Classic Ross Amico

  • Alvin Lucier Dies: A Room and a Remembrance

    Alvin Lucier Dies: A Room and a Remembrance

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    Ross Amico
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    3 responses

    I was sitting in a room… when I learned Alvin Lucier died.

    Lucier, perhaps best known for “I Am Sitting in a Room” (1969), the influential 45-minute sound art piece recognized as a landmark in Minimal tape music, was 90 years-old.

    If you’ve never heard it, find yourself a quiet place, rid yourself of all distractions (no phones, no people, no cheating), turn down the lights, kick back, and enjoy the trip.

    An interview with Lucier from 2019

    https://tapeop.com/interviews/130/alvin-lucier/

    Lucier at MoMA

    https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2015/01/20/collecting-alvin-luciers-i-am-sitting-in-a-room/

    Hot off the press of the New York Times

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/01/arts/music/alvin-lucier-dead.html

  • GivingTuesday Support Local Nonprofits

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    Ross Amico
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    8 responses

    On #GivingTuesday, if you’re in a position to do so, don’t forget to lend a helping hand to hardworking charitable groups and non-profit organizations, those that make a difference in your community, enhance the quality of life, and actually do some good in the world. They need your money more than Amazon does. We’ve all got too much stuff anyway.

    I stumbled across this video from a few years back of me interviewing Carol Burden, executive director of Trenton Music Makers, at the WWFM studios. It was the station’s custom for a time to invite representatives of local non-profits to come in on this day and tell us a bit about what they do. In between, I would program musical selections appropriate for the occasion and for the season, such as Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony, with its concluding hymn of gratitude and thanksgiving, and Alan Hovhaness’ Symphony No. 11, “All Men Are Brothers.”

    Kind of ironic to note the station’s mission statement at the end, since so little of the programming has been local since the start of the pandemic.

  • Mercer County Wildlife Center Needs Your Help! #GivingTuesday

    Mercer County Wildlife Center Needs Your Help! #GivingTuesday

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    Ross Amico
    in
    4 responses

    I volunteer here, and they do great work rehabilitating injured or immature raccoons, squirrels, opossums, woodchucks, rabbits, deer, turtles, snakes, waterfowl, raptors, in fact all manner of birds, bats, foxes, and a whole lot more. They also participate in educational outreach. If you care about the wildlife of Mercer County, please consider supporting Mercer County Wildlife Center.

    http://www.wildlifecenterfriends.org/

    Wildlife Center Friends, Inc.

    #GivingTuesday

  • Hobbit & Trek Talk on Roy’s Sci-Fi Corner

    Hobbit & Trek Talk on Roy’s Sci-Fi Corner

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    Ross Amico
    in
    10 responses

    Whoa! As a fan of over four decades, I learned a lot from last night’s absorbing discussion about “The Hobbit,” both the book and the 1977 television special (with a few digressions), on Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Thanks, Paul Miller, old chum, for joining us and for sharing your passion for all things Tolkien, and thank you, Roy, for making it all happen – with further appreciation to all the viewers who participated in the comments section! Maybe one of the best times I’ve had on the show. All kinds of good stuff now for me to look up.

    Next Sunday, we’ll be back inside Roy’s wheelhouse with “Star Trek: The Animated Series” (1973-74). The show, produced by Saturday morning powerhouse Filmation Associates, succeeded in bringing “Star Trek” to a younger audience, without “talking down,” employing a winning formula of intelligent premises, good writing, and original cast members returning to voice their signature roles. Sure, the animation itself was a little creaky (it was, after all, the ‘70s), but some of the episodes hit quite high, especially for a “kids’ show.”

    We are very pleased that our colleagues and fellow fans, Mike and Marybeth from SciFi Distilled, will be joining us for the discussion, in which we’ll share some of our favorite episodes. M&M have been working their way through many of the later “Star Trek” series on Wednesday nights, so if you’re a Trekker, definitely check out the archived shows on the “SciFi Distilled” Facebook page.

    There’s little doubt I’ll be the cadet on the bridge for this one! If, like me, you’ll want to brush-up on the series prior to our conversation, please DO NOT attempt to watch it on YouTube. Yes, someone posted all the episodes, but they are sped-up, possibly truncated, and reformatted to fill a quarter of the screen against a psychedelic starfield. The entire cast speaks as if it’s on helium. Seriously, if you intend to watch, you’re better off doing so here:

    The five-year mission continues, on the next ”Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner.” Boldly leave your troubles with your tribbles in the comments section, as we livestream on Facebook, THIS SUNDAY EVENING AT 7:00 EST!

    https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

  • Hobbits Hanukkah & Tolkien’s Jewish Allegory

    Hobbits Hanukkah & Tolkien’s Jewish Allegory

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    Ross Amico
    in
    9 responses

    Hobbits for Hanukkah? It turns out it’s not so far-fetched. While I am by no means a fan of Peter Jackson’s Tolkien adaptations, at least his take on “The Hobbit” spawned this informative article:

    https://www.timesofisrael.com/are-tolkiens-dwarves-an-allegory-for-the-jews/

    Hanukkah arrives early this year. The eight-day Festival of Light begins tonight at sunset. Light the menorah, then join Roy and me as we reminisce about the Rankin-Bass version of “The Hobbit” (1977). This fondly-remembered television special – graced by the voices of Orson Bean, John Huston, Hans Conried, Otto Preminger, Cyril Ritchard, and Brother Theodore as Gollum – was first broadcast on Thanksgiving weekend, 44 years ago.

    Our special guest on this “Unexpected Journey” will be my good friend and Tolkien connoisseur Paul Miller, as he’s known in the world of men (the elves call him Mithrandir). He’ll decipher the runes and flag down the eagles.

    The three of us will get all misty for the Misty Mountains, on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Bring your “Sting” to the comments section. The conversation won’t really last eight nights; it will just feel that way, when we livestream on Facebook, THIS SUNDAY EVENING AT 7:00 EST!

    https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner

    Further reflections on Tolkien and the Jews here:

    The Secret Jews of The Hobbit

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