A Hard Day's Rut
While driving in the car today, I listened to a very interesting interview with Neil Innes, founding member of the Bonzo Dog Band, musical brains behind Monty Python, and creator of the brilliant Beatles parody tunes in The Rutles.
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November 28, 2004
November 22, 2004
Polka 'Til You Puke
24/7 Polka Heaven: all polka, all the time.
And here's the dirty, little secret that the polka industry doesn't want you to know about, the Polk-A-Matic 6000.
via MoFi
November 20, 2004
The Sublime Tragedy of M. Butterfly
As I mentioned a few posts ago, my wife and I made an excursion to the Twin Cities last weekend to see a matinee performance of Madame Butterfly. Although it was filled with outdated asian stereotypes, it still affected me deeply, thanks to the powerful portrayals of Cio-Cio-San by soprano, Kelly Kaduce, and tenor, Kip Wilborn, who portrayed B.F. Pinkerton. I've seen a lot of operatic deaths, but Butterfly's suicide was heartbreaking and almost unbearable to watch.
Our seats were perfect -- slightly to the left of center stage, and four rows from the front -- which made the performance feel extremely intimate. Ms. Kaduce's powerful voice was so crystal clear and magnetic, I felt like every molecule in my body was aligned to its force, and vibrating on the same wavelength.
I had been vaguely aware that the opera was based on a short story by John Luther Long. Here is the complete online text of the 1903 edition, along with the illustrations.
