MUSIC

  • Three for Free: Seattle Songs

    Welcome to a new Shelf Talk series, Three For Free, in which we highlight three songs from the Freegal* collection for you to download and enjoy! I thought I’d kick this series off with a few songs about Seattle. From Perry Como to Nirvana, many artists have sung odes to our fair city. Here’s a… Continue reading

  • Science Fiction Fridays: The future is now in Korea

    With South Korean artist PSY’s song “Gangnam Style” transcending its viral video status to become a global music chart phenomenon, it’s impossible not to see the ascendence of K-pop. I find k-pop so fascinating it is the sound of the future. Glistening surfaces, immaculate sound construction and hyper-processed vocals make it sound like music conceived… Continue reading

  • Backwards Down the Number Line (Part 2)

    Hello again, my friends! Come along and ride as we continue on this fantastic voyage “backwards down the number line” and explore three more numerically-titled albums that are available for checkout in the Library’s collection. Continue reading

  • Country & (Mid)Western

    Gorgeous orchestral arrangements. Achingly beautiful vocals set against the sparkle of mandolin and glockenspiel. Nuanced lyrics that invoke the stark panoramas of an Ohio landscape. Could this actually be country & western music? Yes, but with a twist. Sometimes known as “alt-country” or “countrypolitan,” this relatively new form of country music has transformed an often-maligned… Continue reading

  • Backwards down the number line (Part 1)

    On the opening track of Phish’s most recent studio album Joy, singer Trey Anastasio assures us that “all my friends come backwards down the number line.” Using this refrain as a prompt, I decided to buddy up with the band and dive headlong into the Library’s catalog, seeking out numerically titled albums to arrange in… Continue reading

  • LGBT Pride

    June is here, which means LGBT Pride Parades are taking to the streets of major cities, including ours: the Seattle Pride Parade and Seattle Pride Fest take place on the weekend of June 23-24! Names like Ellen, Harvey, Elton, Dan, and Wanda will float about, rekindling our knowledge of famous gays and lesbians throughout our… Continue reading

  • Many Shades of Black (and White, Jack)

    After many months of waiting, my patience was rewarded and I checked out a copy of Jack White’s new solo album Blunderbuss. To keep me busy while I waited my turn, I decided to revisit some of his earlier works and some other great albums with a relationship to “black” or “white.” In hindsight, I… Continue reading

  • What we were listening to in 1962

    On the 50th anniversary of the Seattle World’s Fair, we look back at that year’s popular books, music, movies and TV shows. This week: what we were listening to in 1962. I like to be in America! If we could travel back in time to a random Seattle living room circa 1962, chances are good we’d… Continue reading

  • Question of the Month: A January Jingle

    Following on the heels of my recent post about non-Christmas winter songs, here’s a related post regarding Jingle Bells, one of those great songs that we can sing right on through to the vernal equinox! A patron had one of his great-grandfather’s letters dated Oct. 22, 1863. In it, the great-grandfather says, “Mother wrote that… Continue reading

  • Everything and the Kitchen Sink: Social Realism in post-war Britain

    The rain falls hard on a humdrum town This town has dragged you down And everybody’s got to live their life And God knows I’ve got to live mine… So goes the opening verse of The Smiths‘ classic song, “William, It Was Really Nothing,” a brilliant pastiche of British post-war, kitchen sink dramas. The Manchester… Continue reading

  • Heavy Rotation 2011: The Year of the Mix

    For many reasons, 2011 was my Year of the Mix — as in mixtape, or more accurately, mix CD. I made about a half-dozen mixes over the course of the year for various friends and family members, and received about as many, if not more, in return. Each mix I received exposed me to music I’d never heard… Continue reading

  • Paperback Readers

    Although not nearly as famous as Paul McCartney’s “scrambled eggs” dream that resulted in the iconic “Yesterday,” the birth of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is equally interesting. Being the 1960s, George Harrison was really into the I Ching at the time (see also: Pattie Boyd and LSD). He vowed to write a song by… Continue reading

  • Omar Souleyman: Syria’s ambassador of pop

    Seattle is in for a treat on June 9, as international legend Omar Souleyman graces Neumos with his heady blend of Syrian folk and pop. Though he is well-known in his native country and actively performing material since 1994, it wasn’t until recently that Souleyman’s recordings have been released stateside, thanks to Seattle label Sublime Frequencies.… Continue reading

  • A Cyclist’s Soundtrack

    May is here, and that means it’s time once again for one of my favorite events of the year, Bike to Work Month. To increase the visibility of urban cyclists and encourage others to ride their bicycles to get around the city, Cascade Bicycle Club sponsors a number of events throughout the month, including the… Continue reading

  • 1-5 Overpass Songs

    Like most city commuters, I like to mix it up when it comes to how I get to and from work. I’ve recently moved, so now it’s full on bus both ways. But before I moved, I would usually walk to work and bus home or vice versa. I tried to vary my route so… Continue reading

  • Songs for Winter

    A few months ago, my colleague Misha wrote a great post on Shelf Talk about the albums that make up her autumn soundtrack. Now that the seasons have turned, I’d like to share some of the records I can’t stop listening to when the temperatures drop, the nights grow longer and life slows to a… Continue reading

  • Music That Says Fall

    The transition from summer to fall in Seattle is often a subtle shift in weather — it gradually grows darker, colder and the leaves turn. As soon as that first chill enters the air, I gladly wear scarves and sweaters and find myself drawn to thicker books and darker, more introspective music. Here are some albums I will… Continue reading

  • Cool Clear Water

    Water is 70% of the earth’s surface. You can drink it, wash with it, swim in it and find it underground by using a stick. It is the universal solvent, colorless, odorless and just right for tea and Tang. Here are a few more tributes to the glory of H2O. Water edited by John Knechtel.… Continue reading