, 2004
The European Chanson tradition offers sophisticated songwriting with a personal point of view and a distinctive singing voice. The performers featured on this program come from that tradition, and are bringing it into the 21st Century. Italian singer and songwriter Gianmaria Testa uses a raspy voice to sing his abstract, evocative lyrics to sometimes-gentle, sometimes-swinging accompaniments. Young French songwriter Keren Ann is heard singing two of her wistful songs in French. German-born Nico intones some songs by Lou Reed and John Cale, in recordings made over 30 years ago but which still sound adventurous and new. American Rufus Wainwright writes and sings his own songs in a way that's both ornate and direct, and is closer to Chanson than most American songwriters. Also, Phil Klein's "Zippo Songs" set preexisting texts to music, just like lieder or Art Songs, but his texts were scratched onto Zippo lighters by American GIs in Viet Nam, and the music is thoroughly wired. This show opens with selections from a live performance by the Icelandic group Sigur Ros with the London Sinfonietta and a choir, playing "Odin's Raven Magic," based on the ancient Scandinavian Eddas.
A Visit from the Cats: Gene Deitch and Kim Deitch
Friday, January 09, 2004
Gene Deitch is an Oscar-winning animation film director. He created cartoons for the UPA Studio (Mr. Magoo), and for CBS he created and directed the Tom Terrific series. He's also been an avid jazz record collector since the 1940s. In the '40s, for a record collector's magazine he drew cartoons featuring a bespectacled jazz fanatic called The Cat. Now a book of those drawings, called "The Cat on a Hot Thin Groove," has been published, and Gene Deitch visits Spinning On Air to share his musical passions and talk about his work. Also joining host David Garland is Gene's son, Kim Deitch, himself a widely respected cartoonist - of the underground comics variety. Kim's graphic novel "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is set in the milieu of the early years and pioneers of animation, and music plays a part in that story, too. Some of the musical rarities Gene Deitch shares on this show include the broadcast premier of recordings Deitch himself made of blues legend John Lee Hooker 55 years ago!
Philip K. Dick Loved Music, and Music Loves Him
Friday, January 02, 2004
Maverick science fiction writer Philip K. Dick loved music, and there are references to it in his numerous books.
David Garland on the Web
All About the WNYC Music Host
David Garland, host of WNYC's Evening Music and Spinning on Air, is also a composer and a performer. He has performed his music extensively in the U.S. and Europe and several of his recordings and downloads are available on his Web site, DavidGarland.com.
More
