In my younger days, there was a vibrant trend on YouTube for fans of TV series or films to create video compilations of their favorite clips, especially featuring either canonical or “shipped” couples, set to music that would capture the essence of those characters. It was all very dramatic, but the storytelling power of music […]
If you're enjoying the exhibition of drawings by Danielle Bursk and photographs by Allen Kesselaut in the second floor Reference Galley (a partnership with the Arts Council of Princeton), you might be interested to know that there's another gallery in the library, this one primarily for employees, but sometimes seen by wayward customers.
For many, the world of opera is a mystery, often viewed as old fashioned, boring and incomprehensible. These stereotypes are absolutely not true. Opera can be beautiful and exciting, with moving stories and complex, funny, lovable characters. Try something new and borrow some recommended titles from our opera collection to expand your horizons.
April 18 was Record Store Day and I was fortunate enough to spend part of it in an actual record store. Yes, they still exist. Vinyl might currently be the hippest of all music media, but we still have plenty of surface-noise free CDs at the library. As the library's buyer of music CDs, I want to share with you a few of my idiosyncratic favorites from the recent past:
In the ephemeral world of social media, weeks can seem like centuries. So you may have missed our mini social media push to get Elvis Costello to appear on Hinds Plaza on April 18 in a Record Store Day event with Princeton Record Exchange.
The end of the year is fast approaching and the world is awash in "Best of 2014" lists. I'm sure you have seen plenty of lists for best books, music, movies, and TV shows by now. Please indulge me as I present another list for 2014: the most popular CDs of the year at the library. The ranking is based on the total number of circulations (a.k.a. check-outs) for the following titles. It's interesting to note that CDs remain very popular here despite all the newer ways people listen to music. Please also indulge me some brief editorial comments about the music on this list.
Amy Yates Wuelfing and Steven DiLodovico will be here on Sunday, June 1, at 3 p.m., to discuss their oral history of the Trenton nightclub City Gardens. "No Slam Dancing, No Stage Diving, No Spikes." If you lived around here in the ‘80s and ‘90s, you know why the book’s subtitle refers to the club as “legendary.” If not, then read the book or come out to meet the authors.
We are excited to offer you a new collection, hoopla, that includes thousands of movies, television shows, music albums and audiobooks. In addition to the fantastic variety, hoopla offers an attractive format, ability to stream or to use an app for temporary downloading and an easy check out process. Another great feature is that the content is always available! No holds!
Famed sitar player and music legend Ravi Shankar passed away this week at the grand old age of 92. Dubbed "The Godfather of World Music" by ex-Beatle and longtime friend George Harrison, Shankar was an unlikely international music star whose sitar playing introduced millions to the beautiful ragas (melodies) and talas (rhythms) of Indian music.
Did you know that Princeton Public Library has a database with thousands of songs that can be downloaded for free? Well, the rumors are true.The database is called Freegal Music and it allows any PPL card holder to download up to three songs a week for free.
Woody Guthrie, famed American songwriter-raconteur, would have been 100 years old this July. Folk music revivalist Pete Seeger recently celebrated his ninety-third birthday. In an age where songwriters and singers had separate roles in the music industry, these elder statesmen of American folk music forged ground for contemporary singer-songwriters like Wilco, Bruce Springsteen, and Neil Young. Listen to modern voices sing songs of childhood, love, loss, hard times, protest, and working folk.
As a child of the 70s I looked forward to Casey Kasem's weekly (and cheesy) countdown of the top 40 hits of the nation. Flash forward a few decades and here I am: in charge of purchasing the music for this spectacular library. Today I get to be Casey and count down the most popular CDs in our collection…but not just for this week, for all time!
Princeton Symphony Orchestra and Princeton Public Library have collaborated for a number of years on a variety of endeavors – the Soundtracks lecture series, children’s programs, and even Pi Weekend. In anticipation of the final concert of the year, “Spun Beauty,” we were recently lucky enough to host Christophe Landon of Christophe Landon Rare Violins.
The corner of Witherspoon and Wiggins streets in Princeton is home to the Princeton Public Library and the Arts Council of Princeton. If you are in the neighborhood, you’ll notice a statue of Paul Robeson on the sidewalk, marking the spot where Wiggins Street becomes Paul Robeson Place. Walk up Witherspoon, past the Arts Council’s Paul Robeson Center for the Arts, and the first house you see is Robeson’s birthplace.
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