Well, I had my last day of regular class today, an Ethics lecture with the legendary, highly knowledgeable, and ever-so-sweet Thomas Nagel, who is sans hyperbole perhaps the greatest living philosopher. I’m still a little star-struck in his class. This being the last lecture, wrapping things up as neatly as possible for an undergrad philosophy course, it ran a little long and his last words to the class were, simply, “Well, looks like there’s no time for discussion. So long.”

The class applauded thunderously.

I’m not sure why but as I was leaving NYU’s Silver Center this song from Pal Joey started boppin’ around my brain, and I began humming it, then singing it outright to myself, and felt compelled to find a piano and hammer out the tune as best as I could remember.

And so begins, with the last scheduled lecture of the semester as two weeks of finals loom ahead, the second installment of my impromptu-iPhone-piano-covers-to-avoid-work series, Procrasti-Covers.

“We are going to make James Webster cry.” - Nick Pitman

“And that was our one emo cover for the evening.” -Sarah Cowell

“That’s the only time I’m ever going to see a Snowing song live.” -Webstar

jonathanmann:

How Does The World Work? (Song A Day #1557)

(Source: jonathanmann)

If you’re in Manhattan, come out to Bareburger, 2nd floor, 2nd ave & 5th st!

This is MARROWOLF (their debut show!) and I go on last in the evening… It would be good to see you!

bandoftheland:

New 70-minute movie and accompanying 17-track live album of Cannonball Statman performances from the past year, just released today! Watch the movie and listen to the album for free online, or buy a download of both combined for $5 from BandCamp if you want. Check it out!

I am on this, being a panda, synth-player, and washboardist!

It is long!

It is out today!

It is not an April Fools’ joke!

& it will still exist tomorrow, when music is “supposed” to come out (Tuesday)

nprmusic:

Villagers’ Conor O’Brien has a great gift for songs that almost always turn something on its head. On {Awayland}, he mixes thoughtful approachability with an assortment of trips down more surprising side roads.

Stream {Awayland} now.

This is a great, cohesive album with sounds both familiar from Villagers’ folk-ish Mercury Prize-winning debut LP as well as more dissonant and electronically experimental textures that push all my buttons in the right way… Unlike many albums in today’s world, this actually had a UK release date several months ago and I vaguely legally snagged an imported CD, so I can knowingly urge you now, beyond just the previously-released mind-expanding/blowing single “The Waves” that you REALLY should stream this now, and buy/download it too. I won’t say it tops the album Becoming a Jackal, but it is one heck of a ride.

#music #livemusic #brooklyn #nyc #goodbye #blue #piano #monday #nyc #openmic #ny #newyork (at Goodbye Blue Monday)

accelerated-readers-club:

Tonight might have been the best Sidewalk open mic I’ve ever been to

So true. Wow. Solid song after solid song from so many good performers, including the newcomers and visiting people. Never thought I’d see “House of the Rising Sun” performed three times by three different performers at the Sidewalk — each better than the next, even if the purpose was initially to lampoon that random a capella group. I actually stayed until the very end, which I’ve only ever done once before — it was an “early” night, according to Ben Krieger (ended at 1:20 AM), and he too remarked about what a great, great night it was. 

Great band, one associated very much the antifolk / Sidewalk scene.

They’re going to be opening for me April 12th at Goodbye Blue Monday (an amazing, fun, impeccably well-decorated venue in Brooklyn) which is a damn honor.

(via accelerated-readers-club)

theparisreview:

“‘We’re always hearing that classical music is closing itself off, audiences are declining, people are distracted, no one can relate. But that’s nonsense. Mozart toured Europe for years looking for work. It was difficult then, it’s difficult now. Beethoven was right, of course, music takes us to a higher world, but it is also a job.’ Richard hesitated. A look of bewilderment passed over his face and briefly he closed his eyes. ‘We need to support that—if we think it worthwhile. You are of course supporting it by being here tonight,’ he smiled, ‘but I don’t need to say how you might further support it. The envelopes are at the back of the hall!’

“A few claps arose from the audience. Vadim came forward at last. He nodded, rather than bowed, without quite looking at any of them. Then in a single movement, he turned, slotted himself behind the piano, and began.”

—Adelaide Docx, “Musicians Afloat in the Night Sky”
Art Credit Hans Holbein the Younger, Detail from “The Ambassadors”

“Music takes us to a higher world, but it is also a job.”

Good words to keep in mind.

Oh, did I mention that The Medicine / The Rabble / Miles Stenhouse / I have an album on Spotify? Still working out the kinks. Good collection songs, all by Miles.

(Source: Spotify)

Not sure what struck me to put together a playlist for no one in particular this Valentine’s afternoon, but hope YOU enjoy it! An amalgamation of artists I really admire and shamelessly tend to imitate in my own work, from David Byrne to David Bowie, Ben Folds to Ben Thornewill to Billy Joel to Bobby Short… but I guess I realized while putting this together that that’s sort of what we all do to some degree, and part of how we develop taste, no?

Let me know your thoughts on any of that, and moreso about the music.

Because it’s me, I tried to make it flow thematically and sonically, sometimes obviously with Greek mythology references, sometimes not so much…. what song similarities can you spot? 

(Source: Spotify)

I’m not one to hope Elvis is still hanging around somewhere hiding, but I will probably always expect to see Andy Kaufman reappear, someday, somewhere…

(Source: Spotify)

(Source: Spotify)

I mean, nyu WOULD assign Lady Gaga as part of a melodic transcription assignment.