November 2002

James McMurtry and Saint Mary of the Woods
James McMurtry's sixth album, Saint Mary of the Woods, has a lot in common with his previous work -- depressed characters leading sad or lonely lives populate his songs. McMurtry thinks that writing about unhappy people is more interesting, so he's not changing his tune. NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with McMurtry about his career and the song "Choctaw Bingo," off the new album.

Saint Mary of the Woods is released by Sugarhill Records. (8:45)

The Country Under My Skin
Jacki Lyden talks with Gioconda Belli, author of The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War. The book is her own story of involvement with the Sandinista rebels of Nicaragua, her falling out with the leadership, and her bittersweet feelings about her country. It's published by Knopf, November 2002. (8:00)

Duncan Sheik
Duncan Sheik is a singer and songwriter who has scored pop success as well as more highbrow achievement. He has collaborated with pop artists and playwrights. His fourth album, Daylight, brings together his varied styles. He speaks with Jacki about his music. Label: Atlantic ASIN: B00006F850 (12:30)

Money Jungle
Music Critic Michelle Mercer reviews the re-issue of "Money Jungle," the 1962 recording featuring Duke Ellington, bass player Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach. On the album, these legendary players push and challenge each other and create a truly beautiful recording. It's on Blue Note records. (4:45)

The Pity of It All
Robert Siegel talks with Amos Elon , author of The Pity of It All: A History of Jews in Germany, 1743-1933. Elon talks about the prominence of German Jews during that period in history, a period he calls a golden age, second only to the Italian Renaissance. The publisher is Metropolitan Books, November 2002.

Prey
Alan Cheuse reviews a new thriller by novelist Michael Crichton. It's called Prey. The book is published by HarperCollins. (1:30)

All My Life for Sale
John Freyer decided he had too much 'stuff' in his life, so he decided to have a virtual yard sale on the Web. He wound up selling everything, including odd items like left over pork rinds, a set of old false teeth and his own eye glasses. Then, he traveled around the country, visiting the items he'd sold. He's chronicled his experiences in a book, All My Life For Sale. (6:00)

All My Life For Sale is published by Bloomsbury Publishing, (ISBN 1-582-34251-2)

Closer to Eternity: Stretching Beethoven's 9th
Leif Inge is an Oslo-based artist, who remixed Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th Symphony... after a fashion. He took the whole, hour-long work, and stretched it into 24 hours. He introduces a portion of the work. For more information and to listen online, visit www.notam02.no/9. (3:30)
Expanded Coverage

George Crumb
Joel Rose of member station WHYY profiles Pulitzer Prize-winning composer George Crumb. Crumb is best known for music he wrote in the 1960's and 1970's including Black Angels, in response to the Vietnam War. Crumb is now enjoying a revival, with two works premiering this fall, and a third scheduled for spring. (8:30)

Counter-Tenor
Lynn Neary talks with counter-tenor David Daniels. When Daniels was training in graduate school at the University of Michigan he sang tenor but felt it wasn't his true singing voice. With help from a therapist, he decided counter-tenor was what he should be singing. He's had a very successful career as a counter-tenor and will perform in the first ever counter-tenor solo concert at Carnegie Hall tomorrow night. The music heard in this piece was: Vivaldi: "Fac ut ardeat" from Stabat Mater (Virgin Veritas 7243-5-45474-2 3); Handel: "Ombra mai fu" from the opera Serse (Virgin Veritas 7243-5-45326-2-7); Handel: "Cara speme" from the opera Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Virgin Veritas 7243-5-45326-2-7); Handel: "Despair No More Shall Wound Me" from opera Semele (Virgin Classics 7243-5-45497-2-4).

Seek My Face
Alan Cheuse has a review of John Updike's latest book called, Seek My Face. In this story, Updike follows one day in the life of an older painter named Hope McCoy. Cheuse says the novel is full of wonderful surprises.

Sigur Ros
Mikel Jolet reviews the music of Sigur Ros. The group is from Iceland. They make instrumental music without lyrics... sort of. Jolet explores the language the band uses to sing its songs. He says the music is beautiful and dreamy. (4:00)

The CD by Sigur Ros is on MCA records.

George Harrison's Parting Gift
Almost a year since former Beatles guitarist George Harrison died of cancer, his final studio album, Brainwashed, hits the record stores Tuesday. Longtime collaborator, producer and musician Jeff Lynne, along with Harrison’s only son, Dhani Harrison, talk with All Things Considered director Bob Boilen about putting the finishing touches on George Harrison's swan song.

Black & White and Red All Over
Robert talks with Martha McNeil Hamilton and Warren Brown about their story of friendship -- it's a new book entitled: Black & White & Red All Over: The Story of a Friendship. Their friendship developed across the racial divide while working together at The Washington Post newsroom. Their friendship developed further when Hamilton donated a kidney to Brown. The book began as a series of articles for the newspaper detailing their experience.

The book is published by Public Affairs.

Funk Brothers: Motown's Secret Weapon
The documentary film Standing in the Shadows of Motown finally throws a spotlight on the Funk Brothers -- a house band Berry Gordy created in 1959 to back the parade of star singing groups that populated "Hitsville USA" through the 60s and beyond. Tom Vitale reports.

Peter Wolf
The latest CD by former J. Geils Band frontman, Peter Wolf, is infused with country and rhythm and blues. Reviewer David Greenberger says the new album, Sleepless, establishes Wolf as a master of songwriting.

Sleepless by Peter Wolf is available on Artemis Records, 751125-2.

Tin Hat Trio
Music Critic Jim Fusilli has a review of the latest recording from Tin Hat Trio, a group that blends an eclectic array of styles. The CD is called The Rodeo Erodes. (3:45)

The Rodeo Erodes is on Rope-a-Dope Records.

1 Giant Leap
Charles de Ledesma reviews 1 Giant Leap a multimedia project that combines documentary film, recorded music, and spoken word, all compiled on a CD and a DVD. Two producers spent six months traveling to more than 20 countries, recording musicians, writers, and storytellers. Featured on the project are readings from Kurt Vonnegut and Dennis Hopper, and performances by Michael Stipe, Nenah Cherry and Baaba Maal, among others. All of the audio corresponds with short films, with themes like time, death, happiness, money, and God. (4:15)

The CD 1 Giant Leap is from Palm Pictures, catalog # PALM CD 2077-2.

Trainspotting Characters Back in Welsh's Porno
There's a new novel from Scotland's Irvine Welsh. His earlier work Trainspotting -- a darkly comic look at heroin use -- became a hit film. Porno follows the same characters in different pursuits. Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr reports.

Seek My Face
Alan Cheuse has a review of John Updike's latest book called, Seek My Face. In this story, Updike follows one day in the life of an older painter named Hope McCoy. Cheuse says the novel is full of wonderful surprises.

Mary Gauthier: Filth and Fire
John Ydstie goes to a club called the Birchmere in Alexandria, Va., to hear the opening act, Mary Gauthier. Gauthier was an adopted child, a troubled teen, then a philosophy student, and later a restaurant owner. Now she writes and sings songs. Mary Gauthier talks about songwriting and how it relates to philosophy. (12:30)

Mary Gauthier's new CD is called Filth and Fire. It's on the Signature Sounds label.

Saddam Hussein Biography
Robert Siegel talks with Con Coughlin about his biography of Saddam Hussein. It's titled Saddam: King of Terror. (5:15)

The book is published by Ecco Press, November, 2002.

The Snitches
Sarah Bardeen reviews the latest release from the Canadian pop/punk band The Snitches, called Star Witness. (3:45)

The Snitches' album, Star Witness, is on Oh!Tonito Records. Catalogue #: Oh!0002.

Casa
Music critic Jim Fusilli reviews Casa, a new album from Japanese pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto and Jaques and Paula Morelenbaum. It's a tribute to Brazil's bossa-nova master Antonio Carlos Jobim, recorded in Jobim's former home in Rio de Janiero. (4:00)

Ryan Adams' Demolition
Prolific "alt country" singer-songwriter Ryan Adams' second solo CD, Gold, was a huge hit in 2001. But for his follow-up CD Demolition, Adams had to choose from at least four CDs' worth of songs -- all of them tracks he cut as demos. He talks with All Things Considered guest host John Ydstie about the writing process and the rock 'n' roll life. (8:00)

The CD is called Demolition by Ryan Adams on the Lost Highway record label.

Hayseed Dixie
Host Steve Inskeep talks to bluegrass musician John Wheeler, the mountain man behind Hayseed Dixie: A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC. (8:04)

Dualtone Music Group, www.dualtone.com

Between Two Deserts
Alan Cheuse reviews a first novel by journalist Germaine Shames called, Between Two Deserts. A Jewish-American woman named Eve Cavell uses an inheritance from her grandfather to move to Jerusalem, where she gets caught up in the beauty and tragedy of the old city.

Takedown
For nearly three years, New York detective Rick Cowan worked undercover as a member of the New York Mafia. In a new book, Takedown: The Fall of the Last Mafia Empire, Cowan describes his life in the mob and how he brought down its racket. Robert Seigel talks with Cowan about how he lived for so many years as "Danny Benedetto."