Reverbiage: Stories from NPR tagged 'passion'

A Passion For Stuff: 'Collections Of Nothing'

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST

William Davies King wants what you don't. He collects things like chopstick wrappers. Chain letters. Cat food labels. In his book, Collections of Nothing, he wonders whether his compulsion is just mania, or more.

In 'Benjamin Button,' A Curiously Chilly Passion

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST

David Fincher's romance — based on a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald — ages Brad Pitt backward until he's the right age to love Cate Blanchett. Kenneth Turan says the peculiar tale is an odd fit for the director's talents.

A Bent For Building, From Father To Daughter

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 01:57:00 EST

In some families, a specific talent seems to be passed down through the generations. That could be the case for Ledo Lucietto and his daughter Anne, who share a passion for mechanical engineering.

Doctor Brings 'Ministry Of Healing' To Darfur

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST

The atrocities in Darfur have moved many people to think about ways they can make a difference. One woman, the Rev. Gloria White Hammond, is determined to keep Darfur's plight on the minds of Americans and U.S. policy makers. In this week's Faith Matters, Hammond, a pastor and medical doctor who chairs the Save Darfur Coalition, explains her passionate feelings about what is happening in Sudan.

Unjust Rewards: Monteverdi's 'Poppea'

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST

Operas, no mater how lurid or violent, generally champion lofty ideals and traditional values — but not this time. In Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea, the most noble and virtuous characters wind up dead or deported, while the lustful and villainous are rewarded with wealth, power and passion.

The Story of 'The Coronation of Poppea'

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:14:00 EST

In Monteverdi's masterpiece, the most noble and virtuous characters wind up dead or deported, while the lustful and villainous are rewarded with wealth, power and passion.

Passion Pit: The Valentine That Keeps On Giving

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:40:00 EST

Singer-songwriter Michael Angelakos compiled the Chunk of Change EP on his own with the intention of giving it to his girlfriend as a Valentine's Day gift. Balancing an infectious explosion of sound with soft and subtle tones, the album quickly made its way across his school's campus.

Hip Hop Finds A Place On The Reservation

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST

Hip hop artist Brutus Baez, better known as Bigg B, blends his culture and passion for music. Bigg B explains the hip hop scene on Native American reservations, and how he incorporates the struggles of his people in his lyrics.

Renowned Slam Poet Takes Her Message To Youth

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:28:00 EST

Slam poet Gayle Danley has won international acclaim as a slam poet. Her newest endeavor is could be her most challenging one yet. Danley is taking the themes within her poems and passing them on to children. The artist, recently featured in the Washington Post Magazine, explains her passion for the spoken word and for sharing her message with young people.

Jacob & Lily On Mountain Stage

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:31:00 EST

Singer-songwriter Karla Adolphe and percussionist Caleb Friesen make up the Manitoba-based duo Jacob & Lily. On their recent Mountain Stage appearance, the two show off Adolphe's powerful, passionate voice and steady guitar strumming, along with Friesen's meticulous and driving rhythmic work.

Elizabeth Willis: 'Overture' & 'In Your Eyes'

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:42:00 EST

As a child, musician Elizabeth Willis was formally trained in piano and violin, and often imagined she'd grow up to be a classical musician. But at some point along the way she decided to walk away from classical music and start writing grand and beautiful pop. The 11 songs on her self-titled debut bridge the gap between her two passions by pairing her distinctive vocals and pop stylings with cinematic string and piano arrangements. The result is refreshing and often gorgeous.

The Stills: Rising Out Of The Ocean

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:01:00 EST

Inspired by the post-punk sounds of Echo & the Bunnymen, The Stills often find themselves in the deluge of like-minded bands. It's the kind of thing that sticks to a band, but The Stills continue to hone their sound, now taking on much darker and passionate approach.

A Strange Political Song: Why People Care

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:07:00 EST

Almost half of the eligible voters in this country usually don't bother to vote. On the other side, there are people who are extremely passionate about politics. They pass out pamphlets, work the phones, write letters to the editor and place political signs and stickers all over their cars and front yards. Independent producer Barrett Golding wondered — why the divide?

Moms Discuss Parenting Kids With An Appetite For Politics

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST

In this week's parenting segment for moms, Jolene Ivey and Leslie Morgan Steiner weigh the value of engaging children early in the political process. Also, Ivey's son, Alexander, and Steiner's son, Max, explain how, as youngsters, they've discovered their own political passion.

Music School Students Get In Tune With Industry

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 05:06:00 EDT

Students at the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at New York University are learning technological and entrepreneurial skills so they can compete in a changing marketplace. The students all have different ambitions, but their artistic director says what they really need is passion.

Schticky Stuff: 'Zack And Miri' And A Fluid Or Two

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:01:00 EDT

Lively, naughty and crude, it's exactly the film you'd expect from Kevin Smith. Maybe too much so: The director's sentimental passions (and his frat-boy urges) have congealed into schtick.

Antics and Anguish: Puccini's 'La Boheme'

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Electric passion becomes lasting love, and ends with desperate tragedy, in Puccini's La Boheme — maybe the greatest "date opera" in history — in a racy new production from the Washington National Opera.

Dan Dyer: 'Love Chain'

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:13:00 EDT

For his follow-up to 2004's Of What Lies Beneath, Austin, TX resident Dan Dyer draws from gospel, Bossa Nova and even ragtime for a contemporary homage of pulsating grooves. His selt-titled sophomore release, which dropped in late August, begins with the soulful "Love Chain," featuring members of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church Choir backing Dyer's own Stevie Wonder-inspired tenor. It's a passionate and stunning opener, showcasing much of the musical styles Dyer grew up on.

Christopher O'Riley's Bad Plus Epiphany

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 10:35:00 EDT

O'Riley enjoys his Bach and Beethoven, but he's also a serious fan of pop music and jazz: He's recorded piano arrangements of songs by Radiohead and Nick Drake. O'Riley's latest passion is the adventurous jazz trio The Bad Plus.

Rejection Revisited: 'Eugene Onegin'

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Tchaikovsky combined a personal, romantic entanglement with a passionate story by Pushkin to create Eugene Onegin, a fiery drama that soon became the composer's most popular opera.

Alisa Weilerstein: The Art Of Chopin's Cello

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:17:00 EDT

Cellist Alisa Weilerstein was born into a musical family with a love for chamber music. Her passionate performance of Chopin's Cello Sonata at WGBH is the sign of a young musician well on her way to a major career.

Snapping Salmon: A Biologist's Underwater Passion

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:16:00 EDT

Mary Edwards is a fish biologist who loves salmon — especially if they're running upriver. But her true passion is to take portrait-style photos of fish underwater, in the remote rivers of the Pacific Northwest.

Cellist Haimovitz: Classic Bach, Classic Rock

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:38:00 EDT

Haimovitz's idea of the "classics" includes Bach, Beethoven and, yes, classic rock. He talks to Performance Today host Fred Child about taking musical risks, and offers up a passionate studio performance of music by Bach.

Clinton Makes 'Electrifying' Plea To Supporters

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:25:00 EDT

Former presidential candidate and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton gave what some are calling the most passionate speech of her political career last night at the Democratic National Convention. Host Michel Martin checks in from Denver with guest host Cheryl Corley. They discuss Clinton's address and other highlights from the convention floor.

Betty Carter: Fiercely Individual

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:18:00 EDT

An electric performer, Carter was an irrepressible and incomparable practitioner of the jazz vocal tradition. For nearly 50 years, the intense vocalist blazed her own trail in jazz, powered by her passionate, intense singing.