sounds like now

It’s common knowledge that obituaries of well known figures are written well in advance of their demise. It’s from that bureau that we have the following video obit for Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Still looking for the perfect gift for mom this Mother’s Day? Allow me to suggest an evening of microtonal music presented by NotaRiotus, the house band of the Boston Microtonal Society tonight beginning at 5pm at the First Church in Boston. Non-Zero once again forms like Voltron to offer a reading of Hillary Zipper’s crystalline the time of insects, which will be kind of like the quiet before the storm.

Okay, it’s been a while since we’ve commented on the world of professional cycling here at SLN, but it’s about time to chime in on recent developments. First a quick question: In Lance Armstrong’s last two Tours de France, name the only two riders who were able to stay with him on some of the most demanding stages? Don’t bother looking for statistics, here’s the answer: Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich. So what, you say? Then this little thing called Operación Puerto happened, which has become the biggest doping scandal in cycling since the Festina Affair at the 1998 edition of the TdF. So Jan’s been implicated in the debacle and has since retired from the sport. And Basso finally got that monkey off his back by admitting his guilt. So here’s what I say: Come on, Lance. Who are you kidding? Honestly?

I returned to my apartment today to find four large boxes deposited on my doorstep. And within these boxes I was delighted to find many, many copies of American Voices. And let me tell you, it’s about time. I remember taking introductory Ph.D musicology courses with Richard Crawford at the University of Michigan. We’d constantly write, and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite and rewrite. You get the idea. And finally after one rewrite, I remember Prof Crawford saying that as hard as it is to do, there comes a point when you just have push the damn thing away from you, throw up your hands, and say, “I’m done.” That’s kind of how this went.

Okay, now the basics: The CD is available directly from the Innova website until the official street release date of July 24, at which time you’ll be able to get it from Amazon, iTunes, eMusic, or in record stores. Of course, you could also come to the recital and “unofficial” CD release party I’ve got coming up on April 25 to pick up a copy. There’ll be all sorts of celebrities there. Finally, there are many people to thank for making this CD a reality and you should know about them. So read the liner notes.

SLN returns to Mobtown to find that seeds sown a little over a year ago are beginning to sprout. This has nothing to do with music. Rather, I’m talking about my alter-ego as politically incorrect anti-environmentalist editor of the website www.bagsintrees.com. A few days ago, BIT was profiled by Laura Vozzella in the Baltimore Sun. And since then, things have gotten, shall we say, a little out of hand. In a good way though. More on that later. But at least someone thinks I’m funny.

Update: I was quoted in another Sun article today regarding San Francisco’s decision to ban plastic grocery bags. Here’s the official statement.

The 2007 MATA Festival has come and gone and SLN has been delinquent in posting about the event. I performed Alexandra Gardner’s Tourmaline on the Tuesday night’s “Solitary Confinement V” concert at the Brooklyn Lyceum, which featured works for solo performers w/ or w/o electronics. I had quite a journey that day, flying in from Dallas extremely early that morning, heading straight to the venue, sound checking, and then playing the show. Rather than making me tired, the day’s journey had more of a romanticizing effect and the performance went wonderfully. A comment was made to me to the effect of, “It’s been a while since I’ve been to a new music concert where all the pieces were great.” Indeed. It was a splendidly enchanting evening, made a just little sweeter by the review in the Times.

American Voices is currently in production. Official announcements to follow. Stay tuned.