Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players

Most folks would rather shove their hand into a whirring garbage disposal than check out other people's vacation snapshots. But not singer-songwriter Jason Trachtenburg, who uses photographic slides -- a previous generation's chosen method of preserving memories -- as musical inspiration. (Judged by this standard, Head Like a Kite, which employs home movies in much the same way, is positively high-tech.) The result is material with titles like "Fondue Friends in Switzerland," which Jason renders with the assistance of Rachel Piña Trachtenburg -- who was hardly bigger than her drum kit when she began playing percussion -- and Tina Piña Trachtenburg, the person charged with running the slide projector. Obviously, this concept is aided immeasurably by visuals, which helps explain why the Trachtenburgs' latest release, Off & On Broadway, is a DVD. Yet the ditties sound pretty good on CD, too, as proven by Vintage Slide Collections From Seattle, Vol. I, a charmingly odd little platter that received national distribution in 2003. Appearing alongside Paramore and This Providence, the Trachtenburgs make Family photos fun.