There are all kinds of tunes about urban landscapes. A multitude of activities takes place within city landscapes. Everything is reflected in music in all genres.
Where would we be without some serious city angst?
Raining in Baltimore ~ The Counting Crows, August and Everything After <<– A most excellent album with nary a ‘miss’ among any of its songs. Well worth listening to en toto.
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Anyone in the market for some higher education history? Universities and colleges are small cities within cities and towns. Hence, the inclusion of Ohio.
In Kent, Ohio, Non-violent students encountered the National Guard’s fully loaded guns.
Ohio [Kent, Ohio location of Kent State University] ~ written by Neil Young, performed Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
The shootings led to protests on college campuses throughout the United States, and a student strike, causing more than 450 campuses across the country to close with both violent and non-violent demonstrations.[9] A common sentiment was expressed by students at New York University with a banner hung out of a window which read, “They Can’t Kill Us All.”[37] On May 8, eleven people were bayonetted at the University of New Mexico by the New Mexico National Guard in a confrontation with student protesters.[38] Also on May 8, an antiwar protest at New York’s Federal Hall held at least partly in reaction to the Kent State killings was met with a counter-rally of pro-Nixon construction workers (organized by Peter J. Brennan, later appointed U.S. Labor Secretary by President Nixon), resulting in the “Hard Hat Riot“.
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Samba de Janeiro ~ Bellini —-Dancing in the streets aka it’s time for a flash mobbing to work out some stress. Yes, you too can dance at your pc. How can you resist?
“Fields in the Month of June” by Charles-Francois Daubigny is one excellent reason to visit France via an art exhibition at a museum in the American midwestern state of Missouri, the Nelson-Atkins. Who knew there was great art in and flowing through Kansas City, the home of a basically defunct public school district? Ouch, irony’s knife-edge is getting a tad sharp these days. No matter, the point of this missive is the wonderful art that has come to visit from October 19, 2013 to February 9, 2014. The sheer size of “Fields in the Month of June” surprised me, as did the dimensions of a number of the other pieces you often view in print and sometimes online. There are the LARGE Daubigny and Dore pieces to a small round photograph of a local regional girl in this exhibition. This serves as a certain metaphor for the entire show–large scope rendered with precise attention paid to small details in the same way painters used photographs to enhance their depictions of whatever was catching their image loving eyes. It’s all absolutely delicious eye feasting as far as I’m concerned.
The number one reason, in my opinion: Gustave Dore’s “Deer In a Pine Forest” (Vosges) 1865. Which seems to have disappeared from cyberspace since I first found a version of it to serve as a tempting main course. In lieu of that incredible image itself, just toss the red figure out of the image below, darken the light, heighten the trees, give the huge painting a wall to own all by itself and you’ll have some notion of why Dore’s painting alone is worth paying the price of admission to the current exhibition at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: Impressionist France, Visions of Nation From Le Gray to Monet. Note: “Figures by a Woodland Stream,” shown below, is not on display. But it gives a decent notion of the painting that you can almost walk right into-though I wouldn’t turn my toes out of this one either. No way.
The exhibition concentrates on mid 19th century France’s city-scapes, forests, rural areas, trains, water-scapes, artists and the people they painted–no, not the wealthy upper classes wanting their fashionable personages preserved for posterity, but such as “Washerwomen of the Breton Coast,” 1870 by Jules Breton. Oh, yes, the washerwomen are another major reason to catch this exhibition. There’s also Breton’s “The Wounded Seagull,” 1878 and his wonderful take on his wife, “Elodie With a Sunshade”; Bay of Dourarnenez (Woman with Parasol), 1870-71. Hmm, yes, I took a fancy to Breton’s paintings. He has a way with the ladies’ eyes and how they engage the viewer. The Mona Lisa smirks. So what. She’s getting her face done by a painter while she sits around doing nothing except, possibly considering the recent gossip regarding sexual scandals. Breton’s women are not passive objects of affectation. They’re engaged in the landscapes in which they’re consciously inhabiting. They’re magnificent in their own right. Men make war. Women wash clothes. Which one really keeps the world in some state worth living in? So, got it, Jules Breton’s Women are another major reason to see this art show.
Here’s another major reason to go to the art show: a Wet-plate Field Camera w/ Dallinger lens, tripod and equipment from France circa 1870s. For all you digital camera junkies, this huge field camera is a sight to behold. Imagine hauling around over one hundred pounds of wood, glass, metal and what all else in order to take a few pictures. It’s a magnificent specimen of artistic creation you can walk around–no touching allowed–and imagine getting yourself up close to “click” this huge beast’s “buttons.” Yeah, dream on. The products of such burdensome camera beasts are also in evidence in this exhibition–and they are dazzlers in their own rights. Gustave Le Grey’s “Factory,” Terre-Noire, 1851-55, Joseph Vigier’s “Saint Sauveur, Port de Sia, Gavarnie Route,” 1853, along with the photos of Charles Nigre and the unknown photographer Giraudons Artist offer much for the eye and the intellect to consider of times and people long gone, yet glimpsed because these men turned their huge cameras’ lens towards them and pulled the imaging trigger.
Oh and there’s Berthe Morisot’s “The Harbor at Lorient,” 1869. It’s a wonderful study in light, water, white, blues and browns all rendered in the bright light of day with her sister dressed in white. It’s a gorgeous work displayed with some seascapes depicting some seaside people notions modern bikini bathers may find incomprehensible. Those are by the usual Impressionist guys.
Of course you’ll get your fix of Monet and Manet–with more of each in the permanent collection on display for nada all the time. But you will also get to meet and greet some artists you might not think of when wanting to wade into the famous “Waterlilies.” Discover Frederic Bazille, represented by his “Porte de la Reine at Aigues-Mortes,” 1867–a depiction of a 13th century gate to the city. There’s Paul Huet’s beautifully rendered lighting in “The Ruins of the Chataeu of Pierrefonds,” 1867-68. Yes, there are more than a few castles in temporary residence and they’re wonderfully depicted, complete with splashes of red and white to draw attention to the local people en route to other places beyond the paintings’ scopes.
This is a show about context of place and the place is France from her seashores to her Alps–and what a showing it is in the darkened exhibition area with plenty of something for everyone’s taste palette, in my view. There are bright lights, muted atmospheres, and quiet farm scenes complete with bovines. There are even some digitalized art books of glaciers and river scenes. The large and weighty originals rest under glass while your oily human fingers get to flip the their contemporary counterparts by running your fingertips across the glass. What a wonderful statement about the evolution of the photographic art form this is all by itself.
A very nice feature of this show is that once your ticket is bought you can enter and linger as long as you like, go forage for food, and return for another go around the exhibition as often as you care to –on the same day, of course. This isn’t set up to be a line of pushers and shovers roped off from the offerings. You can wander and loiter through the thoughtfully walled spaces with whatever engages your heart and mind–including the pieces on the prehistoric forests which no longer exist as they once did. Theodore Rousseau’s “The Rock Oak” (Forest at Forentainbleus), 1860-67.
One other very lovely surprise for me was a delightfully refreshing street scene of blues, greens and whites by Renoir, “The Grand Boulevard,” 1875. It is simply gorgeous. Go see the exhibition paths for yourself. What are you waiting for? France to come to you? This is about as close to that as you’ll get. But don’t forget, most of these images are long gone. If not for the artists, they wouldn’t exist.
Oops, I almost forgot, in this exhibit there are 125 pieces to view. That’s 125 reasons to go, at the very least. Every reason thereafter is icing on the French Impressionist Cake Walk.
I chose these musical selections based on places I’ve visited and hope to see again. Each has moments and memories connected to the specific locations and the people encountered.
*
Because I love beaches and water everywhere, and definitely “here.”
Sarges, Portugal Surf paradise “Always Gold” by Radical Face
*Who needs a four star hotel when there are hostels? Seriously folks, unless you’re in need of serious down time alone, hostels are wonderful places to stay.
The Beautiful City of Florence (Firenze in Italian) set to Music performed LIVE on the streets! The video concludes with a Fireworks display over the River Arno on the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist (San Giovanni Battista), the patron saint of Florence. The Fireworks were launched from Piazzale Michelangelo on the hillside above Florence. All the music in the video was recorded LIVE as it was heard on the streets (and in one church) – except for the Mozart I added during the Fireworks! Filmed around 24th of June 2012.
BREAKING: This morning Greenpeace France activists protested peacefully at Gazprom’s offices in the center of Paris, while their friends on the Arctic Sunrise are detained in Russia for peacefully protesting Gazprom’s reckless plans to drill in the fragile Arctic.
Russia is pressing charges against the peaceful activists that could land them in prison for 15 years. Is this political insanity at work? Power running amok for sure.
Are you ready for some do it yourself yum yums? Eh? Sure you are. I am always ready for cuisine that tickles the tongue and stirs the imagination. If your idea of good eating primarily entails KFC then go forage elsewhere because this is not mega chain food chop chop. If Yvette Van Boven can’t turn you onto to creating your own meals from scratch–without a shyte-load of expensive culinary toys–then you are doomed to plastic wrapped microwave hell for eternity. Yes, you too can learn how to make bread and cheese and sorbet from scratch via this Dutch Cookbook of 2010 Award Winner which is now available in English stateside. All those luscious red tomatoes loitering whispered slyly to me from the library shelf, “Hey there. You, pick us up! You know you want to. No regrets, we promise!” on first sight. Then, you know how we all do with cookbooks, a random opening and flipping of the pages to see if anything looked good enough to spend time actually making is in evidence. O and was there ever! Oof Verschuren’s photograph of Gooseberry Jam with Orange (p.15) enticed me into spending time right there and then with Yvette’s Zucchini Flapjacks with Basil Cream (p. 54), Biscuits (p.30), Red Bell Pepper Soup with Orange and Tarragon-Basil Oil (p. 1330, Papardelle with Spicy Lamb Ragu and Capers (p. 216), and Raspberry Sorbet (p. 315), and -well you’ve got the idea by now, I hope, that Yvette’s Home Made totally captivated moi via the salivary glands.
If you’re more into photography than food -well–that’s another reason to taste this book’s delights. There are beautiful landscapes of Paris, people, and how to make bread and how to make cheese. If you’re a writer then take note of the engaging and encouraging voice of Home Made: “Let’s get going . . . .” Yvette does not adore ice cream but apparently Oof, her husband, loves it and makes a great deal of it according to his own notions of flavors. Most of which will NOT be found via Ben & Jerry in the frozen food aisle. Guess what, everything looks doable. Intimidating curious would be do it yourself cooks is not the name of Yvette’s game. This is do it yourself cooking presented as it ought to be–try it, change it, go for it, make it your own! Have a great time and enjoy everything you eat!
Oof’s photographs are the sort that fool your hand into reaching out for the green tea ice cream, apple crisps and even the dog biscuits. Yes, the dog biscuits. If you’re a gardener lucky enough to have zucchini, carrots, and onions galore then get a grip on this cookbook for everything from roasting that zucchini to stuffing peppers with cheese you’ve made yourself. If you’re sick and tired of all the same old flavors and textures presented time and again in tried and true cooks’ books then wander through Home Made for some inspiration not found from a Pampered Chef party. Living well entails eating well–and you don’t have to be an Iron Chef to enjoy every meal.
Okay, I’m off to get some raspberries to make sorbet!
Go see all that Yvette does herself in Amsterdam and Paris. What’s a food stylist do? Click the photograph below to find out. Enjoy!
Departures —What can a cellist do when the symphony goes bust? Even when predictable it satisfies immensely on multiple levels. Some of the images are delicious. Some reminded me of The Road Home.
Paris— Love stories? Then catch it. The views of the city are wonderful all by themselves. The ‘main’ man is a subtle ‘wonder’ of loving life.
A Serious Man–A seriously twisted and scary rendition of Job story via Murphy’s Law pie plate. Darkly comic yet painful too.
Coco Before Chanel– If you adore Audrey Tautou, then indulge in this pre-liberated woman feature. Keep the context of historical time period in mind and then Coco’s ‘rise’ takes on certain serious meanings. Otherwise you’ll miss some crucial points about women and men and culture entirely.
The Horse Boy –One family’s dealing with autism. Powerful and moving in perhaps unexpected ways. The audience seemed to hold its breath throughout the entire movie. Perhaps they were considering their own experiences with autism–which seems to be on the ‘rise’.
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Editor in Northern California. Interested in tiny things, nineties nostalgia, old jungle mixtapes, punctuation, and my cats. Not to be fed after midnight.
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