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February 2004

Great Singing (of Various Kinds)

Friday, February 27, 2004

From singers who express themselves with elegance and finesse, to singers who emote with a croak, this show has it all. Great singing doesn't always require a pure-sounding voice, and sometimes a rasp and a gasp are just what a song needs. Susanna and the Magical Orchestra, from Norway, features a singer whose amazing voice has a limber, intimate beauty which contrasts intriguingly with her nearly abstract accompaniments. Songwriter John Greaves doesn't have a "pretty" voice, but his new album has him singing with just cello and piano, and the results are stark and moving. Also included are songs by Camera Obscura, Dan Zimmermann, The National, Hank Dogs, Solex, David Byrne, Fog, and others, each featuring unique voices.


Michael Holt

Friday, February 20, 2004

Michael Holt, songwriter, singer and pianist, visits to perform some of his songs about love and death and life, with a small ensemble in WNYC's Studio B. Michael's music is direct, true, and musically interesting. Also, music for rat cages and dot matrix printers, songs about living through a war, and more, from Mountaineers, Alexis O'Hara, Matmos, The User, Sybarite, Scott Walker, and Gretchen Phillips and David Driver.


Valentine's Day

Friday, February 13, 2004

Love comes in all shapes, styles, and sizes—or is it that all shapes, styles, and sizes can inspire love? In any case, there sure are a lot of different kinds of love songs, from the celebratory to the forlorn, and from the intimate to the grandiose. Culling from all categories except "bland," host David Garland has gathered a sonic box of mixed musical chocolates for Valentine's Day.


Howard Shore

Friday, February 06, 2004

Composer Howard Shore is up for an Oscar for his music for The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King, and he's busily at work on his Lord of the Rings Symphony, but somehow he's found time to join host David Garland for a two-hour conversation about his career writing movie music. While Shore's music for the Lord of the Rings trilogy thrills audiences with its spirit of hope and bravery, his on-going collaborations with director David Cronenberg explore strange, anxious states of mind. Whatever the project, Shore offers an experimentalist's daring and a vivid sense of drama. Discussed and heard will be Howard Shore's music for The Fly, Naked Lunch, Crash, Ed Wood, and of course The Lord of the Rings.