In what is perhaps my greatest media coup to date, this week’s City Paper has picked both events I’m producing as Weekly Highlights and Critic’s Picks. I’m speaking of course of this Friday’s performance of Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night and Monday’s Mobtown Modern show Hard As F#@!. So, like, be there or be square.
(N.B. Click here for information about Unsilent Night in Baltimore and here for more on Mobtown Modern.)
Unless you live in a cave, you’ve no doubt heard about the big financial crisis the country’s currently enduring. That hit home today in Baltimore when the Baltimore Opera Company filed for Chaper 11 bankruptcy protection, something that had been rumored for a good month. (Baltimore Sun classical music critic Tim Smith broke the story yesterday afternoon.) As a result, the BOC will be canceling its remaining 9 performances this season while it enters a reevaluation phase. This announcement comes hot on the heels of a Chapter 11 filing by the Tribune Company, the Sun’s parent company. I wonder what’ll happen to the paper; it certainly doesn’t seem like the bosses could slim it down any more than they already have.
Long day today so when I got home there was no daylight left to do this workout in the usual spot around Lake Montebello so I was forced to do it on the trainer. The basement is not my favorite training facility, but at least the trainer makes it easy to meter the effort as well as recovery. I love that whenever I have a VO2 Max workout my coach writes, “These are hard.” Yes. Yes they are. Though they’re not destroying me. The last half of the final interval hurt a bit. I did, however, decide that if I’m going to have to do VO2 Max stuff inside on the trainer, that I need a new, more aggressive playlist. With the exception of Jaylib’s “Survival Test,” the swagger of the hip-hop I usually have on doesn’t really get me amped up enough for these harder efforts. Cake’s “The Distance” is going in the right direction. Suggestions?
While freezing temperatures didn’t deter me from riding on Saturday, a windchill of 20-degrees did the trick on Sunday. I was looking forward to a solid three hours in the saddle, but had to settle for an abbreviated trainer session riding at balance point. The power file’s not much to look at—kind of boring, reallly—which is how these inside rides tend to be.
N.B. Don’t forget to help us name our kitty.
For the cat with no name. I was considering “Macy Gray” but don’t want our cat to carry the baggage of being a one-hit wonder throughout her life. Any suggestions?
The weather’s getting chilly, the lights are up in Hampden, and the Salvation Army bells are a-ringing outside the market. Yes, the holidays are just around the corner here in Baltimore and that means that it’s time once again for our annual performance of Phil Kline’s ambient Christmas classic, Unsilent Night, Baltimore’s best boombox Christmas parade. For the third year running, Baltimoreans will take to the streets and spread noisy Xmas cheer to everyone within earshot. This year’s festivities will kick off at 8 p.m. at the Male/Female sculpture in front of Penn Station, where tapes and CDs will be distributed. It is recommended that you arrive no later than 7:45 p.m. to claim your copy of the piece. We’ll then wind our way around the streets, head over to the Meyerhoff, inside the Charles Theater and finally end up at the door of the Metro Gallery, where the Unsilent After Party, featuring music by Parachute Musical, Pianowire, and The Noises 10, will be awaiting us. (N.B. There is a $7 cover charge.) Visit www.unsilentbaltimore.com for all the dirty details.
Did a 60-minute set on the TT bike today, which included 2×20 minutes at threshold interrupted by 10 minutes of riding at balance point after each interval. Felt really good. Can’t wait to get the disc and the deep front wheel out for races this coming season. Whoosh.
Mobtown Modern’s third concert this season, Hard As F#@!, is coming up in just about 2 weeks and has been our custom, we offer the following mix tape to help you get in the mood:
Mobtown Mix Tape, Vol. 3: Hard Trax
1. Prefuse 73, “Aborted Hugs”
2. Tub Ring, “Wheres The Robot”
3. Frank Zappa, “Ian Underwook Whips It Out”
4. DJ Food, “The Riff”
5. Venetian Snares, “Szerencsetlen”
6. DJ Rupture vs. Mutamassik, “Track 4″
7. Aphex Twin, “Fenix Funk 5″
8. D-Styles & DJ Flare, “Turntable Circumcision”
9. Squarepusher, “137 (Rinse)”
10. Du Yun, “Shark In You”
11. Aesop Rock, “Plastic Soldiers”
12. Mos Def, “The Hard Margin”
13. Common, “Cold Blooded”
14. Cee-Lo Green, “Microhard”
15. Jimmy Cliff, “The Harder They Come”
Had a good power test today. I raised my FTP (Functional Threshold Power: the highest power that a rider can maintain in a quasi-steady state without fatiguing for approximately one hour) by 15 watts since the last test. Big gain. Woof.
In celebration of the 100th year of Olivier Messiaen’s birth, the Boston Symphony Orchestra has seen fit to pre-load a virtual sampler with snippets of the composer’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps along with improvised Carnatic drum patterns and field recordings of birdsong, allowing you to make your own Messiaenic composition. Release your inner Madlib.
There's more where that came from. Music, videos, and albums by Brian all inside.
