Accolades

In episode 13 of Accolades Video Series I talk to Jehnny Beth (Savages) about British Sea Power, an alternative rock band from Reading, Berkshire, England. The wide-ranging nature of the band’s material has led critics to liken their sound to a variety of groups, from The Cure and Joy Division to the Pixies and Arcade Fire. The band are famed for their live performances, the unusual lyrical content of their songs and the adventurous choice of locations for some of their shows.

In episode 12 of Accolades Video Series I talk to H.C. McEntire about Pauli Murray, a civil rights activist from Baltimore, Maryland, United States. She became a lawyer, women’s rights activist, Episcopal priest, and author. Drawn to the ministry in1977, Murray was the first African-American woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest, in the first year that any women were ordained by that church.

In episode 11 of Accolades Video Series I talk to Skyler Skjelset (Fleet Foxes) about Merzbow, a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by Masami Akita. Merzbow is best known for a style of harsh, aggressive noise. Since 1980, Akita has released over 400 recordings and has collaborated with various artists. As well as being a prolific musician, he has been a writer and editor for several books and magazines in Japan and has written several books of his own.

In episode 10 of Accolades Video Series I talk to Steve Albini about Alan Dower Blumlein, an electronics engineer from Hampstead, London, United Kingdom. Blumlein is known for his many inventions in telecommunications, sound recording, stereophonic sound, television and radar. He received 128 patents and is considered one of the most significant engineers and inventors of his time.

In episode 9 of Accolades Video Series I talk to Mattias De Craene (Nordmann) about John Lurie, a musician, painter, actor, director, and producer from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. He co-founded the Lounge Lizards jazz ensemble, acted in 19 films, including Stranger than Paradise and Down by Law, composed and performed music for 20 television and film works, and produced, directed, and starred in the Fishing with John television series.

In episode 8 of Accolades Video Series I talk to Mike Watt (Stooges, Minutemen) about Richard Meltzer, a rock critic, performer, and writer from New York City, New York, United States. He is considered by some rock historians to be the first to write an accurate analysis of rock and roll and is credited with inventing rock criticism. Meltzer’s first book, The Aesthetics of Rock, evolved out of his undergraduate studies in philosophy at Stony Brook University and graduate studies at Yale University..

In episode 7 of Accolades we talk to Dwid Hellion about Félicien Rops, a painter, illustrator, caricaturist and a prolific and innovative print maker from Namur, Belgium. He was associated with Symbolism and the Parisian Fin-de Siècle. He provided frontispieces and illustrations for Charles Baudelaire, Théophile Gautier, Stéphane Mallarmé, Joséphin Péladan, Paul Verlaine, Voltaire, and many others. Rops is recognized as a pioneer of Belgian comics.

In episode 6 of Accolades we talk to Shannon Lay about Arthur Russell, a cellist, composer, producer, singer, and musician from Oskaloosa, Iowa, United States. His work spanned a disparate range of styles. Trained in contemporary experimental composition and Indian classical music, Russell relocated to New York in the mid-1970s, where he became associated with Lower Manhattan’s avant-garde community and the city’s disco scene.

In episode 5 of Accolades we talk to Jason Lytle (Grandaddy) about Jerzy Kukuczka, an alpine and high-altitude climber from Katowice, Poland. On 18 September 1987, he became the second man (after Reinhold Messner) to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders globally, a feat that took him less than eight years to accomplish. He is the only person in the world who has climbed two eight-thousanders in one winter.

In episode 4 of Accolades we talk to Mauro about Gloria Coates, a composer from Wausau, Wisconsin, United States, who has lived in Munich since 1969.