Blog Post
Great Listening: Sherman Alexie reading his young adult novel
by annevm
The best part of the AADL Summer Reading Game for me was listening to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie who narrates the BOCD. I love Alexie’s teenage-sounding voice as he assumes the role of his character, 14-year-old Arnold Spirit, a Spokane Indian and the star of this semi-autobiographical novel. Arnold, who was born with water on the brain and is bullied on the reservation, loves to draw and says this about his cartoons: “I think the world is a series of broken dams and floods, and my cartoons are tiny lifeboats.“ When Arnold transfers from the reservation school to the white high school in a nearby town -- that is when I started driving longer routes and hoping for more red lights, so I could hear more of the story on my car CD player before arriving at my destination.
Blog Post
PreK Bits - Pet Wash
by ryanikoglu
This week is the END of Summer 2010 Preschool Storytimes.
Look for Fall Preschool Storytime RETURN week of September 13.
Ms Rachel opened a Pet Wash to bathe snakes, raccoons, bears, cats, .... but NOT baby brothers!
We bought "5 Brown Buns" from the bakery shop, as Peter Allard does in his recording Sing it! say it! stamp it! sway it! and Sharon, Lois & Bram do in Great Big Hits.
Then there was the demonstration on how to take care of Teddy Bears.
For more on the life of Teddy Bears look into these titles;
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
Teddy Bear's Picnic with the Persuasions' recorded version in The Good Ship Lollipop or the Bill Shontz recorded version inTeddy Bears' Greatest Hits
Red Ted and the Lost Things and
One Ted Falls Out of Bed tell tales of lost Teddy Bears.
And don't forget Teddy Bears' Mother Goose !
Blog Post
She Ate My Heart (a bite)
by annevm
It wasn’t my choice to go to the Aug. 6 Lady Gaga concert at Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago. But our 14-year-old son was eager to go, so he and I went.
After a couple of days touring Chicago, we strolled over to Grant Park, acting like we go to crazy huge music festivals all the time. At the gate, we were waved through and given water boxes and programs with I-tunes cards. Around Buckingham Fountain, we crowd-surfed, hoping to spot Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (Lady Gaga), but no luck.
So we staked out a spot on the field, moved three times, and ended up with a good view of the stage and the two giant TV screens. As the show opened, Lady Gaga was ghost-dancing behind a screen. Everyone screamed and pawed the air (her fans are her “little monsters”).
In Michael's view, the best songs were Telephone, Poker Face, and Alejandro. I found myself at several points wishing for less fake blood and profanity -- but everyone around us seemed to be loving it.
Lady Gaga has been compared with Madonna. Musical inspiration apparently comes from performers including Queen and David Bowie. In concert, I found her original, humorous, loud, entertaining, and enormously powerful. No wonder the June Forbes magazine put her fourth on its list of the 100 most powerful and influential celebrities in the world!
Blog Post
Arcade Fire, On Tract Housing
by Caser
Over the last 6 years, Arcade Fire has quietly built itself a castle atop rock and roll's fickle world. And it hasn't been through reality television, or on the face of some gorgeous lead singer, or by signing with a behemoth record company, but by doing what every great rock band aspires to: writing record after record of great songs. In recent memory, only Radiohead and Nirvana have been equally lauded by both critics and fans while reaching such a surprisingly wide audience.
Director Terry Gilliam recently directed a webcast of Arcade Fire's blowout Madison Square Garden show, and for fans who have followed Win Butler, et al. since their debut album, Funeral, this band playing MSG is far more surprising than who they chose to direct it.
With their new release, The Suburbs, topping the Billboard 200 and skyrocketing up the U.K. charts, and their worldwide tour selling out months in advance, it's clear that this is one band on top of the world. Check out their 2004 release, Funeral, and their 2007 release, Neon Bible from the AADL to catch up with the Arcade Fire.
Blog Post
August is Audio Book Appreciation Month!
by katieh
We may already be a week into the month, but it's not too late to start celebrating! Recently established by Chase's Calendar of Events, 2010 is the first official year for this holiday. Congress created a talking books program in 1931, though audio books really didn't take off until the 1980's with the popularity of the cassette tape. Now, whether you're visually impaired, making a long commute, or simply want to hear your favorite book read out loud, you can enjoy this form of literacy! Books are available on CDs, as MP3s, streaming on the internet, and a few titles are even still offered on cassette.
Here at the AADL we have tons of resources for our audio book fans. Check out our most popular audio books here. Interested in downloading your favorite book on MP3? Take a look at our eBooks and eAudio page. Patrons of the Washtenaw Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled are also eligible to check out these items, so go ahead and browse the selection.
Want even more audio book information? Librarian Mary Burkey at Booklist has a wonderful blog with current news, reviews, and everything you need to know about audio books.
Blog Post
Mitch Miller, Sing-along music producer, has died
by sernabad
Mitch Miller, a star-making golden music producer in the 1950s and unexpected TV star in the 1960s, died July 31, in Manhattan.
Miller took an unlikely technique -- running the lyrics of songs along the bottom of the TV screen with a bouncing ball above each syllable as a cue to his singing audience -- into a weekly hit show. Sing Along with Mitch ran from 1961 through 1966. Before that, he was busy as a record producer for Columbia Records making stars of such hugely popular singers as Tony Bennett and Rosemary Clooney. Miller was always happy to think outside the box and match singers to songs accompanied by innovative recording techniques -- one of the oddest? He positioned a mike and a speaker in a tiled bathroom.
Eventually rock 'n roll, which Miller labeled a disease, supplanted listeners' interest in his now old-fashioned music. Miller's style had fallen so far out of favor that, in 1993, when the FBI was trying to get David Koresh and his followers to leave their compound, they blasted Mitch Miller Sing Along Christmas carols at the buildings.
Miller's musical career began as an oboist for several orchestras. He also accompanied George Gershwin on tour, produced children's music, produced several Broadway musicals, and served as guest conductor for many symphony orchestras.
Mr. Miller was 99.
Blog Post
Fan of Romance Series?
by ErinDurrett
AADL now owns all the books in Best-selling Lisa Kleypas’s Hathaways Series. This includes the most recently published additions, Married by Morning (May 2010), and Love in the Afternoon (June 2010). As my favorite romance author, I couldn’t help but buy the books. For those who haven’t had a chance to read the latest additions to the series, and are interested in a different option, there are audiobook versions as well. Using our ebook/eaudio service, MCLS, downloadable WMA audiobooks of all 5 books are available. To use this service you must download Overdrive to your computer and any other programs you may need, put in your library card number and select AADL, and checkout (if available) or place a hold on a file of your choosing. Here’s a quick start guide to help you get started today!
Other popular books by Lisa Kleypas include: The Wallflower Series, and standalone books; Suddenly You, Where Dreams Begin, and Again the Magic.
Blog Post
German Park is This Saturday, July 31st!
by aschling
If you want some real German food traditional German music and dancing and to relax with friends or family outside, then German Park is the place for you! I attended my second German Park last month and had a lot of fun. There is plenty of space with picnic tables and shade. The food is delicious from the Spätzle to the German potato salad, sauerkraut to the sausages.
If you can't get enough German food, here are a few cookbooks here at the library to get you started. Culinaria Germany , The German Cookbook; A Complete Guide To Mastering Authentic German Cooking, Recipes Of The Old German Restaurant : And Other Traditional German Recipes.
Do you want more German folk music? The library has that too! Here are Songs for Oktober Fest and Folksongs from Bavaria to get you started.
German park is the last Saturday of June, July and August. The remaining dates for 2010 are Saturday July 31st and Saturday August 28th. For hours, directions and prices please see the The German Park Website.
Blog Post
Shake It!
by StoryLaura
We are going to be dancing when musician and dad, Duncan Riley, taps out his tunes and keeps us shaking our own handmade instruments made out of tin cans, dvd cases and baby bottles, on Thursday, August 5th at the Downtown Library Youth Story Corner at 7 pm. Check out other ideas for instrument making and singing games.
Blog Post
The Blank Generation – The Birth of Punk
by celesteh
In 1970s New York City, Patti Smith Group guitarist Ivan Kral was making home movies of his friends and fellow musicians, never knowing that they would all one day be famous. Bands such as Blondie, The Ramones, and the Talking Heads were all playing sets at the legendary CBGBs while being filmed on black and white 16mm. The Blank Generation was about to be born. When Kral started getting together with filmmaker Amos Poe, they created a special film that's now like a time capsule back to NYC's early punk rock and glam scene. With silent video footage, Kral and Poe added the audio from demos and live recordings separately. Amazingly, the rare video of the bands in the film is often the earliest available footage in existence.
The Blank Generation will be shown at the Michigan Theater this Thursday, July 29 at 7:00 PM, and Ivan Kral himself will be making a special appearance. You can't get this on DVD. This is not one to be missed!