I was interviewed on November 19th of last year by John Blue for the Indiana University Informatics Alumni Association's "Bits of Informatics" podcast, and I'm pleased to say it's now online for your listening pleasure. Over lunch at Aesop's Tables on a cloudy, wintry day, John and I chatted about my telecommunications and new media experiences at the Bloomington and IUPUI campuses; surround-sound production and my 2-song Capstone presentation; how I met my wife in ballroom-dancing class; and List-en up, the Angie's List podcast, which was in its infancy last fall.
Though my first name's spelled incorrectly (I'm sure John will fix it soon), I got a kick out of listening to the podcast episode. It's quite strange to hear my voice in a context outside of List-en up, but it was exciting to be the interviewee rather than be the interviewer. It was a bit nerve-wracking, as well — can you tell?I was interviewed on November 19th of last year by John Blue for the Indiana University Informatics Alumni Association's "Bits of Informatics" podcast, and I'm pleased to say it's now online for your listening pleasure. Over lunch at Aesop's Tables on a cloudy, wintry day, John and I chatted about my telecommunications and new media experiences at the Bloomington and IUPUI campuses; surround-sound production and my 2-song Capstone presentation; how I met my wife in ballroom-dancing class; and List-en up, the Angie's List podcast, which was in its infancy last fall.
Though my first name's spelled incorrectly (I'm sure John will fix it soon), I got a kick out of listening to the podcast episode. It's quite strange to hear my voice in a context outside of List-en up, but it was exciting to be the interviewee rather than be the interviewer. It was a bit nerve-wracking, as well — can you tell?Loudon Wainwright and opener Amy LaVere put on a wonderfully intimate show last night at the Clifton Center near historic Frankfort Ave. in Louisville, Kentucky. It was my first time seeing either of the musicians, and it was an enjoyable experience of musical uppers and downers.
LaVere opened with a few notes on her stand-up bass, comically plastered with a bass-fishing sticker. I liked the girl right away :) She and her high-pitched, almost cartoony voice, her twangy guitarist, and drummer belted out some rockers, some downers, and some hard-to-explain tunes (Gypsy/latin/polka-inspired? This blog has a more detailed description.) No matter what you'd call them, she played some songs that might make you want to dance, cry, or dance and cry at the same time.
Wainwright followed LaVere with quite the one-man show. I'd seen him act, albeit briefly, in The Aviator and Knocked Up, but neither prepared me for his rubbery expressions. They don't seem forced, and I sure did get a kick out of them. His music was excellent, too. I'm not generally a big fan of one-man/acoustic-guitar shows, but Wainwright's songwriting, strumming, and obvious love of performance kept my attention throughout the ~90-minute show. He enjoyed a beer onstage and won me over with songs that made me want to laugh, cry, or laugh and cry at the same time.
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LaVere opened with a few notes on her stand-up bass, comically plastered with a bass-fishing sticker. I liked the girl right away :) She and her high-pitched, almost cartoony voice, her twangy guitarist, and drummer belted out some rockers, some downers, and some hard-to-explain tunes (Gypsy/latin/polka-inspired? This blog has a more detailed description.) No matter what you'd call them, she played some songs that might make you want to dance, cry, or dance and cry at the same time.
Wainwright followed LaVere with quite the one-man show. I'd seen him act, albeit briefly, in The Aviator and Knocked Up, but neither prepared me for his rubbery expressions. They don't seem forced, and I sure did get a kick out of them. His music was excellent, too. I'm not generally a big fan of one-man/acoustic-guitar shows, but Wainwright's songwriting, strumming, and obvious love of performance kept my attention throughout the ~90-minute show. He enjoyed a beer onstage and won me over with songs that made me want to laugh, cry, or laugh and cry at the same time.
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings in Indianapolis, originally uploaded by Securis777.
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Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings took a funky funky trip to the Vogue in Indianapolis this past Sunday. Before the show, I'd wished it was Friday and my thoughts drifted towards work the next morning. But the appearance of the band onstage brought me back to enjoying the present moment. I'm a big fan of Ms. Jones & the Dap-Kings' analog recordings (throwbacks to labels and artists such as Stax, Motown, Otis Redding, Fela Kuti, etc. - the greatest funk, soul, R&B, and a hint of afro-beat), but I'm now an even bigger fan of their live show. At age 51 (she admitted this proudly to the crowd), Ms. Jones was strutting her stuff like the funkiest soul sister ever to walk a stage. She was non-stop movement with pitch-perfect voice. The band wasn't too shabby, either (my understatement of the week.) They performed for half an hour or so before Ms. Jones took the stage, and every note and beat was spot-on. Terrific stuff. James Brown is dead, but his soul lives on.
By the way, I've also posted two more photos from my Monterey trip, taken by cell phone from the plane. One is of the amazingly beautiful hills around Monterey (not sure what they're called), and the other is of the mass of humanity known as Los Angeles. It was my first time there, and I couldn't believe the size and density of the city.