You wouldn't think so from its trendy shops and restaurants today, but Seven Dials was once one of the worst slums in London. Intended as a smart residential area when its construction was completed in 1710, this cartwheel of streets between Charing Cross Road and Covent Garden quickly declined to become an over-crowded refuge for the city's thieves. It was here that London's thriving trade in gallows ballads made its home.
A collaboration across more than 100 years, from the jobbing hacks writing ballads and selling them at the foot of the gallows to
the historical investigation of the British Library's broadsheet collection by MeFi's own
Paul Slade, to modern rock, folk, and blues musicians, and then to your ears.
[via mefi projects] [more inside]
posted by carsonb
on Jan 6, 2013 -
9 comments
The poet Jayne Cortez passed away this past December 28th in New York City (
New York Times obituary). She started publishing her poems in the late 1960s and in the 70s began performing her poetry backed by music,
first in
collaboration with bassist Richard Davis, and then backed by her own band The Firespitters. Some of their tracks have found their way to YouTube:
I See Chano Pozo,
If the Drum Is a Woman,
There It Is,
Maintain Control & Economic Love Song I,
Everybody Wants to Be Somebody,
Takin' the Blues Back Home,
Talk to Me (for Don Cherry),
I've Been Searching,
You Can Be and
Endangered Species List Blues. Just two years ago she performed solo with her son by Ornette Coleman, drummer Denardo Coleman:
Find Your Own Voice,
I'm Gonna Shake and
She Got He Got. In 1997 she was featured on University of California television network in the series
Artists on the Cutting Edge where she read poems and discussed her work. Finally,
here's a brief clip from the 1982 documentary Poetry in Motion, where she was interviewed.
posted by Kattullus
on Jan 5, 2013 -
4 comments
Ever heard the other-worldly sound of the Ethiopian lyre known as the
begena? It's sometimes referred to as the "Harp of David", since legend has it that it's the same instrument that soothed the Biblical king. Whether that's true or not, there is little doubt that the low pitched, buzzing sound the instrument produces is one of the most unusual to be found just about anywhere. Used to accompany meditation and prayer, Biblical passages and so forth, check out the amazing sound (along with accompanying male or female vocal)
here,
here,
here and
here.
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Jan 4, 2013 -
14 comments
For the 2012 iTunes Music Festival, 65 acts (including
P!nk,
One Direction,
David Guetta ,
Jessie J,
OneRepublic,
Ellie Goulding,
Andrea Bocelli,
Matchbox Twenty,
Muse and many others) performed at the Roundhouse in London throughout the month of September. 40 performances are available in full online.
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on Dec 29, 2012 -
9 comments
Galeazzo Frudua, of Bologna, Italy, possesses an uncannily good ear for harmony, and has produced a series of videos that painstakingly and expertly analyze and demonstrate for you the vocal harmonies employed in various Beatles songs. His perceptive commentary, his very, very capable singing voice, unassuming manner, impressive video editing skills and, hey, his charming Italian accent all combine to create tutorial videos that are fun and educational viewing. Start with the first one he made, for
Nowhere Man, and then, well, just
check 'em all out. You won't be disappointed.
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Dec 23, 2012 -
36 comments
DJ Earworm has released his annual "United State of Pop" mashup of the year's 25 most popular songs according to Billboard's charts:
Shine Brighter.
[more inside]
posted by zarq
on Dec 20, 2012 -
39 comments
Eric's Trip, first Canadian band to be signed to Subpop. (video is halfway down the page: I was unable to extract a workable link to include here)
I've collected a lot of stuff from friends over the years and luckily, i personally bothered to lug 4 tracks machines, mics and old video cameras to the shows at the time. Talking friends into holding the camera or keeping an eye on the input levels. I'm really glad i kept all those VHS tapes and reels of super8 films safe. The boxes of cassettes stored at my folks house still play great after 20 years. In 2007 i started transferring all these tapes into digital form to put this movie together, dubbing old VHS tapes was the scariest thing as some of them would barely play but i eventually got them all. I was excited that with use of modern editing stuff, i could finally sync up old video with better sounding tapes recorded at the same show, or editing together footage i had with someone else’s camera angle of the same show that i got from them years later. I worked on this movie for four years with much love until i finally had what i thought was a good document of what Eric's Trip really was. [more inside]
posted by whyareyouatriangle
on Dec 16, 2012 -
16 comments
Cold Specks hails from London, and is fronted by Canadian singer [and sometimes guitarist] Al Spx. Her vocals are beautifully inspired by gospels of the American South.
[more inside]
posted by FirstMateKate
on Dec 15, 2012 -
29 comments
To say that Messiaen's Vingt Regards sur L'Enfant-Jesus (Twenty Contemplations on the Infant Jesus) is a masterpiece is a gross understatement. Over sixty years after its composition, it has rightfully earned the recognition of being one of the most important piano works of the 20th century. ... [It] is one of the most personal and intimate pieces Messiaen ever wrote, and it gives the listener a close look at Messiaen the person. Messiaen was a deeply religious person, and although his faith influenced every single piece he wrote, the Vingt Regards is almost like his own personal spiritual diary. -
Keith Kerchoff [more inside]
posted by Egg Shen
on Dec 13, 2012 -
16 comments
