Word: vocalic
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...novel “Big Sur.” Lyrics for the soundtrack are entirely drawn from the novel’s text, but while the project’s concept is intriguing, the album itself proves disappointing. Though certain tracks skillfully utilize the duo’s unique vocal talents, featuring pleasant enough instrumentation like rich piano and sultry bass, the album suffers from poorly chosen and sloppily crafted lyrics, which are often weakly delivered over uninspiring melodies...
Certain other tracks likewise skillfully utilize vocal talents: the deeper, twangier timbre of Jay Farrar enhances songs like “Low Life Kingdom.” The song, which details the depths of Kerouac’s alcohol- and madness-induced depression, puts Farrar’s gritty, alt-country manner to good use. When he wails “I’m gonna die in full despair / and wake up where the atmosphere / is dearer and maybe closer to heaven,” one senses the raw desperation of a man on the edge of sanity...
...Farrar’s deeper, rougher twang enlivens gritty, hard-up tracks, but his nasally drawl drags down slower paced songs, making them sound whiny, not wistful. On the whole, this album, though fortified by a few well-crafted tracks, fails to adroitly engage its source text and the vocal talents of its creators...
...Nick Drake and warm harmonizing of Simon & Garfunkel into gentle, unassumingly beautiful melodies. Øye, the Paul Simon of the pair, sings in a slightly accented baritone about girls he’s once known or wishes he had; Bøe backs him up with a softer vocal counterpoint and elegant instrumentals...
...skills that make a difference in terms of student learning, then what we're saying is that teaching is an undefinable art, as opposed to something that can be taught," says Steiner. Until recently, Steiner served as dean of Hunter College's School of Education, where he was a vocal critic of the typical ed-school approach, in which teachers-in-training study theories and philosophies of education at the expense of practical, in-the-classroom experience. Steiner maintains that institutions need to turn their eyes toward the practical and away from the hypothetical. (See pictures of a public boarding...