“Solitude,” wrote Henry David Thoreau in Walden, “is not measured by the miles of space that intervene between a man and his fellows. The really diligent student in one of the crowded hives of Cambridge College is as solitary as a dervish in the desert.” If you’re searching for solitude these days, even in Times Square, you won’t need much diligence–just an iPod and a pair of earbuds. But watch out! Your solitude might be shattered by Tyler Cullen, a student filmmaker at the School of Visual Arts, who recently had the audacity to say to his fellow New Yorkers: Hey You! What Song Are You Listening To?
Usman Riaz began playing classical piano at 6, then took up the guitar at 16. Fast forward four years, and you have this — the 20-year old Riaz playing his song “Firefly” in a music video that’s more like a mini indie arts film than anything else. At times, Riaz plays his Martin XC1t like a piano keyboard, but, all along, you can hear his acknowledged influences — Kaki King, Michael Hedges, Don Ross and, of course, Jimmy Page. (Don’t miss these related videos.) You can learn more about the Karachi musician in this two-part interview here and here, and also find his short album, Flashes and Sparks, on Amazon here.
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Gil Scott-Heron, sometimes called the “Godfather of Rap,” passed away in New York today. He was 62 years old.
Scott-Heron started setting poetry to rhythmic jazz during the late 60s and and gained fame when he recorded The Revolution Will Not Be Televised in 1971. Almost 40 years later, he released his final album, I’m New Here, which included a track called Where Did the Night Go that’s featured above. That same year, the New Yorker published a profile – New York Is Killing Me:The unlikely survival of Gil Scott-Heron – that takes you through a life that knew hardship from beginning to end, but which brimmed with creativity in between.
He looks like Bob Dylan. He sings like our birthday boy Bob Dylan. And yet he’s covering perhaps the cheesiest 80s sitcom theme song ever made — which makes it all the more hilarious…
Back in 1964, Peter Sellers (aka Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther films) made a cameo appearance on “The Music of Lennon and McCartney,” a television program produced at the height of Beatlemania. The schtick? To read the lyrics of A Hard Day’s Night in a way that comically recalls Laurence Olivier’s 1955 performance of the opening soliloquy from Richard III. It starts famously “Now is the winter of our discontent …” (See full text here.)
Rock star, folk singer, poet, and national treasure Bob Dylan turns 70 today, and just in case you haven’t made plans to mark the occasion, we’ve got a few options for you: If you’d like some company, you can check out this Google map of all the septuagenarian celebrations worldwide to see if there will be one in your hometown. Or you can re-read Joe Queenan’s brilliantly incorrect assessment of the rebel at 50 in Spy Magazine. And if you’re feeling solitary and reflective, there’s always Chronicles Vol. 1 and DylanRadio by candlelight.
We chose to go with the lovely “Guess I’m Doing Fine” from the singer’s earliest days in New York City (now available on “The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964,” the latest installment of The Bootleg Series. Watch the trailer here). The 20-year old’s voice sounds a bit thin and plaintive, and the lament perhaps undercut by the many miles of road he hasn’t yet travelled, especially when he moans:
No, I ain’t got my childhood Or friends I once did know. But I still got my voice left, I can take it anywhere I go.
But don’t be too hard on young Bobby Zimmerman… He was a whole lot older then, and he’s younger than that now.
Sheerly Avni is a San Francisco-based arts and culture writer. Her work has appeared in Salon, LA Weekly, Mother Jones, and many other publications. You can follow her on twitter at @sheerly.
So this is definitely not your grandma’s MTV. The clip we’ve posted above explains the making of “3 Degrees of Black,” an interactive video made for your browser, which was the product of a collaboration between the multi-hyphenated artist/filmmaker Chris Milk and a group of 20-something geniuses at Planet Google. But before you delve into the (admittedly fascinating) backstory, be sure to experience the video for yourself and move your mouse around a bit.
“Three Dreams of Black” is a song from the new album “Rome,” itself a collaboration between American producer Danger Mouse and Italian composer Daniel Luppi, featuring Jack White and Norah Jones. The song is a perfect choice for a trippy, multi-faceted project like this, which combines video, 2D and 3D graphics, and the user herself. And yes, we know the whole “experiment” is basically just an advertisement for Google Chrome, but after spending some time in their dreamscape, we’re cool with that.
Sheerly Avni is a San Francisco-based arts and culture writer. Her work has appeared in Salon, LA Weekly, Mother Jones, and many other publications. You can follow her on twitter at @sheerly
The National Jukebox, the new digital musical player of the Library of Congress, features more than 10,000 songs released by the Victor Talking Machine Company between 1901 and 1925 (with the promise of more to come). You can build your own playlist from the many genres of music available, which include some extremely rare recordings from different genres including 0pera, blues, yodeling, jazz, and much, much more.
We also love the disclaimer on the website’s front page: WARNING: Historical recordings may contain offensive language. It’s quite easy to see why the warning is necessary, especially after some time spent listening to the comedy section.
If you want to see a Victor Talking Machine in action, you can watch one getting demoed here.
Sheerly Avni is a San Francisco-based arts and culture writer. Her work has appeared in Salon, LA Weekly, Mother Jones, and many other publications. You can follow her on twitter at @sheerly
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