The Minnesota heat waves had passed in September when, visiting her
sister, Anna Lefebvre, in Minneapolis Theresa Gumbleton and her
sidekick, the shaded Sheila Sheils from Derry and Carndonagh, Ireland
took a few days Up North lake lounging on Lower South Long Lake.
Reading The Rake in a hand-pulled rickshaw is not recommended for a weak stomach. Tim Leone-Getten and Leslie Olmen visited Calcutta, India with other area teachers on a South Asia teacher exchange program with Hamline University and Relief International.
More than a composer, Mary Ellen Childs devised a neat trick to lure skeptical listeners to her contemporary chamber music concerts. The Northeast Minneapolis resident is known nationally in avant-garde music circles for supplementing cutting-edge sonic experiences with any number of visual hooks. With Dream House, for instance, which premiered at the Southern Theater in 2004, rhythmic music for live string quartet and innovative theatrical lighting played against time-lapse video of a demolition and subsequent construction at the site of Childs’s own home. Twin Citians haven’t heard (or seen) much from Childs in the intervening years, but she is presently putting the finishing touches on a retrospective for Crash, the “visual percussion” ensemble she has worked with for the past twenty years, whose members have backgrounds in everything from marching band to dance and tai chi. Drumming in Motion: Mixed and Remixed incorporates drummers on wheels, giant illuminated gongs, and a marimba powered by stationary bicycle. And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Childs performance without a collaborating video artist—in this case, Daniel Polsfuss. Hints of what inspires these irreverent and, at times, oddball creations can be found in this annotated list of Childs’s favorite albums:
1. Rivers and Tides, Fred Frith
Spare but perfect music written for a beautiful film about a fascinating subject. Every time I listen to it the images from the film come flooding back.
2. Accordion Tribe, Guy Klucevsek,
Maria Kaleniemi, Lars Hollmer, Otto Lechner, and Bratko Bibic
The accordion has always been one of my favorite instruments for which to write. And what could be better than one accordion, but five? The sound of these fine musicians playing together is nothing short of amazing.
3. Volver, Alberto Iglesias
I loved this Almodóvar film and was so enchanted by its sonorous and evocative music that I bought the CD the very next day.
4. Eislermaterial, Heiner Goebbels
For some this is an acquired taste. For me, I can’t tell you why I am so taken with Heiner Goebbels’s music except that it’s not quite like anything I’ve heard before. It has an ineffable “something” that completely captures my imagination.
5. The Essential Michael Nyman Band, Michael Nyman
Years ago an enthusiastic Michael Nyman fan introduced me to his music and I thought “So?” Recently, however, I listened again—and I’m riveted. This music goes straight to my heart.
6. Film Works Anthology, John Zorn
The range of styles and moods on this cross section of Zorn’s work is impressive and fascinating.
7. Livro, Caetano Veloso
What else can I say about Caetano Veloso except that he’s a master? I can listen to his voice, his songs, hour after hour.
8. Earbox, John Adams
I’m such a John Adams aficionado that one CD will not suffice. This is a ten-CD set, but if pressed to recommend just one piece, it’d be Fearful Symmetries. The virtuosic and emotional sweep of this orchestra piece gets to me every time.
9. Perfectly Frank, Tony Bennett
This is my favorite way to hear Frank Sinatra hits—sung by Tony Bennett.
10. Light, Ethel
I’ve worked with Ethel and these guys are simply the best. They’ve been called a string quartet that plays like a rock band—and it’s true.
The Hold Steady are well known for tossing hosannas to the Twin Cities’ landscape and music scene, past and present—from name-checking the “Grain Belt bridge” and Payne Avenue to sonic nods to all manner of local bands. Never mind that frontman Craig Finn, a native of Edina, decamped to Brooklyn some seven years ago—the Twin Towns (and their suburbs) remain a key inspiration. Of course, influences outside our city limits also filter into Finn’s songs: hints of Jersey boy Bruce Springsteen (OK, maybe not just hints) or Ohio’s Guided By Voices, not to mention shout-outs to dive bars and shopping malls stumbled across on countless and lengthy tours. So we asked Finn what he’s listening to these days, now that his geographical horizons are wide open.
1. “Enjoying Myself,” The 1990s
We are taking this band on our upcoming tour. Their live show backs up the claim of the song, that they like enjoying themselves. One line I particularly like: “I’m glad we had the party at your place.”
2. “Shirin,” Jens Lekman
I read a negative review of his new record that said Lekman was “condescending,” which might be true. But if it is, it might be one of his best traits.
3. “I’ll Be Your Bird,” M. Ward
This song is an older one, but it’s perfectly creepy and beautiful, and sounds rooted in no particular decade, which is a songwriting feat.
4. “4% Pantomime,” The Band
Every few months I get stuck on the Band. The version I am loving right now is a demo, where Van Morrison stops midway through, offers some advice to the group and tries it again, with Rick Danko taking the first verse this time.
5. “Crazy For Leaving,” Catfish Haven
George Hunter has one of my favorite voices in indie rock. These guys are soulful in the way that Creedence was. We took them on tour and would hear this song every night, and I would wake up singing it every morning.
6. “Thrash Unreal,” Against Me!
It seems that every article I read about this band is about punk-scene politics, but no one seems to want to talk about how massive these songs sound, especially with a chorus of a few thousand excited kids singing along.
7. “Fear and Whiskey,” The Mekons
My friend told me that the Mekons’ live show is “even better than The Replacements.” A big claim, to be sure, but the Mekons sure delivered.
8. “Louisiana 1927,” Randy Newman
Newman is tender and humorous here in a way that almost no one else can be. His songs are often more like character studies, and stunning in their depth.
9. “Elvis Cadillac,” Rickie Lee Jones
Her record this year knocked me on my ear, not only its droney, Velvet Underground-style backing band, but also its confessional tone. I think this is the record I listened to the most this year, and this is the most charming song on the record.
10. “Knock ’Em Out,” Lily Allen
After seeing every “important” band in the world on the European summer festival circuit, I saw Lily Allen on my last night in London. Her live show beat everyone I had seen all year, just by the sheer fun of it. She even did two Specials covers. In this song she coolly turns down potential pick-up artists as quick as they arrive.