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Music Playlists
Today's recommending listening is Kings of Leon, Final Fantasy VII, Khachaturian, and Ella Fitzgerald.
Gamelan is a term that refers to an Indonesian ensemble. It is beautiful and one of the most popular forms of world music for Western audiences. Many people think immediately of the sounds of the beautiful bronze percussion instruments in the ensembles. There are many streaming recordings on Alexander Street you can listen to. The music can range from ethereal and soothing to high energy and inspiring. A good definition is in Oxford/Grove and there are resources on the American Gamelan Institute website.
Listen to a streaming playlist from Freegal Music, Naxos Music Library, Naxos Jazz Music Library, Hoopla or Music Online from Alexander Street free with your library card. Alexander Street will ask for an academic institution, use Glendale Public Library.
Musical Instrument Making
We have a big variety of books on musical instrument construction for adults and kids. Everything from cigar box guitars to hardwire hacking. You can order books to pickup from our contactless service. Also check out this blog post on 15 Unique Homemade Musical Instruments.
Music Podcasts
Classic Rock Album-By-Album is a popular podcast where rock is judged. Recent episodes have included albums by Big Star, Buddy Guy and Dire Straits.
Kids Q The Music podcast is hosted by the mother and daughter team of Rebecca and Zara Lane. They talk to performers, conductors and composers. Recent episodes subjects include the cello, learning to improvise and Cartoons and Classics.
Art Festivals Distanced and Online
Take part in TULOY PO KAYO: The CCP Online Multi-Arts Open Community Festival, March 19 – 28, 2021. Audiences are invited to enter the artist’s home, studio, and performance space, to observe and be part of the creative process. Explore Palihan: introductory workshops, and Palabas: performances and activities in music, theater, dance, visual arts, film, and literature.
Desert X 2021 is now open to the public until May 16. The map is now available online or through the Desert X mobile app. To ensure social distancing, timed tickets are required Thursday – Sunday to visit select installations. Check out monumental sculpture What Lies Behind the Walls by Saudi artist Zahrah Alghamdi, the Wishing Well by Ghanaian artist Serge Attukwei Clottey and more.
CULTURE GATE to JAPAN sees 29 creatives working in arts, entertainment, animation and manga reinterpret the appeal of these rich cultural resources through a series of digital art exhibitions, inspired by their particular region. Airports host the multi-media work, inviting visitors to connect with people and discover new cultures. Enjoy the artwork and attractions digitally from anywhere.
Art Online
‘I hope…’ by Chiharu Shiota is an immersive thread installation currently on display in the nave of St. Agnes – a monumental former church that now serves as König Galerie’s exhibition space in Berlin. The large-scale piece gathers 10,000 letters sent to the artist from across the globe, which came in response to her invitation to people to write down their hopes. Take a quick walk through.
The California Society of Printmakers 106th Annual Member's Exhibition features the work of 91 printmakers and highlights a wide variety of printmaking techniques.
Printmaking Online
Eva Stalinski is a Dutch illustrator and screen printer who sells her shirts, bags, pins and patches online. In this delightful series of how-to videos, she shares how to screen print your own designs onto t-shirts. She includes information about the tools, inks, and materials she uses, as well as her DIY-at-home setups.
Amsterdam-based linocut artist Maarit Hänninen filmed how she carved and printed her illustration, titled Tomorrow, Tomorrow, with a printmaking technique called linocut. First, she transfered her original artwork to a tinted lino block, a linoleum surface, using a pencil. Then she carved around the to-be-printed areas with chisels, clarifying the illustration with black sharpie.
Alastair Clark of Edinburgh Printmakers demonstrates the stone lithography printmaking technique, from graining the stone, drawing the image with greasy ink, processing the stone, inking the stone, and printing on paper with multiple colors. A separate stone is required for each color. View a demonstration of plate lithography as well.
Checkout art books from the library using our Contactless Pickup Services. Search the library catalog to place items on hold for pickup.
Brand Library Staff Reviews
Klara (Mira Grosen) and Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) are the thirteen-year-old protagonists of the Swedish comedy We Are the Best!, and they’re totally into the punk scene and its wonderfully misguided haircuts (we’re traveling back to the ‘80s for this one). They’re NOT into the ridicule of their classmates (punk is dead), their embarrassing and neglectful parents, makeup, religion, or PE. In fact, it’s a confrontation with their PE teacher that leads to their first songwriting collaboration, the political-minded “Hate Sport.” Yet another confrontation at their youth center leads to a rehearsal space and a gig for a small music festival. Although Klara and Bobo play no instruments and have no vocal training, when they befriend the quiet and socially unpopular Hedvig (Liv LeMoyne), a talented musician and singer, a band is born (minor adjustments are needed). The movie isn’t about musical success or failure, it’s about girls in a band (not a “girl band”) growing up, standing up for themselves, and rocking out! -SB
Covet - Technicolor (2020). Yvette Young is a fantastic and innovative guitarist and the leader of the band Covet. It’s great to finally see female rock guitar virtuosos recognized. After all women virtuosos have been hailed in classical music and jazz for a long long time. In previous issues I talked about some young fantastic female Japanese progressive metal guitarists in the bands Lovebites and D_Drive. Yvette is a very different player. Covet is from San Jose and they are leaders in a style of music called math rock. I also covered a very different math rock band Polyphia in a previous issue. Math rock is a descendant of 1970s progressive rock which emphasizes complex rhythms and clean guitar tones. There are lots of bands playing this type of music, many in California, so there is a following. Yvette’s guitar sound is bright, ringing, sparkling and usually emotionally reserved. She is a strong player with an impressive all fingers on the fretboard tapping technique. The band can hold an audience captive with just guitar, bass and drums. Yvette also sings on the songs Parachute, Farewell and has a short vocalise at the end of Odessa but most of the album in instrumental. My favorite tunes are Good Morning, Odessa and Ares and I’m particularly drawn to her more ethereal playing. Yvette is also an accomplished visual artist and designed the band’s album covers. Open up your ears to soak up the rays of sound. -BW
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Covid-19 Resources
Reliable information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) is available from the World Health Organization, the California Department of Public Health, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department, the City of Glendale, and the Library, Arts & Culture department.
Resources for Music Businesses And Industry Workers, Playing for Change, Sounding Point LA
Resources for Freelance Artists, California Arts Council, Americans for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts