rock nyc

Music has a power, a communicative power that goes beyond language even though there are obvious parallels between music and language, but the meaning of music – if music has a meaning – goes beyond that of a simple sentence. It’s deeper, more abstract, ambiguous and mysterious

Personally, I couldn’t care less if Target doesn’t carry CDs anymore, but I would be so sorry to see little and big independent stores disappear! I love my Amoeba as anyone else, and their survival only depends on vinyl sales right now.

Part two of David Bronson’s “Story” was released last year and the prog rock album of the year even if it wasn’t really that at all. Part one will have its work cut out for it, but, as it is a prequel, it will foreshadow what we already know, persuade its musical motifs and played whole give us the whole of the long lost story.

Let Her Dance – The Bobby Fuller Four – Murdered because he didn’t pay back a loan from a Mafia type to build a studio, Bobby Fuller is remembered by Marshall Crenshaw and remembered because of the Clash’s cover of a Fuller song. And this song, we remember this repetitive, addictive old time electro pop beat hook par excellence – Grade: A+

Charlene McPherson seems to be the kind of tough girl not to mess with, her powerhouse vocals are all about strong (and borderline dirty) attitude and the music is all about hard rock, gritty guitar riffs and bluesy roots in the veins of the greatest rock tradition.

Without rock nyc sneering at one of Time Magazines Top websites of 2012, Pitchfork while posting their upcoming indie releases every season, what would we be? We would be like fiddlers on the roof. TRADITION TRADION… TRADITION—

For having seen them twice, I can tell that the young girls were very convincing, played with a great enthusiasm on stage, and they sure seemed to take their songstresses’ roles with a lot of professionalism and a natural feelgood attitude.

In the UK, DJ Calvin Harris has had 20 hit singles in the past 18 months and over here, it was him who remixed “We Found Love” to such great effect. That doesn’t explain what 18 Months is doing back at the the top of the charts.

Britney is working with Will I Am (among others) on her next album, Brit never lost her touch (it was her marbles she lost) and the success of “S&S” (it is bubbling in the US as well), suggests Will I Am has finally broken thru as a solo artist. It is a fine piece of electropop even if its no “I Gotta Feeling”.

A Lovely Night – Julie Andrews – Off the Rodgers And Hammerstein TV musical from 1957 so, yeah, minor league R&H but how bad can that be? This is a terrific romantic night of the ball song and Julie sounds so young and frivolous and well 22 going on 32 but stills he gets all of this Princess in witing – Grade: B+

No one rises above such allegations- ever. His band is out of a job. Can you be ‘Lost Prophets’ new singer? No, you’d be forever called the singer who replaced baby rapist Ian Watkins.

The guy has already put out enough EPs, LPs and singles, alone and under different acts (The Traditional Fools, Epsilons, Party Fowl, Sic Alps, The Perverts, The Ty Segall Band, White Fence) to make anyone dizzy just by reading the list

My problem with City Winery is that it isn’t the Bottom Line,, which is hardly their fault, that dinner can get pricey, which is more like that fault, and I don’t like their no man’s land setting -which is entirely their fault

Summer is almost here so this Summerstage Showcase is a must see to get you in the mood. Big names abound: Shuggie Otis and People Get Ready at the top of the list but the biggest thrill will be UK DJ-Soul Singer Ofie at Highline Ballroom on Thursday.

Yeah, these are still circa 2012, except for Olly whose new album isn’t released till April. BUT both Free Energy and Black Veil Brides are tasters from their 2013 releases and I promised I’d be sifting through The-Dream the first couple of weeks in the year. Of course, the lack of new releases help.

Bring Out The Bottles – Redfoo – Back to the clubs for one half of LMFAO who uses his click track and bangs out the BPMs with the best out of them and, yeah, throws out a new war cry for the old VIP rooms. However, the child like fun is completely non-existent – Grade: B

Keep in mind this is the guy who pretty much made a monopoly out of entertainment ticketing by merging Live Nation with Ticket Master. Brilliant move and well deserved accolade and compensation are warranted

During the early 1980s, R.E.M. had established Athens, Georgia as the alternative center of the universe, but by 1985, Husker Du and the Replacements shifted the eyes of the indie world to Minneapolis/St. Paul,

What makes this new year event great is that there is some pretty awesome stuff coming out this month. It would be nice if every month had such a plethora of fun but let’s face it that’s not gonna happen.

In other words, less then buying a tix to a movie on line you can see what sounds like a really terrific set with the sublime saxophonist (bound to be bringing out his Soprano Sax) who began his career REHEARSING WITH JOHN COLTRANE!!!

There was no excuse for missing Beth Orton except I had tix for Jerry Seinfeld at the Beacon. He was OK but mean English girl (per Ryan Adams, no less) was promoting a terrific album That Sugaring Season, which I should have given more love to than I did.

Winner – Kanye West – Soon after blowing up 12-12-12 and weirding out Atlantic City, West topped off what at first seemed like a disastrous 2012 by announcing his girlfriend, reality star Kim Kardashian, was pregnant. As an inveterate Mama’s boy, West must be regretting his Mom’s untimely passing while being beyond thrilled at a return to a family life.

.One Mo’ Gin – D’Angelo – I wasn’t always scratching my head over new r&b heroes. In 2000, D’Angelo was systematically blowing me away with his album and his subsequent if you weren’t there for fuck’s sake say you were, Radio City Music Hall 150 minute blow out. I was thisclose to going to Jones Beach last year to see the great man opening for Mary J. but assumed wrongly he would be heading somewhere to town. And the new album is nowhere in sight. This song? Grade: A+

instead of accepting gifts from the company as it is often the case in these situations, the LA band cleverly ‘sneaked a 20-minute collage film of sweatshop workers, Black Friday consumer mayhem and weeping children into their live show’.

Less than 50% of those sold off in 2012 were genuine. That’s astounding considering how much some of these things cost. Number three on the list was Neil Armstrong.

Taylor is not in great voice -she sounded much better a coupla weeks earlier at MSG during her six song Jingle Ball Christmas wonder, but despite a ragged “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and a pretty good (though I still think it is TS in a minor key) “I Knew You Were Trouble”, man does she look good.

You can opt to ‘be more healthy’ or ‘get exercise’ or ‘drink less soda’ but to point blank cut off about 30% of the average mans dietary requirement and expect success is well- brave.

Three top of the charts albums later, he is a huge star in the UK and Right Time Right Place is such a great album, mixing Brit pop dance and sometimes (check out “What A Buzz”) English Dance Hall that for his first US release he won’t have to cull a greatest hits the way Robbie did. The album should be dropping in mid-April and I will review it then.

Death Angel is a Californian band and Carl’s Jr. a west coast chain, so it totally make sense, plus I have always thought that hard rock/metal and spicy fast food are going hand to hand: they look sloppy and mean

Sure, Taylor was helped by the buck 99 Amazon sale (so was Imagine Dragons and Rihanna) but remember, Swift has exactly one song off Red on subscription sights. If you had allowed her record to be streamed, no Billboard record would be safe.

A bit of a snooze but I am really surprised “Trouble” took off, if ever there was a deep album track that was this. Oh, and I am surprised Bruno took off as well. Surely “Gorilla” is the elephant in that room.

Our Song – Taylor Swift – Off the first album, a country romp replete with violins and toe nail painting as TS’ and boy finds their song in the magic of a romantic day. It’s a shame she can’t find this innocence any more and can’t fake it either. Red is a terrific album but the first one was a magical thing – Grade: A

It’s a sad thing when a musician who’s been in the same band for fourteen years, leaves.

Coby Linder, the drummer for Say Anything, has left. I am thoroughly disappointed and upon hearing the news, I was angry. Was it because of a disagreement? Hard feelings?