53. Celeste Headlee Discusses The Gospel At Colonus (OCR)

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Journalist, author and musician Celeste Headlee pays You, Me and An Album a visit to introduce me to the 1988 original cast recording of The Gospel At Colonus. In addition to discussing an album that she has listened to hundreds of times over more than three decades, Celeste talks about the experience of seeing the show live as well as her career in journalism, the musical influence of her maternal grandparents and her new book, Speaking of Race: Why Everyone Needs to Talk About Racism -- and How To Do It.

If you haven't seen Celeste's viral video about how to have better conversations, join the 12 million of those who have and view it here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4

I'd mentioned that I watched a video of a live performance of The Gospel At Colonus. It really is outstanding. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZyQP_zrD2U&t=878s

Celeste mentioned that she hosts the National Gallery of Art's Sound Thoughts on Art podcast. You can find the episodes here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-thoughts-on-art/id1552618916

You can keep up with Celeste and her many projects on her Twitter and Instagram accounts. She's at @CelesteHeadlee  on both platforms.

Also be sure to visit Celeste's website, celesteheadlee.com, which includes a calendar of her upcoming events.

1:17 Celeste joins the show

2:02 Celeste explains how she got her start in radio journalism

3:12 Celeste’s skill set as a musician has helped her as a journalist

7:05 Celeste talks about the musical influence of her famous grandparents

9:39 How Celeste came up with the idea for her TEDx talk

13:26 Celeste explains why she thinks it’s important to have difficult discussions about race

16:58 Why did Celeste pick the OCR for The Gospel At Colonus for this episode?

19:44 Celeste expounds on what the stage performance gains from the musical score

24:12 Is Oedipus at Colonus a tragedy?

27:27 Celeste sees a relatable message in Oedipus at Colonus

Breakdown of selected tracks

29:57 Live Where You Can

35:45 Never Drive You Away

36:24 Sunlight of No Light

37:56 Lift Him Up

39:10 Now Let the Weeping Cease

42:33 Lift Me Up

43:30 Numberless Are the World’s Wonders

45:38 How Shall I See You Through My Tears

47:33 Eternal Sleep/Stop Do Not Go On

50:41 Celeste’s advice for those who have not yet listened to the album

52:39 Celeste reveals which album she thought about choosing instead of The Gospel At Colonus

54:24 Celeste’s current and upcoming projects

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