kaddish in two-part harmony
A conversation between an anthropologist and a musician along with a growing virtual minyan, on themes of death and dying, grief, ritual, and the interplay between music and words.about
Tag Archives: musicians
daily kaddish: on Mira’s dad’s birthday
Thank you, Mira, for tonight, and for joining me in this project. It’s an honor to be here with you. May the Tzaddik rest in peace. Continue reading
Posted in kaddish in two-part harmony, podcasts, project news
Tagged dads, emotions, eulogy, musicians, Seymour Fromer, tzaddik
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daily kaddish: for Keith Abbott Conant
This is one of those “there but for the grace…” Kaddishim. Continue reading
Posted in kaddish in two-part harmony, podcasts
Tagged gay, Keith Abbott Conant, Lyric Opera of Chicago, musicians
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daily kaddish: for amy winehouse, in music
Yesterday’s Kaddish for Amy Winehouse had no music. I thought it fitting—when a musician dies, the music is gone. Continue reading
Posted in kaddish in two-part harmony, podcasts
Tagged Amy Winehouse, daughters, musicians
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daily kaddish: for amy winehouse
All that potential down the drain… A kaddish for Amy Winehouse. Continue reading
Posted in kaddish in two-part harmony, podcasts
Tagged Amy Winehouse, daughters, musicians
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daily kaddish: backstage at the opera
I recorded tonight’s Kaddish between acts of La Traviata. . I was recording with iTalk on my iPhone, which has no input level controls, so I had to play pianissimo to minimize the distortion from high input levels. Continue reading
Posted in kaddish in two-part harmony, podcasts
Tagged backstage, distortion, musicians, opera
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national poetry month
Thought I’d better get this in before it isn’t April any more. I think next year, the whole month of April’s posts should be in poetry. I’d be pretty proud if I could manage it. This poem I stumbled on … Continue reading
Posted in essays
Tagged Allah, bondage, charoset, collaboration, musicians, National Poetry Month, Pesach, submission, women
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on making the “two-part harmony” live, in person
Since Mira and I first met in person several weeks ago, we’ve been planning to start doing Kaddish recordings together occasionally—to start emphasizing the “two-part harmony” of our project title. We released our first collaborative recording last night in daily kaddish: for all the foster children who don’t quite make it. Continue reading
Posted in essays, kaddish in two-part harmony, project news
Tagged collaboration, music, musicians, studio, text
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a kaddish for miss pants
Candy Pants was my dad’s hunting dog, retired to California, endured four dogs’ worth of veterinary crises, and healed me—not exactly in that order. Continue reading
Posted in essays, kaddish in two-part harmony
Tagged black lab, cancer, chocolate lab, death and dying, dogs, embouchure, healing, labrador retrievers, life cycle, musicians, rebirth, rosacea, Rottweiler, trauma, yizkor
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a kaddish for those who don’t escape
My ordeal was long ago and I’m fine. For far too many others, this story is today, this story is now, and this story is how they will die. Continue reading
Posted in essays, kaddish in two-part harmony
Tagged aggression, child abuse, coming out, domestic abuse, musicians, parenting, penetration, queer, siblings, suicide, trauma, women
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what is it about words? a rant in response to a preamble
Music sits alongside religion as an opiate for the masses, and when music joins religion, it’s a truly powerful drug—one that scares the crap out of me sometimes.
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