I listened to a bunch of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in high school and college, but the soundtrack to my freshman year of college was Petty’s debut solo album, Full Moon Fever. I’d listen to the cd from top to bottom, only skipping over the ridiculous last track, Zombie Zoo. The track I’m highlighting today, Running Down A Dream, starts with a killer guitar riff that propels the song all the way across the finish line some four and a half minutes later. RIP, Tom Petty.
Read MoreI had the great pleasure of singing Three Decembers with Frederica von Strade at Chicago Opera Theater some years ago. The role of Madeline Mitchell was written for her and she premiered it in Houston a few years before we remounted the original production in Chicago. Her honesty and generosity in the role have stayed with me for near a decade. The lullaby Madeline sings in the opera also has stayed with me. Now that I’ve got two children under the age of three, I’m singing a fair amount of lullabies and this one is near the top of the rotation.
Read MoreI’ve had the pleasure of singing selections from Hanns Eisler’s Hollywood Liederbuch a couple of times in the past decade, most recently last year while pursuing my doctorate at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. In this latest go-round, I developed a greater appreciation for the historical context of Eisler’s writing. His flight from Europe during the Nazi ascent to power landed him in Hollywood where he wrote this songbook.
Read MoreFor the longest time, Bob Boilen and Stephen Thompson (hosts of NPR’s All Songs Considered) were my podcasting companions on road trips and flights. They introduced me to Fleet Foxes, Arcade Fire, The Head and the Heart, The Civil Wars, and Dirty Projectors. Perhaps my favorite innovation of Boilen’s is his hosting of Tiny Desk Concerts—he sets up a tripod in his office, and invites an artist to play in the office while the NPR music staff watches.
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