Reverbiage: Stories from NPR tagged 'bittersweet'

Roberto Plano's Schubert Sensibility

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:40:00 EST

Poetic young pianist Roberto Plano uncovers the layers of bittersweet emotion in a set of Impromptus written by Franz Schubert near the end of his short life. Plano performs for a live studio audience at WGBH in Boston.

U.S. Physicists Recall Brush With Supercollider Fame

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:06:00 EDT

For some American scientists, the official start-up of the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland is a bittersweet moment. A supercollider in Texas would have been more powerful than the European one, but Congress killed the project in 1993.

Mortality's Lighter Side: Sedaris' 'Engulfed'

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:28:00 EDT

In his new book of essays, neurotic, death-fearing humorist David Sedaris visits a morgue, has a catheter inserted (just to see what it's like) and buys a skeleton as a gift. Reviewer John Freeman calls Engulfed in Flames "always funny, occasionally bittersweet."

Neko Case from Walt Disney Concert Hall

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:38:00 EDT

As a singer for The New Pornographers, Case belts artful tunes with one of the most powerful and seductive voices in rock. Her solo work is steeped more in bittersweet country and gospel. Case brings the best of both in a full concert, webcast live on NPR.org from Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

A Mother's Bittersweet Memories

Fri, 30 May 2008 00:01:00 EDT

A decision to let her son enjoy a few moments of independence and beauty ended in tragedy. But out of Rich Stark's death in a car accident, Myra Dean managed to extract small comforts.

Live Friday: DeVotchKa in Concert

Wed, 14 May 2008 10:47:00 EDT

Best known for scoring the endearing soundtrack to Little Miss Sunshine, the Denver-based band DeVotchKa makes bittersweet songs with whistled melodies and sorrowful tales of the brokenhearted. Now on tour for its latest CD, A Mad and Faithful Telling, DeVotchKa will give a full concert at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club, webcast live on NPR.org May 16. The performance is scheduled to begin at approximately 10 p.m. ET.

Piano Pathways: Daniel Pollack, 50 Years Later

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 14:46:00 EST

Fifty years ago, a 23-year-old piano student from Los Angeles took a chance, competing in the first Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Daniel Pollack didn't take home the top prize, but he did carve out a unique career, preserved with bittersweet memories.

In Iceland, Unintended Witnesses to Climate Change

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 01:32:00 EST

For more than 30 years, a group of doctors and their friends and family have made a long, bone-jarring and wet trip to a glacier in the center of Iceland. The tradition is part camping adventure, part scientific expedition, and increasingly, bittersweet.

LIVE TODAY: Over the Rhine in Concert

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:01:00 EDT

Over the Rhine has taken on a variety of forms since 1989, but it's now just the husband-and-wife duo of Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist. Hear the bittersweet folk-pop band perform a concert from WXPN and the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg, Pa., on Friday at noon ET.

Playful Yet Sophisticated, Breezy Yet Bittersweet

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 17:43:00 EDT

Featuring stylized '60s chamber-pop instrumentation -- everything from banjo and Mellotron to clarinet and glockenspiel -- The Brunettes' glossy production and entangled vocal harmonies make "Her Hairagami Set" sound rich and fully developed.

Crowded House Won't 'Stop' Sparkling Sadly

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 10:25:00 EDT

An air of regret often hangs over the group's bittersweet reunion album, Time on Earth. Still, "Don't Stop Now" more than lives up to the worthy tradition of Crowded House's brightly catchy, sweetly upbeat best.

Conjuring Bittersweet Memories of 'Ludlow Street'

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 17:38:00 EDT

Built around her crisp acoustic guitar and clear-eyed, observant delivery, "Ludlow Street" -- one of the standout tracks on Suzanne Vega's new, New York-themed Beauty & Crime -- brings to mind the graceful flow of her early work.

Summer Food: Blueberries, Texas Caviar, Tomatoes

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:59:00 EDT

For many listeners, summer food is epitomized by fruits of the vine, tree, bush and stalk. They share stories about grandmothers and "blueberry slump," gardens and "Texas caviar," and a bittersweet tale of tomatoes, champagne and a light bulb.

Katrina Makes Marva Wright Sing the Blues

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 15:44:00 EDT

New Orleans blues singer Marva Wright says she remains too distraught over the destruction of her hometown to write songs about what happened. She sure can sing about it, though, as her bittersweet cover of "You Are My Sunshine" proves.

Katrina Makes Marva Wright Sing the Blues

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 15:44:00 EDT

Victims Remembered at Virginia Tech Graduation

Sat, 12 May 2007 11:16:00 EDT

Commencement ceremonies are bittersweet on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The campus was the scene of last month's shooting rampage that left 32 victims dead. Virginia Tech graduates remembered their classmates at Friday's graduation.

Live Tonight: Ben Gibbard on NPR.org

Thu, 10 May 2007 00:21:00 EDT

As frontman for the Seattle rock band Death Cab for Cutie, and part of the electro-pop duo Postal Service, Ben Gibbard has won over legions of fans for his literate, bittersweet songwriting. Now Gibbard is embarking on a month-long solo tour. Hear him live on NPR.org in a full concert tonight.

Finding Comfort in Feeling Trapped

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 16:54:00 EDT

Dolorean's You Can't Win wallows in the dark corners of singer Al James' psyche, but "Just Don't Leave Town" raises the discourse from miserablism to ambivalence. After a bit of downbeat self-analysis, James perks up as he hits a brightly shuffling, bittersweet chorus.

Afghans Celebrate Music Festival, Amid Caution

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 16:00:00 EDT

Hundreds of Afghan musicians and performers are gathered in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif to mark an ancient New Year's celebration known as Nowruz. The country's largest cultural festival in decades is also a triumph for musicians who were banned from performing by the Taliban. But the celebration is bittersweet: The Taliban is on the rise, and a spike in crime on the roads means that just getting to the festival can be risky.

Aimee Mann: Bittersweet Holidays

Mon, 25 Dec 2006 16:27:00 EST

After making a name for herself as the wild-haired lead singer of the '80s new-wave band 'Til Tuesday, Mann spent years carving out an iconoclastic career in pop music's margins. Mann's new disc is a collection of holiday songs titled One More Drifter in the Snow.

A Beirut Resident's Bittersweet Homecoming

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 13:00:00 EDT

The cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon has allowed thousands of Lebanese refugees to return to their homes -- or what's left of them. Muhammed Shuker, whose home was one of the first in Beirut to be destroyed by Israeli bombings targeting Hezbollah-dominated neighborhoods, talks with Alex Chadwick about his own bittersweet homecoming.

Bittersweet Beauty: Elgar's Cello Concerto

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 13:41:00 EDT

It was written in 1919, and in its bittersweet beauty, many listeners hear an elegy for those who died during WWI. It's the Cello Concerto by Edward Elgar. Our concert performance took place two weeks ago at the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming. Lynn Harrell is the cello soloist, Donald Runnicles conducts.

A 'Red Weather' Story Set in Milwaukee

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 16:00:00 EDT

Pauls Toutonghi's novel Red Weather takes place in Milwaukee. It's a bittersweet love letter to that city, and to the protagonist's father.

Lynn Miles: 'Love Sweet Love'

Wed, 03 May 2006 08:19:00 EDT

Canadian folk singer-songwriter Lynn Miles has never been afraid to explore the darker sides of her own life, and the result is a bittersweet collection of tunes for her latest CD, Love Sweet Love.

'Phat Girlz' Triggers Debate in Black Community

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 09:00:00 EDT

Nnegest Likke, the writer and director of the movie Phat Girlz, talks with Ed Gordon about the film's bittersweet box office numbers -- it cost $3 million to produce, and it's earned close to $6.5 million.