I stumbled across this amazing set of photos last week. Apparently this ship is rusting in the harbour in Shanghai. I suspect if I saw it in it's glory I would be totally disgusted. But somehow, in a state of decay, it looks stunningly beautiful.

Labels: Fun, Musical curiosities

I follow a bunch of different blogs for a bunch of different reasons. One is ruk.ca, my old friend Peter Rukavina's blog (I don't think he even knows I'm following him - Hi Peter, if you're reading this!).

Today he posted on a new meme called "Wikipedia Names Your Band." Here's how it works:

1. Go to Wikipedia and click on the "random article" link. That first random page's title is the name of your band.
2. Go to this random quotes page. The last few words of the last quote on the page is the title of your album.
3. Go to Flickr's Interesting photos of the past 7 days page. The third photo on that page is your album cover.

Here's what happened when I did it:



I kinda like it!

Labels: Fun, Musical curiosities

...surfing around the internet.

Check out this site of bad album covers.

Labels: Fun, music history, Musical curiosities

It may seem a long stretch from "Let's Get Small!" but I say, go Steve! Comedian/Actor Steve Martin is releasing a new CD, called "The Crow." It's a CD of banjo music. (I guess I should have said "Comedian/Actor/Banjo Player Steve Martin.")

This New York Times Article gives more background on his banjo history and pedigree. And this article from The Banjo Newsletter (reprinted on Steve Martin's own website) gives some indication of the fact that he's respected in the banjo world (sidenote: it's interesting that in the interview, which seems to be at least five years old, he says he would never release a CD of banjo music!).

Now, some of you might be thinking, "He's gotta be kidding!" Or maybe, "Why doesn't he stick to comedy and acting?" But, as it turns out, Steve Martin is a good banjo player. (If you don't believe me, check out some of the sound samples on the Amazon.com page for the album.) The songs and tunes on "The Crow" are all original, and he's joined by a number of fine musical guests, including Tim O'Brien, Tony Trischka, Pete Wernick, Earl Scruggs, Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, and others.

Personally, I admire an artist who is not afraid to do something different. He's not a hack and it's not just a publicity stunt - playing the banjo has been a significant part of his life since he was a teenager, and he obviously has great respect for the music and the instrument. I look forward to seeing how the album is received and where this part of his artistic journey takes him.

Go Steve!

Labels: Fun, Musical curiosities, the artist's life

The Torontoist blog recently re-posted an interesting "help wanted" ad for a salesperson to help promote "musical water fountains." I was curious what that might be, so I snooped around on the internet and found out that the fountains in question are actually a musical instrument called a "hydraulophone." Here's an extensive Wikipedia article on hydraulophones.

It turns out that the fountain in front of the Ontario Science Centre here in Toronto is a hydraulophone, the largest one in the world. Who knew? In fact, it seems like Toronto is a hotbed of hydraulophone activity - Steve Mann, the inventor of the hydraulophone, is a professor at University of Toronto.

Here's a video of the Ontario Science Centre hydraulophone in action:



Here's a video of the Hart House Orchestra performing "Suite for Hydraulophone"

Labels: Fun, Musical curiosities, Toronto

CTV is showing a new documentary tomorrow night called "The Musical Brain" that sounds fascinating.

Scientists are only just beginning to understand the complex processes that go into making and listening to music, and there's been a lot of recent attention to the topic, thanks to Daniel Levitin's books "This is Your Brain on Music" and "The World in Six Songs," as well as Oliver Sack's "Musicophilia."

I've read all three of those books, so I am disappointed that I'll be missing the broadcast. I'll be on stage in Kitchener with my fellow Girls with Glasses, all neurons firing. Maybe someone will tape it for me.

Labels: books, Musical curiosities, the artist's life