July 2000

Lightning on the Sun -- Writer Robert Bingham died this spring in New York City at the age of 33. With the posthumous publication of Bingham's first novel, Lightning on the Sun, reviewer Alan Cheuse mourns a great loss to contemporary literature. (2:00)

Le Petit Prince -- Noah talks with Stacy Schiff, the biographer of Antoine De Saint Exupery who wrote Le Petit Prince. It's a children's book that was translated into nearly 100 languages and widely known in English as The Little Prince. There's a new edition of the biography in print now, for what would be Saint Exupery's 100th birthday. And there's also a new English translation, as well. (5:30) Saint Exupery: A Biography, by Stacy Schiff is published by Da Capo Press, ISBN# 0306807408. The Little Prince, translated by Richard Howard, is published by Harcourt Brace Trade, ISBN# 152023984, May, 2000.

Gem Tones -- Banning Eyre reviews the CD Gem Tones, Saxophone Supreme South Indian Style, by Kadri Gopalnath. Gopalnath heard a British marching band when he was an teenager, growing up in India. He loved the sound of the saxophone so much that he began to play it. Although the sax was not part of the South Indian classical music tradition, he tried to make the instrument fit in. Now, with a few minor changes in the set up of the sax he plays, he has been able to gain wide acceptance in the tradition for his innovation. (3:45) The CD is Gem Tones: Saxophone Supreme, South Indian Style by Kadri Gopalnath. It's on Globestyle Records, #CDORBD 097. Contact: info@amc.org.uk

Eater -- Alan Cheuse reviews Eater, a new novel by Gregory Benford, a physics professor at the University of California's Irvine campus. Benford is one of the country's most prolific and successful writers of science-fiction. (2:00) Eater, by Gregory Benford is published by Avon.

Modest Mouse -- Modest Mouse is the name of a band from Issaquah, Washington. They've had a few releases on independent music labels, but their first album for a major company has just been released. The CD is called The Moon and Antarctica. Elyssa Gardner has our review. (4:00)

Broadway First Take -- Back in the days when pop hits often came from Broadway shows, Broadway producers would pick the songs they thought had hit potential, have them recorded by anonymous session singers, and shop them around to the Bennetts and Sinatras. Reporter Jeff Lunden talks with one of those singers, whose collection of demo recordings has just been released on CD. (7:30)

Waiting Traumas -- Author Debra Ginsberg reads a portion of her upcoming book, Waiting: The True Confessions of a Waitress. (3:30)

Ananda Shankar -- Reviewer Mark Jenkins reviews the CD by Indian Sitarist Ananda Shankar and a British DJ known as State of Bengal. It's a pop mix of hip beats and Indian pop music. (3:30) Note: The CD is Ananda Shankar and the State of Bengal. It's on then Real World Records label.

Guiliani Book -- Robert talks to Wayne Barrett, an investigative reporter for the Village Voice, in New York City and author of Rudy! An Investigative Biography of Rudolph Guiliani. (5:00) Barrett's book about New York City Mayor Giuliani is published by Basic Books, 7/10/00.

Pedro The Lion -- David Greenberger reviews the CD Winners Never Quit, by Pedro the Lion. The band is a trio, but the creative force behind all the music and lyrics is David Bazan. You might find this CD in your record store under the category Christian rock. But Bazan might bristle at that categorization. The album weaves together songs about faith and doubt, without preaching or proselytizing. (4:00)

What We Don't Know About Children -- Alan Cheuse reviews the book that won Italy's 1998 Elsa Morante Prize for a first novel: What We Don't Know about Children, by thirty-year-old Simona Vinci. It has been translated by Minna Procter and is just now published in English. (2:30) (What We Don't Know About Children is published by Knopf.)

Audra McDonald -- Robert talks with Audra McDonald, a singer and actress, who, at age 29, has become a sensation on Broadway. She's won three Tony Awards, for the shows Carousel, Master Class and Ragtime. She released a new CD, featuring songs from well-known composers, like Harold Arlen and Irving Berlin. It also includes newly composed songs by a crop of young composers, including Adam Guettel and Michael John LaChuisa. McDonald trained at Juilliard, but never intended to sing opera. As a singer and actress, she admits she happily sacrifices technical purity for a good dramatic moment. She's been touring with a trio, showcasing the songs from her new CD How Glory Goes. Tonight, Audra McDonald is singing songs from Carousel with the National Symphony Orchestra, at a concert on the Capitol lawn in Washington DC. (8:00)

Books & Music Review Archive

Reading Lists