Eclectopia host Jim Lange here. The question I get most frequently is: when are you going to do the guest DJ thing again?
The answer is now (and thus arose a joyous sound).
Here are the guidelines:
1. Listen to Eclectopia Fridays at 10 PM and Saturdays at 11 PM on WVPB Radio. Sorry, my editor told me to promote my show here.
2. Pick THREE songs.
Yes, this is where most people give up. “How can I pick just three?” Of course, it’s impossible to narrow it down to just three, but I’m giving you a set. See playlist below.
3. Make sure the total length is under 12 minutes.
Air time is precious in a 59 minute program.
4. Email me your choices.
Once you’ve wrestled with the three, email me at jlange@wvpublic.org. Simple as that. I take care of the rest. As I say, all reasonable requests will be carefully considered.
5. I Email you back, we arrange a time to record you.
Ay, there’s the rub again. I can’t think of single person who, upon hearing their own voice for the first time, actually liked it. I was the same way. You’ll be fine.
6. Get Started. Here’s a playlist to help.
Credit Photo by Jim Lange.
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A typical playlist. You get a set all to yourself.
Get thinking. Narrow your choices down. Email me and let’s get this rolling.
Good luck!
Eclectopia airs Fridays at 10 PM on WVPB Radio, with an encore Saturdays at 11 PM.
"Philip likes the fact that music doesn't just exist on paper now and that these early pieces can be realized in different ways." ~Michael Riesman
Philip Glass’ Music For Eight Parts journey from missing or lost, to the current recording, feels like an elaborate plot by a master novelist.
Michael Riesman, Musical Director for the Philip Glass Ensemble, tells the story.
Philip Glass always knew that teaching and the groves of academia were not for him. After his studies with Nadia Boulanger and Ravi Shankar in Paris, he returned to New York in March of 1967, so focused on composing that he realized that he needed his own ensemble to learn and perform his rigourous compositions.
Glass also knew that, in order to sustain his making a living through composing, that he had to work to support the ensemble. Cab driver, plumber and mover, Glass wore many hats and paid his dues – and then some.
Credit Courtesy of Dunvagen Music Publishers.
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Music In Eight Parts, referring to the number of musical lines, was written in 1969, dated January of 1970 on the score and performed, according to then intern Alex Gray “twice at the Guggenheim and twice at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.” Ultimately, Glass had to sell the autograph score to make ends meet and did not remember to whom it was sold.
Fast forward to 2017 when the score resurfaced and went on auction at Christie’s. It sold for $43,750 and now is with Dunvagen Music, Glass’s publisher.
The Philip Glass Ensemble has changed over the years and this piece needed some updating if it was to be added to the current repertoire. Step in Michael Riesman, director of the PGE.
Ecletopia host Jim Lange interviewed Michael Riesman on June 2, 2020, about the tale of Glass’s lost piece and other topics.
Listen to a more in depth version of the interview:
02_mreisman_music_in_8_parts_longer.mp3
Riesman tells the tale of the lost piece with all its twists and turns.
Here are some additional excerpts from the interview.
03_mriesman_trans_to_12_parts.mp3
Riesman speaks on how this piece was a transitional piece in the Glass oeuvre.
04_mriesman_vilified_and_loved_farfisa_organs.mp3
Riesman's thoughts on being both vilified and loved, and the Farfisa organs of the PGE.
05_mriesman_keeping_place_in_score.mp3
Riesman is honest about losing your place while performing and getting back on track.
Credit Courtesy of Dunvagen Publishers.
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Glass’ handwritten shorthand part for Music For Eight Parts.
“When the world is running down, You make the best of what’s still around.” -The Police
The forecast, as of this writing, looks like America is in for a long haul. We’re practicing avoiding each other – politely known as “social distancing.”
I’ve washed my hands until they are a bit raw, wiped down every surface with an OCD fervor and IF I go out for groceries, I wear a mask but still find myself holding my breath lest airborne pathogens emmanate from my fellow shoppers. Paranoia has always been a constant companion – nothing new here.
It’s become ridiculous, but this is the new normal. So, what can you do? Answer: whatever isnecessary to not get infected, but still not lose your mind from all this quarantined living.
We have to be smart. Unlike the kids who went to party on Florida beaches on spring break, we can use our heads for more than just growing hair.
1. Your home is still your home, but optimized!
HOME now stands for Highly Optimized Multipurpose Environment.
Homeschool! Yes, it’s now a school for you hearty parents to teach your little ones! Got that lesson plan yet? Going to have a mini-graduation ceremony at the end of the semester? Run out of patience yet?
Credit Emily Gardner
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Photo by Emily Gardner. Used by permission.
I see happy photos of kids on social media now, but in two weeks time? Three? I say, soldier on! (And if you like wine/beer, don’t feel guilty having a small glass when the long day is done. You most definitely deserve one. Or two.)
Then let the kids watch Frozen or Frozen 2: The Reckoning on loop while you sneak a little nap. It’s ok. You are a champion! (Editors note – WVPB also has an amazing collection of At-Home Learning Resources for your kids 😉 )
Credit Photo by Amanda Weisse. Used by permission.
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Your pets are now masters of the house. Resistance is futile.
It’s your workplace!
Working from home is also the new norm – stay in your bathrobe or pjs all day. If video conferencing, you might want to upgrade to your fav T-shirt. Pants: that’s your call. Well, ok maybe not. Your significant other might suggest otherwise.
It’s a gym. Forget all that yoga stuff. Work out with Leslie Jordan. He’s become the comedic relief during this terrible time.
2. Read all those books you’ve been putting off.
Who am I kidding? I don’t really read anything. Ask Bill Lynch or Eric Douglas. Both are authors and/or you can read their work, but I bet they have some good suggestions.
Explore the literary world, kiddo! Here’s a list of the 100 best choices. What’s that “No man is an island” quote? Find it at The Poetry Foundation – a fabulous source for all things poetical. I’m a big T.S. Eliot fan and Four Quartetskeep me fascinated.
For my temperment, David Sedaris is one of the best humorists today.
3. Listen to music.
If you want to slow the mental gears down to a manageable level (You CAN reach a complete emotional saturation with the daily dire news.), I suggest starting with classical. Mozart, Haydn and Bach’s Aria on a three hour loop to start your step-down of mental trauma.
Credit WikiMedia Commons.
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Brian Eno: master of chill.
If thou wants chill, start with Brian Eno – the man who started it all. My favorite is the 61-minute Thursday Afternoon which is audio valium. About 20 minutes into this, the tension has melted away. You can also sing along with Brian or listen to a public talk.
What to avoid: earworms. Talking with my friend George this week, who lives in NJ, I asked about his coping with working from home. It was fine he said, but when we got around to sharing what amused us musically, he asked, “Have you heard the Baby Shark song yet?” No was my answer and then he sent the link. About ten seconds in, I shut it down. Methinks George is coping admirably (Not!), but I won’t post the link.
If you are the type of person who needs a more dark variety of music during a crisis, let me suggest David Sylvian’s masterpiece: Secrets of the Beehive. If you want to go all the way weird, here’s my suggestion: Jan Bang/ Erik Honore’s Uncommon Dieties. Sylvian reads prose over some of the most creative (strange and weird to average listeners) music and sounds.
Otherwise, you can’t go wrong with Neil Young singing, with Spanish subtitles, about Elvis.
4. Watch.
It’s tricky. In this crisis, some may want dystopian movies and others want to escape to island paradises.
Again, you may only want light rom-coms. I have zero suggestions because they are all dreadfully predictable.
If you want romance, why not The Year of Living Dangerously? It’s got a young (pre-meltdown) Mel Gibson, the lovely Sigourney Weaver, plus Linda Hunt: all set in Indonesia.
Netflix has lots of documentaries. Werner Herzog has made some of the best of them. Both light and dark, but always provocative. If you are really brave, then this one is for you.
5. Humor!
Humor is tricky because, like food, everyone varies in their taste. Here are my suggestions: watch old SNL skits. The Barry Gibb Talk Show! How about Studio 360’s Kurt Andersen with Werner Herzog?
I own the SCTV DVDs with John Candy, so my I suggest my favorite skits like Polynesian Town, or a sendup of Ocean’s Eleven, or Mel’s Rock Pile?
6. There are a zillion podcasts.
I tend to listen to Fresh Air just about every day. Plus, the archive is open! You can find Bowie, listen to Terry’s youthful voice in 1978 when interviewing Steve Reich, Ira Glass interviews Philip Glass (the best I’ve ever heard), and last week I learned that Stephen Sondheim studied with Milton Babbit (and they would analyze Jerome Kern), and many more including the sad, but immensely funny Richard Pryor.
Just when I discovered Studio 360, Kurt Andersen has retired, but archives are up. This American Life has many great stories, but I love this one about an opening night fiasco. I never forgot Scott Carrier’s strikingly honest story about his job taking over his life. Finally, who could forget their Christmas story with Sedaris and David Rakeoff.
Song Confessional – a podcast that uses language that some listeners might find objectionable – has a unique approach to podcasting. Here’s their interview with Tristen.
7. The fridge is not your new best buddy.
On social media, I see all sorts of posts from people about trips to the fridge or overindulgence in food.
Stress eating, hoarding and subsequent overindulging comes with this new normal. Jokes abound about gaining the Covid 15. I’m doing my best not to overindulge and try to get my lazy self out on a walk, hike or a bike ride every day that the temp is suitable. I see others have the same idea. Exercise, like very few other activities, can clear the mind of anxiety.
Photo by Shirley Drennen. Used by permission.
8. People, please stop cabin fever baking. It’s making me hungry!
Ok, I just flatly contradicted myself. I have little to zero resistance to cake. Ok, it’s all out in the open now. Are you happy?
Credit Photo by Jim Lange.
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Clay County, near Bomont.
9. Exercise!
Look, just move. Don’t care what, just move. On cold days, I walk. On warm days (has to be at least upper 50’s), I ride my bike. Some folks do yoga in their home. On any day, I will hike!
10. The big summary.
We’re in it for real now, but one day this will be something we ALL went through. Let’s do this right and smart with love and respect for one another. In a dog-eat-dog world, we only show our animal nature. Let’s not do that, please. Be calm, be civil, set an example.
Once we are truly in the clear, things will go back to normal. After all, you are accountable to your friends, your neighborhood and your community.
Please: be kind, be smart, be safe. Reach out to loved ones via technology. You’ll feel recconnected.
Markus Reuter is a master musician, inventive composer, producer and a great teacher.
"Whenever something is true and authentic, it translates. It will always translate. The beauty, your beauty will always come out through your art. It's impossible to break that connection." – Markus Reuter
I first met Markus in 2012 at the Three of a Perfect Pair music camp (Adrian Belew, Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto are the “pair” in question). Confession: I knew nothing about him or his music. When we were introduced, his wit, candor and passion about music came through immediately. In short, we fast became friends.
Then I heard him play. It was an experience unlikely to forget. To begin, he plays a U8 Touch Guitar: an instrument he developed by first playing the Chapman Stick and the Warr Guitar. The music that comes forth is so jawdroppingly good that it takes a moment for the senses to reconcile what is heard with what is seen. I jokingly refer to this phenomenon as a “music concussion”, but that’s not far from the truth. This video of The Crimson ProjeKCt in concert might illustrate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1Y4Hrx2ToM
Besides the aforementioned Crimson ProjeKCt, Markus is also a member of Stick Men with Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto and Centrozoon with Bernhard Wöstheinrich and Tobias Reber.
It is very difficult to pinpoint Markus’ style as a composer because his work keeps expanding into unlikely (for the stereotypical electric guitarist) areas such as the orchestral Todmorden 513 and string quartets: Heartland Bleeds. Simply put, whatever musical endevaour he undertakes, he does so with immense focus, technique and most of all – passion.
His latest album, Truce, may be his most personal. Listen and find out why:
mark_reuter_extended_interview.mp3
Markus Reuter extended interview.
Available on https://markus-reuter-moonjune.bandcamp.com/album/truce
Singer-songwriter Walter DeBarr is using his unique voice and turbulent past to create and spread a heartfelt message across Appalachia. Growing up a black man in mostly-white Buchannon, WV, DeBarr had it tough among his peers. “I got beat up alot and kids would mess with me. Kids who didn’t understand.”
Now, DeBarr draws upon these experiences to write his songs. “Nearly all of the music stems from my growing up… just from being different from all the other kids I grew up with… simply for being who I was.” He had an epiphany which turned that negative energy into something positive. “I realized, man, it doesn’t matter–none of that matters. What matters is what’s in your chest, and what sort of moral compass you carry.”
Credit Matt Jackfert
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Walter DeBarr singing his song “Hurts so Good” in our studios
DeBarr chooses his lyrics by remembering how he grew up with the hopes that other people don’t feel so isolated. “We all struggle everyday with something, and I just genuinely want people to know they’re not alone.” For instance, his song, “Hurts so Good,” is about coming to terms with the necessary growing pains of getting older. “I just want to be a kid forever, but… we gotta grow up.”
Lyrics and music seem to flow through him easily. He’s written over 60 songs in just a few years without even knowing much music theory. “I don’t even know the names of all the chords,” DeBarr joked. But theory doesn’t matter when you can make beautiful songs. He’s made so many that he’s recorded and released his first EP We Fall, We Break with Greg McGowen at Rose City Recordings. It can be bought on most major platforms online.
Take a listen to our interview with DeBarr, where he performs two songs, “Hurts so Good,” and “These Hands, These Eyes”. Then check out his website walterdebarrmusic.com.
I cannot remember when I first heard Joseph, but immediately was struck by their harmonies; the way they could blend and yet retain their individual timbres. On top of that was their arrangments: solo voice gives way to two or is it all three in unison? These intricate harmonies, the robust then delicate dynamics followed by a solo voice were so unique.
Who was this? I was reminded of Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins when, watching Karen Carpenter on TV, he yells “What sorcery is this? Reveal yourself, tiny songstress!”
Turns out, it’s called genetics. Natalie, Allison and Meegan Closner (Claws-ner) are sisters from Portland, Oregon. In fact, the band name came from the town of Joseph – a place where they spent their childhoods surrounded by the natural beauty.
When asked about the band’s name, the answer used to be attributed to their grandfather. “The name Joseph is more after the town Joseph, Oregon – the town our grandpa Jo grew up in,” said Allison, “because he name is actually just Jo. Just J-O, which we didn’t find out about until recently when my mom actually looked at his birth certificate.” The two sisters laughed. (Sister Meegan was having internet issues and could only join our conversation via text.)
Music was always around the family. Their father, a natural talent who was in a college vocal jazz ensemble, encouraged and helped them learn the craft of singing. Mom too was in local theater and musicals, so a robust musical life was to be found.
