The ancient Jewish tradition of the sabbatical year, taken every 7th year, was a technique for turning more to G-d as you let the soil on your land rebuild, rested and re-energized, spent time with family, had debts forgiven, and basically took a time out. [Read More]
Vinyl in the Promised Land
I drop the needle into the grooves and it crackles to life, the buzz of an amplifier, unscrubbed, signifies the tactile–even if we don’t know by whose, what follows was surely made by human hands. [Read More]
Joiks
There are quite a few distinctions between a joik and a song, but my professor focused on one difference: a song, in our culture, is meant to be representative and evocative of its subject. Joiking, to the Sami, is meant to embody the very nature and spirit of who or what it is singing.
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The Night Is Young and the Music’s High
Classic rock fans often wax nostalgic about guy-bands from across the pond like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin. For me any tribute to trans-Atlantic music must spotlight a mixed-gender group from Sweden. [Read More]
Baby Gramps and the Geechee Goo
Life is woven with threads from many ancestors.
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Angels from Everywhere
When I was 19, I was a razor. Intense, a zealot, and more than a little crazy. So many people told me the military was for me. [Read More]
Lunch with David
Thank you for the pain and the glory. For the angst and the fame.
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Portland pays an old debt of gratitude to Billy Hults
It’s taken three decades for Billy to receive public recognition for the magic he stirred up in Portland. He’s been honored as a “side player” by the Oregon Music Hall of Fame, an eight-year-old organization that few musicians here on the coast have heard of. Better late than never, some might say. Lessons can be gleaned from the lag time. [Read More]
Dmitri’s Father
The era of the brilliant Nabokovs is over. Dmitri died 22 February 2012. He was my age, born in Berlin in 1934 half a year before me. One day when I asked his father about his taste in music, he said he had none; all the musical talents went to his son, Dmitri. The father was very proud of his son and justifiably so.
Holiday classic bridges communities
For years, the Coaster Theatre was perhaps best known for its annual production of some version of Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol.” Since the 1970’s, members of the community—from sandwich makers to librarians to students—came together to dress up in top hats and spread some holiday cheer. Those community members who didn’t take part in the show were sure to come and watch. The theatre truly brought the community together. [Read More]