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Category: AV Highlights
NOVEMBER 5, 2012
Presidential Trivia

Don't Know Much About the American Presidents by Kenneth C. Davis is a recent book on CD, which is a great way to brush up on your presidential knowledge in this election year.  Test your knowledge with these trivia vidoes.

Part I
Part II
Part III

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Categories: AV Highlights,  History

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OCTOBER 11, 2012
The Inn at Rose Harbor
The latest Cedar Cove book from Debbie Macomber is The Inn at Rose Harbor and it is available as a book on CD.

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Categories: AV Highlights,  Reading

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AUGUST 30, 2012
The Last Victim
The latest thriller by Karen Robards features the hunt for a serial killer and a main character who can see ghosts.  Find it in print or on CD in the catalog.


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Categories: AV Highlights,  Reading

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JUNE 6, 2011
Cannibal Courtship by Dengue Fever
It has bee a while since I've highlighted a new album, but I couldn't resist letting people know about this one.  Cannibal Courtship is Dengue Fever's fourth album to blend indie rock with '60s-era Cambodian psychedelic/pop/surfer rock.  The possibility of a band from L.A. being influenced by and wanting to play music made an ocean away (as well as a few decades) is unlikely, but not improbable.  That they found a bona fide Cambodian pop star to sing in Khmer suggests that their intrerest is more than an eccentricity.  Plus it is a great story.

They certainly pull off the melding of the sounds.  Chhom Nimol's high vocals (whether in English or Cambodian) weave through the rock sounds, influenced by Eastern melodies, and interspersed with horns and flute.  It is a distinct, unique sound in which the diversity is readily apparent, but never dissonant.  And it may be that this uniqueness may limit their popularity and they'll stay a cult band, but it sure is fun listening to them.

Allmusic review
More reviews at Metacritic

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Category: AV Highlights

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DECEMBER 14, 2010
Obadiah by Frazey Ford
Frazey Ford steps out of her spot in the Canadian folk trio, The Be Good Tanyas, for her debut solo album, Obadiah.  A blend of folk-rock and soul with acoustic guitar, hushed drums, banjo, organ, little swells of strings, and even gently building brass comes across as a fairly even tempoed mood album.  It's Ford's voice that is undeniably the strength of the album.  Describe it any way you want (throaty, sultry, smoky), it is compelling and perfect for the stories that her songs tell.  These stories cover relationships, love and loss, motherhood, and family each with characters which Ford inhabits seamlessly.

Visit Frazey Ford's Web site to learn more about her and her album.  There's also an interview with Ford on NPR with links to other content and check out the reviews below.

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Category: AV Highlights

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AUGUST 31, 2010
Dominant Curve - Brooklyn Rider
Brooklyn Rider is an emerging string quartet with Dominant Curve being only their second full-length recording.  That doesn't mean they haven't been busy.  In fact they are all part of Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, as well as participating in numerous other projects. 

Brooklyn Rider plays some of the standard string quartet repertoire, but seem more interested in performing original compositions or new works, looking for inspiration in musical traditions from around the world.  Dominant Curve is an excellent example of this with its centerpiece Debussy, member Colin Jacobson's "Achilles' Heel", plus works by composers from Japan and Uzbekistan.  Two works also include collaborators and electronics.

The Debussy "String Quartet in G Minor", just like the group playing it, may not be familiar to the traditionally minded, but it is intense and lively and, set in the midst of the newer works, sounds fresh.  It also ties the album together as each other other pieces is connected with it ("Achilles' Heel" was inspired by Debussy [who was born Achille-Claude] and Yanov-Yanovsky's "...al niente" excerpts the Debussy.) , if only by the use of modal harmonies.  Dominant Curve is an exquisite album by a boundary defying group of musicians.

Reviews
Find videos of the Quartet performing at their Web site or at NPR.org: Live at SXSW ; Tiny Desk Concert

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Category: AV Highlights

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JUNE 4, 2010
Genuine Negro Jig by the Carolina Chocolate Drops

The Carolina Chocolate Drops play the old timey music of string and jug bands from the Carolina Piedmont.  This African-American roots music from Appalachia has been, to a large extent, overlooked.  The trio appears determined to rectify that.

Genuine Negro Jig is the third album of the group, which includes Dom Flemons and Justin Robinson, and Rhiannon Giddens each of whom play multiple instruments and sing.  The album is a mix of traditional tunes given new arrangements, originals, and a couple of surprising covers.  Their version of Blu Cantrell's 2001 hit "Hit 'Em Up Style" transports the song back in time.  (Watch a performance.)  Produced by Joe Henry (whose reputation continues to grow having produce Elvis Costello, Allen Toussaint, and Mose Allison), the entire album is full of rousing fiddle and banjo work and excellent vocals, especially by the opera-trained Giddens.

Check out the group's Web site for more information on who they are and what they do.  They have also been featured on NPR several times, including on All Things Considered, Fresh Air, and World Cafe.  You can also read reviews of Genuine Negro Jig from
 The library also owns Carolina Chocolate Drops' 2006 debut, Dona Got a Ramblin' Mind.

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Categories: Music,  AV Highlights

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APRIL 26, 2010
Casual Victim Pile: Austin 2010
Hey, we're starting a new series of blog posts that feature recent arrivals to the Audiovisual Department whether music, movies, or audiobooks.  The focus is going to be on things that we think are really good, but that you may not have heard of.

Our first post highlights Casual Victim Pile:  Austin 2010, which is an anagram of "Live Music Capitol," which is what  Austin, Texas has been labeled.  The city has been known for years for its local music scene and the ever growing South by Southwest Festival (Did you know there is a NXNE Festival?).  But forget about that, this is a compilation of local bands, the music one can hear on a typical night in Austin.

I'm sure that there's a wide variety of music coming out of Austin,  but this set leans toward garage and punk.  This is a musical underground that rocks, and however the choice of what to include was made, it exhibits excellent taste.

Check out this other info on the album:

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Categories: Music,  AV Highlights

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