popcorn youth

Solomon Burke may call himself the King of Rock ‘n’ Soul, but he’s always had a fantasy of recording a country album. After twenty records and forty years in the business, Burke finally, last September released his first all-country record, “Nashville.” Growing up in a musical, gospel-rich family, Burke’s roots were in soul music, but […]

Last week’s cover story in the Ithaca Times was an interview with Jeremy Bolen, the lead singer and guitarist of Chicago band Chin Up Chin Up. These guys are no strangers to Ithaca; in February of 2005, they opened a show for The Walkmen. The show was so successful, Chin Up Chin Up was asked […]

Letter to the Editor:
The Actors Workshop of Ithaca would like to extend our warm thanks to Natasha Li Pickowicz, editor of the Arts and Entertainment section of the Ithaca Times, for her wonderful story on our organization. Thanks to the local press, we had an incredible turnout at our showcase and were able to raise […]

Last month Popcorn Youth made a quick trip to Brooklyn and Manhattan to attend a handful of music-related events. The first was a talk held at the Brooklyn Public Library (Central branch) entitled “Brooklyn Music Now,” with discussants Alan Licht, Brad Truax, Brian Chase, and Carlos Giffoni. Licht is a musician and writer […]

Well, ‘review’ may not be the appropriate word. ‘Notes on an event of startling simplicity and beauty’ might, however, be more fitting, if a bit bombastic . . . . In any case, the event was very much an aural treat and, after all, a person must ask themselves this: How often does one […]

Recently, Popcorn Youth spoke with Kori Gardner, the organist and singer for the indie pop duo Mates of State. She and her husband, Jason Hammell, their drummer and singer, will be playing at Hamilton College this Saturday night, Feb. 17. We spoke about buying a new house (the married couple are currently living in New […]

Snow or no snow, there’s a lot going on around town this weekend. Unfortunately, Popcorn Youth is going to be missing all of it — we’re taking a little roadtrip into NYC for a whirlwind weekend of music. Tomorrow night at Webster Hall, for the very first time, I’m finally going to see Sonic Youth […]

Apologies this has taken so long to post, but we’ve been experiencing some technical problems around here. Maybe it has something to do with the incredible amount of snow we’ve been getting since Tuesday. Akron/Family and The Winks played here in Ithaca last week, and here’s the link to the article that appeared in the […]

Each week the Arts & Entertainment editor’s desk at the Ithaca Times brings new surprises, but last week was particularly enjoyable. Last Monday, Popcorn Youth spoke with Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo on the subject of his band’s recent work scoring films, two of which were showing at Cornell Cinema in a smartly organized […]

The major snow storm afflicting the midwest and northeast has found its way to Ithaca too, so we thought that we would take a moment to catch up on a number of thoughts and events that we’d like to discuss.
First, we appreciate the discussion that Art Room Closet opened in response to our article and […]

“Old Joy” will have a final screening at Cornell Cinema’s Willard Straight Theatre tonight at 7:15pm. The film stars Daniel London and Will Oldham — yes, that Will Oldham — as two old friends reunited for a weekend camping in the Cascade mountain range in eastern Oregon. I saw it on Friday, and it is […]

This week in the Ithaca Times, I spoke with Dana Janssen, of the Brooklyn-based quartet Akron/Family. Janssen and other Akron/Family members lived in Ithaca a few years ago, and they’re playing here tonight — the first tour date of their major spring tour for their 2006 release “Meek Warrior” — at the Appel Commons […]

Last week, Stereogum blogged about iConcertCal, a free application for your iTunes. Basically, it sifts through your iTunes and creates a personalized monthly calendar of shows in your area based on the music in your iTunes library. Clever concept.
Download iConcertCal here. Or read about it on Stereogum.
Much sleeker than having to visit Brooklyn Vegan, […]

Whether you’re looking for 20th century classical music, dance parties, indie pop, or jam bands, there should be no lack of free live music tonight. 8pm at Bailey Hall, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, conducted by Mark Davis Scatterday, will perform. The night will feature the premiere of Pulitzer prize-winning Cornell composer Steven Stucky’s “Hue and […]

My article from this week’s Ithaca Times:
In music, repetition can work to familiarize and comfort its audience. Repetition can also hypnotize, exhaust and even numb a listener. 20th century American composer Morton Feldman (1926-1987) tended to fall into the latter camp, producing a widely celebrated body of work that was heavy on small, nearly imperceptible […]