Yet another wry and clever reduction of one of life’s conundrums from the folks at The School of Life.
Category Archives: Video
ANNE WALDMAN & TED BERRIGAN :: “MEMORIAL DAY”, 1973
This reading of Waldman and Berrigan’s poem “Memorial Day” was performed as part of a reading series at 98 Greene Street Loft curated by the poet Ted Greenwald. The video was shot by Sandy Hirsch on the only video format that existed at the time, 1/2 inch open reel video, often referred to as Portapak, and like any video shot in this format from the late 1960s to early 1970s, it is now a very fragile historical document.
1/2 in. video reel : sd., b&w ; Holly Solomon Gallery records, circa 1948-2003. Archives of American Art.
TERRY WINTERS: UNINTENDED THINGS TO HAPPEN, interview, Louisiana Museum, 2015 9 min.
A wonderful, thoughtful short interview with the artist Terry Winters by Anders Kold at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark in August 2015. Continue reading TERRY WINTERS: UNINTENDED THINGS TO HAPPEN, interview, Louisiana Museum, 2015 9 min.
GAGAKU: The Court Music Of Japan, documentary, 1989, 60 min.
Gagaku: The Court Music of Japan is an 1989 documentary exploring the history and forms of this hauntingly beautiful ancient Japanese music. Host for the program is Dr. William P. Malm, Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Michigan, who introduces the instruments of gagaku and the musicians who play them. Also featured in the program is Suenobu Togi, Gagaku Master at UCLA and Dr. Sidney Brown, Professor of Asian Studies of the University of Oklahoma, who explains the historic roots of gagaku. Performances by the Imperial Court Orchestra in Tokyo illustrate the contrasting styles of gagaku.
KAIA KATER
The banjo’s recent return to favour has seen the likes of Otis Taylor and Rhiannon Giddens reclaim the instrument as part of African America’s musical roots. Twenty-three-year-old Kaia Kater from Québec studied mountain music in West Virginia and writes songs from the here and now. Her second album manages to triangulate bluegrass, Nina Simone and Toni Morrison, with numbers provoked by school shootings (Paradise Fell) and Black Lives Matter, next to fiddle-and-banjo folk standards and an opener, Saint Elizabeth, that details a woman being stalked. Recorded in a day, it’s an intense, mostly solo affair, with Kater’s banjo and rich voice supported by bass, muted trumpet and backing vocals. -Neil Spencer, The Guardian
Robert Storr,Peter Schjeldahl and Mark Stevens & Elizabeth Murray in conversation with Michael Kimmelman, Charlie Rose, 2002, 36 min.
Michael Kimmelman, Robert Storr,Peter Schjeldahl and Mark Stevens & Elizabeth Murray discuss artists of the moment in 2002.
SALMAN RUSHDIE, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, at Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga, Ca., May, 2007, 77 min.
Writer Salman Rushdie speaks with Richard Wolinsky as part of Montalvo Arts Center’s Censorship and Dissent series, 2007.
WHAT IS AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS?, The School of Life, 5 min.
Another great video from the folks at The School Of Life, who have a knack for reducing monumental questions and fields of study to 5 minute video explanations.
In this video, the characteristics and underpinnings of what some schools of philosophy refer to as an “Existential Crisis” are discussed. This clip is as enjoyable as it is relevant, recommended!
CORNELIUS CARDEW :: TREATISE, performed by the Cardew Trio, maskfest, 1.12.2010
Treatise is a musical composition by British composer Cornelius Cardew (1936-1981). Treatise is a graphic musical score comprising 193 pages of lines, symbols, and various geometric or abstract shapes that eschew conventional musical notation. Implicit in the title is a reference to the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, which was of particular inspiration to Cardew in composing the work. The score neither contains nor is accompanied by any explicit instruction to the performers in how to perform the work. Cardew worked on the composition from 1963 to 1967. Continue reading CORNELIUS CARDEW :: TREATISE, performed by the Cardew Trio, maskfest, 1.12.2010
CONOR OBERST :: TACHYCARDIA, from the new album, Ruminations
REVIEW
Ruminations is a record like none other in Conor Oberst’s catalog, stunning for how utterly alone he sounds.
Conor Oberst’s music has never sounded lonely. Yes, he’s done catatonically despondent, inconsolable, dejected, maniacal—it’s a lot to handle, and yet he’s always been surrounded by friends both local and legendary who believe in his vision, underscoring his status as one of the 21st century’s most mercurial and charismatic songwriters. Arriving almost a month after a comprehensive Bright Eyes boxed set that feels like a headstone for the band, Ruminations is a record like none other in Oberst’s catalog—stunning for how utterly alone he sounds. This is obvious in a technical sense, as there are no goddamn timpani rolls, no boys to keep strummin’ those guitars, just Oberst on harmonica, acoustic and piano with ten songs written during an Omaha winter and recorded in 48 hours. Plenty of folk artists make records like that. But there’s also a loneliness in Ruminations that’s far rare and disturbing—the loneliness one feels after taking stock and wondering if they have a friend left in the world.
Continue reading CONOR OBERST :: TACHYCARDIA, from the new album, Ruminations
The Incubator 