Tag: music CDs

Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast July Recap

- Brittany Leave a comment

Each month, we release a new episode of Checked In: A Davenport Public Library Podcast. In this blog post, I will give you helpful links to area resources, Library resources, and links to the books discussed in our episode!

Favorite Audiobook Narrators to Celebrate World Listening Day on July 18th 

To celebrate World Listening Day, the hosts came up with a list of some of their favorite audiobook narrators!

Stephanie’s Picks:
Julia Whelan
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Happy Place by Emily Henry
Beach Read by Emily Henry
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
The Women by Kristin Hannah
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Zachary Webber 
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez
The Happy Ever Playlist by Abby Jimenez
Vikas Adam
Evander Mills Series by Lev AC Rosen
Jim Dale
Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Cassandra Campbell
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Full Cast Narrators
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstren
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Sadie by Courtney Summers
One of Us is Dead by Jeneva Rose
American Gods by Neil Gaiman 

Brittany’s Picks
Read by the Author
Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Zeno Robinson
Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour

Beth’s Picks
Full Cast Audiobooks
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff
Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson
The Greatest Love Story Ever Told by Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman

woman laying in the sun readingLibby App

Are you struggling to find time to squeeze in a Library visit or to read a physical book? Libby has you covered! Download the Libby App to access thousands of Audiobooks and e-books for free with your Davenport Public Library card! All items will check out for up to 21 days and will automatically return. Place holds on up to 10 titles and check out 5 items at a time to ensure that you are never short on content to read! Download the App today!

National Parks and Recreation Month Interview

During this segment, Brittany and Claire interviewed Becca Niles from Davenport Parks and Recreation about some of their amazing projects. During the interview, they also discussed partnerships between The Library and Parks currently in progress and for those occurring in the future. If you are interested in Parks programming, follow this link to visit their website!

Many Ways to Listen

There are many ways to enrich your life through listening with your Davenport Public Library Card, below are a few of our favorites!

QC Beats
QC Beats is an online streaming audio collection of original music featuring Quad Cities musicians and artists. QC Beats is built in partnership with Davenport Public Library, Bettendorf Public Library, and St. Ambrose University Library.

Freegal
Freegal Music gives you access to millions of songs from over 40,000 labels. Stream 24-hours a day. Download up to 5 songs per week.

Physical Items
The Library has music CD’s, audiobooks on CD, and playaways to check out to listen through your stereo or headphones. By clicking the link above, you can begin searching for your next great listen!

If you are looking for a program to join, consider looking into our Audiophiles Walking Club beginning in August!

three women sitting near podcasting equipment

What Our Hosts Read In June

Beth’s Reads:
If You Would Have Told Me by John Stamos
The Boys in the Cave: Deep Inside the Impossible Rescue in Thailand by Matt Gutman

Stephanie’s Reads:
Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
Poppy Done to Death (book 8 in the Aurora Teagarden mystery series) by Charlaine Harris
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White
Full of Myself: A Graphic Memoir About Body Image by Siobhan Gallagher
Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman
Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor (book 1 in Irish Village Mystery series)
The Night in Question by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson (book 2 in The Agathas Mystery series)
Puzzled: a memoir about growing up with OCD by Pan Cooke
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 

Brittany’s Reads:
The Celebrants by Steven Rowley
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok

If you would like to listen to our episode, it can be found wherever you get your podcasts. If you prefer listening on the web, it can be found here!

We love hearing from our listeners, please feel free to comment on this blog post, on our socials, or email us at checked.in@davenportlibrary.com.

Music Selector’s Choice: Indie Pop Old and New

- Callen Leave a comment

Many people of taste disdain mainstream, Top 40 pop music in favor of equally talented but less famous independent musicians. If that describes you, you may already know about the artists I’ll share here. But if you are like me, you may be delighted to discover them and their music – and hopefully it will open our horizons to seeking out other lesser-known artists. There’s no shame in enjoying top 40 hits, of course, but smaller creators deserve love too, especially (as you’ll read below) when their work plumbs a deep well of meaning.

Back in 2016, most everyone heard the song “HandClap” by Fitz and the Tantrums, and it may have been the first and last time they thought about the indie pop / neo soul band. It wasn’t the band’s first release, coming on their self-titled album after three previous albums (Songs for a Breakup vol. 1, Pickin’ Up the Pieces, and More Than Just A Dream). It was, however, their most notable hit. Me personally, I remember that song and “The Walker”, as well as “I Just Wanna Shine” from their next album All The Feels (this last because it was also on the soundtrack for delightful Netflix movie Yes Day). I confess I haven’t thought of them much, but I can now, because their latest release, Let Yourself Free, is out now. By all accounts it showcases what the band does best: upbeat tracks with strong hooks. If this is your thing (it definitely is mine) you’ll probably enjoy it, even though the content is strictly surface-level sentiments.

Obviously, the field of indie pop today is pretty wide and filled with talented performers, especially lately as TikTok helps with publicity. Through social media I’ve discovered talents like Gayle, Wet Leg, Against Me!, Brockhampton, and many more. One such talent is NoSo, whose debut release, Stay Proud of Me, is now on library shelves for your perusal. Interesting performer name, right? Well, apparently “NoSo is shorthand for North/South: A nod to their Korean heritage, and the inane origin question (“Which Korea are you from?”) that so many Korean Americans inevitably face at some point in their lives.” The same source also names the artist as LA-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Baek Hwong (pronouns he/they). “Their music grapples with the search for a sense of identity, overcoming imposter syndrome, and repressed memory” reports their record label – and NPR agrees, summing up the debut record as a “care package for someone in need –  their younger self.” Try this record if you want to support more queer artists, relate to the search for identity and acceptance, or enjoy “virtuosic, memorable guitar playing… cinematic synths and lush pop sounds…packaging heavy subject matter as a catchy hook or chorus without cheapening its sentiment” (NPR).

Share YOUR favorite indie musicians below!

Music Selector’s Choice: Dropkick Murphys

- Callen Leave a comment

An long-standing punk band with outspoken pro-union political views, Dropkick Murphys has been an icon of the punk scene and a voice for the workers’ perspective since its founding in 1996. In all that time, however, only bassist Ken Casey has been a constant member; one of the original founders Mike McColgan left as early as 1998, reportedly because he wasn’t dedicated enough to the band’s punk movement and the causes they spoke for. In an example of the band’s continuity, the name came from an alcohol detoxification facility run by Dr. John “Dropkick” Murphy, and in 2017 their album 11 short stories of pain & glory was heavily influenced by the opiate epidemic.

If you, like me, are intrigued by this angrily activist music group but haven’t gotten the chance to discover them yet, start here — your Rivershare libraries collect 5 of their 11 albums:

Going out in style 2011

Signed and sealed in blood 2013

11 short stories of pain & glory 2017

Turn up that dial 2021

This Machine Still Kills Fascists 2022

This newest album is unique in several respects, particularly its more acoustic, country music style; it’s structured around unused material from socialist and anti-fascist singer-songwriter icon Woody Guthrie.  Even the title is from a slogan Guthrie used to write on his guitars.

If only for my own (apparently lacking) education, leave your favorite band-with-a-cause in the comments – and come grab This Machine Still Kills Fascists today to catch up with the Dropkick Murphys.

Music Selector’s Choice: Lindsey Stirling

- Callen Leave a comment

If you see a violin and think “classical music is boring”, then you need to discover more artists like Lindsey Stirling. While she may lose points for technique (according to some other musicians I know) she definitely gets top marks for showmanship, enthusiasm, genre-bending, and creativity. If nothing else, her social media presence showing behind-the-scenes looks at her stunts, rehearsals, concerts, and more is funny, fascinating, entertaining and informative.

Intrigued? All these Lindsey Stirling albums are available for checkout:

Lindsey Stirling: 2013

Shatter Me: 2014

Brave Enough: 2016

Warmer in the Winter: 2018

Artemis: 2019

Snow Waltz : 2022

Looking for more unconventional players of classical and string instruments? Try the four-cello rock group Apocalyptica, rock violinist David Garrett, or creative instrumentalists The Piano Guys (though if you haven’t yet checked out this powerhouse group, what are you waiting for??)

Music Selector’s Choice: Snarky Puppy

- Callen Leave a comment

I love the band name Snarky Puppy. Like all good band names it’s a great hook to get you to check out the music, and see if it measures up.

Snarky Puppy is an instrumental group (no vocals here) founded in Texas which has now won five Grammy awards for its blend of jazz, world, rock, and funk music styles. Around forty musicians have played in the group over the course of its existence but on any given album the number of musicians is between ten and twenty, drawn from a rotating roster that still includes founder Michael League.

If you want to trace this group’s development through its albums, you can find these through our Rivershare consortium:

Culcha Vulcha (2016)

We Like It Here (2018)

Immigrance (2019)

Empire Central (2022)

Other albums including their first, 2006’s The Only Constant, are available through Spotify and YouTube. What’s your favorite cool band name?

Music Buzz: Bad Bunny

- Callen Leave a comment

As a big music person, I’ve heard more and more about artist Bad Bunny in recent years, and I finally decided to do some digging to find out what the story is and why he’s so popular.

If you’re like me, you first heard the name Bad Bunny as a contributor on the song I Like It, from Cardi B’s album Invasion of privacy in 2018. When the song exploded Bad Bunny’s star began to rise, and debut album X 100pre was released in 2019. Later that same year, however, a collaborative album Oasis was released with J Balvin. Most recently Bad Bunny came out with another solo album, Un verano sin ti in 2022, which has done very well on the charts.

But why should he have been so successful, and be so beloved? Well, as it turns out Bad Bunny’s public image is positive and nuanced; as the first non-English language act to be Spotify‘s most streamed artist of the year in 2020 and 2021 he has made a massive contribution to Spanish-language music becoming popular in the US and worldwide markets. In terms of his visual look, Vanessa Rosales of CNN has opined that “in pink, florals and short shorts, Bad Bunny champions a new masculinity”. Moreover, in a 2020 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Bad Bunny stated he sees sexuality as fluid. He said, “At the end of the day, I don’t know if in 20 years I will like a man. One never knows in life. But at the moment I am heterosexual and I like women.”

He has been an LGBTQ advocate in other ways as well. During a performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in February 2020, he called attention to the murder of transgender woman Alexa Negrón Luciano in Puerto Rico by wearing a shirt with the words “They Killed Alexa. Not a Man in a Skirt.”, referencing news reports that had misgendered the victim. Ricky Martin has stated that Bad Bunny “has become an icon for the Latin queer community” due to his outspoken support of gay and transgender Latinos as well as his embrace of drag culture. And he’s also been a general activist for his native Puerto Rico. Bad Bunny was openly critical towards the lack of humanitarian aid in the wake of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island of Puerto Rico. He established the Good Bunny Foundation, which distributes toys to children living in poverty in Puerto Rico.

Studies have shown that Gen Z and younger listeners care not just about musical style and content but also ethics and accountability, which means the answer to my question is that Bad Bunny is so popular because his lifestyle and activism back up his catchy and infectious musical work. Whether you’re a longtime fan, or newly curious about this international icon, you should give his albums a try, available today from your Rivershare library.

Love Your Library During a Reading Slump

- Callen Leave a comment

If you just can’t read a book right now, don’t feel bad! You’re not a worse person because you can’t get yourself to read anything more than a cereal box or social media post. Whether you’re busy with schoolwork, family obligations, or just plain burnt out, you can still love and support your library and be part of our bookish lifestyle without picking up a single book.

Tip #1: Do something cool! Try the TechKnow library (featuring a digital camera, a mobile scanner, Snapchat spectacles, and MUCH more), our collection of board games (from Scrabble to Super Mario Checkers), or a community experience pass to a local museum like the Figge.

Tip #2: Go multimedia! Save some serious money by checking out a new movie (like Till or the new season of You), music CD (maybe Charlie Puth’s latest?), or video game (including PS5 games like Dying Light 2) so you can try before you buy.

Tip #3: Read without reading! Skim a heartwarming graphic novel like Moonstruck, or listen to a book on playaway or CD (pro tip: pick a short one like The Poet X, a 3.5 hour listen) for a quick lit fix. (Disclaimer: these are definitely real books and count as real reading, but since they may be easier than traditional print, I’m including them.)

Tip #4: Just show up! Come exist in our spaces – read magazines and enjoy the view at Eastern, warm up at Fairmount’s fireplace, or schedule a Makerspace tour at Main.

Tip #5: Be social with it! Engage on social media from home — repost our news and events, browse databases and digital resources, and check out challenges in the Beanstack website or app.

However you engage with the library, we appreciate you and we want to hear from you! What’s your favorite way to ride out a reading slump – or your favorite way to love the library?

25+ Years of Tegan and Sara

- Callen Leave a comment

Like most aging people I’m starting to realize just how long my favorite artists have been around. For example the iconic band Tegan and Sara have been making music since 1995, recording on cassette tapes. If you don’t know them, Canadian twins Tegan and Sara Quin have been vitally important to building a more mainstream LGBTQ music scene. Their music has the earworm elements of pop music and an unapologetically sapphic core – and recently they’ve grown more reflective about their public image.

Their early music, starting in about 2002, quickly gained popularity in Canada and with teen listeners, featuring albums The Con and Sainthood. Both albums were generally acclaimed as their sound both matured and experimented. It was the seventh album that was perhaps the most successful, and the one I know best: Heartthrob in 2013, followed by Love You to Death in 2016. This is where their indie pop sound really hit its stride with songs like Boyfriend and Closer, featuring danceable beats mixed with melancholy feelings. Incidentally this is also where I heard I’m Not Your Hero, whose hook will forever live in my head rent-free: “I’m not their hero / but that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t brave”.

This is a band that doesn’t forget its past: in 2017 their big tour and promotion was celebrating 10 years since the release of The Con (including the creation of an album of other artists’ versions called The Con X: Covers) and in 2019 they released Hey I’m Just Like You, which shares recordings of songs they initially wrote as teenagers. The influence of rock and punk bands like Nirvana, Hole, or the Smashing Pumpkins is more apparent here, and the album as a whole reads more pop-punk than their more recent compositions. In the same spirit they made an all-acoustic version of their 2004 album, So Jealous, which was released as Still Jealous in February.

But the big news of recent years was the release of High School, a memoir about their experiences coming-of-age, which was adapted into a TV series on Amazon Freevee. Viewers are offered a glimpse into a teenager’s life in the early 2000s including the pains of exploring your sexuality and deciding who you want to be. This is definitely a band for you if you’re someone into memoir, legacy, and writing your own history. They’re also politically engaged, passionate activists for causes including cancer research and LGBTQ rights.

This year they released the all-new Crybaby with a new record label. Written during the pandemic, this is the album that nearly wasn’t: originally they were recording standalone singles I Can’t Grow Up and All I Wanted, but were inspired to spin the two into a whole album — luckily for all of us that need more T&S in our lives.

If you like indie music, are a longtime fan, or want exposure to more LGBTQ music artists, definitely listen to some Tegan and Sara today.

Now on Freegal: 2023 Grammy Nominees

- Callen Leave a comment

The Grammy nominations are here and you can experience the contenders today on Freegal with your library card! The full list of nominees was posted on grammy.com November 15, with the 65th annual Grammy Awards scheduled to air February 5. This year new categories have been added: Songwriter of the Year, Best Video Game Soundtrack, Best Alternative Music Performance, Best Americana Performance, Best Spoken Word Poetry Album, and a special merit award for Best Song for Social Change.

Here’s a peek at the playlist on our digital music streaming platform, Freegal, with some artists you’ll probably recognize:

Unfortunately not everything is included as Freegal is a limited catalog, but if you (like me) haven’t managed to hear songs from Beyonce’s Renaissance, DJ Khaled’s God Did, or songs from Camila Cabello’s Familia, the 2023 Grammy Nominees playlist is a great place to start. The list includes all musical genres and offers a great snapshot of what’s hot in music today.

Luckily for you, if you’re looking to hear songs not included on this playlist, you can find most of them in our music CD collection, including Lizzo’s Special (About Damn Time is one of the nominees for Record of the Year), ABBA’s Voyage, Mary J. Blige’s Good Morning Gorgeous, Brandi Carlile’s In These Silent Days, and more.

Was your favorite artist or song included in this year’s Grammy’s? Let us know below!

Requiem for the Enslaved by Carlos Simon Jr.

- Callen Leave a comment

“Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the hope and dream of a slave.” – Maya Angelou

I’m always on the hunt for unique and diverse additions to our music CD collection, especially for less mainstream genres of music. Recently I had the privelege to order Requiem for the Enslaved for our classical music section. Here’s how the creators describe it:

American composer Carlos Simon presents a multi-genre work, Requiem for the Enslaved. This work is a musical tribute to commemorate the stories of 272 enslaved men, women and children sold in 1838 by Georgetown University. Described as a “rap opera,” Carlos infuses his original compositions with African American spirituals and familiar Catholic liturgical melodies. Requiem for the Enslaved explores the sacred and historical, and honors the lives of those bought and sold.

Carlos Simon says: “Since being hired as an Assistant Professor, I have grown to love the Georgetown University community and culture. In learning of the university’s involvement in slavery, I am deeply grateful for the collective efforts taken to understand and attempt to reconcile its tainted past. Now as a member of the Georgetown University community, I wish to join in the journey of expanding the discussion.”

For similar items like this, try Dreams of a new day : songs by black composers with Will Liverman OR Songs of our native daughters with Rhiannon Giddens.