Spinning on Air
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Mother & Son: Yoko Ono & Sean Lennon
Yoko Ono and her son Sean Lennon join David Garland to present and talk about Yoko Ono's music. Yoko and Sean tell many interesting stories, speak intimately about the music, and reminisce about the events that inspired the compositions.
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The Pleasures of Playing With Proportion
David Garland presents two new musical projects that display particular interest in the pleasures of playing with proportion: "The Weighing of the Heart" by Colleen, and "The Adorables" by Zeena Parkins, Shayna Dunkelman, and Preshish Moments.
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The Gregarious Guitars of Don Bikoff
Guitarist/composer Don Bikoff's album "Celestial Explosion" was released in 1968. The album featured an Eastern-influenced take on the bluesy finger-picking of Mississippi John Hurt and American Primitivism of John Fahey. Bikoff joins David Garland to reminisce, laugh, and play us some guitar.
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John Simon, Songwriter, and Producer of Landmark Albums...
Back in 1996 David Garland welcomed?John Simon?to perform and to talk about his music and career. Here are highlights, featuring music from albums he produced for Leonard Cohen, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Band, and more.
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Pianissimo 2
Piano music can have a very personal touch. David Garland presents another hour of lyrical, soulful, playful piano music, featuring recordings by Chilly Gonzales, Duke Ellington, and others.
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Stories With and Without Language: The Musical...
Iva Bittova is a storyteller. Singing wordlessly, or using an implied language of her own, she creates intimate, engrossing narratives. She sings and plays violin simultaneously, drawing chiefly from material on her new ECM album, "Iva Bittova."
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Spinning on Air: Spring Power!
Music with rhythmic and melodic power; music for bursting forth after a long, snowy winter. David Garland presents music from warm places like Brazil, New Orleans, India, and...Brooklyn; music vibrating with a pulse that comes from Africa.
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Mother & Son: Molly & Nick Drake
A brand new album gives David Garland the opportunity to show that the songwriter who had the greatest influence on Nick Drake was his mother, Molly Drake.
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Engulfed in Cello with Julia Kent
Composer/cellist Julia Kent creates evocative environments of sound with her cello, running it through digital delays and a laptop to magnify and multiply the music. She performs her layered music in the WNYC Studio.
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Tyondai Braxton Brings "HIVE" to The Guggenheim
Composer Tyondai Braxton writes angular, energized music, teeming with ideas and sounds. He's developing a new multimedia piece, HIVE, which he'll premier at The Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan on March 21st.
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Nature Theater of Oklahoma's "Life and Times"
Adventures In, um, ah, Autobiography: Nature Theater of Oklahoma is a New York-based performance group. David Garland brings the cast of six singers and three musicians to the WNYC Studio to perform two extended excerpts from Episode 1 of "Life and Times."
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Guitarist Sean Smith
Guitarist/composer Sean Smith creates adventurous instrumental pieces for steel-string guitar, inspired by his ongoing quest for reality, his fascination with a 1930s prose poem, and the pleasure of riding the bus to the library. Sean brings his guitar to the WNYC Studio.
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Larkin Grimm - Soul Retrieval Live
Larkin Grimm returns to perform music from her new album "Soul Retrieval" and she talks with David Garland about her experiences with shamanic ceremonies, having a baby, Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture, Kurt Cobain's suicide, seeking spiritual wisdom, and much more.
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Coping Strategies
Say "so what?" Shout into the abyss. Talk with friends. These and other "coping strategies" are suggested in songs by Clogs, Caetano Veloso & David Byrne, Wingdale Community Singers, Diane Cluck, Richard Thompson, Scott Walker, and others.
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Rhythm Composers
David Garland presents a range of rhythms from composers such as Dan Deacon, Moondog, Ennio Morricone, Tujiko Noriko & Takemura Nobukazu, Julia Kent, and Motion Sickness of Time Travel, and Villagers.
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Extraordinary Orchestras: Ravi Shankar, and Iva Bittova
Selections from Ravi Shankar's "Music Festival from India" from 1976, and highlights from a brand new recording, "Zvon," which features Czech singer/violinist/composer Iva Bittova with the Prague Philharmonic.
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Mystical Weapons
Sean Lennon returns to the WNYC Studio with Mystical Weapons, his improvisational collaboration with Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier; artist, animator and projectionist Martha Colburn; and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily.
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Chilly Gonzales
Chilly Gonzales joins David Garland in the WNYC Studio to perform his piano music, and for a lively conversation about the ideas behind it.
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Christmas Presence
David Garland presents some gentle and festive music for Christmas - seasonal songs that have been sung for centuries, a few familiar carols, and the elfin humor of the Christmas greetings The Beatles recorded for their fan club during the 1960s.
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Star Trek - The Original Music for the Original Series
David Garland presents selections from a new 15-CD boxed set of every note of music composed for the original Star Trek, plus an interview with Jeff Bond, one of the collection's producers.
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Judy Collins Performs in the WNYC Studio
David Garland welcomes Judy Collins back to the show to perform new and old songs, accompanying herself on piano or guitar along with musician Russell Walden, and to speak movingly with Garland about memory, time, family, loss, and love.
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In The Greene Space with Yoko Ono, John Zorn, and others
Spinning On Air's 25th anniversary was celebrated in WNYC's Greene Space on November 14th. Brian Lehrer joined David Garland for an evening of uncategorizable music and insightful conversation.
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Connie Converse Walking In the Dark
During the 1950s Connie Converse lived in New York City writing and singing thoughtful, emotional, smart, witty, personal songs. This special edition of WNYC's Spinning On Air, airs many of Connie's songs for the first time, and tells her story.
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The Hawaiian War Chant Extravaganza 2012
The Hawaiian War Chant appears on nearly every album of Hawaiian and exotic music recorded in the 1950s and '60s. David Garland offers version after version of this ditty, which was actually inspired by an old love song.
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The First Spin
David Garland found a cassette tape of the very first Spinning On Air show, broadcast August 2, 1987. During this month we're celebrating 25 years of Spinning On Air by listening to a few shows from the program's archives.
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Session Highlights
Highlights from recent years, including Laura Marling, Sufjan Stevens, Antony and the Johnsons, Dirty Projectors, Michael Gira, Diane Cluck, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, and others.
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Judy Collins Presents Wildflowers
Judy Collins joins David Garland to talk about her landmark album "Wildflowers," featuring music by two remarkable songwriters: Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, plus Collins' own first remarkable songs.
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Singing the Story
Story-songs, grounded in old blues and British folk traditions. Host David Garland offers the voices of Woody Guthrie, Connie Converse, Alasdair Roberts, Sam Amidon, and others; musicians who all have stories to sing.
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Reuben Butchart "Nameless and Awake"
Composer, singer, and pianist Reuben Butchart brings his song cycle "Nameless and Awake" to the WNYC Studio. David Garland talks with Butchart about the songs and how the music came together at Robert Wilson's Watermill Center.
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Chilly Gonzales
Chilly Gonzales joins David Garland in the WNYC Studio to perform his piano music, and for a lively conversation about the ideas behind it.
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Requiem for a Pink Moon
Joel Frederiksen and his Ensemble Phoenix Munich intermix songs by 16th Century masters such as John Dowland and Thomas Campion, with songs by Nick Drake. Frederiksen joins David Garland to present highlights from this new album.
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Say Hello
New music and recent reissues: David Garland presents music from Brooklyn, Mali, England, Canada, Italy and elsewhere, some of Jonny Greenwood's score from the film "The Master," and some new musical settings of poems by e. e. cummings.
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Rhythm Tote
The Rhythm Tote turns out to be a time capsule from a very particular moment in pop history. David Garland opens up the Rhythm Tote, and invites you to listen, dance, reminisce, or enjoy these old songs for the first time.
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Pianissimo 2
Piano music can have a very personal touch. David Garland presents another hour of lyrical, soulful, playful piano music, featuring recordings by Chilly Gonzales, Duke Ellington, and others.
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John Cage's Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano
David Garland welcomes pianist Adam Tendler for an introduction to the unusual, beautiful sounds of Cage's Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano, and some of the ideas and thoughts behind them.
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Authenticity
These days, when blue jeans, building exteriors, singing voices, signage (and so much more) are calculatedly "weathered" for a patina of "authenticity," it's refreshing to listen to some authentically authentic songs.
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Dark Dark Dark
Dark Dark Dark brings a love of surprise, emotional intensity, and an orchestral sensibility to their music. Dark Dark Dark convene in the WNYC Studio to play their music, and talk about it with host David Garland.
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Multi-Layered High-Density
Here's music that's thickly slathered with sound. For these musicians, more is more, and more is better. David Garland also presents some music to calm down to.
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Laura Marling 3
British songwriter Laura Marling returns for her third visit to Spinning On Air. She performs songs from her third album "A Creature I Don't Know" and talks about the album's themes and narratives with host David Garland.
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Summer Wine
The Lee Hazelwood/Nancy Sinatra classic "Summer Wine," instrumental guitar recordings from the '20s, '50s, '60s, and '70s, plus brand new recordings by Nina Nastasia, Clare and the Reasons, Kemp & Eden, Rozi Plain, Will Stratton, and others.
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yMusic
yMusic gathers in the WNYC Studio to talk with David Garland about their musical adventures, and to play striking music by Annie Clark (St. Vincent), Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), Judd Greenstein, and Son Lux.
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Dirty Projectors 2012
Composer Dave Longstreth first brought Dirty Projectors to Spinning On Air in 2005. Now, they're back in the studio to perform songs from their newest album, "Swing Lo Magellan."
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Imaginary Cinema
David Garland presents music to accompany your own imaginary cinema, from great film score composers such as Ennio Morricone, Alexandre Desplat, Nino Rota, Georges Delerue, Alex North, and others.
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Mx Justin Vivian Bond
Mx Justin Vivian Bond creates an edgy but empathetic narrative by carefully selecting songs by famous and not-so-well-known songwriters, and singing them with pianist Thomas Bartlett. David Garland welcomes Justin and Thomas to the WNYC Studio, where they perform and talk about their work.
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Diane Cluck
Diane Cluck is an artist willing to explore the frontiers of song, and occasionally report back to us what she discovers there. Diane Cluck returns to perform some new songs with drummer Anders Griffen and vocalist Abbey Todras, and to talk about the songs with host David Garland.
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Requiem for a Pink Moon
Joel Frederiksen and his Ensemble Phoenix Munich intermix songs by 16th Century masters such as John Dowland and Thomas Campion, with songs by Nick Drake. Frederiksen joins David Garland to present highlights from this new album.
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Pianissimo
David Garland presents an hour pianissimo pianos, featuring recent recordings by Takeo Toyama, Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm, Hauschka, and Peter Broderick, as well as classic recordings by Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Paul Bley, and others.
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Mother & Son: Yoko Ono & Sean Lennon
Yoko Ono and her son, Sean Lennon, join David Garland to present and talk about Yoko Ono's music. Yoko and Sean tell many interesting stories, speak intimately about the music, and reminisce about the events that inspired the compositions.
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Room to Think
David Garland offers pieces by Max Richter, Carl Orff, Pete Seeger, Kitty Brazelton, and anonymous music from centuries ago, which might clear your mind, and stimulate it, providing room to think.
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Dana Buoy's Summer Bodies
Dana Buoy visits the WNYC Studio to perform his new songs and explain to host/producer David Garland how a trip to a remote lagoon in Thailand, time spent on the coast of Mexico, and falling in love have colored and shaped his music.
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Mother & Son: Molly & Nick Drake
A brand new album gives David Garland the opportunity to show that the songwriter who had the greatest influence on Nick Drake was his mother, Molly Drake.
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Ecstatic Experiences
Syrian-born singer Gaida improvises with Nigerian vocalist Yacouba Moumuni; 91 year-old sitarist Ravi Shankar performs Raga Malgunji, a meditative raga reflecting on the distance between the human and the supreme; and Palestinian singer and oud player Kamilya Jubran performs songs about war and survival.
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Mike McGinnis
Clarinetist Mike McGinnis performs two pieces that blossom from the common ground where jazz and classical styles intersect: the mid-century modern masterpiece "Concerto for Clarinet and Combo," composed in 1956 by Bill Smith; and McGinnis's own, new clarinet concerto "Roadtrip."?
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Beatlestretch
David Garland presents three Beatles classics stretched to fit an hour.
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Shelley Hirsch - Where Were You Then?
Vocalist/composer Shelley Hirsch has become increasingly interested in exploring a unique, musical approach to autobiographical storytelling. Her new recording, created in collaboration with Swiss composer and multi-instrumentalist Simon Ho, is ?Where Were You Then??
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Hearing Voices
Hear what kind of conversation these varied musical voices can have with each other, and with our own inner voices. David Garland shares vocal recordings old and new from various cultures.
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Larkin Grimm - Soul Retrieval Live
Larkin Grimm returns to Spinning On Air with harpist Jesse Sparhawk and drummer Jeremy Gustin, to perform music from her new album "Soul Retrieval."
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Nora York: Power/Play
Nora York's "Power/Play" deconstructs and re-imagines established musical masterworks by John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix, Stephen Foster and many others, adds in songs by York herself, and weaves it all into a compelling narrative about Americans at war and work.?
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Plastic Spoon
Host David Garland welcomes Plastic Spoon to the WNYC Studio to perform and talk about their music. Lend an ear--but only one ear, because Plastic Spoon demands that their music be heard in mono!
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Dory Previn: the 1998 Interview
Dory Previn died February 14, 2012 at age 86. David Garland interviewed Previn and featured her music on the April 19, 1998, edition of Spinning On Air. Here's that show again, in memorium.
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yMusic
yMusic gathers in the WNYC Studio to talk with David Garland about their musical adventures, and to play striking music by Annie Clark (St. Vincent), Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), Judd Greenstein, and Son Lux.
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Gloriously Disorienting
David Garland presents an array of music that may subtly or radically surprise and stimulate you, including new and unreleased music from Lambchop, Larkin Grimm, Sydney Wayser, Jody Redhage, Hospitality, and more.
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Pianissimo
Suddenly there are a number of young composer/pianists exploring a relaxed and alert sensibility in their music. David Garland presents an hour pianissimo pianos.
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A Spark from the Infinite
Terry Riley?s ?A Spark from the Infinite? is just one of several songs here about striving for a bit of insight and wisdom, giving voice to the religious impulse, reconciling or contrasting the secular and sacred.
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PROGRAM INFORMATION
- New York, NY
- Eclectic, Art, World Music
- WNYC
- English
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WNYC Radio
160 Varick St.
New York, NY 10013212-433-9692 -
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