April 25, 2006
Bach’s wife also his collaborator
Here is CBC’s story. The idea that they were influencing and helping each other—that’s how I read the story—is completely awesome.
Does anyone know of a good biography of Bach? I would like to read more about him. Mostly everything I know is from reading The Gold Bug Variations.
Posted by Rob Courtney at 10:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 21, 2006
A giant Prince symbol is an improvement on any house
Carlos Boozer, from the Utah Jazz, is suing Prince for making unauthorized modifications to the house Prince is renting from Boozer in L.A., including:
I think I just got an idea for redecorating our house. Don’t tell C. (From The Smoking Gun)
Posted by Rob Courtney at 12:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 13, 2006
Music Review: Curtis Eller
I first saw Curtis Eller after DC’s City Paper sidebarred his upcoming performance at the Galaxy Hut in late ’02 or early ’03. That little mention doesn’t seem to be on the City Paper’s site anymore, but as I remember it described Curtis’s performance as “angry” and “foot-stomping,” and his slow, waltzing banjo rolls as a far cry from the bluegrass music we normally associate with that instrument. In the years since, I’ve enjoyed all of Curtis’s albums and seen him perform on both the East and West coasts. I’d feel comfortable saying there’s no one else like him in music today, and you owe it to yourself to check out his work.
Taking Up Serpents Again, 1890, and Banjo Music for Funerals, by Curtis Eller’s American Circus; Hunger Music, by Curtis Eller
America is a weird and wondrous place. Nabokov called Americans “cheerful barbarians,” and he was right. It follows that we are not exactly an introspective people. As a rule, we don’t spend a lot of time looking back over our shoulders. Which is ironic, because unless you look at America’s history, and the path we took to get where we are, nothing we do today makes the slightest bit of sense.
Curtis Eller understands that. He picks up pieces of our cultural past, warps and combines them with a modern sensibility, and spills out music with all the dirt, anger, sadness, joy, achievement, and ridiculousness that made us great.
Let’s start with the basics. Curtis Eller plays the banjo. He’s had some pretty serious bluegrass training—I heard him bust out a solid breakdown at a live show—but his playing is by no means bluegrassy. It’s slow and methodical, almost minimalist, supporting lyrics taken from some of America’s greatest but least-told stories. Many of the stories describe people isolated by their circumstances or their ideas—the kind of people who sometimes turn out to be Thomas Edison or the Wright brothers, but often turn out to be nothing. Other stories are about the forgotten, coal workers and carnies and Luna Park. There are a few about the pop idols of the past, now footnotes to most, like Buster Keaton or Steven Foster. A lot of songs are about the Civil War, because it never ended and because it’s the defining story of America.
There’s simple orchestration and elegant harmony throughout, and turns of phrase that will haunt you. Buy these CDs and you will be glad you did. But Curtis’s live performances are electric. I’ve never had a chance to see him perform with the American Circus, but solo he is one man with a banjo and an opinion. He stomps, whoops, cries, jumps, and makes you feel what he is talking about. When you leave you will feel it was worth the trip.
A few years ago his song “Alaska” was featured on NPR’s “All Songs Considered;” from the web site, it looks like it won. So that’s something too.
1890 was, I think, Curtis’s first album. The songs are very good, many are catchy, and they stay with you. Banjo Music for Funerals was next; it has only three songs but when I bought it at a live show, Curtis told me it was better than the other one. He was right—“Alaska,” “Dry Lightning,” and “Last Flight of the Pigeon Club” are all absolutely first rate. Taking Up Serpents Again is about a year and a half old now and brings it all together. There’s also Curtis’s solo instrumental Hunger Music, which I think was the score to a film based on Kafka. It’s all waltzes, played on the banjo, but it seems to no longer be available.
Curtis Eller has got something to say. You should listen to him. I give Curtis Eller’s work as a whole five angry yodels out of five.
The best way to hear some of Curtis’s music is over on his site. Buy something and he will make it his personal mission to see that you get it and are satisfied. When I ordered Hunger Music, the disc got lost in the mail… he sent me another copy by priority mail with a free t-shirt to apologize. The man has class.
Alternately, you can check out Taking Up Serpents Again on iTMS.
Posted by Rob Courtney at 05:53 PM | Comments (2)
March 05, 2006
Reasons to love bluegrass
Great quote from last night’s concert with Dan Paisley & Southern Grass.… Dan was introducing the more-fun-than-it-sounds “Forty Years of Trouble,” by Troy Spencer. By way of introducing Troy, Dan said, “He was a good man. He played the banjo. He sold used cars.” He was! And he did!
Posted by Rob Courtney at 12:09 PM