Blog Archive

June 2009 Blogs

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

by: reference

Some people think that music covers are an inferior copy of a song and there is nothing better than the original song. In some cases, that could be true, but cover versions can also be equally or more popular than the first version of the song, for example the song “Me and Bobby McGee” interpreted by Janis Joplin but originally performed by Roger Miller. Usually, the most famous a song or band is, the more others will make covers of them.

Some well known artists once in a while get adventurous and record a cover of a famous song and adapt it to their personal style and rhythm. For instance, many of Led Zeppelin and the Beatles greatest hits were covers; they were especially inspired by African American music. There are other artists, however, that specialize in playing cover versions of individual songs or recording tribute albums of famous bands.

Cover recordings appear during the beginning of the 1900's when recording labels hired various singers to interpret hit songs and get some of the original tune’s profits. Radio stations could only transmit to a reduced geographic area; therefore, different stations will play different versions of a song. In a way, the covers of one song were considered originals.

In some cases, teenagers or young adults don’t even know that their favorite song is a cover from the 80’s. Thanks to tools like the Covers Project it is easy to find which song is a cover and which an original and also to find other versions of the song by other artists.

Austin Public library owns several music CD’s of cover bands, or artist that just wanted to record covers of their favorite music like for example:

Someone to watch over me Pavão Quartet

Songs I heard by Harry Connick

The very best of Diana Krall, for a very good version of "Fly me to the moon"

Rock swings by Paul Anka

Tribute to the Beatles by 101 Strings

Rhythms del mundo, Various artists

Apocalyptica plays Metallica by four cellos
Apocalyptica

Strange little girls by Tori Amos

A hillbilly tribute to mountain love by Hayseed Dixie

*Picture taken from MIT.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Father's Day Memoir

by: carolyn.rogers

William F. Buckley, the conservative author and commentator, died just 10 months after his wife Patricia. More than anything, Buckley drew his fame from "Firing Line," the hour-long political talk show where he verbally battled liberals from Noam Chomsky to Gore Vidal. Patricia Buckley was a fundraiser and socialite. Their son Christopher has written a memoir of that difficult year titled Losing Mum and Pup. Both Buckleys had enormous personalities and appetites, which caused them to behave in ways that seem godlike and childlike at the same time. Their son is devoted to their care at the end, but he locked horns with both parents many times. He told his conservative, Catholic father that he was an agnostic and that he had voted for Obama. He would stop speaking to his mother when she told lies that hurt others. This memoir is best read as a wake in words, where his larger-than-life parents are remembered by someone who sincerely loved them, warts and all.

Christopher Buckley is the author of 14 satirical books including Thank You for Smoking which was made into a movie. His mother was a life-long smoker, so you can see where the inspiration for Thank You for Smoking originated. The memoir, even though it has an awful subject: the terrible, painful deaths, within a year's time, of his parents, can be funny.

Today, all copies are checked out. Place a hold, if you would like to get in line, or read an excerpt from the New York Times’ Magazine.

For more memoirs, please see APL Recommends Contemporary Memoirs.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The Mexican New Wave

by: reference

“Amores Perros” (Love’s a Bitch) directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu is one of those movies that a lot of people remember or that is in their “movies to watch” list. This is not coincidental, because this is one of the most remarkable Mexican movies of the last decade. “Amores Perros” along with “Y tu mamá también” and “The Crime of Padre Amaro” are films that belong to what is called the “buena onda", or new wave of Mexican cinema.

Mexican film in the last decade has changed enormously. Before the 1990’s, Mexican films were mostly romantic comedies or action movies. During that time, government controlled the movie industry, including the content of the films. When the country’s administration changed, the new era of Mexican cinema started to flourish little by little.

Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo del Toro are some of the directors identified as part of this new wave. Lately, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, stars of “Y tu mamá también”, have recently begun directing and join this new wave as well. Even though the content of the movies in some cases has been challenged, this new generation of directors has insisted on showing Mexico’s reality or human nature in general as real as possible with all its cruelty, pain and beauty.

Some of the movies from this new wave that Austin Public Library offers are:

Japón by Carlos Reygadas

Mirada de Mujer by Antonio Serrano

Bella by Alejandro Monteverde

21 Grams by Alejandro González Iñárritu

The crime of Padre Amaro by Alfredo Ripstein

The violin by Francisco Vargas

Amores Perros (Love’s a Bitch) by Alejandro González Iñárritu

Y tu mamá también by Alfonso Cuarón

Pan’s Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro

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