The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Contents: Fight test — One more robot/Sympathy 3000-21 — Yoshimi battles the pink robots pt. 1 — Yoshimi battles the pink … pt. 2 — In the morning of the magicians — Ego tripping at the gates of Hell — Are you a hypnotist?? — It's summertime (Throbbing orange pallbearers) — Do you realize?? — All we have is now — Approaching Pavonis Mons by balloon (Utopia Planitia).
Jake Swearingen wrote in Wired: "As frontman for the Flaming Lips, Wayne Coyne always makes sure his audience gets the most whiz-bang for its buck. At live gigs, that means trotting around inside a giant hamster ball while dozens of Santas and aliens shimmy onstage. And this holiday season it means a feature film. … Wired talked to Coyne about his directorial debut. … [Wired:] Aaron Sorkin is working on a Broadway musical based on your album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Does that mean a lot of karate-chop-and-talk hallway sequences? [Coyne:] I've thought about that a billion times. He's a smart and energetic guy. With me and him together, it's either all possibilities exist or none do" ("Music: The Martian Chronicles," 11/08, p. 84).

Messiaen: Visions de l'amen

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Contents: Visions de l'amen, for two pianos (1943): 1. Amen of creation, 2. Amen of the stars, and of the ringed planet, 3. Amen of the agony of Jesus, 4. Amen of desire, 5. Amen of the angels, of the saints, and of birdsong, 6. Amen of the judgment, 7. Amen of the consummation.
Personnel: Maarten Bon, Reinbert de Leeuw, pianos.
From the composer's notes: "Amen carries four different meanings:
— Amen, so be it! The act of creation.
— Amen, I submit, I accept. May thy will be done!
— Amen, the wish, the desire, so be it, that thou give to me and I to thee!
— Amen, that which is, determined for all time, consumed [i.e., consummated] in Paradise.
By associating the life of all creatures who say Amen with the very fact of their existence, I have endeavoured, through seven musical visions, to express the wealth of meaning contained in the word Amen."

Boz Scaggs: Speak Low

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Michael Giltz wrote in the Huffington Post: "Somebody mentioned famous singers who have tackled standards, listing Rod Stewart and Boz Scaggs together, which is enough to depress any serious vocalist. Though pop singers can become accomplished in tackling the American Songbook, few have done it with such immediate grace and insight as Scaggs, who first delivered an album of standards five years ago with the impeccable But Beautiful. His new Decca release Speak Low is just as sublime, this time adding more ambitious arrangements to the quiet intimacy it's no surprise he gravitated to. Scaggs came to the Blue Note recently, one of the few remaining tiny clubs in New York where you can see a show with a serious audience that pays attention. … When Scaggs duetted with the stylish, beautifully restrained backup singer Mone't or played lightly with 'This Time, The Dream's On Me,' it was thrilling to hear an artist steeped in r&b discover a talent for a subtly different sort of vocalizing. By all means, see him live and buy his new album, one of the best of the year" ("Theater/Music: Sleepwalking …," 11/20/08).

Ives: Three Places in New England and other works

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David Schiff wrote in the Nation: "The most striking change in Ives's image concerns the scope of his oeuvre, which was enriched by the publication in 1999 of James Sinclair's A Descriptive Catalogue of the Music of Charles Ives. … Ives heavily revised much of his music, and Sinclair culled from the revisions worthy variant readings of even familiar, frequently heard compositions. … And if you listen to the fine recording of the familiar Three Places in New England by Michael Tilson Thomas (our reigning Ives-meister) and the San Francisco Symphony, you may be surprised to hear a chorus singing in the third movement, 'The Housatonic at Stockbridge.' The choral melody, taken from Ives's song with the same title and already present in the symphony as an instrumental line, lifts Ives's picturesque triptych into the realm of Beethoven's Ninth — or at least into the neighborhood of Ives's Fourth Symphony, which was once considered unplayable but is now widely considered to be the crowning glory of American symphonic composition, the musical counterpart of Moby-Dick or Leaves of Grass."

Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers: Glassjaw Boxer

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Contents: Sweet Sophia — Glassjaw boxer — Cabin in the woods — 4th of July — Sweetest good-bye — In front of the world — Milwaukee — Father's day — Hearts in pain — Why are you talking to me — Big easy.
Personnel: Stephen Kellogg ("singing, strumming and un poco keys"), Kit Karlson (bass, keys, accordion, vibes, horn arrangements, and singing), Boots Factor (drums, percussion, and singing), Chris Soucy (guitars), with Mike Daly, Caitlin Cary, Kyle Riabdo, and other guests.
Sean Spillane wrote in the Connecticut Post: "Former Fairfield resident Stephen Kellogg and his band, The Sixers, are out on their third annual Holiday Tour, which will end with a New Year's Eve concert at the Ridgefield Playhouse Wednesday night at 9. Kellogg and the Sixers will release a new record, American Standard, in the spring, a follow-up to 2007's Glassjaw Boxer, named one of the Top 5 albums of 2007 by USA Today" ("Preview: Kellogg to Ring In New Year at Ridgefield Playhouse," 12/25/o8).

Foals: Antidotes

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Contents: The French Open — Cassius — Red socks Pugie — Olympic airways — Electric bloom — Balloons — Heavy water — Two steps twice — Big big love (fig.2) — Like swimming — Tron — Hummer — Mathletics.
Sample lyrics: "Cassius it's over, Cassius away!/ Cassius these daydreams okay/ The lighthouse is an accident/ I wish we'd gone wish we'd gone away …"
Jeffrey Petrin wrote in Play: "Foals are the latest Sub Pop band drawing attention from the bloggers, hipsters and rock critics across the nation — as well as across the pond — where these Oxford, England natives have been tagged as 'the next big thing.' It makes a certain degree of sense, as their latest record, Antidotes, is chock full of mathy, noisy post-rock, mixed with heavy dance beats — a formula that has certainly been done before — but it seems Foals are doing it right. Produced by TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, the record will, no doubt, satisfy the appetites of fans of !!!, The Faint and Battles" ("Listen: Worth the Trip," 4/16/08, p. 21).

The Drowsy Chaperone (original cast recording)

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Julie Klausner wrote at 23/6: "Dear sir or madam: My recent weekend trip to the fine city of Los Angeles was otherwise stellar. … And then, you had to go and break into my rental car and steal my CDs. … Forced now to listen to the radio … I drove back to my hotel on Sunset Boulevard, fuming at the loss of a substantial assortment of my music collection, and seething with contempt for the derelict who thought he was making out like a bandit with some of my favorite cast recordings from Broadway shows. … So, to the rogue currently programming 'Meth Hut' into his newly-acquired GPS system and, doubtlessly, listening to Once Upon a Mattress on top volume, all I can tell you is I hope the inspired whimsy infused in the Original Cast Recording of The Drowsy Chaperone does you half the good it did me. And perhaps the impassioned bleats of the proletariat from the sonorous score of Les Miserables will encourage you to divert your energies into stealing bread alone" ("Open Letter to the Resident of Los Angeles Who Broke Into My Rental Car," 4/14/08).

The Smiths: The Sound of the Smiths

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Contents: Hand in glove; This charming man; What difference does it make? (Peel Sessions version); Still ill; Heaven knows I'm miserable now; William, it was really nothing; How soon is now? (12" version); Nowhere fast; Shakespeare's sister; Barbarism begins at home (7" version); That joke isn't funny anymore; The headmaster ritual; The boy with the thorn in his side; Bigmouth strikes again; There is a light that never goes out; Panic; Ask; You just haven't earned it yet, baby; Shoplifters of the world unite; Sheila take a bow; Girlfriend in a coma; I started something I couldn't finish; Last night I dreamt that somebody loved me.
Barry Walters wrote in Rolling Stone: "Overseen by Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, this compilation emphasizes the compositional might behind the miserablism of England's most idiosyncratic and influential Eighties band. Sound traces the quartet's four-year evolution from savage tenderness to refined despair: Morrissey articulates both bleak romanticism and omni-deprecating humor, while Marr accompanies him with chiming, multilayered riffs" (11/13/08).

Oasis: Dig Out Your Soul

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Contents: Bag it up (4:40) — The turning (5:04) — Waiting for the rapture (3:02) — The shock of lightning (4:59) — I'm outta time (4:10) — (Get off your) High horse lady (4:06) — Falling down (4:20) — To be where there's life (4:35) — Ain't got nothin' (2:14) — The nature of reality (3:47) — Soldier on (4:50).
Personnel: "Oasis are: Liam Gallagher, vocals; Noel Gallagher, vocals, electric guitar, drums, keyboards, electronics; Gem, electric guitar, bass, keyboards; Andy Bell, bass, electric guitar, keyboards, tamboura; Zak Starkey, drums."
Melissa Byron wrote in the New Haven Advocate: "Judging by this record cover, Oasis have themselves one tripped-out disc. That's pretty funny, considering the Gallagher brothers stopped doing drugs years ago. This is indeed a departure from the catchy pop-rock they created in the '90s. There are a lot of sound effects and background noise, which is quite lovely on tracks such as 'I'm Out of [i.e., Outta] Time'" ("Advocations: CD Reviews …," 11/6/08, p. 30).

John Pizzarelli: With a Song in My Heart

Copy at Case Memorial Library
Daniel LeDuc wrote in the Washington Post: "Pizzarelli has been hanging around music since childhood. He now performs regularly with his father and his brother, Martin, who plays upright bass. With [Jessica] Molaskey joining the mix, they have been called the 'von Trapps on martinis.' Growing up, he envisioned being the next Billy Joel or James Taylor. On weekends, though, he played at many of his father's gigs, jamming on classic jazz and old standards. 'They had so much fun. If you wanted to be part of that group of guys, you had to know their language, and their language was those songs,' Pizzarelli said. 'My father told me, "You're the only guy who plays jazz to support his rock-and-roll habit."' After high school, Pizzarelli formed his own jazz trio and began to tour. … Now, onstage, Pizzarelli's comic timing matches his jazz rhythms. … Pizzarelli now tours with his trio 40 weeks a year throughout the country and in Europe, South America and Japan; they'll play two shows at the Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis today. He has released more than 20 CDs, the most recent just a few weeks ago: 'With a Song in My Heart.'"