On Demand
Spinning On Air Archive
May 2006
Sufjan Stevens: Illinois
Sunday, May 28, 2006
A special two-hour re-broadcast for WNYC's American Music Festival: The brilliant young singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sufjan Stevens returned to Spinning On Air to present his album, "Illinois" prior to its release. Continuing his ambitious project of recording an album for each of the 50 states, Stevens created an elaborate, innovative, poetic, emotionally powerful album of songs that are inspired—sometimes directly, sometimes abstractly—by people and places in Illinois. Stevens joined host David Garland to talk insightfully about his album, and brought his group, The Illinoisemakers, into the WNYC studio to perform some songs live. (This show was first broadcast 07/01/05. "Illinois" went on to be considered the best album of the year by many critics.)
Asthmatic Kitty Records
A slideshow of pictures from the session
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More about WNYC's American Music Festival |
Scott Walker: "The Drift"
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Every 11 years since 1984 Scott Walker, the James Joyce of Pop, has
released an album that digs deeper into his unique, dark, musical
world. A pop star back in the 60's with The Walker Brothers, Scott
Walker began his journey into musical terra incognita with a series of
solo albums that featured an improbable blend of crooning, surrealism,
and experimentation. Walker's brand new album, "The Drift," is
powerful, mysterious, astonishing, and compelling. While it seems to
continue from where his previous album left off, it's otherwise utterly unlike anything else. Like some sort of provocative novel or densely rich audioplay, "The Drift" touches on essential cultural, political, human issues in a way that leaves the listener vulnerable to new ways of hearing and thinking. The album is over a hour long, but host David Garland presents most of it on this show.
The official album site
A Scott Walker site
Mother Load
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Songs celebrating mothers' presence, lamenting mothers' absence, and a few songs about childhood, on this Mother's Day. Music by James Brown, Hannah Marcus, Non Credo, The Books, Devendra Banhart, and many others.
Danielson
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Daniel Smith returns to Spinning On Air with his band Danielson, to
perform songs from the new album "Ships." Daniel assembled his
all-sibling band, Danielson Famile, in 1995, and their dynamic,
eccentric, faith-inspired music--often performed in concert with the
group wearing nurses' uniforms--gained notoriety, as depicted in the
new film documentary "Danielson: A Family Movie." The songs on "Ships"
explore states of being, relationships, and sailing metaphors, among
many other topics. Siblings, spouses and friends congregate in the WNYC studio to join Daniel in some rollicking, celebratory performances, and to chat with host David Garland.
View photos from the session
The official Danielson site
Daniel's record company, Sounds Familyre
Danielson: A Family Movie
Daniel Smith's first visit to Spinning On Air, with Sufjan Stevens accompanying.
David Garland on the Web
All About WNYC's 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.
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