Seuss hats, pink's history, rare Hitchcock silents

Some of you know that I got my car Rosco because, five years ago this September, I had the great privilege of speaking at a small retreat Charlie Peacock organized for young musicians. I'm still not quite sure how I wound up there, but it was an experience I'll never forget, and the start of some special new friendships.

About 60 musicians attended the retreat — some you've probably heard of and many you haven't, but should. One of them was a man from L.A. named Will Gray. Earlier this month, I got the shocking news that Will recently died of a cancer only discovered this past fall (2012); I believe he was in his early 30s.

In the course of learning about his death, I also found out that Will directed a documentary about independent musicians called Broke*. Just released in June, the film features Buddy Miller, Bobby Bare Jr., John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, Trent Dabbs and many other musicians. You can buy Broke* on iTunes. I thought the best tribute I could offer to this talented musician was to share his music and movie with all of you.

• T. Bone Burnett produced Will's debut EP.
• Will also did a six-song duet EP, The Renegade, that features a cover of Patty Griffin's "Top of the World" (that second link's a video).
• On the Broke* soundtrack, Will and Reva sing "Top of the World" with Buddy Miller.

:: our stuff ::

• Jenn Leighton has another show up at Blue Door Beads on Piedmont; it's there through the end of the month.
• If you think pink has always been a feminine color, you should read my short history of the color for TheAtlantic.com, which ranges from Jay Gatsby's pink suit to the sexual revolution and beyond.

:: special events & exhibits ::

• Watch one or several rare silent Hitchcock films, Aug. 16-31 at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. I might be up for seeing some of these, so let me know if you're interested.
• Aug. 30-Sept. 15, the Dr. Seuss hat collection returns to the Bay Area, for a two-week run in Sausalito. This time I'm determined to see it! Petri's Fine Arts (690 Bridgeway, open 10-6 daily).
  

:: tunes ::

• NPR Music has a pretty spectacular set of First Listens this week, if I may risk a little hyperbole: selections from Bob Dylan's latest bootleg album, plus the new Neko Case, Franz Ferdinand and a Sly and the Family Stone album.
  
• Somehow I missed this last year, but Stephen Colbert started a summer segment called Colbchella (recently in the news for his "Get Lucky" dance featuring Matt Damon, Jeff Bridges and Henry Kissinger, among others). Watch all the Colbchella videos here.
  
• Elvis Costello and the Roots recently released the first single from their forthcoming album together, Wise Up Ghost. Watch the video for "Walk Us Uptown" (via Paste).
• "Hot Knife" was one of my favorite songs from last year's new Fiona Apple album ... and now there's a music video for it. (via Paste)
• Dan Aykroyd performs "Born in Chicago"
• I can't remember what party it was now, but one night in New York, I met a woman who had what must be several people's dream job: working as a photo or art director at Vanity Fair (or something like that). Before long, though, I learned that her real passion was sculpture. I was reminded of that woman by this profile of accomplished portrait photographer Mark Seliger, who writes and performs country songs as a side gig. (He's only photographed Obama and Keith Richards...) Producers on his band's first album included Lenny Kravitz, Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow and T. Bone Burnett, but they scaled things back from the new record. A fun read, whether or not you check out their sound.
  

:: visual art & film ::

• Although this photo story depicts a rather perilous, aged tramway in Russia, I found myself lingering over the images. Some really beautiful shots.
• Airplane Lavatory Self-Portraits in the Flemish Style: Apparently this was first posted more than a year ago, but it recirculated recently, and rightly so. Really funny.
• Patton Dodd reviews The East, a film he says quietly -- and radically -- takes prayer seriously. I hadn't heard anything about this before his review, but the film sounds really intriguing.
• Alissa Wilkinson reviews The Spectacular Now, which was another thoughtful review from Christianity Today. I've really appreciated some of the magazine's recent film reviews, most of which have made me want to see the movies discussed.
  

:: reading/food for thought ::

• Book memes crops up every few weeks, it seems, but this set of covers for books that lost one letter in their title was pretty funny. 

:: food ::

For more than a year now, I've been getting a regular CSA box -- first every three weeks, now every two. Because of the summer harvest, though, that's meant lots and lots of tomatoes (2.5 pounds in the last box alone). Last night I decided to try an intriguing "tomato casserole" recipe in my Deaf Smith cookbook. I can't find it online, but here's the gist:

• 12-15 tomatoes (they must be small? I used 7 heirlooms = 2.5 pounds, plus a pint of cherry tomotoes)
• 2-3 jalapenos, which I think they suggested you roast and chop (I used two chipotles, which produced a pretty spicy dish; you might want to start with one and adjust to taste)
• 4 slices of bread, cubed
• salt and pepper to taste
• grated cheese to top

Roughly chop the tomatoes and add them to a deep, heavy pan along with the peppers. Bring to a boil and simmer until thick -- at least 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in the bread crumbs. Pour into a 2-quart baking pan (9x9) and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until somewhat firm. You don't want it too soupy. Top servings with grated cheese.

I let my casserole sit a while before serving, but it was still a bit loose (the type and staleness of the bread used might make a difference). I think it would be equally good if you cooked and crumbled a few slices of bacon and stirred that in before baking. An interesting use of tomatoes, at any rate! The cookbook claimed this was an old recipe, handed down over several generations.

The Song Reader issue: 20 free songs, fiction film review + homemade ranch

Even though summer no longer means the break I enjoyed in my school and college years, there's still something about the long days that makes me want to sit down with a good book and glass of homemade sangria when I get home from work. I've been on a real sewing kick, however, so lately I content myself with reading on my BART train and while eating dinner, before diving into the dress I started sewing on my recent vacation.

I need to get back to evening writing soon, but in the meantime I'm enjoying a lively Russian comedy a friend recommended, called The Master and Margarita. It's daring and entertaining and has yet to disappoint me. Should you want non-fiction reading, here are my two latest pieces:

• One Good Phrase: The Lord is kind to the undeserving (a meditation on goodness vs. kindness)
• There's No Such Thing as a 'Boy Color' or 'Girl Color'

Happy Friday!

:: Song Reader ::

I think I practiced piano almost nine hours the week of last month's sightreading party -- just one reason I'm nursing a minor obsession with Beck's sheet music-only album. Thanks to the work of my co-worker, you can hear all 20 songs from that night -- wrong notes and all. Despite the rough nature of the performance, you can still start to hear the shape of the strongest songs. Some of my personal favorites: "Do We We Do," "Sorry," "Eyes That Say 'I Love You'," "We All Wear Cloaks" and my favorite, "Last Night You Were a Dream."

After giving the public months to make the own recordings of Song Reader, Beck finally assembled an impressive cast of musicians for a July 4 performance at London's Barbicon. It looks like about seven official videos from the show have been posted (based on what Pitchfork and Paste shared), but I was able to find about 14 of the 20 songs:

• "Don't Act Like Your Heart Isn't Hard" - Beck
• "Saint Dude" - Franz Ferdinand
  
• "Now That Your Dollar Bills Have Sprouted Wings" - The Staves
• "America, Here's My Boy" - Sam Amidon
• "Old Shanghai" - Conor O'Brien
• "Sorry" - Michael Kiwanuka
• "Eyes That Say I Love You" - Joan Wasser (Joan as Police Woman)
• "We All Wear Cloaks" - The Mighty Boosh
• "Please Leave the Lights on When You Go" - Beth Orton and Sam Amidon
• "Just Noise" - Beck and Charlotte Gainsbourg
• "Why Did You Make Me Care" - Jarvis Cocker
  
• "Do We, We Do" - Joan Wasser, Conor O'Brien
• "I'm Down" - Beck
  
• "Rough on Rats" - Everyone (finale)

You can also hear the entire album performed by the Portland Cello Project and assorted guests.

:: events ::

• The Mazzarellos have brought back their film-viewing series. This summer they're going through Simon Schama's The Power of Art on Thursday nights. Learn about Bernini on July 25, Jacques-Louis David on Aug. 1. Contact them for details.

:: tunes ::

• Beck has also released the title track from his forthcoming album I Won't Be Long. You can hear it on NPR, but I have to confess I don't like it nearly as well as anything from Song Reader.
• First Listen: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
• This profile of rising radio star Glynn Washington, who's based in Oakland, highlights the influence of various Bay Area talents in public radio's "golden age."
• After months of silence and speculation about the Civil Wars -- who are still on hiatus, but will release their second album next month -- Joy Williams spoke to the Associated Press. Read the interview.
• Meet the nuns whose a cappella album beat out the 50 Shades of Grey album on the classical charts.
• You say skyscrapers, I say, yodeling with Jimmy Fallon and Brad Pitt (Yes, really). 
• 10 free songs! Download the songs from NPR's latest "heavy rotation" set of songs popular with public radio DJs.
• Get 10 more free songs from Noisetrade: download the Anti Records summer sampler, featuring Neko Case, Calexico, Mavid Staples, Tom Waits and Keith Richards.
• This is a few months old, but worth reading if you missed it: the Alan Lomax recording archive has been released.
• Lastly, those of you who got to see Matt's documentary Eighth Street a few weeks ago probably shared my delight with the short film and the beautiful cross-section of East Bay residents brought together to watch it. In particular, I loved the blues on the soundtrack, courtesy of former West Oakland resident Saunders King. I had no idea what a thriving blues scene the neighborhood used to enjoy, but this L.A. Times piece gives a hint of the lovely sounds that once competed with the BART tracks' screech. It would be wonderful if Dave's mural and Matt's documentary could, in their own way, contribute to a cultural revival in that neighborhood.

:: film & visual art ::

• Jeff Overstreet began a new experiment in film criticism earlier this year: reviews written through the form of fiction. The setting: a group of film aficionados who regularly meet up at a store called All-Thumbs Video to discuss and debate recent releases.
• Part 1: To The Wonder
• Part 2: Iron Man 3
• Part 3: Before Midnight

• On a related note, members of the Arts and Faith online community (affiliated with Image journal and the Glen Workshop organizers) compiled this list of their top 25 films on  marriage.

:: food ::
As some of you know, I left for a "sewing vacation" shortly after the Song Reader party, which meant a week at my parents' house in Riverside. In exchange for making such a long stay with them, I offered to make dinner each night. Mom sometimes handled the side dish, though, like a simple green salad for which she made a tasty homemade Ranch dressing. When I got home, I found myself craving the same thing to go with some lasagna. I'm not exactly sure this Ranch recipe is the same one she used, but it's pretty good. Notes:

• I was short on mayo, so wound up using about 1/4 each sour cream, mayo and milk for a half batch of the dressing. I liked the consistency with the milk, though; otherwise it's pretty thick.
• The flavors need more than 30 minutes to really blend nicely — which Mom also said — but even so it wasn't bad on my dinner salad.
• This recipe calls for all dry herbs, but if you prefer to use fresh chives, dill, garlic, etc., check out the Pioneer Woman's Ranch recipe. I might have to try it next time.