If I have one wish for 2015 musically, it is that David Bronson’s excellent January release Questions finds the audience it deserves. This sublime art folk rock soul album should break him, must break him. It is what I want, it is what he deserves, I wanna say I knew him before he stopped taking my phone calls.
2014 was the year of pop, the entire world, hip hop, rap, country, r&b, rock and roll was a no show, were the hand servants of pop music meets everything under the sun. Artistry will get you so far and no furthe, money talks in a consumer society and money wanted beats and bops. And got it. Not a good year, a little unexciting.
In an odd and somewhat disturbing twist I would like to serious it up a bit and thank you for your readership. In a world filled with 40 million blogs and flash its nice to know our followers not only increase but seem to be quite the smarty’s offering positive insight in a troll filled ‘net.
Pussy Riot, or rather their two most famous members, Masha Alekhina and Nadya Tolokonnikova, have released a video for a new song called ‘The Witches of Pussy Riot Are Cleaning Manezhka’, Manezhka being the name of the square outside the Kremlin where protesters gathered this week
Mathew Knowles, was selling Beyoncé’s old belongings at a garage sale. Apparently there were ‘dozens of boxes T-shirts for $10 — some dating back to Destiny’s Child’s performances at the Houston Rodeo in 2007 – as well as CDs and office furniture’.
a sumptuous symphonic band with layers of instrumentation and a cinematic approach to music. Their album is a lush orchestral affair, with poignant strings and Kristianne Bautista’s amazing and soulful voice. A must have. Essential tracks: ‘Forever Found’
‘It’s an ugly look/Did you study me hard enough?/You’re never gonna be/You’re just a wannabe me/Like a sister all messed-up/who’s gonna help you out?/In your fantasy, you can try it all/But you can’t be me/You can walk the walk/Even talk the talk/But you’ll always be/Two steps behind me’
Kimberly – Patti Smith – In the maelstrom of horrors detailed on Horses, Patti Smith finds all existence in the birth of her little sister in the most beautiful song on the album just like some misplaced Joan Of Arc. Singalong: “palmtrees fall into the sea, doesn’t matter much to me…” – A+
Here are the inductees for the Grammy Hall Of Fame and it is sure difficult (and a suckers game) to argue with any of them, though I’ll be happy to try but I’d have to really take a look at all the past songs inducted because, I mean, who thinks that’s Hank’s only tracK
Naughty – The Musical Original Soundtrack – The shoulda been a contender off the Broadway Musical, has a nice rhythm stop and start till it reaches the bridge, which is lovely indeed. Unfortunately, kids sound like kids… axiom for the ages? “Sometimes you have to make a little mischief” – B+
‘Florida Key’ is one of these tracks, and it seems to me that the project is part too-ambitious, part already-doomed … how can you possibly adapt a lost, abandoned Dylan song? isn’t Dylan totally untouchable? absolutely iconic?
A not untypically lachrymose Jackson sounding tearjerker ballad recorded during the Queen sessions for The Work in 1984. Freddie takes the first verse and it is a jolt when MJ takes the second, but there really isn’t enough of it.
William Murrell, the most famous limo driver of the planet, the guy who drove James Brown, Michael Jackson, Prince Mary J Blige, Chris Rock, Don King, Reverend Al Sharpton,…has confided that the godfather of funk has not been buried yet!
‘I am on the side of streaming music, and I think the right streaming service could solve everybody’s problems. Ownership is waning.’
Glitchy, super layered as anything Panda Bear has ever done, with Lennox’s echoing distant vocals more hypnotic than ever, the song gave me vertigo after a few seconds and it didn’t only come from this weird video that goes with it!
Beyonce Lil Wayne, Jay Z and most hip hop score badly while music I listen to, like Radiohead, The Shins, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Beck score pretty high – this is a very sad graph, so flawed I don’t even know how to start with this thing!
Tenuous musical connection, true but try this from the MBL: “On Friday, two stations in the Bay Area, KFOG and KOIT, removed the song from their playlists for the duration of the World Series.”
Mary is a pretty plump red hair, who sings about her ‘secrets’: she is overweigh, gay out of the closet and may be a bit crazy with a dysfunctional family, but you can’t have a more positive attitude that this girl has!
‘I first read about hypnotism at school and I used to do tricks like getting a really skinny guy to arm wrestle the local bully. Much later, when we were in Joy Division, I read a book on hypnotic regression and how it could be used for therapy. I first hypnotized Ian at our rehearsal room.”
We have seen many graphs before but playing with music consumption data is fun and probably endless. This new graph sums up almost 60 years of music sales classified by
‘Higher’ is an electronic experimental pop affair, a very sunny chillwave with layered guitars, keyboards, beats and Ices’ youthful voice very high in the mix, packed into an exotic vibe, she even picked a Jamaica location for the video.
They are wordy, very wordy and I often can’t keep up with the speed of the delivery,… I have no idea how many words are in an average rap song or how many times you will hear ‘bitch’ in current rap hits, but Rap Genius has now the answer with Rap Stats, a feature dedicated to break down the words in rap lyrics over tim
Alan Freeman Days – Robin Gibb – Fluff!!! The great BBC DJ, who died back in 2006, remembered from way back when, from his radio Luxembourg days, and Robin, who listened to him before the Bee Gees hit, is touched by the past. really, the entire album is about the past, and here Robin even samples Freeman. Man, there is something so depressing about this – A-
I have no real excuse for posting a movie trailer on a music blog, except that we review movies sometimes, and that music is always like a central character in Paul Thomas Anderson’s movies: this new one has the voice of indie harpist Joanna Newsom, who is serving as the film’s narrator in the movie
An iteration after the birth of rock, they should have come from Liverpool but were actually from Texas and a rock group in the same way the Beatles were a rock group and a pop group the same way the Beatles were a pop, “Julie”, a sweet and sexy and youthful and yearning pop song I first met when Marshall Crenshaw covered it, though I’m happy to have followed full to the original. It sounds like innocence lost in every sense.
I got this from New York so if the info kinda sucks blame them not me, I’d just adding the rude comment because if somebody is worth $500M it is almost are constitutional right to sneer at em. Anyway here is the USAs best paid singers. Ssomebody once said, adversity makes the man, prosperity makes the monster and so, with no further ado, the Mistress of the Little Monsters
Compare Quentin to John Fowles Simon Urfe. Indeed, compare “The Magus” to “The Magician” and Lew’s oh so 21st century weaknesses are abundantly clear. It lacks stickiness, it is so busy but it doesn’t drag you to Fillory for all its gifts.
Prog Rock progressive rock whatever you may call it- could never come back. These ‘epic’ albums just don’t fit in with our ADD gimme now world. Then again I cant help but think Jethro Tull wouldn’t make it in today’s world and that’s just sad to consider.
There was a new digital currency similar to Bitcoin called Coinye, a play on his name, and the logo was a cartoon Kanye wearing his signature shutter shades. I figured Kanye would be a fan, cos he’s in love with himself, but the man was not happy.
Come Get It Babe – Pharrell – The live version off the Spring Session from Webster Hall and it sounds very good indeed, saving the track from deep album obscurity plus the “heys” now sound like a Williams tic but a good tic (it is all over “Blurred Lines” as well) and the track isn’t hip hop -not even the production, it is funk – A-
“Ballroom Blitz,” Sweet. Mixing bubblegum pop with Townshend power chords, songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman wrote a series of U.K. hits for Sweet, including “Little Willie,” “Wig-Wam Bam,” and the excitingly punctuated “Block Buster!” “Ballroom Blitz” is Sweet at their irresistible best and was a major international hit – it went to #2 in the U.K. in 1973 and #3 in the U.S. in 1975.
Apple needed a streaming service but couldn’t start their own Apple Streaming without losing ITunes , so they bought Beats. That’s it folks… everything else is bullshit. Nothing else matters Iovine Schmovine. You think Jimmy is gonna effect Apple? How???
Del Rey was supposedly paid an astonishing $2.8 million to sing like four songs? Not a bad deal. However, the Born to Die singer denied the whole thing to TMZ while she was doing some signing of her album. ‘I would never let a friend pay me to sing at a wedding’, she declared
Sebastian Bach has hundreds of thousands of fans on the blue social media site yet his latest solo release Give ‘Em Hell’ only sold 4,000 copies in the States during the first week of release. How can that be?
Street artist Jay Shells has taken over the streets of the city, posting these red signs displaying the quotes of famous rap songs, at strategic places. He apparently did the same thing in New York City – but needed a car to accomplish the same thing in LA
If you go on eBay, you will find tons of items already on sale! The Cake 12” vinyl box set for $499.99 (original price $124.99), R.E.M. Unplugged RSD vinyl box set $499.99 (original price $89.98), Crosley Peanuts Cruiser turntable $299.99 (original price $119), LCD Soundsystem ‘The Long Goodbye’ 5LP Box set $235.24 (original price $129.98),
Iron and Wine’s Sam Beam to Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold, Passion Pit’s Michael Angelakos, Les Savy Fav’s Tim Harrington, Fucked Up’s Damian Abraham, Ray LaMontagne, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ Alex Ebert, Band of Horses’ Ben Bridwell, The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach
The songs I am working on with Burt Bacharach are not being prepared for recording. Initially they are being prepared for performance on stage and for a musical.
Spinners – The Hold Steady – For a band I like so much, these guys are sure hit and miss, either it is the same old riff up hook up with speak sing vocals or they nail it down like it is the only song that matters. This is the former except the guitar is tastier than it was, ringing and chiming like never before – B
‘The Clash were always teachers to me, even before I shared a studio with Paul and Mick. Their musical anarchy and constant attitude to disregard rules and forge their own path was inspirational to me. They meant death to genres, music and message above everything. Frank lives by the same creed
Yes, folks, I know you don’t hobnob with the rich and famous close personal friends with Elton John ,Rufus Wainwright but I certainly do. Indeed, I am so close to Rufus that sometimes he gets me on the blower and asks if he can borrow a tenner till he gets paid
Adam Lambert, the chiseled winner of the horrific American Idol talent show will be stepping on to the stage front and center with the band Queen..as Queen. Yes, Lambert has replaced Mercury and the entire world is just wrong now.
Great political commentary and imagery, and you cant help but love Seans over animated placement but who will love The Goastt? Well if touring with The Flaming Lips and Tame Impala (back in 2013) is any indication of their audience, you already know.
You should prepare your Kleenex before listening, but I guess I could have gone with the song without the clip! It’s a poignant tune with a very emotional Lykke Li and nothing else than an acoustic guitar to back her up, a sort of ballad written to break your heart
Before you ‘wtf’ this think about it clearly. Its possible their are similarities just in a hillbilly sense but ex wife ‘Cilla hasnt had enough media time lately so shes chosen a great way to get her name in headlines again.
A truly superb sample walks the same line to less effect than Kanye, who performs an excellent rap, did on “Blood On The Leaves”. Big Sean is pretty excellent as well and while Ross is a big fat bore, here he bores to excellent effect. Easily the best song on the newbie – A-
It is already advertised as ‘the loudest boat in the world’, and it is supposed to hit the coasts of Miami, Key West and Cozumel this fall. No stop in Cuba? Because this black and white logo definitively looks like a Pirates ship with a skim-the-seven-seas potential
Just enjoying the lion’s share of some tasty baby Giraffica sliders! Mmmmm!’… ‘What’ll them crazy Danes think of next! But seriously, let me get this straight. . . . The Danes killed a 2 yr old baby giraffe, chopped it up n’ fed him to the lions
I can’t wait to watch the movie which screened last night at Highline Ballroom. It is a documentary about their 2012 tour and it all ends up in the Czech Republic, in court, with Randy Blythe staring down a murder charge… this live song is great by the groove metal band – A
The Human Rights Commissioner for Women, Dr Jackie Blue, complained in a letter written to Auckland council: ‘The group is well known for their deeply, deeply offensive and sickening lyrics which incite their fans to cross the line to act out sexually explicit and violent actions against women’…
