This week in State of the Arts: the next step in music listening, bands in Duluth put their listeners to sleep, and a movie set 350 years ago – completely in step with the gender relations of today. Plus, Creative Electric Studios features art done by the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists.
Evolution of Music Listening
Walk into a Best Buy, Bound to Be Read and certain Starbucks these days and you will find yourself with a foamy latte in one hand, and a self-made CD in the other. New music-burning kiosks give access to online music to people unable to download and burn music conveniently at home. So, how will you get your music in the future? Downloading, kiosks, record stores? Or are you perfectly happy with your old vinyl? Rod Smith will be in studio to take your calls.
Slumber
Aaron Molina knows a thing or two about loud music and smoky bars. He used to play bass guitar in a punk band. He's gone in a different musical direction, though. He's gone so far as to organize a show called "Slumber". This Saturday in Duluth, more than a dozen bands will play music to sleep to. The show runs until Sunday morning, and the audience is welcome—even encouraged—to snooze.
Stage Beauty
Twin Cities playwright Jeffrey Hatcher has a long theatrical resume. He's a prolific wordsmith, with his work regularly performed on stages around the country. Now he's up to something new—a movie. It's called "Stage Beauty" and it opens around the country this weekend. It's set 350 years in the past, but Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr reports, it deals with issues of gender and sexuality very much from the present.
Taxidermy
A gallery exhibit in Minneapolis is giving new life to the lifeless. The Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists uses dead animals and stuffed toys to create wild displays of impossible beasts. Marianne finds the work imaginative, but not for the faint-hearted.
New MPR Books Forum
The MPR Books Forum is the perfect space for all of us to discuss authors and all types of writing, but it wouldn't be complete without a host. MPR's own Marianne Combs, host of State of the Arts and a passionate reader, will be here to share her own take on books and guide discussions.
