Originally published on Wed November 14, 2012 5:41 pm
There are those who consider John Cage to be one of America's most important avant-garde composers, and consequently the recent flurry of celebrations and album releases honoring what would have been his 100th birthday continues. On the other hand, many conservative listeners tend to dismiss his pieces as preposterous gimmickry, rendering the performers little more than Foley artists.
Ra Ra Riot has experienced constant change in its six-year existence, from commercial success and an aborted label deal to the 2007 death of drummer John Pike. But the band's sound has never shifted as radically as it does on its new album, Beta Love, which comes out Jan. 22. With the departure of cellist Alexandra Lawn — there's that constant change again — Ra Ra Riot shifts gears once more, dialing down the string arrangements in favor of a more synth-driven sound.
Originally published on Thu November 15, 2012 10:21 am
I've seen thousands of concerts over the years but none of them, since 1978, have been in an arena. I never had that eureka moment, I just stopped going. That means for 34 years, I've passed on major, monster acts. No McCartney, no Springsteen, no U2 and no Led Zeppelin (that one hurts the most).
Watching Flaco Jimenez play his button accordion is like looking back in time. His grandfather started playing an accordion in cantinas and family parties along the Texas/Mexican border around the late 1800s. Then Flaco's dad, Santiago Jimenez Sr., carried on the family tradition when he released his first record in 1936.
After a three-year stint as a touring pianist with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, California native Aaron Embry struck out on his own. Embry wrote his solo debut, Tiny Prayers, while on the band's Railroad Revival Tour, crafting bare-bones acoustic melodies that recall the work of Embry's past collaborators, including Elliott Smith and Willie Nelson.
U.S. Olympian Leo Manzano won the Silver Medal in the men's 1500 meter run, becoming the first American to do so since 1968. In Tell Me More's occasional series, "In Your Ear," Manzano talks about the kind of music that gets him pumped and ready to run.
Singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell makes his fourth appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded live on the campus of Ohio University in Athens. From the time he arrived in Nashville in the early '70s, Crowell has remained one of country music's most important songwriters. His work with Emmylou Harris' Hot Band — and, later, alongside Vince Gill and Tony Brown in The Cherry Bombs — is the stuff of legend.
