Good Manners

Last week the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York opened its exhibition on “The Drawings of Bronzino,” showcasing the work of a man who may just be the best painter nobody cares about. Agnolo Bronzino was one of the leading painters and poets of sixteenth-century Italy.  But during this time Italian art and culture [...]

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Colombian Music (Way) Beyond Shakira

Colombia has a very wide range of musical styles, reflecting the country’s strong regional cultures and diverse roots – African, indigenous, and European.  It’s similar to Brazil, and that shows in the music.  But I think many of us are more conscious of the richness of Brazilian music.  Here are some listening suggestions for Colombians [...]

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Be Elizabeth Gilbert’s Valentine

Valentine’s Day is just two weeks away – and we’re hoping that 2010 can be the year of the new-and-improved Valentine.  We’re thrilled that so many talented folks have submitted their ideas to “Be My Valentine: A Studio 360 Design Challenge.” And doesn’t a competition merit a celebrity judge?  One who is familiar with the [...]

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Nobody Puts Jane Austen in a Corner

It’s Friday night, and I’m sweating on the dance floor. Am I at some chic nightclub? Not exactly. Instead of a techno beat, the sounds of fiddles, guitars, recorder, dulcimer, and banjo hang in the air. Okay, I confess: I love Contra dancing. It’s a rowdy mix of square and line dancing. The constant swapping [...]

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Kidding Around

Last week, singer-songwriter Zee Avi brought her ukulele by the studio. From what we’ve been hearing from listeners, she has a bunch of new fans since the broadcast – including me. Hearing her play the uke took me back. I can picture the one we had lying around our house and I remember how my [...]

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360 Staff Pick: Memoir of a Friendship

Let’s Take the Long Way Home: A Memoir of Friendship By Gail Caldwell With a million bromance movies exploring male friendships (usually at the expense of the shrewy women who stand in the way), Let’s Take the Long Way Home is refreshing. The memoir by former Boston Globe book critic Gail Caldwell sketches her quiet, [...]

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YouTune – Bill Flanagan’s “Evening’s Empire”

Ready to unleash your inner rock star? We want you to help bring a fictional rock band to life. This week, Kurt talked with author and MTV big wig Bill Flanagan. His new novel Evening’s Empire tells the rollicking story of The Ravons, an imaginary British rock band from the sixties. In the book Flanagan [...]

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Busted!

Indie-pop’s next big hit could be in Manglish. That’s the blend of Malay and English singer-songwriter Zee Avi favors for her song “Kantoi.” The YouTube sensation visited Studio 360 recently and she performed the song live for us. [YOUTUBE=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF32xfehHPE] Zee Avi explained that “Kantoi” means “busted.” And the song is all about love gone bad.  [...]

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Helping Haiti: Relief through Music

The human tragedy in Haiti is overwhelming, and it’s hard to know what we can do from hundreds or thousands of miles away. Here’s one thing… January 20 through 25, New York’s City Winery (155 Varick Street) is holding a series of four emergency benefit concerts featuring an impressive line-up of musicians including some familiar [...]

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360 Staff Pick: The Original Crossover Act

Last weekend Kurt interviewed Owen Pallett, a violinist who makes indie-electro-classical-pop, either as a one-man band or with a live orchestra.  This weekend, one of Brooklyn’s coolest clubs hosted Miracles of Modern Science, who play violin, cello, mandolin, and double bass, and cite Tears for Fears as their main influence.  Last year, we had Bell [...]

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