Interview: Philip Glass

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

In the Mansion section of today's Wall Street Journal, I interview Philip Glass for my "House Call" column (go here). The influential modern classical composer and pianist is a fun guy. We talked about life growing up in Baltimore in the 1940s, particularly his father's record store. Philip's modernist roots can be traced back to avant-garde classical 78s that no one bought. What's more, Philip mastered the fine art of smashing records that didn't sell. Record companies back then paid 10 cents for records that were damaged, so Philip and his brother were dispatched to jump on duds so they could be returned and collected upon while making room for new ones. Philip's memoir, Words Without Music, is remarkably accessible and elegant. You'll find it here. [Painting above of Philip Glass from a photograph by Chuck Close]

If you're unfamiliar with Philip Glass's music, here's a taste: an excerpt of pianist Maki Namekawa playing his Piano Etude No. 16...

Also in the WSJ this week, my "Playlist" column for the Review section is devoted to an interview with author Tom Robbins on the Beatles' Hey Jude. Go here. If you're unfamiliar with Tom's work, grab his latest book, Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life, a memoir, is out now in paperback. I absolutely love the book and highly recommend it. There's a rebellious, pop feel to it that is addictive. [Photo above of Tom Robbins with his wife, Alexa, and dog, Blini by Wiqan Ang for The Wall Street Journal]

For the Arts in Review page, I reviewed a new exhibit that just opened at New York's Jewish Museum: Revolution of the Eye: Modern Art and the Birth of American Television. The exhibit looks at early television's use of modern art to draw in sophisticated viewers who abhorred "the box" and raise the taste level of the mass market. Sometimes the effort worked and sometimes it didn't. Go here. [Photo above: Florida, by Lee Friedlander, 1963]

And finally, for my "Track Record" column in WSJ/Europe today, my interview with Alexis Taylor (above) of the British experimental electronic band Hot Chip. I asked him about five albums that blew his mind when he first heard them. All are a revelation, especially Raymond Scott, who was new to me. Go here.

Hot Chip's new album, Why Make Sense?, is fascinating. Here's Alexis Taylor in Need You Now...

And here's Huarache Lights...

Used with permission by Marc Myers