Join us for a three-part film series showcasing the use of classical music in war movies. The series kicks off at the Central Library this Saturday at 10:00 a.m. with Gallipoli. Live musical accompaniment for some scenes will be provided by members of the Cambridge Symphony Chamber Players for all three films.
1981; Starring Mel Gibson, Mark Lee, Bill Kerr, Harold Hopkins, Charles Yunipingli, & Ron Graham; Rated PG; 1 hour 52 minutes
Amazon.com says, “An outstanding drama, Gallipoli resonates with sadness long after you have seen it. Set during World War I, this brutally honest antiwar movie was cowritten by director Peter Weir. Mark Lee and a sinfully handsome Mel Gibson are young, idealistic best friends who put aside their hopes and dreams when they join the war effort. This character study follows them as they enlist and are sent to Gallipoli to fight the Turks. The first half of the film is devoted to their lives and their strong friendship. The second half details the doomed war efforts of the Aussies, who are no match for the powerful and aggressive Turkish army. Because the script pulls us into their lives and forces us to care for these young men, we are devastated by their fate.”
The next two movies in this series are:
Scent of a Woman, on Saturday, November 17th at 10:00 a.m.
1998; Starring Al Pacino and Chris O’Donnell; Rated R; 157 minutes
Amazon.com says, “Hoo-ah! After seven Oscar nominations for his outstanding work in films such as The Godfather, Serpico, and Dog Day Afternoon, it’s ironic that Al Pacino finally won the Oscar for his grandstanding lead performance in this 1992 crowd pleaser. As the blind, blunt, and ultimately benevolent retired Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, Pacino is both hammy and compelling, simultaneously subtle and grandly over-the-top when defending his new assistant and prep school student Charlie (Chris O’Donnell) at a disciplinary hearing. While the subplot involving Charlie’s prep-school crisis plays like a sequel to Dead Poets Society, Pacino’s adventurous escapades in New York City provide comic relief, rich character development, and a memorable supporting role for Gabrielle Anwar as the young woman who accepts the colonel’s invitation to dance the tango. Scent of a Woman is a remake of the 1972 Italian film Profumo di donna. In addition to Pacino’s award, the picture garnered Oscar nominations for director Martin Brest and for screenwriter Bo Goldman.”
Platoon, on Saturday, December 1st at 10:00 a.m.
1986; Starring Charlie Sheen, Forest Whitaker, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, and Johnny Depp; Rated R; 120 minutes
Amazon.com says, “Platoon put writer-turned-director Oliver Stone on the Hollywood map; it is still his most acclaimed and effective film, probably because it is based on Stone’s firsthand experience as an American soldier in Vietnam. Chris (Charlie Sheen) is an infantryman whose loyalty is tested by two superior officers: Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe), a former hippie humanist who really cares about his men (this was a few years before he played Jesus in Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ), and Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), a moody, macho soldier who may have gone over to the dark side. The personalities of the two sergeants correspond to their combat drugs of choice–pot for Elias and booze for Barnes. Stone has become known for his sledgehammer visual style, but in this film it seems perfectly appropriate. His violent and disorienting images have a terrifying immediacy, a you-are-there quality that gives you a sense of how things may have felt to an infantryman in the jungles of Vietnam. Platoon won Oscars for best picture and director.”
The Cambridge Symphony Orchestra has worked with organizations that honor American veterans over 2012. The CSO has chosen these three war-themed films, and through an introduction with live chamber music, will spotlight how familiar classical music underscores the theme of war and its aftermath for veterans.
These programs are free and all are welcome. We hope you can join us!
Join us this Saturday, September 8th at 3:00 p.m. as we welcome Too Human for a concert of jazz standards from the Great American Songbook. The concert will be held outdoors if the weather permits, otherwise, we’ll be in the auditorium.
Too Human is an acoustic music act with vocals, guitar, percussion and upright bass. They perform jazz standards as well as their own originals. The program will include some of the great feeling songs from the American Songbook of the 20s, 30s and 40s such as Pennies From Heaven, It Had To Be You, Nice Work If You Can Get It, All of Me, Sentimental Journey, and others.
Too Human performs all over the East Coast at festivals and fairs, libraries, museums and galleries, civic events and summer concerts, vineyards and wine tastings, clubs, arts councils, schools, coffeehouses, private parties, and restaurants. They’ve written songs for Cher, Pat Benatar, Anne Murray, Nancy Wilson, Teddy Pendergrass and many others. You can see and hear them perform by clicking here, here, here, here, and here.
This free concert is funded by the Friends of the Library. We hope you’ll be able to come!
An Evening of Words and Music with Yani Batteau & Judah Leblang (June 13, 2012)
Our guest blogger Sarah Wolf has written about Wednesday’s lovely event. Yani and Judah were great!
I turn you over to Sarah,
On Wednesday, June 13, 2012, local artists Yani Batteau and Judah Leblang joined musical and storytelling forces for an evening of poignant laughter and sing-a-longs. Dividing their program into two sets – the first devoted to being in (and out) of love, the second about life outside of romance – they shared the stage in an often lighthearted back-and-forth between Yani and her banjo and Judah and his personal essays.
On the topic of love, Yani strummed out solo banjo versions of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” (a song about falling in love), Kitty Well’s “Honky Tonk Angels” (a song about cheating men), and the traditional American song “Frankie and Johnny” (a song about jealousy and murder). In between each song, Judah shared a personal anecdote from his life, starting with “Voices in My Head,” a self-examination that pits his inner-Clevelander with his current day Bostonian self, comparing the two cities sports teams as a metaphor for clinging to mediocrity (the Indians) instead of aligning himself with world champions (the Red Sox). His next piece, called “A Fine Line” discussed what Judah called “the heartbreak of hair loss,” an examination of the emphasis on personal appearance in dating. The first set ended with Judah’s piece “Dating and Middle Age,” a very humorous account of finding his place in the gay community and the difficulties of meeting a potential mate – the biggest laugh coming when he confessed his own profile appeared on random searches on Match.com … and revealed he was only an 83% match for himself!
After a brief intermission, this dynamic duo returned for Part 2. Yani started it off with an original tune called “Riding My Bicycle” (about her daily commute) and did a soulful rendition of “Summertime” from the Gershwin classic Porgy and Bess, then rounding out her portion of the act with a rousing sing-a-long version of the classic Malcolm McLaren tune “Buffalo Girls.” Judah read from an essay called “Jingle Bells” about participating in Medford’s World Record contest to have the most people continuously singing Christmas carols and also from one entitled “The Pierogi Eating Contest,” a tale of a visit back home to Cleveland. His last piece was a touching recollection of his grandfather’s pharmacy called “Papa’s Place,” truly a love song to “the old neighborhood.” The evening ended with Judah and Yani singing a duet called “I Don’t Like You Anymore,” something Judah described as a “heartwarming song.” And it was – as were the two of them.
Yani Batteau is the front woman for the band Yani Batteau and the Styles and an award-winning visual artist. Judah Leblang is a Medford-based writer and storyteller, a columnist for Bay Windows newspaper, and a radio commentator. His book Finding My Place: One Man’s Journey from Cleveland to Boston and Beyond is available from Lake Effect Press.
This Saturday, April 21! Join us as Somerville celebrates its third “one city, one book” campaign, Somerville Reads 2012, a project that promotes literacy and community engagement by encouraging people all over the City to read and discuss books on the same theme. This year’s theme is food—local, sustainable, and delicious! We’ve chosen two books for discussion: Farm City: the Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter and Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman. Copies of both books are available for check out at all Somerville Public Library locations.
Join us as we welcome Too Human for an evening of jazz standards from the Great American Songbook.
Too Human is an acoustic music act with vocals, guitar, percussion and upright bass. They perform jazz standards as well as their own originals. The program will include some of the great feeling songs from the American Songbook of the 20s, 30s and 40s such as Pennies From Heaven, It Had To Be You, Nice Work If You Can Get It, All of Me, Sentimental Journey, and others.
Too Human performs all over the East Coast at festivals and fairs, libraries, museums and galleries, civic events and summer concerts, vineyards and wine tastings, clubs, arts councils, schools, coffeehouses, private parties, and restaurants. They’ve written songs for Cher, Pat Benatar, Anne Murray, Nancy Wilson, Teddy Pendergrass and many others. You can see and hear them perform by clicking here, here, here, here, and here.
This free concert is funded by the Friends of the Library. We hope you’ll be able to come!
We waited all year and now it’s here – the Friends of the Library Fall Book Sale!
Don’t miss out on this chance to get great deals on new and used books, movies, music, and more – and show your support for the Library! Proceeds from the book sale help support library programs for adults and children, including the popular “museum membership” program which allows Somerville residents to visit local museums free or at a discount.
Friday, October 28th ~ 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 29th ~ 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 30th ~ 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
There will also be a preview for Friends who have joined at the $50 level or higher on Thursday, October 27th from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
The Friends Book Sale is always a lot of fun…meeting up with your friends and neighbors, hunting for bargains, helping to ensure plenty of excellent Library programs in the months to come, maybe even scoring a copy of that elusive book you’ve been searching for…what’s not to like? We hope we’ll see you there!
34 years ago today legendary musician Elvis Presley died at his home in Memphis. Ever since, fans and mourners have gone to hold vigils on the anniversary. Yesterday somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 people showed up, staying on well into Tuesday morning.
Unsurprisingly many of his CDs are checked out from SPL this week, but there are quite a few available in the network. If you’re interested in listening to The King, you might consider the 3-disc set Artist of the Century or the single Elvis: 30 #1 hits. If you want to witness American cultural history in the making, check out the DVD Elvis: the Ed Sullivan Show, the Classic Performances, which features all three of his appearances on the wildly popular 1950s television program, including his 1957 appearance, when the cameramen filmed him only from the waist up to protect our national innocence from swiveling hips.
If you’re interested in reading about Presley and his career, one of the most important works is Peter Guralnick’s magisterial two volume biography, consisting of Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love. If you want a biography that is less of a commitment, try the short (178 p.) biography by novelist Bobbie Ann Mason. And for a really quick read, there’s Elvis for Dummies.
Now for something completely different: Jukka Ammondt, a professor of literature at the University of Jyväskyläin Finland, spent some of his spare time in the nineties translating Elvis’ songs into Latin and then performing them. The resulting album, The Legend Lives Forever in Latin, is quite, um, something (I actually got a copy for Christmas in 1996). It’s not available in the Minuteman Network, but you know what? Our inter-library loan department likes a challenge.
Join us for a three-part film series showcasing the use of classical music in war movies. The series kicks off at the Central Library this Saturday at 10:00 a.m. with Gallipoli. Live musical accompaniment for some scenes will be provided by members of the Cambridge Symphony Chamber Players for all three films.
Scent of a Woman, on Saturday, November 17th at 10:00 a.m.
Platoon, on Saturday, December 1st at 10:00 a.m.
Join us this Saturday, September 8th at 3:00 p.m. as we welcome 
Guralnick’s magisterial two volume biography, consisting of 
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