Tag: music
-
What music is that noise?
We were driving with Mr. 2 Year Old and he heard some noise outside and said: “What music is that noise?” And I’ve thought a lot about it since.
-
My son’s media of the moment
Based on the ongoing series, here are the books, movies, and music my two year old is into recently. So. Many. Books. We have shelves stuffed with board and picture books in four different rooms of our house, plus a stash of library books, so he’s never lacking literature. Some current favorites: Sandra Boynton’s Pookie…
-
We Americans
This Fourth of July, the words that are echoing in my mind more than any others are the lyrics of “We Americans” by The Avett Brothers, from their recent album Closer Than Together. They beautifully capture the cognitive dissonance I feel about being an American, and even made me tear up the first time I…
-
Media of the moment
An ongoing series on books, movies, and music I’ve encountered recently. Songs for Singin’ by the Okee Dokee Brothers. My eager anticipation was rewarded with this double-album’s worth of characteristically clever, catchy, and joyful tunes. I may have teared up during “Jubilation”. The Last Temptation of Christ. Sure, there are few regrettably ’80s moments and…
-
An ‘Unorthodox’ Harmony
It’s good to know that even in quarantine, my old friend synchronicity can still visit me. I watched the Netflix miniseries Unorthodox after reading the review from Vox‘s Alissa Wilkinson and am so glad I did. Based on the true story of a young ultra-Orthodox Jewish woman fleeing her community in Williamsburg, it’s just four…
# film, First Things, harmony, Judaism, marriage, movies, music, Netflix, religion, review, synchronicity, television -
Songs for Singin’
The Okee Dokee Brothers (probably my favorite band right now) are releasing their new two-disc album Songs for Singin’ two months early “so families can listen to some positive tunes while they stay home.” The first single is “Hope Machine”, a jaunty tune that was written before COVID-19 but still pointedly speaks to the current…
-
Inch by inch
My son walked for the first time today, the day before his first birthday. I was in front of him, bouncing on our exercise ball along to some music (Kira Willey’s “Everybody’s Got A Heartbeat” to be exact). He wanted in on the bouncing action. He was already standing—he’s been standing strongly in place for…
-
Media of the moment
An ongoing series on books, movies, and music I’ve encountered recently. May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers. Heard about this documentary from the Armchair Expert episode with the Avett Brothers. Made me appreciate them anew. Closer Than Together by The Avett Brothers. “We Americans” should be the new national anthem. The Feather…
-
My son’s media of the moment
Based on the ongoing series on books, movies, and music I’ve encountered recently. The Best of Raffi. The man is famous for a reason. I’ll bet even the mere mention of “Baby Beluga”, “Down By the Bay”, or “Bananaphone” has you singing along in your head. Dance for the Sun by Kira Willey. It’s kinda…
-
Media of the moment
An ongoing series on books, movies, and music I’ve encountered recently. Klazz Brothers & Cuba Percussion. Their Mozart Meets Cuba and Classical Meets Cuba mashups are great for people who want to get into either classical or Latin/jazz. What is the Bible? by Rob Bell. I much prefer Bell in audiobook form, where his engaging…
-
This is his song
One day I was trying to soothe my fussy baby with some bouncing and singing. I faced him toward me and then out of nowhere started singing a melody that popped into my head. The combination of the song and how I swayed and bounced him calmed him right away, and even elicited a smile.…
-
Love & Revelation
So excited to receive Over the Rhine’s gorgeous new album Love & Revelation in the mail. I don’t get many CDs these days, so it was a treat to admire the design and new-CD smell: This album was part of Over the Rhine’s fundraiser from a few years ago my wife and I contributed to.…
-
Why I love Kanopy, Hum, and System Information
Want to give some love to three services I’ve enjoyed lately: Kanopy Kanopy is a free streaming service available through your public library. (If it isn’t, ask them to get it!) Abundant with titles from A24, The Criterion Collection, and other high-quality providers, it’s rife with a delightful array of foreign films, indies, and documentaries…
-
Now available: ‘The Wonder Of It All’, a new album of old demos
Surprise! I just released a new album of old demos called The Wonder Of It All, now available on SoundCloud. Since 2010, when I first got my MacBook Pro, I’ve used GarageBand to record song ideas. Some of them remain fragments and half-songs, but many have become full songs. This album is a collection of…
-
Media of the moment
An ongoing series on books, movies, and music I’ve encountered recently. Truman by David McCullough. I’m not saying some parts aren’t skimmable, but I am saying this 1,000-page book (not including endnotes and index) didn’t feel that long and indeed deserves the Pulitzer Prize for Biography it received. That’s a testament to both McCullough and Truman,…
-
Ram McCartney
Rob Sheffield’s Dreaming the Beatles (highly recommended) has a great Paul McCartney quote on his own solo work: I hear some of them and think, blimey, you should finish that one someday, son. I don’t think that applies to his more recent ones, which I really like: 2005’s Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, 2007’s…