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When Macey France’s second-grade son brought home his math homework, France couldn’t believe that he was already working with fractions. “The sad thing is, my eight-year-old doesn’t know what a fraction is yet,” she says, “and he’s reading it out loud, saying, ‘one and then a line and then a four,’ and I realized, oh my goodness, they’re asking for a quarter of something.” Continue reading
Nebraska’s black-and-white cinematography, all wide skies and one-story main streets, is a signpost, an indicator that Alexander Payne wants you to think old. Think old movies; think old men; think old-school values. But start with old men. We meet Woody Grant (Bruce Dern, with a frizz of white hair and a loping stagger of a walk) making his way onto the highway. After the Billings cops pick him up, Woody explains to his son David (Will Forte) that he was en route to Nebraska to claim a million-dollar prize. Continue reading
It could have been worse. December’s sudden deep freeze did quite a bit of damage to gardens in our area, and probably more out of town than in. But the relatively short duration of sub-zero temperatures, combined with an insulating blanket of snow, meant that the soil didn’t freeze deeply, which limited the damage. Many shrubs blackened by frost will send up a flush of new stems from the roots or from their protected lower branches. Veggies that were small enough to hide beneath the snow already show signs of new growth. Continue reading
“I don’t think most of my songs sound that much like Beach House,” says Meagan Grandall, primary songwriter of Seattle-based duo Lemolo. “But if they do to some people,” she adds, “then I’ll take that as a compliment.” Continue reading
Nowadays fans get itchy for new material if a band hasn’t released anything in three and a half months, so the fact that Floater hasn’t released any new material in three and a half years (2010’s Wake) is saying something. Of course when you’ve been around for two decades, you can get away with it, but that’s not to say the band is making people wait on purpose; the timing just hasn’t been right. Continue reading
Chain and The Gang is an “anti-liberty” group, jokes Ian Svenonius. This doesn’t mean Svenonius takes personal freedom lightly. “We’re a little bit perverse,” says Svenonius, formerly of legendary D.C. punk bands Nation of Ulysses and The Make-Up. “We’re not interested in playing out this one idea of prescribed rebellion.” Continue reading
The Jazz Station has three big nights of brass in a row. Beginning 7:30 pm Thursday, Jan. 9, with Zero Gravity presenting a folk tribute of the “Afro-origins of bebop in the spirit of John Coltrane,” continuing 8 pm Friday, Jan. 10, with the Adam Harris Quartet exploring the lesser known legacy of saxophonist Stan Getz (of “The Girl from Ipanema” fame) and concluding 8 pm Saturday, Jan. 11, with the Tony Glausi Sextet playing standards (Victor Young, Duke Ellington, Kenny Dorham, Horace Silver) and originals. Continue reading
“Whatever satisfies the soul is truth,” wrote Walt Whitman in the preface to Leaves of Grass. By this logic, there may be no better truth than art and music, both of which will come to life in “American Luminosity: Our Poets, Our Composers, Our Art” 7:30 pm Friday, Jan. 10, at UO’s Beall Concert Hall. Continue reading