Cool photo exhibition July 1, 2007
Check out Living in Three Centuries, a really cool photography exhibit with pictures of mostly very old people. I’m a sucker for black & white photography anyways, but these are beautiful.
Penn Radio February 20, 2007
My favorite podcast find lately is Penn Radio, a daily 1 hour radio show done by Penn Jillette of Penn&Teller. If you’re interested in a radio show that’s a little bit different, check it out. Sometimes they mostly take calls for an hour, sometimes they have a guest and take no calls, sometimes some of both.
I enjoy Penn immensely as an interviewer / host. He is one of those guys that knows a little about everything (or at least is willing to pretend in interesting ways) and he has a very natural way of guiding an interview or a caller. He also seems like someone very receptive to ideas and discussion while still maintaining a respect for the other person.
Anyhow, give it a shot if you’re interested. You can find the podcast on iTunes too if that’s how you roll.
A Face In The Crowd February 7, 2007
Hey, check out this great article “A Face In The Crowd” written by my main man Cleezmo! Awesome stuff.
My Fair Lady
I play viola in the Clayton Symphony. Right now we are currently working with the Stray Dog Theatre to put on a performance of My Fair Lady (the musical). It should be a really good show, so I thought I would let you all know. We had rehearsal with the cast last night and the lead playing Eliza is really, really great. This is a fund-raiser for both our organizations so we are trying to do a lot of publicity.
The performances are next Friday 2/16 at 8 pm, Saturday 2/17 at 8 pm, and Sunday 2/18 at 2 pm, all at Clayton High School. Adults are $20, senior/student $18. Call 314-865-1995 for reservations.
Also, they have a special Valentine’s package where for $60 you get 2 tickets to our concert and the following discount certificates:
- John P. Fields (restaurant) – 26 North Central – $10 off purchase of $25+, expires 03-03-07
- C.J. Mugg’s (restaurant) – 200 South Central – $10 off purchase of $25+, expires 06-30-07
- A Floral Gallery (flowers, gifts, art) – 7616 Wydown – $10 off purchase of $35+ (excludes delivery & original art), expires 04-30-07
- Massage Envy (massage) – 7736 Forsyth – One-hour massage for $39 (regularly $65), expires 07-31-07
- The Lifestyle Center (medical spa and laser center) – 7642 Forsyth -$25 off purchase of $100+ (includes services, excludes products),
expires 04-30-07 - Parker’s Table (wine, gourmet foods) – 8137 Maryland – $10 off purchase of $50+, expires 12-31-07
- Candicci’s Italian Grille (restaurant) – 16 South Bemiston – $5 off lunch, $10 off dinner (not valid Saturdays/holidays), expires 03-31-07
- Barucci Gallery (art, framing) – 8101 Maryland – 15% off framing (includes framing only), expires 03-31-07
Clayton Symphony
Stray Dog Theatre
Please pass this along if you know of anybody else who might be interested!
My Favorite Albums of 2006 December 22, 2006
Thought it was time for my own personal musical roundup. Here are my favorites. Not all of these are 2006 releases, but they are all albums that were new to me in 2006 and frequently listened.
- Breakestra – Hit the Floor (2005) – If you’ve got a thicker slice of funk this side of 2000, I’d like to hear it. You cannot listen to these guys without grooving. The album has some straight-ahead funk, the canonical hip-hop track with a pile of guests, and some more laid-back stuff and it is all worthy of your undivided and immediate attention.
- Nada Surf – The Weight Is a Gift (2005) – This is a consistently great pop album and never fails to hook me within minutes. Oftentimes I catch a song on shuffle and end up listening to half the album. This album also contains one of my absolute favorite songs of the year, “Blankest Year”, which is two minutes of pure pop wonderment.
- The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers (2006) – Jack White’s other band put together a great rock album this year. Hopefully this means rock is back! It also contains one of my favorite songs of the year, “Level”. They also have one of the best band web sites ever.
- Ben Kweller – Ben Kweller (2006) – Ben put out a great pop record this year that I’ve found myself getting hooked back into over and over. My favorite track on the album is “Penny on a Train Track”.
- Mike Doughty – Haughty Melodic (2005) – Mike is better known for his band Soul Coughing, although I guess even Soul Coughing is fairly unknown. Anyhow, he’s been doing solo work for a few years now and I think as a whole it’s better than his Soul Coughing stuff. It’s a lot more stripped down, less instrumentation, but that brings out his quirky lyrics and music more.
- Imogen Heap – Speak for Yourself (2005) – For some reason I came across Imogen’s last album and it was just what I wanted to listen to for a while. Kind of pop/dance/electronic music. The track “Hide and Seek” was definitely one of my most-listened this year – it’s all vocals, with heavy electronic processing. Best heard loud.
- Pearl Jam – Pearl Jam (2006) – PJ is back with the first album I’ve actually liked since Vs. Lot of good stuff on this and I certainly heard it a lot in the car and at home as it was one of Mary’s favorite CD’s of the year too.
- Fall Out Boy – From Under the Cork Tree (2005) – probably my favorite power pop ear candy album of the year. Lots of fun stuff and ridiculous song titles. Another power pop honorable mention would be Panic! at the Disco.
- Shout Out Out Out Out – Not Saying Just Saying (2006) – Two drummers + four bass players + two samplers + five synthesizers + five cowbells + two octapads + one vocoder = awesomeness. Dance electronic funk. Check out “Dude You Feel Electrical”.
- Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006) – Great unique stuff from these UK guys. They put out a couple other decent EPs this year too but my favorite stuff is all on the album. My favorite track is “Red Light Indicates Doors are Secured”.
