Jason's favorite

Our good friend Jason B. has worked at the Music Library for a year now. He's graduating at the end of this semester with his Master's degree in Library Science. Most of the students that work at the Music Library are music people--they're working towards their first music degree. Jason's undergrad degrees are in English and history, making him our resident music enthusiast! Regardless of degrees, everyone at the Music Library is thankful we've had Jason around this year and will be sad to see him go.

So for fun, I asked him to do a blog entry on his favorite CD in the Music Library. Here's what he had to say:

"Ok, I was asked to write a little something about my favorite CD here at the USC Music Library. That’s like asking a particle physicist which type of quark is his favorite! How can one decide? They’re all so awesome! Hmmm, well, charm type quarks are pretty cool… Anyway, for today I’ve decided that my favorite CD is Apostrophe (‘) by Frank Zappa.

The first side (keep in mind this CD was originally released as a record, you know, those flat, round, and black plastic things) follows our Inuit hero Nanook as he battles the evil Fur Trapper. Each track segways into the next, and Zappa really gets to put out some of his favorite tricks: timing and mood changes, sound effects, and unique instrumentation. And of course, we’re treated to some of Frank’s incredible guitar work and fantastic composition. See, you can still rock if you know how to read and write music!

The last half of the album is individual songs, but don’t fret, the rockin’ don’t stop! Zappa never does simple, straight-forward rock, but these compositions are a little more foot-tapping. “Cosmik Debris” and “Stink-Foot” are great, and the album’s title track, “Apostrophe (‘),” features Jack Bruce from Cream in a blistering bass solo. All-in-all, one of my favorite Zappa albums. Check it out! And if you really like it, try it’s companion album, Over-Nite Sensation."

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is almost here! Whether you're cooking, eating, or just partaking in a lot of football, it's nice to relax and visit with family and friends.

In honor of Thanksgiving, I wanted to present you with some selections of music from the Music Library. To be honest, however, I found them all a little somber. So if you're in the mood for somber Thanksgiving music, try these selections:



Compact Disc 2479
Family Circle -- celebration! [sound recording] : music for holidays year-round.
(Tracks 16 & 17)



Compact Disc 5066
Music of the Americas, 1492-1992
(Disc 1, Track 5)



Compact Disc 3469
Akathist of thanksgiving

If you have an LP player and children, you might try this one:


Columbia Music Sound Recordings 17824
Thanksgiving songs that tickle your funny bone.

For those of you who want a more historic feel to your Thanksgiving tunes, check out the streaming audio clips of Native American music on our World Music pages.

No matter what music you listen to, everyone here at the Music Library hopes you have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving!

Music to keep you motivated

On most of the students that work here at the Music Library, the look of happiness and excitement for the fall semester has turned into a look of questioning, tiredness, and wishing that fall break would hurry up and get here. It's sort of that mid-way lull that happens in every semester. So, I thought I'd survey the student employees to see what music keeps them motivated or helps them to stay focused when studying. Check some of these out and see if they help you too!

Chanticleer "Out of this World"
CD 1390


American Variations
CD 1956


New Century Saxophone Quartet "Art of the Fugue"
CD 7175


Brahms' Symphony no.4 (First and Last Movements)
CD 5044


Carmina Burana
CD 4952


Dvorak Stabat Mater
CD 3597


Bach "French Suites" performed by Glenn Gould
CD 4153


If you have specific CDs that you like to help you study or that motivate you, let me know! Click here to email Ashlie!

Welcome to Fall Semester!

It's that time again! Everyone's busy scurrying about campus, worried about homework, scheduling in enough practice time and time to socialize. Don't stress yourself---check out our LibGuides! We now have two music guides and more on the way.

New to both guides is the Fall Seminar schedule. Now you have no reason to miss! The LibGuides have lots of sources for homework help and even ideas that might start you researching something new.

Know of a good source, website or something else that would be helpful to include in one of the Music LibGuides? Let me know!

More news from us

This summer has absolutely flown by!



It seems so hard to believe that Welcome Week and Move-in Day are just around the corner.

Before you pack up your computer and head to campus, I wanted to share some neat things with you!

1)We're still constantly looking for new ways to improve our webpages. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please email me or use our handy online suggestion box!

2)We've added new electronic resources to make your life easier.

3)

The Music Library is on facebook. You should become a fan! We hope you'll use this page to stay up-to-date with our hours, events and other need to know info.

4)This fall we're going to have some AMAZING exhibits and events in the library. Stay tuned or you'll really miss out!

As always, we're here for you. Whenever you have a suggestion, comment, or other thought, we'd love to hear it. If you get to campus before August 21st, please stop by the library and introduce yourself (if you're new) or say hi (if you're not new)!

Best wishes for an excellent fall!
Ashlie

School's out!

Gosh where did the spring semester go??

While you've been out sunning yourself or working hard at your summer job, we've been here making changes to improve the Music Library!

Here are some things we've been working on:
*USC's library catalog has a new look! We hope you'll find it more user friendly.
*The Music Library home page also has a new look. We've given you easier access to the best research databases for music, added a "New" box to keep you up-to-date, and also added a suggestion box. Feel free to leave us a comment!
*We've added a video tour of the Music Library.
*Our student workers are currently busy cleaning, scanning, organizing, digitizing and updating lots of things around the library.

We're all working hard to give you the best Music Library possible!!
Please have a wonderful and safe summer!

Changes

It's that time of year....birds chirping, flowers blooming, and campus starts perking up with the changes that come with spring and summer.

Speaking of changes, we've made some changes to the Music Library Homepage. We've added a suggestion box because we want to hear from you! It only takes a minute, and your input will help us improve the library.

Hope to hear from you soon!