Peter Gabriel, Us
The artist’s most emotionally direct album digs in the dirt to yield a richly organic collaboration featuring some of his most enduring songs.
Jarrett House North
Still going after all these years.
Latest posts
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Shahbaaz
A mesmerizing collection of traditional and modern song from the great qawwali master.
Roland Hayes
I sang a composition arranged by Roland Hayes this Sunday at church. Our church’s regular choir doesn’t do the summer services, so I sometimes sign up to sing a solo one week. This year I learned that we would be preaching from Luke 2, which tells stories of Jesus as a boy, and went looking Continue reading "Roland Hayes"
Geoffrey Oryema, Exile
An album mixing traditional music from Uganda and modern reflections, by turns joyous and sober, from a musician in exile.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mustt Mustt
A legendary collaboration between the great singer and ambient artist Michael Brook that gave traditional qawwali music a new beat.
Youssou N’Dour, Set
His second major label album finds the Senegalese superstar making uncompromising mbalax dance music that moves feet globally.
Revisiting the Museum of Glass and Bridge of Glass in Tacoma
Way back in 2003 and 2004, I wrote about a trip that we took with our friends Charlie and Carie to see the Museum of Glass and pointed to the pictures we took there. That trip started a chain of events that saw me enter an NPR phoneblogging competition and one of my photos published Continue reading "Revisiting the Museum of Glass and Bridge of Glass in Tacoma"
Laurie Anderson, Strange Angels
In which a performance artist leans into the musical side of her art and finds emotional resonance.
Declarations
For me, the American Bicentennial celebrations in 1776 came and went without leaving much of an impact. I was not yet four years old, so am unsure of what I do remember, though certain impressions (crowds, heat, loud sounds) persist. I do remember the atmosphere of the year: lots of red, white, and blue kitsch. Continue reading "Declarations"
Kate Bush, The Sensual World
Kate reaches a deeper emotional resonance on the sequel to Hounds of Love , with help from an unlikely cast of collaborators.