De woorden 'Jij had hier op je knieën moeten zitten, en moeten zeggen: sorry' zullen nooit meer zo romantisch klinken als vroeger en dat hebben we allemaal te danken aan Matthijs van Nieuwkerk. Maar er is nieuws. Matthijs keert terug namelijk, niet als tragedie, niet als farce, maar bij SBS6. De zender van John de Mol (en Frans Klein) durft wel wat RTL eerder niet durfde, namelijk Matthijs van Nieuwkerk weer te laten doen waar Matthijs van Nieuwkerk goed in is, namelijk babbelen op tv. Nou zijn er misschien mensen die vinden dat Matthijs van Nieuwkerk nog meer dingen goed kan, zoals een Substack volschrijven, maar dat zijn ook mensen die de uitdrukking 'een gouden pennetje' in het dagelijks leven gebruiken en/of Özcan Akyol. We zijn benieuwd wat voor spiegel er in de kamer blijft hangen als hij met Shirma Rouse naar Amerika reist om in de voetsporen te treden van de legendarische soulzangeres Aretha Franklin (gvd ze laten nu ook gewoon AI de formats bedenken he).
Nash Ensemble/Booth/Farnsworth/Cottis
(Onyx)
Soprano Claire Booth and baritone Marcus Farnsworth celebrate the influential British composer’s kaleidoscopic soundworld with this collection of four song cycles
It’s hard to think of a single figure who has been so influential on contemporary UK classical music for so long as Colin Matthews, who turned 80 earlierthis year. This release from the Nash Ensemble, conducted by Jessica Cottis, showcases his works for voice and chamber group.
What’s striking throughout these four song cycles is the kaleidoscopic sound world he creates with such forensic precision, whether he has seven players to work with or 17. The songs teem with detail; some would almost work without the singer. And yet the vocal line remains the focus.
Continue reading...This compendium of 49 of Britain’s threatened species features lyrical prose poems evoking each bird’s unique qualities and beautiful recordings of their distinctive calls
The Book of Birds delivers a stark warning in its introduction about the “great thinning of the skies … Dawns and springs are quieter; the air emptier. An ancient avian orchestra is falling silent.”
There are now 3 billion fewer birds in North America than there were 50 years ago, and 5 million fewer in Europe. Across the world, almost 50% of bird species are in decline. These figures are the galvanising force behind writer and illustrator Jackie Morris and nature writer Robert Macfarlane’s compendium of 49 bird species under threat in Britain. Each entry is a prose poem aimed at evoking the spirit and the unique qualities of each bird, among them the kingfisher, nightingale, nightjar, song thrush, tern, tawny owl and puffin.
Continue reading...One of disco’s biggest stars answers your questions, recalling tours with Rick James, inspiration for Destiny’s Child and what she wished she asked Michael Jackson
You have been an active contributor to an astounding canon of music. What was the essential ingredient that made it all happen? eamonmcc
The first word that comes to mind is passion – for the music, for what I do. If you get to be the voice of a song like We Are Family, which is here for generations to come – to me, it’s more than a song, it’s a statement – it just blows my mind. We were the group that brought the world together as a family through a song.
I reckon if you put a rocker, a pop fan, a metalhead, a hip-hop nut, a techno obsessive and a classical devotee into a room and put on Lost in Music, everybody would get down. What’s your own relationship with the song? DeJongandtherestless
The song we’re known for is We Are Family, but we’re really Lost in Music. That should be the theme song for Sister Sledge. I’ve been doing this since I was 11 years old, but in order to survive the industry there has to be a balance. There were times, especially in the early days, where we toured so much that we couldn’t come up for air, and that, if anything, makes me relate to those lyrics.
In the last century, industrialized farming has killed off delicious food – but a brigade of chefs, breeders and farmers are fighting to bring it back
Bill Tracy is clearly not one to brag, but after a while, it seems he just can’t help himself. “I did come up with something absolutely amazing actually,” he says softly. “Really quite amazing.”
Tracy has spent the last 40 years in the fields of Wisconsin as one of the US’s leading sweetcorn breeders, tasting up to 300 ears a day in search of the perfect corn that might one day sizzle on barbecues across the country.
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De snelheid op de A16 en N3 bij Dordrecht moet terug naar 80 kilometer per uur. Daarvoor pleiten verschillende gemeenteraadsleden, die dinsdag enigszins teleur werden gesteld. “Dit zou een mooie eerste stap zijn.”
