Gordon and Stravinsky Multimedia

In this recording, the La Jolla Symphony under the direction of conductor Steven Schick performs two very different works in one multimedia program.

The first is Gotham, a contemporary work by composer Michael Gordon and its film by Bill Morrison. The second is composer Igor Stravinsky's work with André Gide's text, Persephone.
  

Gordon + Stravinsky - La Jolla Symphony
from University of California Television
Premiere Date: May 2016; 82 minutes

Orchestra: La Jolla Symphony
Conductor: Steven Schick

1. Gotham
Composer: Michael Gordon
Filmmaker: Bill Morrison

The first half offers GOTHAM, a 2004 joint production by filmmaker Bill Morrison and composer Michael Gordon. Using archival footage of New York City, Gotham combines film, projectors, lighting, and the orchestra to create a haunting impression of the city.

2. Persephone
Composer: Igor Stravinsky
Narrator: Alice Teyssier
Tenor: John K. Russell
Chorus: North Coast Singers Caprice Choir

Stravinsky’s opulent PERSEPHONE, which the composer described as a "melodrama," sets a text by André Gide that tells of the descent of the goddess Persephone into the underworld and her return. For this presentation the Symphony is joined by the Lux Boreal Dance Company, a narrator, a tenor soloist, and a children’s choir.

Video of the performances, including the film and the dance troupe are available to stream or download at UCTV (University of California Television) and on their YouTube profile. The film is also available for viewing in three pieces at the official website of filmmaker Bill Morrison.

MUSIC COPYRIGHTS: All Rights Reserved
IMAGE: A still image from Bill Morrison's film
NATIONALITY: USA: California: San Diego
CLASSIFICATIONS: Contemporary Composition; Orchestral
COMPOSERS: Michael Gordon; Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky
WRITER, FILMMAKER: André Gide; Bill Morrison
LANGUAGE: (instrumental); French
FILED UNDER: Digital: Art Music: Recent (Post-Romantic to Contemporary)

Nina Hagen Live At DNA Lounge

Nina Hagen is many things — The Mother of Punk, model, actress, singer, songwriter, all-around performer, to name a few. She is also a hero to countless punks of at least two generations.

This live show from the The DNA Lounge Live Collection was recorded at the club in San Francisco, California, 9 February 2005. Nina performs songs reaching all the way back into her catalog to the 1970s, as well as two songs from her then current album, Big Band Explosion, and some uniquely Nina cover renditions.

Live Recording Sets

recorded via the soundboard
 

1.) DJ Set by AplusD [Adrian (of Blue Period) and Mysterious Dee]

2.) Opening Set by Jill Tracy

3.) DJ Set by AplusD [Adrian (of Blue Period) and Mysterious Dee]

4.) 03:28:04 Nina Set Begins

Nina Hagen Set Playlist

01.  Acappella German cabaret song (This is Nina, after all!)

02. Let Me Entertain You (2003, Big Band Explosion)

03. Return of the Mother (2000, Return of the Mother)

04. Zero Zero U.F.O. (2001, Sternenmaedchen)

05. Fever (2003, Big Band Explosion)

06. I'm Going to Live the Life I Sing About in My Song (gospel classic by Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey) (1993, Revolution Ballroom)

07. New York New York (1983, Fearless) / Prima Nina in Ekstasy (with a new rap) (1985, In Ekstasy)

08. A Horse With No Name (reggae version of a classic by America) / Hey Shiva Shankara

09. King of Hearts (1993, Revolution Ballroom)

10. All Apologies (Nirvana cover)

11. Take A Giant Step (The Monkees cover, song by Gerry Goffin and Carole King)

12. She's So Stupid

13. Ska Thing (1996, Bee Happy -- music and words by Nina)

14. Born In Xixax (1982, Nunsexmonkrock)

15. Just Squeeze Me (Ella Fitzgerald classic)

16. LSD

17. Born To Die In Berlin (1996, Bee Happy -- music by Dee Dee Ramone, words by Nina)

18. Bang Bang

19. Pollution Pirates (1993, Revolution Ballroom)

20. Ave Maria (1989, Nina Hagen)

21. 1st Encore: Young People / United Women of the World (2003, charity song with other women singers)

22. 1st Encore: Runaway (1996, Bee Happy -- music and words by Dee Dee Ramone)

23. 1st Encore: How Could I Be So Lucky?

24. 2nd Encore: (uncertain about this one)

25. 2nd Encore: TV-Glotzer (White Punks on Dope) (1978, Nina Hagen Band)

Official Website | AllMusic | Wikipedia | IMDB | Facebook

MUSIC COPYRIGHTS: All Rights Reserved
NATIONALITY: Euro W: Germany: Berlin
CLASSIFICATIONS: Punk; Voice; Pop; Dance; Vocal Experimentation; Vocal Pop; Frontwoman
SOURCES: The DNA Lounge Live Collection, Internet Archive
LANGUAGE: German; Madhya; Hindi; English ESL
FILED UNDER: Digital: Popular Music: Punk, Post-Punk, Power Pop

Calypso Concert, NYC, 1946

Various Artists - Calypso Concert,

Town Hall, NYC 21 Dec 1946 

From the historic Alan Lomax recordings at the Association for Cultural Equity:

A live recording of Calypso At Midnight, a concert held at Town Hall, New York City, on December 21, 1946. Learning that Town Hall could be rented cheaply after regular theater hours, Alan Lomax produced a late-night concert series called The Midnight Special, which was thematically organized as Blues At Midnight, Ballads At Midnight, etc., and sponsored by the People’s Songs Collective.

The calypso concert recordings, made at Lomax’s request and later found by chance in a closet by Bess Lomax Hawes, may be the only extant record of this series.

“This concert is a fascinating document of an American presentation of Trinidadian calypso at a time when interest in the genre was spreading from New York City into the mainstream of popular music in the United States”

-- Donald R. Hill and John H. Cowley,

liner notes of Calypso At Midnight [Rounder 1840]

Music License: © All Rights Reserved
Image: improvised from flag of Trinidad and 1946 David S. Martin poster of the event
Artist Location: Trinidad, Caribbean

Bluegrass and Blues from The Student Loan

How about some knee-slappin' bluegrass, blues, and mountain music from The Student Loan? This performance was recorded live in Suva, Fiji in March of 2009 as part of the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Exchange Program.

"The Student Loan is an internationally touring bluegrass band that has been recognized by Jazz at Lincoln Center as the cutting edge of American roots music. They have worked extensively as musical ambassadors for the U.S. State Department and have performed in 16 countries on 5 continents. Borrowing heavily from a wide variety of styles their original music mixes catchy bluegrass melodies with classical and jamband forms to create an innovative new acoustic musical style distinctly their own." --Official Website

Official Website | NPR Interview | Facebook | Flickr | CD Baby

Music License: not stated, assume All Rights Reserved
Artist Location: USA

Borromeo String Quartet

"Since their explosive debut in 1989, the critically acclaimed Borromeo String Quartet have become one of the most sought after strings quartets in the world, performing over 100 concerts of classical and contemporary music across three continents every season. Audiences and critics alike champion their ability to bring back the contemporary fire to often heard works from the classic repertoire while making even the most challenging new music approachable. As one of today's most adventurous quartets, they continue to push musical, intellectual, and technical boundaries to a level achieved by only a very few."
-- official website

The Borromeo Quartet have received many prestigious awards throughout their illustrious 22 year career and have been ensemble-in-residence for the New England Conservatory of Music, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Taos School of Music, and NPR's Performance Today.

Enjoy one of their performances as ensemble-in-residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum of Boston, Massachusetts.

 

license: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States

Kingface Live At The 9:30 Club

In 2005, Kingface gave Mike Lupica permission to share a recording of a show on the WFMU blog. (read the post)

The full performance (in the form of  thirteen MP3s) of Kingface was recorded live off-the-board at Washington DC's original 9:30 Club in 1988.

Those recordings have been added to the Free Music Archive. Enjoy this slice of Washington, DC music history.

Cheers to all who made the '80s DC music scene the productive, exciting scene it was. The stuff of legends.