Dark Was The Night

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In 1999 the Red Hot Organization produced Red Hot + Blue, an album of contemporary artists reinterpreting the music of Cole Porter. In doing so they raised the bar on the benefit compilation. Since then the Red Hot Organization has produced thirteen additional compilation albums, including the amazing Red Hot + Riot, all in the name of raising funds to fight HIV and AIDS.

On February 17 Red Hot is releasing the latest album in their benefit series, Dark Was The Night. The album features 31 exclusive tracks produced by The National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner. I'm excited because the artist line-up looks like a muster roll of my Last.fm library.

You can pre-order Dark Was The Night now, but if you want an early taste, download The Books and Jose Gonzalez cover of Nick Drake's beautiful "Cello Song" via I Guess I'm Floating.

UPDATE: Download no longer available, but you can hear snippets of tracks on the Dark Was The Night site.

This Is Heavy Metal!

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Data visualization artists Fernanda Viégas and Martin Wattenberg ask the question, "what do we sing about, when we sing about the body?" Their answer is nothing short of genius.

Black Moses is Dead

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Isaac Hayes in his office at Stax Records, Memphis, TN © Ernest C. Withers

Rest in peace, Isaac Hayes.

Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

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From the Guardian:

"As a foreigner in New York," Eno explained, "I was surprised by how little attention Americans paid to their own great indigenous musical invention: gospel. It was even slightly uncool - as though the endorsement of the music entailed endorsing all the religious framework associated with it. To me gospel was a music of surrender, and the surrendering rather than the worshipping was the part that interested me. This idea has informed my music ever since: I guess it's the reason I use modes and chords which are easy to follow and easy to harmonise with. I want the music to be inviting, to offer you a place inside it."

"I think David responded to this with sensitivity and skill, and his natural edginess made those familiar progressions sound new to me."

For Byrne the challenge in this "electronic gospel" style is to write songs that are "simple but not corny, basic but heartfelt. The results, in many cases, were uplifting, hopeful and positive- even though there were lyrics about cars exploding, war and similarly dark scenarios."

Don't forget the last time these two worked together:

Light Rail Coyote

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Inspiration rarely lands fully formed in my lap ready to party. Sometimes inspiration comes in fevered flashes of random images as I sleep; most of the time it comes in a slow march of real world dots and dabs that eventually add up to something grand. For Domesticated some of those dots came from the now defunct band Sleater-Kinney.


Sleater-Kinney's exploration of the tense space between the natural and human world seemed to begin at about the same time I was exploring the initial ideas behind my project. Starting with the song "Light-Rail Coyote" (inspired by the newspaper article above) and ending with the cover art for their final album The Woods and the video for "Entertain," Sleater-Kinney's choice of imagery and words helped inform the direction of my work in ways I didn't fully realize at the time.

But The Good News Is...

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Yerim and Her Pink Things, 2005 © JeongMee Yoon

My dear friend JeongMee Yoon just got a lovely write-up in the New York Times. In addition to the article they also gave her work the full multimedia slide show treatment. Really impressive. You can see JeongMee's work in person beginning March 3 when her solo show opens at Jenkins Johnson Gallery in New York.

I have been thinking of JeongMee lately after I saw a recent feature in New York Magazine about five New Yorkers whose entire wardrobe consists of a single color.



One of the five people profiled is Stephin Merritt (brown). Stephin is the lead singer of one of my favorite bands, the Magnetic Fields, who I happen to be seeing live tomorrow at Town Hall.

UPDATE: JeongMee's show at Jenkins Johnson opens Saturday, March 8.

Oscar Peterson RIP

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To All My Friends

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Five Sour Cherries © Neil Plotkin

I am very fortunate to be surrounded by a tight group of very talented friends and family members. They are a constant source of inspiration and each seems to firing on all their creative cylinders right now. Over the past week I have had the privilege of sharing in some of their professional and personal successes.

Saturday we took in an open studio event for my very dear friend Neil Plotkin. Neil is an amazing painter and his newest work includes beautiful landscapes from a month spent in the Loire Valley and a new series called Empty Studio.

Before Neil's open-studio we attended the wedding of my printer, Carl Saytor. The ceremony was conducted with fire by the Reverend Billy and featured a joyous assembly of friends and family. The whole affair was something like the cast of Rocky Horror meeting the cast of Cirque du Soleil at Burning Man. They even had a man in a banana suit stalk the aisle! Definitely the most entertaining wedding ceremony I've ever attended.

This past Friday my cousin, Andy Guthrie, rocked Galapagos to make it the semi-finals of the 2007 Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition. Andy performed one of his amazing new songs, It Goes On, which you can listen to here.

Last Wednesday the always lovely Jon Gitelson stayed with us while he was visiting New York showing work to some A-list galleries and museums. While he was here, Jon shared plans for his massive new public arts project in Chicago. Very cool.

It's so motivating to see their efforts being validated by others and, more importantly, by their own happiness.

The White Stripes Holga

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The White Stripes have partnered with Lomographische to produce limited edition cameras. The "Jack" model will be a Holga with fisheye lens and the "Meg" model will be the Diana+ with ringflash. Both packages will come with custom lenses and will, of course, be deliciously red and white. Pretty cool. They go on sale this Monday.

Block Ice & Propane

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© Lee Friedlander

Erik Friedlander is an amazing cellist whose new album, Block Ice & Propane, has quickly become my new favorite traveling companion. Erik also happens to be the son of Lee Friedlander. The new album was inspired by the many childhood road trips he took with his family in their camper. The product of those road trips happen to be some of the more amazing family snapshots ever taken. Erik has posted a few of those photos from his family album. Take a look and then do yourself--and your ears--a favor and pick up a copy of Block Ice & Propane.

Best Band Photo Ever

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© Piper Ferguson

Today Pitchfork featured a stream of the song Rachael by the group Neon Neon. Neon Neon is a collaboration between Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals and Boom Bip. The song is fun, but the band photo accompanying the stream is what caught my attention. Definitely a tip of the hat to Philip-Lorca diCorcia's classic photo, Eddie Anderson, 21 Years Old, Houston, TX.

Update: Of course, when I say "best band photo ever" I really mean second best. Here is the best band photo ever.

UPDATE: I just received a very lovely note from the photographer who took the fabulous photo of Neon Neon. Her name is Piper Ferguson, she lives in Los Angeles and she wears many hats. In addition to being a great photography and a fan of diCorcia, she is also an accomplished director who is currently work on a documentary about the rise of the indie music scene.

Party Like a Rockstar

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© Melissa Auf Der Maur

If there is one thing I don't do, it's party like a rockstar. On certain nights I let go and may approach something akin to the party habits of a folkstar or a polkastar, but usually my only incursion into rock bacchanalia involves sitting on my couch watching Rock of Love on VH1.

This weekend, however, is all about the rock and or roll music.

Tonight I am going to see one of my favorites, Bill Callahan (former Smog), perform at the Highline Ballroom and I couldn't be more excited. So brooding and that voice! He also scores points for having perhaps the single greatest album cover in the history of rock music.

Saturday I have been invited to American Photo Magazine's Visions of Rock party at 401 Projects. The exhibit compliments a recent issue of the magazine that features the photography of rock musicians. Normally, photography by people who are famous for something other than photography would make me groan, but some of this work is actually pretty good. My biggest fear is going to this event and being exposed as someone who clearly does not have the cool credentials to be in the same room with Lou Reed and Michael Stipe.

One final rock note. If you are in or near Louisville, Kentucky, this Saturday I strongly suggest you make it over to the Rudyard Kipling to listen to Andy Guthrie throw down his sultry and seductive musical stylings. Andy is my cousin and an absolutely amazing talent. His live shows are the stuff of legend and not to be missed.

Random Rules

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Every once in a while the shuffle setting on my iPod will play a string of songs that lead me to believe there is an intelligence involved. I am not talking about mere similarities of BPMs or genres. That wouldn't be worthy of mention. I am talking about the juxtaposition of ironic song content or similarly themed song subjects that would seem to require an acuity not possessed by most of your flesh-and-blood DJs.

While driving back from the shoot in Matamoras, PA, this weekend my little white pal played a photography themed three-fer. Here we were fresh from a photo shoot and the iPod randomly plays three photography related songs in a row. By chance? Not bloody likely. The answer must be more sinister and probably involves some kind of nefarious contextual marketing conspiracy between the Illuminati, Steve Jobs, and Sony BMG.

Did I mention that I was wearing my tin foil top hat during this whole episode?

The event got me thinking about my favorite photography themed songs. A lot of songs immediately came to mind--Photograph by Def Leppard, Girls on Film by Duran Duran, Kodachrome by Paul Simon, Centerfold by the J. Geils Band--but they don't exactly qualify as favorites in my book.

So, here's my quick top 8 photography songs:

Pictures of Lily -- Who
I Turn My Camera On -- Spoon
Pictures of Me -- Elliot Smith
Camera Shy -- Lucksmiths
All the Photos -- Sea and Cake
Kamera -- Wilco
Photographic -- Depeche Mode
People Take Pictures Of Each Other -- Kinks

What's missing from my list? What are your favorite photo songs or your favorite songs to play while you're taking photos?

Andy Guthrie at Joe's Pub

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© Amy Stein 2006

I know this is a photography blog, but life isn't all about photography. I take pictures, but I also dig music. If you love music and live in New York, please go to Joe's Pub this Monday to see Andy Guthrie. Ok, Andy is my cousin, but don't hold that against him. He is one supremely talented singer/musician/songwriter. See him now before he's wearing leather pants and selling out Madison Square Garden.

Listen to Andy: Milk and Waste

Andy Guthrie
Monday April 2, 7:00 PM
Joe's Pub
425 Lafayette Street
New York, NY

New Orleans, I'll Be There

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Leaving tomorrow morning for a month in New Orleans to continue work on the Do You Know What It Means project. I think this will be the final push and then I can get back to being a full time photographer. While I am down there I am going to take a couple of long road trips through east Texas and Mississippi to continue work on the Stranded project.

I'll drink you under the table
be red nose go for walks
the old haunts what I wants
is red beans and rice
and wear the dress I like so well
and meet me at the old saloon
make sure there's a Dixie moon
New Orleans, I'll be there

-Tom Waits, I Wish I Was in New Orleans