If you think you’re allergic to folk music, here’s the cure. This three-disc anthology of live recordings contains some of the most powerful, soulful music ever made with or without benefit of amplifiers. It’s not folk music in the “folkie” singer-songwriter genre—the performers are mostly Southerners born in the late 19th or early 20th century [...]
Archive for the ‘Music’ Category
Friends of Old Time Music: The Folk Arrival 1961-1965
Posted in Music, Penelope's Picks on November 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Classical 2009
Posted in Dwight's Picks, Music on November 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
One of my favorite CDs, Classical 2009 features a variety of pieces performed by some of the biggest names in the classical and classical crossover performing world. If you are a new listener to classical music– or if you are like me and you enjoy discovering new music– you are sure to find something you [...]
The Fame, by Lady Gaga
Posted in Cara's Picks, Music on June 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I had just started hearing the name “Lady Gaga” tossed around, when I heard she would playing a concert in Richmond. I planned to buy tickets, but they sold out so fast. I was shocked, wondering who is this Lady Gaga, and why are people so quick to buy tickets to see her? That [...]
Touch Me, I’m Sick: The 52 Creepiest Love Songs You’ve Ever Heard, by Tom Reynolds
Posted in Books, Dark humor, Humor, Music, Neil's Picks, Subculture on May 20, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Have you listened closely to the words of your favorite love song? Listen again…
“Every Breath You Take,” that rock classic by The Police is among the top 10 songs played at weddings and funerals. Whoops! It’s about Sting’s bitter reaction to the end of his first marriage, and if you listen closely, it sounds like [...]
Songs of Joy & Peace: Yo-Yo Ma & Friends
Posted in Dwight's Picks, Music on January 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
On this album, the cellist Yo-Yo Ma joins many of his favorite artists from around the world to perform songs in honor of the holiday season. An eclectic mix of songs and styles is represented here, only a few of which are strictly associated with Christmas or the holidays. I enjoyed hearing Yo-Yo Ma [...]
Young @ Heart
Posted in Documentary, Humor, Melissa's Picks, Music, Quirky characters on October 13, 2008 | 2 Comments »
I’ve been raving about this delightful documentary about a senior citizens’ chorus. The group, led by the patient Bob Cilman, has performed across the United States and in Europe. This documentary focuses on seven weeks they spend preparing for a new concert in Northampton, Mass.
The average age of the chorus members is 81 – [...]
Time to Say Goodbye, by Sarah Brightman
Posted in Dwight's Picks, Music, Readers' advisory on April 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Sarah Brightman made it big singing in Broadway hits like Cats and Phantom of the Opera. Over the past couple of years she has branched out on her own and come out with a long string of hit albums that have consistently made it to the top of the Billboard 200 and Billboard’s Classical Crossover [...]
Positively 4th Street: the Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Farina, and Richard Farina, by David Hajdu
Posted in Biography, Books, Characters, Music, Neil's Picks, Nonfiction, Readers' advisory on February 4, 2008 | 2 Comments »
I’m always fascinated by those historical moments when everything lines up right and a small group of friends and acquaintances produces not just one famous person, but a whole group of historically important people. David Hajdu has captured one of those moments in his book Positively 4th Street.
Many people may have forgotten, but there was a [...]

