Wednesday, July 01, 2009

#29 - Celebrity, Vampires and Self-image

In this edition of the Casey Stratton Podcast I discuss the death of Michael Jackson, the situation in Iran and the current state of affairs in Iraq. I then answer two questions, one about the book series and movie Twilight and one about the song Daylight from Whirlwind Medusa which I subsequently perform. Music recommendation is Jane Siberry's When I Was A Boy, from which I perform Love is Everything.

Nothing Siberry has done in the past quite prepares the listener for this album's prevalent mood of spooky obsession, bewilderment and resignation, and deathbed reflections. Though there's occasionally a rumble in the reverie ("All the Candles in the World," for instance, is positively funky), the overall ambience is prayerful, abetted by a production that often creates a cathedral of silence between the low tones (husky viola or cello filigrees) and the spare front line (an acoustic piano or guitar). Though songs like "Temple" (co-produced by Siberry and Brian Eno) and "Candles" are immediately likable, long free-floating meditations like "Sweet Incarnadine" and "The Vigil (The Sea)" are the album's centerpieces, gradually unfolding songs about love and dying. - Rolling Stone

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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

#28 - Protests, Pictures and Patterns

In this episode of the Casey Stratton Podcast I talk extensively about the protests in Iran, followed by taking a question regarding photos and album artwork. I then talk a little about the psychological process of creating an album as you gear up to the release and the moments when you hate it and think it is the worst record yet. I then perform Window by request. Music recommendation is Christopher Dallman's Race the Light.

“Christopher Dallman’s debut CD is an entertainingly literary pilgrimage into the inner sanctum of the songwriter’s psyche. If good songwriting confronts listeners with truth about themselves, their emotions, and their world from a fresh point of view, then the songs on Race The Light represent songwriting at its best.”

-Ken Mowery, Indie-Music.com




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Thursday, June 04, 2009

#27 - Retrospectives, Remixes and Psychopaths

In this episode of the Casey Stratton Podcast I answer 2 questions from listeners, one about doing a retrospective collection. I then talk a little about the new remix collection I am working on before delving into the recording of The Crossing and the events that took place during that time. Included in the discussion is the movie-like drama that happened in early 2006. I then perform Coat Tails Dragging from Lily Sleeps and possibly the most unlikely cover I have ever done, Poker Face by Lady Gaga. Music recommendation is Brandon Carmody and Emptyland (featuring Me on vocals) - Lonely Dream Single.















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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

#26 - Shows, Aging and Shakespeare Tragedies

In this edition of the Casey Stratton Podcast I discuss the recent shows and thoughts on performing. I then discuss aging in the context of fear and spontaneity. By request the recorded cover of Bjork's Army of Me is played followed by a 2001 recording of a song from The Winter Children sessions called God Save Your Queen that has never been re-recorded or released. After that I perform a live cover of the song Ophelia from the new Tori Amos album Abnormally Attracted to Sin which is also the music recommendation.

ABNORMALLY ATTRACTED TO SIN, Tori's tenth studio album, is another innovative chapter in the artist's trailblazing story. Every track on the album will be accompanied by a corresponding `visualette,' featuring footage that has been captured over the past year. Shot in HD and Super 8, the visualettes will incorporate a documentary style.

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Wednesday, May 06, 2009

#25 - Jesus, Redwoods and Engines

In this edition of the Casey Stratton Podcast I answer a question about writing and tell the story about how I found out the backstory on my newest cat, Charlie. I then go on to talk about the DIVIDE tour of 2006 before playing a remix of Wild Soul (called the Meditation Mix) that I did in 2005. After that I perform Engines Stalled from Messages Sending. Music rec this time is Over the Rhine's second album Patience.

"Over the Rhine breathes new life into today's suffocating pop culture. Patience deserves a listen for its strong vocals and moving lyrics which blend well with the breezy guitar riffs. So dismiss the second wind of grunge and the last gasps of techno for the inspiring sounds of Over the Rhine."
- Shane Promtet, The Mercury, University of Texas at Dallas


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Wednesday, April 22, 2009

# 24 - Names, Places and Amy Grant

In this episode of the Casey Stratton Podcast I answer a question about the use of names in my songs and then talk about the process of getting DIVIDE released and deciding to start my own label. I then play a recording of me at 12 years-old (1988) singing Lead Me on by Amy Grant. Live performances of Sinead O'Connor's Black Boys On Mopeds and my song Bipolar follow. Music recommendation is The Innocence Mission's Glow.

"Glow" is a musical treasure that immediately starts with a dreamy riff, taking you by the hand for a journey of tunes and floating guitar evoking the feeling of spring fever. "Keeping Awake" kicks of the stream of sound that leads into the Velvet Underground infused "Bright As Yellow", pulsating in a dreamy ramble, over to my favorite track "Brave - a mixture of amazing melodic hooks that take you to certain emotional corners. "There" is another sunny summer day tune that makes you want to lay in a hammock and smell some cut grass and flowers. - Amazon user


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Wednesday, April 08, 2009

#23 - Perspectives, Communication and Lots of Cats

In this episode of the Casey Stratton Podcast I answer a question about songwriting perspectives and points of view. I then discuss the newest release, Messages Sending in more detail and perform Turn It On from that work. Next up is a live performance of Bloom followed by the instrumental, strings only version from the Standing at the Edge sessions. Music recommendation is John Rutter's Requiem.

Requiem, his first composition written without being commissioned, is a convincing affirmation of Christian doctrine on death and eternal life. It is also a substantial and sincere work that strives to be widely appealing while preserving a spiritual context centered on themes of light and consolation. Highlights include "Out of the Deep," its modal tune and harmonies giving it the flavor of a spiritual, and the wonderfully gentle and restful 23rd Psalm. Rutter personalizes his Requiem by adding movements not traditionally part of the Requiem Mass--passages from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, for instance--and this proves to be an effective strategy. - amazon.com

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