I saw Les Misérables four times on Broadway when it first came out. I have listened to the soundtrack hundreds - if not thousands - of times, and used to be able to sing the entire thing from start to finish.

And yet… I didn’t like the movie.

[Spoilers follow.]

I’m struggling to say exactly why I didn’t like it. The theater production is magic. You ( Read more... )

My neck started to feel better last night, so I treated myself to a run this afternoon. I normally listen to podcasts with the Couch to 5K running program on them - they were recommended to me by a friend, and they’re incredibly helpful. But today was an unplanned bonus run. Today, I listened to music.

Today’s Top Tunes for Running*

Do You Wanna ( Read more... )

Back at Cosmic Toast Studios, creator/composer/actor/singer/goofball Andy Pagana has released the first album of Nonsense Box songs on iTunes!


( Read more... )

In the 1950s, my (amazing, wonderful, awesome) uncle* recorded two songs for a record label. I’m thrilled that he’s now put the songs on YouTube, along with some photos of the recording sessions. (* aka “Doctor Uncle Reverend Herbatroid” - although only the “uncle” part is accurate.)

Without further ado, here’s the uber-talented Herb Bohler:

“True ( Read more... )

I didn’t buy any new holiday music this year, but here are some of my favorites (in no particular order) in case you’re looking for something different.

2009: HOLIDAY ALBUMS


( Read more... )

As everyone knows, a new project calls for a new playlist! (Don’t you just love good justifications for buying new music?)

I’m looking for music that evokes a desert theme, preferably epic and sweeping. Horse-inspired music would also work. Think Laurence of Arabia, The Blue Sword, and one of my favorite musicals, The Desert Song.

Please recommend ( Read more... )

One of the things I find most distressing about Michael Jackson’s death is the way in which people criticize and condemn the way other people grieve.

I cried when Octavia Butler died. I’d never met her or even seen her in person, yet I cried. Sobbed, actually, and not even just once. This woman’s books and stories had profoundly affected me as a ( Read more... )

I’ve been streaming radio stations through iTunes at work, bopping between classical and folk and Beatles and NPR. But yesterday I discovered my new favorite: StreamingSoundtracks.com!

Some of the choice pieces I’ve heard since tuning in have been from:

• Totoro
• Battlestar Galactica (new)
• World of Warcraft (Lament of the Highborn!)
• Pirates of the ( Read more... )

Saturday night, my new company hosted a screening party for our new animated short, “Pronto!”

Click to view

Although I joined the Slangman team after the song itself had been recorded, I did get to see the process develop from script to storyboard to shoot to animatic to finished animation. You wouldn’t believe the amount of work that goes into something like ( Read more... )