Try to Remember

September is here, and I know of no better way to sink into this month's romance than listening to "Try to Remember," a song from the musical comedy The Fantasticks. Here is Jerry Orbach, who belonged to the original Off-Broadway production, performing the song. Resources NPR All Things Considered (December 13, 2001): The Fantasticks, the …

Like Rock & Roll Radio

Ray LaMontagne and The Pariah Dogs performed "Like Rock & Roll and Radio" on Live on Letterman. This song belongs to their latest album, God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise. I regard Montagne as one of the most gifted songwriters and musicians. His mellow folk style and hauntingly beautiful voice linger with me like …

Stuff Aesthetic Fascists Like: Best Rock Albums (So Far) of 2011

I declare that the best rock albums of the year (so far) are Radiohead's The King of Limbs and Bon Iver's Bon Iver. Adele's 21 also deserves an honorable mention. Nobody makes records like Radiohead. Everything in the band's music is off-kilter in the most artful and beautiful ways. It's experimental and conceptual, but not …

Songs for Grown-Up Kids: Wake Up | All Is Love

In 2009 Spike Jonze adapted Maurice Sendak's 1963 children's book Where the Wild Things Are into a film. The trailer features a song by Arcade Fire while the soundtrack features original songs from Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and the Kids. "Wake Up" addresses the fragile condition of the child's heart and the …

REVIEW: Kevin Whitehead, Why Jazz?

My review of Kevin Whitehead's Why Jazz?: A Concise Guide (Oxford, 2011) is now online at Books & Culture. Here are the opening paragraphs: Music endears itself to us long before we achieve an understanding of it. When I was enrolled at Wheaton College, where students must uphold a covenant (popularly known as "the pledge") …

A Strategy for Keeping Abreast of New Music

I try to keep pace with the publication of new books, but I am nearly always behind when it comes to the release of new albums. Henceforth, my strategy for keeping abreast of developments in music: wait until National Public Radio compiles their annual list of favorite albums. After reading short reviews and listening to …

La Boheme

Last night I saw the Colorado Opera performance of Puccini's La Boheme. I've heard the music before but nothing could prepare me for the intensification of feeling that I experienced when hearing the successive arias at the end of Act 1. Puccini invites me into a Parisian garret of bohemians, where I witnessed a tender …