Music | Grist

The Grist List: From Heath to Health

Heath Ledger harpoons whaling, and more 3
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
He's no joker: Before his death, Heath Ledger created a grim music video about whaling for Modest Mouse.
Wherefore art thou?

Art in a changing climate 0
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
A special series on climate change art featuring essays, audio slideshows, video, and more.
Mercy Mercy Me

Songs about climate change are not so hot 20
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
We hereby present a list of recent eco-minded tunes, ranked from most to least cringeworthy. Don't say we didn't warn you.
But Wait, There’s More!

Resources and links for the art-hungry 0
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Climate art isn't limited to one-off works -- it's gaining an institutional foothold too. See which groups are taking a broader look at climate through art, and learn where to find even more.
The color of the planet from far, far away

Friday music blogging: Regina Spektor 1
Posted 4 months ago
Regina Spektor was born to a Jewish family in Moscow. After emigrating to the states, she studied classical piano at the Manhattan School of Music and began recording pop songs when she was 18, with the "anti-folk" crowd in the East Village.

When it comes to solo singer-songwriters, it's very easy for whimsical to tip over into precious (Tori Amos), literate into insufferable (Natalie Merchant), or cute into cutesy (Miley Cyrus). Spektor has always avoided those traps by keeping her production spare and crisp, mixing insanely catchy hooks and an impish sense of humor with amazing vocal dexterity and an angular, offbeat melodic sense.
They keep being good

Friday music blogging: Wussy (again) 1
Posted 4 months, 1 week ago
If you think "Wussy" is a bad name, consider the band used to be called "Ass Ponys."
Friday music blogging: Manchester Orchestra 1
Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago
Manchester Orchestra is an indie rock quintet out of Atlanta, driven by the singing and songwriting of Andy Hull, one of those precocious talents who wrote his first album when he was in high school, the bastard.
Buy It

The Informal Economy: Michael Jackson Edition 1
Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago
The mass memorial for the recently departed mega-star breathed surprising life into the underutilized downtown of Los Angeles.
Wow, check out these liner notes

New soundtrack/website rocks the coalfield justice movement 0
Posted 5 months ago
This just might be the most powerful soundtrack and organizing tool for the coalfield justice and climate change movements today.
Tuning in

Rothbury Music Festival rocks sustainability mission 1
Posted 5 months ago
Organizers of the Rothbury Music Festival being held this weekend in Michigan consider it to be "a party with a purpose." And that purpose -- as evidenced by their greening initiatives and educational events -- is sustainability.
A celebration

Friday music blogging: Little Boots 0
Posted 5 months ago
Waxman-Markey passed the House! Here's a celebratory song from a rising British electro-pop star Little Boots, from her debut album Hands:

Wo0t!
He was a lover, not a fighter

A reading from the book of Jackson 3
Posted 5 months ago
The "King of Pop" is dead, and with him the sort of global influence only a very few can muster. Take a look at the green messages underlying some of his classic songs.
Ragged rock

Friday music blogging: Deer Tick 0
Posted 5 months, 1 week ago
One of my happiest musical discoveries of the past year has been Deer Tick, a band originally out of Providence, Rhode Island.
Bonnaroo's Green Footprint

An interview with cellist Ben Sollee, who will bike to Bonnaroo 0
Posted 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Tennessee's blockbuster Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival will roll out an impressive set of sustainability green goals as a backdrop for its amazing slate of shows next weekend, June 11-14. The great lineup notwithstanding—from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band to Wilco—acclaimed cellist and crooner Ben Sollee may stand out as a singular act in reducing the festival’s carbon footprint.
Next big thing alert

Friday music blogging: Grizzly Bear 1
Posted 6 months ago
A track from the heavily hyped Grizzly Bear.
Cloud rock

Friday music blogging: Jason Lytle 0
Posted 6 months, 1 week ago
Dreamy new tunes from the leader of the now-defunct band Grandaddy.
The Album leaks

Friday music blogging: Wilco again 1
Posted 6 months, 2 weeks ago
Sweet new song from every 30-something white guy's favorite band.
Flamingo music

Friday music blogging: The Cinematic Orchestra 3
Posted 6 months, 3 weeks ago
Music from a movie about flamingos.
Bootleg Tapes for WV Coal Association Ringtone Department

Sierra Club parodies the worst song ever recorded about coal 0
Posted 6 months, 3 weeks ago
After the West Virginia Coal Association released a series of the worst cell-phone ringtone songs about coal ever recorded, the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign went beyond the call of duty to provide real video images of the horrific reality of mountaintop removal in West Virginia for the coal songs.
Welcome back, me

Friday music blogging: Avishai Cohen 1
Posted 7 months ago
Some sweet jazz to celebrate being back in Seattle.