Whether it was as the guitarist who created the gothic-western landscape of Shiva Burlesque 20 years ago, the even bigger guitar sound of Grant Lee Buffalo that rode herd in the ’90s (while he screwed up his courage to get his feet wet as a singer) or his current solo career (a wonderfully diverse summation of most everything that’s come before), Grant-Lee Phillips has become a consummate musician. Little Moon (Yep Roc) is the kind of record you keep playing until the songs refuse to go away, even long after you’ve switched off the electronics. Phillips is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week, Read our Q&A with him.
Phillips: Philip Glass at the Hollywood Bowl has been a long time coming. This year, the minimalist composer performed the music of Koyaanisqatsi and Einstein On the Beach for the first time ever with an orchestra and before a live audience. The Philip Glass Ensemble and the L.A. Philharmonic blazed through an evening that was dizzying at times, sometimes meditative, but always compelling. It was interesting to witness Koyaanisqatsi, the 1982 film directed by Godfrey Reggio, as it was projected on the stage. Its observations of a life out of balance are even truer today. Perhaps the only footage that seems carbon dated is that of the iconic American auto plant, with its rapid-fire assembly line churning out cars like there’s no tomorrow.
