The New Yorker published an article today on Duluth musician Alan Sparhawk, chronicling his career in the seminal indie-rock band Low and concluding with news about his latest recordings. “The fruits of this work will be released this fall under his own name, as a record called White Roses, My God,” reads the article’s final sentence.
Though the July 26 episode of the podcast 60 Songs that Explain the ’90s is about the Mazzy Star track “Fade Into You,” music critic Rob Harvilla spends the first 20 minutes of the show gushing over another song and band entirely.
“My new favorite song is ‘Cue the Strings’ by the Duluth, Minn. band Low from their 2005 album The Great Destroyer,” he states at the start of the show, before launching into a deep dive into the music of Alan Sparhawk and the late Mimi Parker.
I’m surprised I didn’t know about this yet, but the Star Trib just posted a story about the difficulties Low and other mostly indie bands are having with re-releasing and/or getting the rights back for their older recordings. What a goofy system to deal with art! Art belongs to the artist(s)!
The paper said the eulogy began: “Friends, family, and bass players, welcome.”
Slate senior editor Sam Adams on the life and death of Mimi Parker and the music of Low.
I was in a plane crash, and to help deal with the PTSD I’d go to the fitness center and ride stationary bikes for too long and listen to Emma Ruth Rundle too loud. Then I’d take a sauna. One day Al walks in, my musical hero, standing there in his towel. We talk about life, about struggle.
Legendary rocker Robert Plant and his band Saving Grace, featuring Suzi Dian, paid tribute to recently departed Duluth musician Mimi Parker last night during a performance at King’s Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland.
Duluth News Tribune: “Mimi Parker, of Duluth band Low, dies of ovarian cancer
Pitchfork: “Low’s Mimi Parker has died”
NPR: “Mimi Parker, vocalist and drummer of the minimalist rock band Low, has died”
Rolling Stone: “Low’s Mimi Parker, whose otherworldly vocals helped define slowcore, dead at 55 after cancer battle”
PDD Calendar: Mimi Park Vigil at Sacred Heart
There are an array of Low concerts available on the Internet archive. Joy joy joy while also vaguely restful.
The master list of recordings is at archive.org/details/lowmusic.
The seventh music video release from Duluth band Low‘s 2021 album Hey What is directed by Azalia Snail.
Low’s album was nominated for a Grammy in the category “Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical” for the work by mastering engineer BJ Burton. The Recording Academy has announced the rescheduled date for the 2022 Grammy Awards show, which was postponed due to COVID-19. It will air on April 3 at 7 p.m. on the CBS network, KBJR channel 6.2 in Duluth.
This video is more than three years old, but with the Super Bowl coming up this weekend it seems appropriate to get Duluth musician Alan Sparhawk’s take on the sport of football.
The video was shot during Low’s tour of the United Kingdom prior to the release of the 2018 album Double Negative. Luke Turner, editor of the rock music and pop culture website the Quietus met Sparhawk at the Barbican Centre in London to talk about football as part of the website’s “At Leisure” series, looking at musicians and their non-musical interests.
The new music video from Duluth band Low follows five people bogged down by the realities of their world, dreaming of a better life. Directed by Manuel Aragon, it is the sixth video release from the Grammy nominated 2021 album Hey What. The nomination is in the category “Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical” for the work by mastering engineer BJ Burton.
