Category Archives: Music

If music be the food of love…

Posted on January 18, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

 

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No Direction Home

Posted on January 13, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Amsterdam-based Austrian graphic designer Philipp Doringer’s obsession with Bob Dylan has resulted in the “Atlas Of No Direction Home”, a cartographic gazetteer of all the locations relevant to Bob Dylan’s career. The book contains all the locations relevant to Bob … Continue reading →

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Bowie’s Books

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Brian D. Butler

Last weekend I noticed numerous stories online that celebrated the late, great David Bowie’s birthday. They reminded me of a list that made the rounds a number of years back of Bowie’s 75 favorite books. You may find some surprises … Continue reading →

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beneath the stains of time

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

There is often a very real chain linking American literature and music. Sometimes it can be heavyhanded and intrusive, at other times it is truly organic and compelling. I was recently reading Louise Erdrich’s new novel The Sentence which, among other things, … Continue reading →

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Music by Miles

Posted on November 17, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

I recently ran across this wonderful video below featuring images by the late Saul Leiter accompanied by the sublime music of Miles Davis. It reminded me of an exhibition of Leiter’s photographs and painting that I happened to see the … Continue reading →

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Moving Light

Posted on October 24, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

Many years ago when I was writing a travel guide for Washington D.C., I discovered that one of its least visited sites was also one of its most beautiful. Overlooking the nation’s capital, the Washington National Cathedral is one of … Continue reading →

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Venice, Violin, and Vivaldi

Posted on September 21, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

On Saturday tourists were treated to the spectacle of an enormous violin floating down the canals of Venice carrying a live string quartet. The cruising instrument, “Noah’s Violin,” was created by artist Livio De Marchi, as a way of “bringing a message … Continue reading →

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“read some books, pay attention”

Posted on September 3, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

“The line in the song ‘feed your head’ is both about reading and psychedelics. I was talking about feeding your head by paying attention: read some books, pay attention.” Grace Slick explains what she meant. Still good advice after all these … Continue reading →

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Is it possible to love a vending machine

Posted on September 2, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

TBTP has featured all kinds of weird and wacky vending machines over the years, but I think that I’ve found the best ever. Portland, Oregon artist/entrpreneur Taylor Valdes has created a thriving business by stocking 18 repurposed vending machines around … Continue reading →

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one person out of 8,000,000

Posted on July 20, 2021 by Brian D. Butler

“Personal Poem” by Frank O’Hara Now when I walk around at lunchtime I have only two charms in my pocket an old Roman coin Mike Kanemitsu gave me and a bolt-head that broke off a packing case when I was … Continue reading →

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