alternative music

Joshua Witchger 4-30-2012

Aussie grandma performs The Black Keys on spoons -- LA riots appear on Twitter 20 years later -- Stephen Colbert and Jack White meet again on The Report -- TED and NPR team to deliver new podcast -- a capella renditions of pop songs -- the interactive scale of the universe -- and The African Queen steamboat (of Bogart/Hepburn fame) is rescued from the junk heap. Read this and more on today's Links of Awesomeness...

Joshua Witchger 4-26-2012
Zenaida Macroura (Mourning Dove) painting by John J. Audubon. Public domain imag

Zenaida Macroura (Mourning Dove) painting by John J. Audubon. Public domain image.

Happy 227th Birthday to ornithologist and painter John J. Audubon -- find your voice with the public radio name generator -- a rescued collie dog's survival story -- Australia's duck fashion parade -- the cast of 30 Rock plays charades -- new music from J. Tillman and The Welcome Wagon. Read these stories and more in today's Links of Awesomeness...

 

Joshua Witchger 4-23-2012

Hackers transform multi-story building into giant game of Tetris -- 5th Avenue Frogger combines the arcade with real time traffic -- Jimmy Fallon releases a treat on Record Store Day -- tribute to The Band at Coachella Festival -- "Potter Musical" turns ambitions to Batman -- Bill Nye dances to his own theme song -- children narrate BBC's Planet Earth. See this and more in today's Links of Awesomeness...

Joshua Witchger 4-19-2012

Bon Iver stops by The Ellen Degeneres Show, The Roots produce a short video with friends encouraging literacy, an aerial view of symmetry, remembering Dick Clark, a public service announcement for class clowns, and the newest from Danish TV "Stupidity captured at 2500 frames per second." Read this and more on today's Links of Awesomeness...

Joshua Witchger 4-11-2012

Jon Stewart compares Easter and Passover, The Lion King surpasses The Phantom of the Opera in sales, Central Africa's only all-black symphony gaining attention, Rube Goldberg machine sets new world record, electronic music made from fruits, a fish delivers a TED talk, Webby Award nominees announced, local Chicago music, The Hipster Games, the joys of a nine-year-old's cardboard arcade, and a dramatic twist of events on a quiet square... See this and more on today's Links of Awesomeness...
 

Joshua Witchger 4-03-2012

There's much to contemplate this Holy Week, from Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. Many artists have traveled this path, creating sonic accompaniment for the varied emotions evoked during this sacred week.

Here are a few tracks that move us, and that we’ll have in heavy rotation throughout until Easter Sunday and beyond, including one of the more unusual Resurrection Day songs you've likely ever heard from the Yeshu Bakhti band Aradhna, pictured at right.

Joshua Witchger 3-30-2012

Last month I had the privilege of interviewing Denison Witmer as he passed through Washington, D.C. in support of his newest album The Ones Who Wait.

This week, Witmer’s manager was kind enough to send us some additional videos from Denison's tour as he returned home to play before friends and family at the World Café in Philadelphia. The audio and video are top notch; and in the spirit of creating a space for truth and beauty, we’re premiering three new videos for you to enjoy.

Joshua Witchger 3-28-2012

A surname map of the United States, the uproar over Michael Bay's remake of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the world's first 3 rpm music record, Spirograph inspired art, lessons from game Oregon Trail, and ordering pizza from a refrigerator magnet. Continue reading today's Links of Awesomeness for these and other links...  

Joshua Witchger 3-27-2012

The Seattle Space Needle is transformed into an Angry Birds slingshot, horror characters imagined in their old age, mashups of classic art with pop culture figures, Facebook's new headquarters and QR code roof, a 45 foot paper airplane, a bald eagle, a fox and two cats hang out on a porch in Alaska, and Hall & Oates are covered in a moving vehicle. See these and more links on today's Links of Awesomeness...

Joshua Witchger 3-21-2012
Danny Seim of Menomena. Image via Creative Commons/Wylio

Danny Seim of Menomena. Image via Creative Commons/Wylio

Blue Like Jazz has got a leg-up in the alternative world. Two years back Paste ranked it #18 in its “20 Best Books of the Decade.” The film just finished up its debut run at SXSW and it features a soundtrack that’s largely the brainchild of the Portland indie rock outfit Menomena.

Steve Taylor, director of Blue Like Jazz, tells Sojourners that the music of Menomena served as the muse for the storytelling, and that he was “trying to find a soundtrack of what a Reed student might be listening to.”

Joshua Witchger 3-20-2012

The Spring Equinox ushers in World Storytelling Day. Listen to Portlandia stars discuss some of their most cherrished music. OK Go experiments with a new online dating service. Arcade Fire delivers guest lecture at University of Texas at Austin. Pictures of sharks, crazy sool ice-cream shops, and more...

Joshua Witchger 3-16-2012

Get ready for St. Patrick's Day with some laughs, crafts, and a look at some green musicians. Plus, a look at the impressive "Magic Mushroom House," an express book-printing machine, portraits made from words, John Oliver's latest quest, and Americana musicians Megafaun. 

Joshua Witchger 3-06-2012
Denison Witmer by Ethan Luck.

Denison Witmer by Ethan Luck.

Singer-songwriter Denison Witmer’s 2005 album Are you a Dreamer? was part of the soundtrack of my adolescence — his calm voice a sonic companion as I navigated the choppy waters of high school insecurities; his complex fingerpicking acoustic guitar style a mentor as I learned to play and write my own music. Witmer’s soulful voice, thoughtful lyrics and inimitable style (some critics have called it “neo-folk” a la Cat Stevens or Nick Drake), has stuck with me for years. Just a snippet of his lyrics or melody can transport me back to precisely where I was when I first heard them, a younger me dreaming of who I might become. 

When Witmer’s latest tour brought him through Washington, D.C. last month, I caught up with him backstage before his gig at the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue. We talked in the artist lounge and sound check stage, before venturing out for a couple of veggie wraps while exploring a variety of subjects from music and family to saints and beer. And we even managed to persuade him to play a couple of songs for us, which we’ve captured here on video for you. (You’re welcome.)

Joshua Witchger 2-22-2012

Education in urban ecology, children recreate a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, one goofy trip to the grocery store, art in the snow, Batman takes Toronto. Discover this and more in today's afternoon links round-up...  

Joshua Witchger 2-13-2012

A loop of 19 television shows referencing one another. Interfaith musical collaboration on the old hymn, "The Lord Will Provide." Flight of the Conchords star Bret McKenzie talks to Terry Gross about his work on The Muppets film. The first look at the new trailer for Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. An amazing trick performed with an excavator, and more!

Christian Piatt 2-13-2012

Before anything else, I have to give serious props to Jennifer Hudson for doing her acapella tribute to Whitney Houston, whose death at age 48 cast a noticeable pall over the otherwise celebratory evening. With a photo of the recently deceased pop legend hanging over her and millions watching, Hudson pushed back her emotions to deliver a rendition of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” that few could pull off in any situation, let alone one with that kind of pressure. She proved herself a true professional and a peer worthy of comparison to other superstar divas like Houston.

Beyond that stand-out moment, the Grammys offered what seemed to be a house divided in the music world, some of which was reassuring, and some of which simply made me feel old and out of touch.

Joshua Witchger 2-09-2012

President Obama helps an eighth-grader shoot a "Marshmallow Air Cannon" at the White House Science Fair. Watch art come to life with a little fire. Banksy art spotted on the streets of New Orleans. Jack White releases first cut from debut solo record. The Moth explores religion in American life. The World's Largest Doge Ball Game. And more!

Joshua Witchger 2-07-2012

Ferris Bueller's Super Bowl ad compared side by side with the movie, North Korea goes polka via Norway with A-Ha's "Take on Me,"Jimmy Kimmel encourages viewers to pull more pranks, timelapse photography from Yosemite National Park, guess who said it: Dwight Schrute or Newt Gingrich? And an in-depth Interview Magazine chat with Grammy nominated Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. See this and more in today's links.

Joshua Witchger 2-06-2012

Improv Everywhere celebrates its tenth anniversary by remixing and remastering some of its best sketches. The highlights from Puppy Bowl VIII are in (look out for the MVP)! Bon Iver puts on an incredible SNL performance. Bill Maher's "Irritable Bowl Syndrome." Mad Men's promo posters have been tampered with! OK GO's latest music video from the inside of a car. A new look at Downton Abbey and more!

Joshua Witchger 2-03-2012

Super Bowl inforgraph, and a collection of notable commercials from years past. Take a look at radio Tanzania, and see a baby with some serious ping pong potential. And finally, take a look at some good music that released this week. 

http://youtu.be/1n5uFGk2pnc