My music life has been relatively quiet of late, but with my impending return to full time residency in New York, I hope to reconnect with the songwriter community that I've been associated with since the late '70s. Below are various projects, sound clips, and albums I've done over the years. I have many songs that have yet to be recorded, and that is something I hope to rectify. A few songs I have recorded in a purely homemade fashion, and have posted them below.




Produced by Suzanne Vega, this album ws never commercially released. It consists of both fully finished band arrangements, and spare acoustic guitar accompaniment.

Highlights are The Magic Kingdom, a rousing satire about everything, and Old Factory Town, a day in the life of a blue collar worker, featuring backing vocal by Vega.
Songs from the archives. The bare bones of stories. DeKooning paintings. The end of the Cold War. Berlin. Riots in L.A. Basketball. The Lower East Side. Sometimes things just happen.
 
The Album Skeletons in my Closet



Photo: Marion Ettlinger
 

New Orleans — a song in response to tragedy and dereliction of duty

Picture a man floating above it all, almost dreamily out of touch, then puffing himself up to take charge--far, far, too late--unable to ameliorate or accept responsibility for the twin disasters of Iraq and New Orleans.

I've put lyrics and a quickly recorded sound file on my website:

Commander-in-Chief of New Orleans

If you think this song is worth recommending, please feel free to alert others to the link, or send out the lyrics and mp3 file.



vigil
NY songs since 9/11
from the greenwich village songwriter's exchange

[click above for the vigil website]
get it now at Amazon.com !!

Interview
Report from The Czech Republic
Report from Washington, D.C.

Since 1978 I have taken part in the Greenwich Village songwriters' exchange, which is led by Jack Hardy, and still meets in his tiny apartment on Houston Street.

Some of America's finest songwriters have passed through Jack's living room on their way to noteworthy careers, or often to relative obscurity thanks to the indifference of the recording industry.

Vigil is an album of songs dealing with September 11th written by New Yorkers. It is produced by Suzanne Vega, who got her start as a member of the songwriters' exchange. My song is called "The Skyline."



wtc
Photos of the World Trade Center

As the war in Iraq continues, I am placing mp3s of two of my most recent songs, "The Skyline" and "Living in the Bull's-eye" on my website. The first relates to September 11 (see below), and the second is about fear and paranoia in a time of war, especially from a New York perspective. Please feel free to share these songs with others. (© Brian Rose)
   
   

 

Fast Folk Review by Jim Allen
About Brian Rose (The Album)
The Language Interview
Review by Hugo Westerlund
Ordering a CD or Cassette






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