the memory palace - Episode 77 (Butterflies)

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Music* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.* First up is "Adultere bourgeoise," a piece from Paul Misraki's score to A Double tour.* Then we've got a piece called "Night Time Talk" by Stephen J. Anderson. * We hit For the Trees by Matmos a couple of times (the bit after: "the facts were these," or whatever I say)* Frank Durr's theme is P from that first LaBradford album, all those years ago. * The score for the House of Butterflies is called Fragment II by Library Tapes. It comes back again toward the end.* We also hear Invidia, by Deadmaus. That's the one we finish on.

Notes* Several essays were very helpful in researching this. Among those were: -http://pittmed.health.pitt.edu/jan_2001/butterflies.pdf-http://www.thenation.com/article/secret-history-lead/-http://www.wired.com/2013/01/looney-gas-and-lead-poisoning-a-short-sad-history/* I found William J. Kovarik's Dissertation, The Ethyl Controversy:How the News Media Set the Agenda for a Public Health Controversy over the use of Leaded Gasoline, 1924-1926, completely fascinating. * I relied on a number of papers from the W.H.O. when researching the health effects of lead and ozone depletion.* Here's the New York Times original expose about the House of Butterflies.* Finally, Thomas Midgely, IV's biography of his grandfather, From the Periodic Table to Production: The Life of Thomas Midgely, Jr., inventor of Leaded Gasoline and Freon Refrigerants, is, while unsurprisingly hagiographic, both well-researched and highly readable.

the memory palace - Episode 76 (Mary Walker Would Wear What She Wanted)

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Music*Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.*The piece opens with Rainfall, by David Darling and Michael Jones. *Her brief love story is scored by Nathan Johnson's Penelope's Theme from his score to The Brothers Bloom.*When she lands her first gig, we start Garde a Vue, and roll into Le Roi de coeur, from Chantal Martineau.* The vibraphone piece is "Opening" by Nathaniel Bartlett. * The recurring violin piece is called Geometria del Universo by the one-named Colleen. * It ends on Romain's First Love, again by Georges Delarue, from his fantastic score to Promise at Dawn.

Notes* I read a lot about Mary, but by far the most useful and most thorough works I came upon were: Sharon M. Harris' Dr. Mary Walker: An American Radical and A Woman of Honor: Dr. Mary E. Walker and the Civil War, in which author Mercedes Graf does a great job walking the reader through Walker's unpublished memoir.

the memory palace - Episode 75 (The Ballad of Captain Dwight)

The finale of the 2015 Summer Season.

 

 

Music

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.

* There's Branches, by Keith Kenniff

* Then The Big Ocean, from Ben Sollee's score to Maidentrip

* Then End of the World from Dan Romer's score to Beasts of the Southern Wild

* There's The Sage, pulling once more from the dope-as-hell self-titled album from the Chico Hamilton Quintet.

* There's a loop pulled from Worm is Green's song, Brand New Day

* There's The Light, from my pal Jimmy's wonderful project, The Album Leaf. Go buy their albums

* The piece at the end is the theme to Charlie Countryman from Christophe Beck's score.

* Oh: stuff gets heavy to Ghosts I from Nine Inch Nails.

* And finally (though out of order), playing over the fall-out from JFK's death is Now by Goldmund. 

 

 

 

 

 

Notes

A selected bibliography.

 

* We Could Not Fail: The First African Americans in the Space Program, by Richard Paul and Steven Moss

* Voices of Contemporary and Historical Black Pioneers, Farmer & Shepard-Wynn, editors

* The Right Stuff, by Tom Wolfe

* Distinguished African Americans in Aviation and Space Sciences, by Gulbert, Sawyer, and Fannin

* The All-American Boys, Walt Cunningham's memoir.

* The Ebony article mentioned in the piece can be read here.  

the memory palace - Episode 74 (Craning)

Episode 9 of the 2015 Summer Season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.

* There're too pieces from Per Storby Jutbring's album, Dance of the Diaper Fairy. Snowbound, up top, and the title track at the end. 

 

Notes

* Hoo boy, have I read a ton of books about the space program, thanks to my stint on the writing staff of ABC's Astronauts' Wives Club last year.  So, most of this piece is just "stuff I now know."  However: read numerous contemporary newspaper accounts, readily available on 

* Also key was the lovely prologue to First Man: The Life of Neil Armstrong, James R. Hanson's solid (if a little hagiographic) bio.  

the memory palace - Episode 73 (Notes on an Imagined Plaque to be Added to the Statue of General Nathan Bedford Forrest, Upon Hearing that the Memphis City Counci has Voted to Move it and the Exhumed Remains of General Forrest and his Wife, Mary Ann Montgomery Forrest, from

Episode 8 of the 2015 Summer Season

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.

* First up (and returning at the end) is Sandra's Theme, from Heather McIntosh's fantastic score to Compliance, a very good, very disturbing movie. 

* We hit Frank Glazer leading Charles Ives' Largo for Clarinet, Violin and Piano a couple of times, framing...

* Runaway from Olafur Arnalds. 

 

Notes:

*The key to researching this episode turned out to be an article in The Journal of Southern History from 2001 by Court Carnay called, "The Contested Image of Nathan Bedford Forrest."

* Also particularly useful was Nathan Bedford Forrest: a Biography, by Jack Hurst. 

* As was Lynching in America: A History in Documents, compiled by Christopher Waldrep.

* Much of my information about the contents of the ceremony and speeches was gathered from this, the digitized journal and scrapbook of Charles Henry Niehaus, the sculptor of the monument. It's an extraordinary resource.   

* And let us all read Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All its Phases, by Ida B. Wells. And let's put her on the $10 while we're at it.

the memory palace - Episode 72 (Run-of-the-River)

Episode 7 of the 2015 Summer Season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.

* First up (and returning a bit later) is Mr. Reincarnation from Alexander Desplat's dope-as-hell score to the fairly dope movie, Birth. 

* There's Lost Fur, Reprise from Carter Burwell's Where the Wild Things Are score. 

* Then there's a Charles Ives piece called Remembrance, played by Yesaroun' Duo, Eric Hewitt and Samuel Z. Soloman. 

* Then we hit Another Lifetime, dipping back in the Birth Score well.

* Finish up with Kierling/Doubt from Max Richters 24 Postcards in Full Color.  

the memory palace - Episode 71 (Zulu Charlie Romeo)

Episode 6 of the 2015 Summer Season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.

* First up, A Nice Day from a truly wonderful album, The Original Chico Hamilton Quintet Complete Studio Recordings.

* Then there's Ohnono/Kiwembo, Andrew Bird's contribution to Tradi-Mods Vs. Rockers - Alternative Takes on Congotronics, Vol. 1 (which is a great rabbit hole to go down).

* Anita gets introduced to Hay Tantos Muertos, by Marissa Nadler.  

* Then falls in love to Hymn of Silence by Silencio

* Then there're two pieces from Nathan Johnson's score to The Day I Saw Your Heart. 

the memory palace - Episode 70 (Developments in the Design and Manufacture of American Menswear 1840-1860, a Fable)

Episode 5 of the 2015 Summer Season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.

* The main mountain theme is Mort D'Eurydice, by Pierre Favre as played by the European Chamber Ensemble.

* There's a second string-y snippet of another by them called, Sito.

* We learn about beavers to Stereo Music for Acoustic Guitar, Buchla Music Box 100 (etc.)...Pt. 2 from Keith Fullerton Whitman's old Multiples album.

* The soft men are embodied by 3-Sized PF by Takahiro Kido from his Fairy Tale album.

* I roll out some more Miguel Atwood-Ferguson with Arioso from Red Hot & Bach to track the tall tales of the west.  

the memory palace - Episode 69 (Charlie: God of Rain)

Episode 4 of the 2015 Summer Season. 

 

 

 

 

Music

 

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.

* Charlie on the ladder is scored with the Prologue to the fantastic score to the film Birth, by Alexandre Desplat

* It ends with Opus 30, by Dustin O'Hallaran.  

* The upbeat, fair music is a piece called Love on Matthew Herbert's contribution to the Life in a Day soundtrack. 

* Don Stewart surveys the damage to 01 Ghosts I by NIN

the memory palace - Episode 68 (White Heat, White Lights)

Episode 3 of the Summer Season. 

 

Music

 

* Under the credits is Harlaamstrat 74 off of John Dankworth's Modesty Blaise score.

* The opening loop is from Mr. Knight from Coltrane Plays the Blues, which you should own. 

* The violin piece is Occam II for Violin, a piece by Silvia Tarozzi, played by Pauline Oliveros.

* Next up is Mikuro's Blues from the mighty David S. Ware' mighty Go See the World.

* The amazing orchestral pieces is Triumph by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Carlos Nino from Fill the Heart- Shaped Cup 

* Finally, there's 13 Ghosts II by Nine Inch Nails from Ghosts I-IV