Year: 2010/Archives

Captain Beefheart

Found at HuffPo’sRIP Captain Beefheart,” CB, aka Don Van Vliet, talks w/ Dick Clark on American Bandstand, June 18, 1966:

And this advice the Cap’n gave his guitarist in the mid-90s (printed in Rolling Stone’s Alt-Rock-A-Rama):

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GUITAR PLAYING as given to moris tepper by captain beefheart. they are not arranged hierarchically – each commandment has equal import. also, to help clarify their intent, each commandment is followed by an exegesis. More…

Paul Bowles’ Birthday

Today is the 100th birthday of writer/composer Paul Bowles (December 30, 1910 – November 18, 1999). Here’s a celebratory sonic survey of his audio efforts…

From the 2001 movie “Baptism of Solitude: A Tribute to Paul Bowles” with music by Vince Clarke and Bill Laswell:

From the CD Baptism Of Solitude,, “Love Song” (0:00 mp3):

From the Library of Congress album Folk Music and Song, “Chorus and Dance,” rung and played by Rais Mahamad ben Mohammed and ensemble, musicians of the Haha tribe in Tamanar; recorded by Paul Bowles in Essaouira, Morocco, August 8, 1959 (1:11 mp3):
More…

HV107- Strange Days

Paul Bowles sittingHearing Voices from NPR®
107 Strange Days: Paul Bowles, Coyle & Sharp, Ayahuasca
Host: Larry Massett of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2010-12-29

“Strange Days” (52:00 mp3):

Way beyond the norm:

“Paul Bowles” (21:03)

Host Larry Massett has an audio essay on the life and literature of Paul Bowles (December 30, 1910 – November 18, 1999) on his 100th birthday.

Includes the ZBS 1967 conversation “A Time in Tangier,” readings of The Sheltering Sky by Paul Kiernan (IMDb | “A Slight Discomfort” for stage & HV radio), “The Hyena” (Collected Stories) by Erica Heilman (VT Folklife Ctr | HV), and PB himself from his 1992 album Black Star at the Point of Darkness.

More…

Paul Simon: Ready For Christmas

Paul Simon is offering a free download of “Getting Ready For Christmas Day.” It’s off his upcoming album So Beautiful Or So What (Spring 2011; Hear Music/Concord Music Group) and samples a 1941 speech by American Christian preacher and gospel singer, Reverend J.M. Gates:

The original JM Gates sermon “Gettin’ Ready for Christmas Day” is online at Dust-to-Digital, and on their 2004 5-CD set Goodbye, Babylon.

Via Mike Ragogna’s HuffPo column.

Chappy Chanukah

HV brings you a belated helping of Hanukkah cheer in this new
Maccabeats single, “Candlelight”:

HV106- Courage to Create II

Washington National Cathedral window, by Rowan LeCompteHearing Voices from NPR®
106 Courage to Create II: Interviews with Artists
Host: Russ Germain of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Airs week of: 2010-12-15

“Courage to Create II” (52:00 mp3):

The conclusion of this 1978 NPR/CBC radio classic, featuring interviews with artists on the origins of the creative impulse (part one). Interviewees include:

“Courage to Create II” (52:00) Carolyn Jensen Chadwick & Tom Steward

Psychologist Rollo May (author of The Courage to Create), scupltor Ernst Neizvestny (translation read by Mike Waters), jazz violinist Joe Venuti, composer Harry Somers, classical guitarist Larry Snitzler, dancer Francesca Corkle (Joffrey Ballet), actor/director Jeanne Moreau, stained glass artist Rowan LeCompte, photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Produced by Carolyn Jensen Chadwick and Tom Steward; narrator: Russ Germain; technicians: Jim Anderson, Jan Stewart; executive producer: Digby Piers.

In HV’s not-so-humble opinion, Carolyn Jensen Chadwick was NPR’s best producer. She died August 2010; a few remembrances: All Things Considered | The Atlantic | Hearing Voices | LA Observed | Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Morning Edition.

USA Fellow

USA logoIt’s official: I (Barrett Golding) have just been named a 2010 USA Rasmuson Fellow: “United States Artists Announces 50 USA Fellowships for 2010.”

Comes with lotsa prestige, an astounding collection of performances put on for us last night at Jazz at Lincoln Ctr (gotta be NYC’s best venue) by current and former fellows, and a whopping $50K.

HV producer Scott Carrier was last year’s Rasmuson Fellow. And other radio friends of HV have been past USA Fellows: Dmae Roberts, Susan Stone, Dave Isay, and Long Haul Productions. Other good news: writer Charles Bowden, who hasd oft appeared on HV air, is also a 2010 USA Fellow.

USA also has a big bold new effort for funding artist projects — more on that here soon.

HV105- Courage to Create I

Harold Town painting Mechanical Forest Sound, oil on masonite, 1953, photo: farm1.static.flickr.comHearing Voices from NPR®
105 Courage to Create I: Interviews with Artists
Host: Russ Germain of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Airs week of: 2010-12-08

“Courage to Create I” (52:00 mp3):

Interviews with artists on the origins of the creative impulse (part one of two):

“Courage to Create I” (52:00) Carolyn Jensen Chadwick & Tom Steward

A 1978 NPR/CBC radio classic, featuring interviews with artists on the origins of the creative impulse. This first of two hours includes:

Psychologist Rollo May (author of The Courage to Create), classical guitarist Larry Snitzler, actor/director Jeanne Moreau, pianist Lorin Hollander, photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, stained glass artist Rowan LeCompte, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, painter Harold Town (CBC), novelist Marie-Claire Blais, flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal, folk guitarist Leo Kottke.

Produced by Carolyn Jensen Chadwick and Tom Steward; narrator: Russ Germain; technicians: Jim Anderson, Jan Stewart; executive producer: Digby Piers.

In HV’s not-so-humble opinion, Carolyn Jensen Chadwick was NPR’s best producer. She died August 2010; a few remembrances: All Things Considered | The Atlantic | Hearing Voices | LA Observed | Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Morning Edition.

Xmas Mutants

CD coverThe assault ads of Xmas carpet-bomb our consciousness. The malls deck their halls, running polyester red and green. And we consumers, armed only with our plastic shields, chant “Yea, tho we walk into the valley of debt…”

The airwaves take a sadistic turn toward the holly-jolly, bombarding us in a non-stop psych-ops aural attack of Xmas music. Thank HaShem, the season also comes with sonic refuge, found in Christmashups like…

From A Mutated Christmas, the Corporal Blossom remix of “White Christmas” (3:23 mp3):

Corporal Blossom: last | space

Very Very Underground

We are know the feeling, what music’ll do to ya…

“Uomo d’acqua dolce:”

My Italian friend, DJ Lara Vaienti, sent me the vid, and this story summary:


[Sez Lara: GOSH I LOVE that guy — you can’t even imagine how much I laugh out loud–every time.]

So he  [comedian Antonio Albanese] goes in (awesome way to enter) and he says “Excuse meeee” Hey DISC JOKEY!!, MR DISC JOKEY–excusee meee!!–”

Then he starts uttering those sounds… finally he gets the attention and speaks in… English: “I’m a countryman.”

He says he’s looking for something very underground, he wants something very, very underground. Then he gets suggestions, and he’s like “no, no — NO. I mean, I mean, very very underground.”

And then he makes up some American, something like “watcha get down, hey get down,” etc..

So again suggestions — “Ben Harper!”

“CHIIIIIIIII????” [means “who???”]

“Lou Reed!”

“NO–”

“James BROWN!”

“no, NO –NO!”

“Fine Young Cannibals!”

So then the owner is sweating over thism, and the “countryman” is trying to comfort him. He calls him “MASSIMINO” [“little Max”], it’s ok, it’s ok, you did your best…” etc.

[Lara: The part where he is dancing makes me cry. Italians—]

Insurgency in Chechnya

Insurgency in Chechnya book coverA new book is out by Lt. Col. Robert Scheafer, U.S. Army Special Forces, Eurasian Foreign Area Officer, and poet in the NEA book Operation Homecoming. He’s also host of the HV hour For the Fallen and the NPR stories “Clusters” and “Remembering a Fallen Friend.”

In his book The Insurgency in Chechnya and the North Caucasus: From Gazavat to Jihad:

An expert on both Russia and insurgency offers the definitive guide on activities in Southern Russia, explaining how the Russian approach to counterinsurgency is failing and why the conflict will continue to escalate.

The unique geopolitical characteristics of the North Caucasus has made it a site of conflict for thousands of years. It was, in many ways, the testing and training grounds for today’s conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Understanding this volatile region is especially important now in light of President Obama’s effort to “reset” the relationship between Russia and the United States.

The Insurgency in Chechnya and the North Caucasus: From Gazavat to Jihad is an exhaustive treatment of the 400-year period leading up to the present. Thematically organized, it cuts through the rhetoric to provide a contextual framework through which readers can understand the conflict in the region.
ABC-CLIO (publisher)

The book is part of the Praeger Security International series. Some early praise for Schaefer’s work:

“Incisive, insightful — in short, invaluable.” – Liz Fuller, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

“A must-read for anyone who wants to understand the nuances of the conflict in Caucasus.”
– Brian Glyn Williams, Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth

“Demystifies our longest running graduate-level conflict…” – Col. Andrew N. “Nick” Pratt, USMC (Ret.), Director, Program on Terrorism and Security Studies and Professor of Strategy and International Politics, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies

Good Radiation: pubradio rap

A cat named Cadamole raps up pubradio — stick w/ it, it digs in and gets good as it goes along (fea. Jenna Sullivan):

“Good Radiation (public radio rap)”

Stars: Dead Hearts

CD coverThis be one haunting song, “Dead Hearts” by Stars from Five Ghosts — mp3 courtesy of CBC Radio 2:

“Dead Hearts” (3:31 mp3):

Have no idea wtf them Stars are taking about (NPR’s guess | Song Meanings- comments), but love the lyrics anyway:

Dead Hearts

Tell me everything that happened
Tell me everything you saw

They had lights, inside their eyes
They had lights, inside their eyes

Did you see the closing window
Did you hear the slamming door?

They moved forward and my heart died
They moved forward and my heart died

Please please tell me what they looked like
Did they seem afraid of you?

They were kids that I once knew
They were kids that I once knew

I can say it but you won’t you believe me
You say you do but you don’t deceive me
It’s hard to know they’re out there
It’s hard to know that you still care

I can say it but you won’t you believe me
You say you do but you don’t deceive me
Dead hearts are everywhere
Dead hearts are everywhere

Did you touch them
Did you hold them
Did they follow you to town?

They make me feel I’m falling down
They make me feel I’m falling down

Was there one you saw too clearly
Did they seem too real to you?

They were kids that I once knew
They were kids that I once knew

I can say it but you won’t you believe me
You say you do but you don’t deceive me
It’s hard to know they’re out there
It’s hard to know that you still care

I can say it but you won’t you believe me
You say you do but you don’t deceive me
Dead hearts are everywhere
Dead hearts are everywhere

I can say it but you won’t believe me
You say you do but you don’t deceive me
It’s hard to know they’re out there
It’s hard to know that you still care

I can say it but you won’t you believe me
You say you do but you don’t deceive me
Dead hearts are everywhere
Dead hearts are everywhere

They were kids that I once knew
They were kids that I once knew
Now they’re all dead hearts to you
Now they’re all dead hearts to you

They were kids that I once knew
They were kids that I once knew
Now they’re all dead hearts to you
Now they’re all dead hearts to you

HV104- Vet Vox

US Army troops pose in front of Iraqi palaceHearing Voices from NPR®
104 Vet Vox: Voices of Veterans
Host: Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices
Airs week of: 2010-11-10

“Vet Vox” (52:00 mp3):

For Veterans Day, Vietnam, Korean, and World War Two vets, recorded by StoryCorps, along with a Marine Sergeant’s recent “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” discharge. And we plug into the iPods of active-duty troops in Iraq (photo gallery), asking them what they’re listening to, and what their lives are like:

“Specialist “Laser” Lawrence” (2:08) Jake Warga

Soldier Soundtrack, Iraq- Song: “Indestructible” by Disturbed from Indestructible. “You got to show people that soldiers aren’t just war fighters, they’re peace keepers too…”

“Bob and Carol Harllee” (1:34) StoryCorps

Bob Harlee served as an Army Chaplain for 18 years. In 1965, Harllee was sent to Vietnam, and he had to leave his wife and three children behind. One of those children, Carol, now 47, recently asked her father about his life in those days. As part of the 101st Airborne out of Fort Campbell, Ky., Harllee had to reconcile his role as a spiritual guide within a unit whose job it was to destroy the enemy. Still, Harllee says, his task was clear: “to encourage everybody to keep their faith strong, even though they’re in the midst of the most terrible thing that mankind can bring upon itself.” Bob Harllee died in Charlottesville, Va., several months after his interview session. He was 73.

“Staff Sergeant Treen” (3:12) Jake Warga

Soldier Soundtrack, Iraq- Song: “Send in the Clowns” by Barbara Streisand from The Broadway Album. “They’re not really geared towards a democratic or republic sort of society… the biggest issue will be trying to keep Iran or Syria from moving into the power vacuum when we leave…”

“Army-Navy Classic” (0:26) Firesign Theatre

From. their series of of Jack Poet Volkswagon ads

More…

HearVox Beats

Been hearing a lotta great music lately (mainly on KGLT, and especially on Ben’s show), including Best Coast, Bon Iver, Panda Bear, Pogo.

For your aural ecstasy, we put them and more in a (Grooveshark) player stuffed full of hand-selected HearVox Beats.

Play from this page→

Or launch
the player
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HearVox Beats
Grooveshark background

Wishery- Pogo

Here I go again w/ another Pogo piece; this one a new re-mixup of A/V elements from the 1937 Disney classic Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, called:

“Wishery”

Rock Star Day Job

Marketplace Money talks to musicians of moderate fame who “Pavement playing on stageWork a Day Job Like a Rock Star:”

The singer for the heavy-metal band, Iron Maiden, is a commercial airline pilot. The frontman for Bad Religion also teaches paleontology at UCLA.

Features interviews with members of Pavement, The Vandals, and The Circle Jerks:

Expialidocious

Expialidocious is up again. “Guess Who’s Back In Wonderland,” sez cut-up Aussie artist, Pogo:

After a year producing professionally for Walt Disney Motion Picture Studios, my contract has finally come to an end. The gag order is released, and my classic Disney mixes are allowed back online.

(Old Expialidocious post w/ autre Dizknee audities.)