Keepsake (Compass), Elizabeth Ziman’s fourth record, began when her landlord was considering jacking up the rent and she had to move across the street into a tiny apartment, far away from her recording gear and the baby grand piano on which she loved to write. Or it began when she started keeping a dream journal, writing down snippets of visions in the middle of the night, or first thing in the morning on awakening. Or it began when she started leafing through old journals and diaries, little half-finished snatches of lyrics and couplets and freewriting, and tried to see if she could shape them through to some kind of completion. Well, who’s to say where anything begins or ends? But for Ziman, who records as Elizabeth And The Catapult, Keepsake was definitely a milestone record—the end of one thing, and the beginning of something else. Ziman will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our new feature on her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t-m4x92Nvg
Ziman: I’ve always loved birds and am especially drawn to parrots because of their outrageous mimicking skills. I knew you could teach them to sing, relatively in tune (Mozart once taught a parrot to sing the opening theme from one of his piano concertos), but until I saw this dance video, I had no idea that they also mimic specific dance moves, as well. I promise you, you haven’t lived until you’ve seen a tiny parrot jumping up and down to the song “Gangnam Style,” a macaw swaying back and forth to Stevie Wonder or a cockatoo head banging to heavy metal. You’re welcome.
