I am working with an incredible writer, Kristin Bair O’Keeffe, to promote her debut novel, Thirsty, which will be released in October. A web site and a Flash trailer will come soon so keep an eye out for them. In the meantime, go pre-order Thristy.
Kristin lives with her husband and her Vietnamese-adopted daughter in China. Kristin came to me after a friend sent her “Bonjour Vietnam.”
Bjork’s new release, Voltaic, could be heard at NPR in its entirety. Bob Boilen writes:
Bjork’s music is complex, mysterious and full of unpredictable sonic textures. The brilliant performances on Voltaic make it clear that Bjork isn’t just a visionary, but also an artist who inspires those around her to create equal parts music and magic, in an effort to bring her vision to life.
It’s like listening to Bjork’s greatest hits, which is perfect for working and designing. What are you waiting for? Hop over and delve in.
Five renditions of “Strange Fruit” ranging from Billie Holiday to Labor Camp Orchestra. Each one “feels like a period piece — more of a memorial than a protest song, a symbol of less enlightened times. ” Listen at NPR.
If we were to show up an hour late at Madeleine Peyroux’s performance on Saturday at Lisner Auditorium, we still didn’t miss a damn thing. At 8:00, a white dude in flannel shirt and jeans opens the show for her. He strummed his guitar and sang about something that left me clueless for forty-five minutes. Peyroux and her band didn’t show up until 9:00.
With a guitar on her hands and a quartet made up of electric guitar, drums, bass (mostly electric) and piano (sometimes organ), she performed her original works from her latest album, Bare Bones, along with some previous hits including “Dance Me to the End of Love.” Vocally, Peyroux has proved that she is no longer in Billie Holiday’s shadow. Her phrasing marked more intricate. She toyed around with notes and abandoned the melody altogether at times. On slow tunes, she eases back to the point of sleepiness and the bad sound engineering, which cut in and out of her vocals and caused feedback, brought down her delivery.
On Serge Gainsbourg’s “La Javanaise,” Peyroux put on her hat and along with her band members scattered around her, she took us back to the street of Paris. Her French singing was sensational and the accordion solo from her pianist was exotic, yet the best part was her drummer doing his brushwork on an empty HP cardboard box.
Peyroux closed out the show with the cheerful “Instead” and she cleverly introduced her band members. The last bar of the song went, “Get happy / She’s waitin’ for you by the telephone / So get back home!” She would then pointed to the bassist and declared, “Let’s walk home.” The bassist would give a walking bass solo. The guitarist was gliding home and the pianist was simply skipping home. Peyroux returned for an encore with an Obama-inspired “Somethin’ Grand,” a perfect tune to leave the audience with.
The study, published June 11 in the Journal of Human Capital, looked at the academic achievement of siblings—one of whom was breastfed as an infant and one of whom was not—and discovered that an additional month of breastfeeding was associated with an increase in high school GPA of 0.019 points and an increase in the probability of college attendance of 0.014.
Keep breastfeeding your baby, mommies!
The new web site for Department of Strategic Management and Public Policy has launched. This is a collaborative effort with the department. My role was to provide the guidelines and to keep the site as part of the School of Business brand.
Kurt Elling and Al Jarreau give Dave Brubeck’s infamous “Take Five” a scat duo. You might also want to check out Al Jarreau’s solo rendition and his collaboration with Brubeck.
Forget Cafe Lu and Di Vang 2. Grand View Topless Coffee is the place that I want to have my coffee. Unfortunately the joint was burnt down only a few months in business. Grand opening, grand closing.
Nguyen Hong An is another male vocalist influenced by Tuan Ngoc. Unfortunately he could only sing and phrase like Tuan Ngoc on the low register. He is far from reaching Tuan Ngoc’s soaring octaves. As a result, Nguyen Hong An sounds dull and flat on Pham Duy’s “Hen Ho,” Trinh Cong Son’s “Ru Em Tung Ngon Xuan Nong” and Tam Nguyen’s “Va Lai Tinh Toi” (a Bang Kieu’s sky-rocketing signature). Supported by Viet Anh’s lifeless arrangements, Mua Xuan Dau Do is perfect for lounging in a lazy afternoon.
Each morning, my humanized alarm clock would ring no later than 6:30. With a regular alarm clock I can snooze it and go back to sleep for a little longer. With the human one, he would scream until I get up. After brushing and dressing for work, I would take a stroll with Duke around the block. It’s one of the best bonding times between us. We would stare at each other until he falls asleep. His sweet, innocent face with his worrisome eyes still gets me every time.
This morning the rain prevented us from strolling, so his mom stayed up with us and made him laugh. Although I couldn’t capture the moments, the picture already recorded in my mind. I wish I could paint so I can put it down on canvas. Then I gave him a tummy time, balanced him by rocking him on a rolled blanket, and bicycled him.
After an hour with him, I headed to work feeling rejuvenated. What a perfect way to start a morning.