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“ESOPUS 13 CD: NOSTRADAMUS” OUT NOV. 1st

October 1, 2009

For its latest compilation CD, Esopus invited 11 musical acts—including Frightened Rabbit, Laura Gibson, Natureboy, and Phil Kline—to turn one of the predictions of 16th-century astrologer Nostradamus into a brand-new song. The resulting CD is included in the 13th issue of this award-winning twice-yearly publication, which also features contemporary artists’ projects, fiction, poetry, interviews, critical writing, and visual essays.

The compilation CD relates to an article in Esopus 13 by New York University professor Stéphane Gerson, who asserts that Nostradamus the man—16th-century apothecary, prophet, and astrologer—has steadily morphed over the years into Nostradamus the brand, used to stoke fear, promote political agendas, and, of course, generate revenue. Most scholars agree that his four-line prophesies (quatrains) are more poetic than prophetic, utilizing language that is oblique enough to support any number of different interpretations.

The superlative songs on the CD—some somber, some surprisingly buoyant—all celebrate that poetry, reveling in the ambiguity of their source material while allowing it to reverberate in a musical context. Musicians who contributed to the CD are Julianna Barwick, French Horn Rebellion, Frightened Rabbit, Gejius, Laura Gibson, Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez, Lia Ices, Phil Kline, Natureboy, Raelian Geto, and Savoir Adore. 

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