With a rebel yell they went… a contingent of Southerners held their much hated flag high above their heads when President Obama visited Oklahoma City. And there, my friends, you see freedom of speech in precise action.
t’s not because of the money, although my share (like all the other artists) was dramatically reduced by bad deals made without my consent.
It’s about sound quality. I don’t need my music to be devalued by the worst quality in the history of broadcasting or any other form of distribution. I don’t feel right allowing this to be sold to my fans. It’s bad for my music.
There are levels of hell and this must be nearly the worst,you can feel the pain from here: it rises like smoke from the ashes of life, it is the dreadful that has already happened: the worst thing, the largest worry, the nightmare you try to wake from. You hope the family can help each other through it.
I Wish It Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free – Nina Simone – This is the song of song where her legends grow from, soul folk Gospel from the 60s, a beautiful song of freedom – B+
I’d said “The Only Ones” is a form of memoir and I believe it is that but not quite that, it takes one of Dibbell’s core experiences and it manipulates the experience from one story to a different story, in doing so it shreds the facts and only keeps the truths.
The circumstances of the dramatic event are not entirely known, but Arthur was airlifted to the hospital yesterday evening after being found at about 6 pm, with life-threatening injuries, on a coastal path near the Ovingdean Gap. The death is not being treated as suspicious according to the Argus.
‘We are living in a wild bizarre time. Character assassination very real Dr. Cosby & ConFed flag down in same week. Status is currency to masses’ ‘They’re taking his name & statues down but is every situation giving his money back to him since its dirty money? #BillCosby’
Honky Talk Rules – Public Enemy – Off their brand new album, this is Chuck D mad about the appropriation of black music by white artists who have made a fortune of it. How on earth did he get Jagger to sign off on the sample? – B
‘Can’t Stand Losing You: Surviving The Police’ is based on his memoir, ‘One Train Later’ and follows his journey from his early days, when he played with The Animals in the 60’s, to his first encounter with drummer Stewart Copeland and bassist Sting. The Police became big, really big, I remember hearing their songs everywhere at the time, and I guess I could die happy if I never get to hear again ‘Roxanne’ and ‘Every Breath You take’, but I have nothing against Andy, he seemed like a great guy.
The All Star Games sure starts late, I was looking for it at 825pm and it still hadn’t started. As Phil Mushnick noted when the Women’s Football Team won the World Cup, if you start the damn game early enough you will get huge ratings. Meanwhile back at the All STar Game, which the American League won 6 – 3, the Mets young pitcher Jason deGrom did something never done before, he struck out the side.
Chris Baio has described his forthcoming album as ‘Bowie and Ferry-influenced pop songs and dumbsmart arena techno’, and has declared that ‘It is a record that has reverberated through my mind for much of the last five years.’ However, after this show and song titles such as ‘Brainwash yyrr Face’, ‘I Was Born in a Marathon’, ‘All the Idiots’, some mystery remains, unless I find some answers in Don DeLillo’s 1982 novel ‘The Names’ which gave its title to his new record.
Can nobody find one bad word about and if they can’t then at what point in the proceeding does rock criticism not criticize? How can NPR not tell the truth about the albums they are streaming? Why lie? Why not say some of this is good, some of it isn’t, listen and judge for yourself?
For an old fashioned, pump fisting night of late ‘70s/early ‘80s metal, it’s hard to imagine that few bands have held up as well as the current touring version of Judas Priest. Rob Halford might not look quite as comfortable on the prop motorcycle in 2015 as he did in his youth, but he’s still aged better than most of his competitors
If it was a Friday night I might even go, but since it isn’t , it’s a Wednesday, I’ll leave you to buy into this and stand for hours on end. If I was going I would absolutely pony up the hundred bucks for bleacher seats –a no brainer. So here is the info… enjoy!
Angels And Alcohol – Alan Jackson – “you can’t mix strangers and alcohol”, Jackson warns in this discrete tale of infidelity, a beautiful slide guitar middle eight helps as well. Nothing major but the gift is still there – B
It is well documented that he started a rehab treatment at the Neurotransmitter Restoration Center in August 2002, and according to what we know (Ben Nugent’s bio and Liam Gowing’s Spin article) moved in with Jennifer Chiba just after his treatment, fall 2002. By then, he and Valerie had split up. However, it looks like Chiba was in his life before the rehab episode, when he was still dating Valerie. This part may bother a few people who are used to a clean-cut story, he dated Valerie Deerin, then Jennifer Chiba, but the reality is much foggier than this!
Historic agreement reached today in the US and Iran today which lifts sanctions on Iran and in return halts Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons. The big question mark is the old “trust but verify” one, and the answer seems a little iffy as access at will to any site would not be necessarily given or could be delayed. I guess we will understand more about that later but it sure doesn’t sound ideal. Still, the world is a safer place today.
With a new album just released and an apparently excellent concert last week introducing it here, here is a step back to January 2011, when rock nyc’s Woody Fuller interviewed Lael Neale on a trip to the West Coa
I have no doubt Nielsen will have no problem having the numbers ready by early Monday, Billboard can post their overview (and I can long hand) on Monday and the charts will be posted by Tuesday morning. What is so wrong with that, right? On Monday’s we get new release for the upcoming week, and old sales for the previous week
New American – Halsey – “We are the Americana, high on legal marijuana”, Halsey says and at first you gotta think she is serious but by the time she quotes an entire verse of a Biggie hit, well, this is a witty electro pop winner from the urban jungle – B+
You can’t do the same thing twice and expect people to be surprised the second time: you can’t produce an album filled to the brim with slow paced, thoughtful, literate and tasteful Southern soul and expect people not to expect it and worse, not to compare it to your earlier material, not to compare it to Southeastern
‘The shows we’ve been doing lately are our favorite shows that we’ve ever done. What seemed like a setback at the time has turned into this beautiful blessing in disguise, where this throne and these crutches and these audiences make us play longer and harder than we ever have. It’s this whole new energy in the show… I think the spontaneity of this situation we’re in right now just brings out a smile in everyone.’
Good For You feat A$AP Rocky – Selena Gomez – The purist of pop products, the former Disney star is all doe sultriness in 2015, which doesn’t save this slow burn se song by the numbers. And neither does A$AP Rocky, rapping on his cell phone between orgies and acid trips – C-
The poster boy for pre-Ayatollah Khomeini Middle East fervor, the blue eyed, bridge playing, womanizing, Zhivago starring superstar of the 60s and 70s fied years after his movies were banned and then unbanned for kissing a Jewish woman on screen. The movie? “Funny Girl”.
Alone on stage with her acoustic guitar, or sometimes accompanied by a violin or a slide guitar, the strings were just reinforcing the melancholic beauty of her crystalline voice, bringing more emotions into her folksy-dreamy songs.
With the temperature in the lower 80s and puffy white clouds playing tag with the sun, a dip to deliciously fresh as the hours passed along and the headliners reached the stage, you couldn’t have asked for anything lovelier than Saturday afternoon. Standing on the bridge of the Hornblower Yacht and watching one top art guitar band after another perform, in an unusually well curated day of rock and roll, New York has never been sweeter.
A bad week for new music, still the top isn’t terrible. Coheed and Cambria are specifically excellent, the Mary J cover epochal, and Kaya Stewart a pleasant surprise. Plus, the dearth of top materials, leaves you free to spin Fay-Ann again.
I have no idea why Birdy is back on the charts, it must be a UK thing. Good song. So is David Zowie’s back to the basics House track. “House Every Weekend” hasn’t hit here yet but it could well do a great deal of damage before the season has followed.
This is pretty lousy, plus I am thoroughly confused as to when they drop the next charts (I am two days late). If I was a better mood, the UK rappers plus plenty of US featured artist Krept & Konan might have done better. But from Florence Welch to Lucy Rose, this would be overrated as mediocre.
Her music was quite eclectic, when she started, I thought she would be another of these old school R&B-jazz songstress but she and her band brought a lot of diversity, as they got more bluesy than rhythm-y on a few songs, then brought more fire on a few others, even getting jazzy, poppy or all doo-wop-y on another one. Her delivery was bringing the right does of emotion, and everything about her looked contained and inspiring solemnity.
I Found A New Way – Twin Peaks – These Chicago power poppers took six years to get here but even the great Stephen Malkmus complimented them on their 4 Knots set yesterday -here is one reason why – A-
The 4 Knots Festival moved to the much larger larger Pier 84 this year and on a gorgeous afternoon with an astounding line-up art rock guitar bands, the larger area made it much easier to enjoy after overcrowding was a problem last year. A spectacular even, a ten minute walk from Time Square, it was a quintessential New York even. Standout? Stephen Malkmus was great and Twin Peaks were a revelation. Full review to follow.
All I can say is that the crowd was constantly cheering, there was so much love for King on Friday night! When I turned around to see the audience, I could see every face with a large smile, it was as if King’s music was pure ecstasy bringing a magical dose of happiness, with another layer of sweet icing melting against people’s eardrums.
But I figure it this way. How many gigs of Billy and his band X did I sneak into? I robbed the guy easily ten bucks each time back in the day- so me, I’m in. I owe him for the absolute joy he and X gave me.
It is a strange set, the audience like it don’t love it because there is too much from the newbie Rhett Miller and exceedingly few crowd pleasers. Miller looks out of shape, his boying good lucks seem corrupted by time for the first time ever: Miller is getting a gut and a double chin!!!
Now is the summer of our discontent, where like reverse Yogi Bears talk show hosts waddle off and hibernate through the summer till who knows what, right? I guess I will go with OMI on Fallon because I wanna take a closer look at the “Cheerleader” star, maybe he will have something to tell me I don’t know about the weird world of reggae based one hit wonders.
Oh Well – Fleetwood Mac – The Peter Green Mac masterpiece, over a period of decades it has become a blues classic, an epic song of insecurity and defiance, sometimes by God – A+
Charles Christopher Parker Jr., aka Yardbird, Yard, Bird, Sweet Cheeks (ok, I made that one up), the ultimate hipster that was never cartoonized by the media, in stereotype for the public with beret and horn rims, ala Diz. He was the martyr of the bebop era.
Taylor Swift is one of our greatest stars, a lovely, compassionate woman who through the social media has made a direct connection with, and improved the lives of, millions of teenage girls and one middle aged man. She writes superb songs that sell millions and performs them very well. If the 1989 World Tour was an Impressionist painting it would be a Matisse -now how bad blood can that be?
A stretch I know, and to be honest I can’t remember why on earth I decided this was a good idea. Maybe because it is relatively close to my home. Or maybe I just thought it would make a fun story. Honestly, I have no idea… but, Foo Fighters at Citifield on Wednesday. You can tell your grandchildren, or maybe just the girl in the cubicle net to you, that you were there when… This Wednesday
‘Joan doesn’t wanna talk about it at all. It wasn’t a total surprise that she didn’t’… ‘Joan very much believes in that rock myth Fowley’ added Cherkis. ‘In the L.A. Weekly she said, ‘These girls, they wanted to make him out to be this bad guy, but they’re just blaming him for their own failure.’ That was the gist. ‘Was there abuse? If there was, why did we take it then?’
US Women’s soccer world champs had a ticker tape parade and we are all the better for it. That first sixteen minutes of the World Championship is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. I hope they make lots and lots of money.
The film is set in 1970’s London and is apparently not a biopic as it rather follows a young boy ‘whose life changes dramatically when his estranged mother (played by Natasha McElhone who played Karen in ‘Californication’) introduces him to the music of The Clash’, by sending him a cassette of “White Riot.”
Young, Gifted And Black – Aretha Franklin – A Gospel swing through an adage and a description from back in the 1960s, trust me folks: it’s where it’s at – A
What sort of fools do they take us for? Really, what a pathetic little maneuver. If this wasn’t a set up from beginning to end, what does the word set up actually mean? It is a wretched little business move by a rich, smart woman who lost any sense of moral balance. Or, again, that is my perception of the situation.
Billy is 67 years old so, as Mike Holcomb noted, he probably has Medicare. Also, he is a staunch conservative and would probably not sign up for Obamacare any way. Though it doesn’t really handle the main question here, why does he need any help whatsoever. Helen thinks he might be aware of it. Perhaps.
He sings right in your face, looking at people right in the eyes, screaming sentences like ‘There’s no freedom of speech in the land of the sheep’, ‘How can I go to heaven if I’m living in hell’ in the song ‘Days of Rage’, which basically has to be one of the most anti-system, anti-capitalist songs I have heard for a long time.
No Life For Me – Wavves And Cloud Nothings – Two punk rock heavy melody bands reach the second half of their 20s with a tasty little rock album. Cloud Nothings have been on a roll since the Steve Albini album an Wavves have been a little whatever for the past couple of years, but this will do them both well. All loud guitars and playful tunefulness, two good bands, one good album – ALBUM OF THE WEEK B+
This just completely boggles my mind that at a time when Billy’s own concern should be getting better, he is worried about paying his bills. What the hell was Obamacare about? I pay like 30% more on my health insurance since Obamacare, I thought that was to help Billy Zoom and other unfortunates,
How I hate 2015, everybody is always lecturing me about something: give my subway seat to a woman, help the aged, worry about global warming, fight poverty, help the transgendered, take down the Southern flag, raise the Southern flag, date rape, don’t date rape, no means no…
