No matter if you agree or not with the result of the lawsuit, there is a fine line between inspiration and plagiarism and it happens all the time when I listen to new songs, they very often remind me about another song, but do I know music enough to decide if it is total plagiarism?
“The live show, presented by Claudia Winkelman at the London Palladium, finished by announcing they had raised a total of £1,047,083,706 so far – £78,082,988 of which was raised last night alone.”
I have my eye on the new Alisson Moorer, she was so good with her ex husband Steve Earle a coupla years ago, and given the turmoil of her last year, I wonder how deep she can cut? To the bone? For sure, it will be better than Earle’s Terraplane, if not better then her former stepson’s Absent Fathers
I am not as big a fan as many, her lyric power is undeniable and her songs are driven exercises in alt folk rock, but she has one of those voices where everything sounds exactly the same… like Snoop Dogg. And already way too many vocal tics. Still… there is a reason people love her so much
rock nyc is ground zero for Perfume Genius, we love him so much it is sickening. Not just me, though it is me who is going to see him at Studio 58 on Thursday, but Alyson Camus as well. She wrote this (here) about his LA show last October: “Several times during the show, I discretely looked at the young guy who was standing next to me and I saw that he was crying, crying real tears, and it broke my heart a few times… But this is the incredible power of sincere music…” I don’t think I’ll be crying but, who knows?
Till We Start To Kiss (Live) – Kat Edmonson – The best moment of her Le Poisson Rouge gig, is a soft samba of sauciness and Kat performs it with a quiet, slightly dizzy sensuality that has her whispering by the end – A
Meghan needs to calm down, get a good backing band, and play her songs, present herself, for what she is: a gifted singer songwriter. As a pop song writer, there are few better but as a pop performer she is an amateur -we know she can do it, she did it on “Title”, now she needs to rethink what she is doing on stage.
The sound of this CD is high quality but the only deterrent is that on a few songs you truly get to hear every note that the late “Phantom” Dan Federici plays. This is not the best live show that I have heard them play but between you and me, I would gladly give up a couple years of my life to have been there in person. Ladies and gentlemen, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band…
“Gold Mountain, [Nirvana’s management company], still denies that a suicide attempt was made. A note was found, says a company spokesman, but Kurt insisted it wasn’t a suicide note. He just took all of his and Courtney’s money and was going to run away and disappear.’
Spotify are the least customer friendly outfit in the world. You gotta problem with their app? Tough luck, go deal with it yourself, they don’t give a rat’s ass. It is one reason they might go under. They just don’t give a damn about the customer, you are simply, on your own.
‘To me, ‘Drones’ are metaphorical psychopaths which enable psychopathic behavior with no recourse. The world is run by Drones utilizing Drones to turn us all into Drones. Drones explores the journey of a human, from their abandonment and loss of hope, to their indoctrination by the system to be a human drone, to their eventual defection from their oppressors.’ …
I would be shocked if we don’t get a big dollop of Black 47’s back catalog, I mean Larry wrote em, why wouldn’t he play them? Which means that while, no, it isn’t the great Irish rockers, it is about as close as you are gonna get. So get there.
Unfortunately for me, I have plans tos ee Ed Sheeran when Crenshaw returns to City Winery on Friday, May 28th, 2015, otherwise I am definitely ready for another visitation… I swear, if I had another kife to live I would be the man’s publicist. No messing around, Crenshaw is one of our greatest songwriters, go see him.
In 2010, I saw Taylor Swift at Prudential and was not amused, in 2013 I returned to the scene of the crime and loved her. Here are both reviews… Even 2013 feels like a lifetime time away now! In 2010, she was pretty big but not the world conqueror we know today….
With news that JB is playing this middle of Brooklyn King’s Theatre in September, it is as good as any excuse to give the man a spin. This late period, romantic dream is everything Browne does best, reminds me of an ex, and the “solitary nature notwithstanding” line still hits home – A
Talking about these fans, I was once again feeling quite old, surrounded by kids and a lot of cute young girls excited to get close and personal with singer Jordi Davieson’ s handsome face.
D’Angelo has taken us from large funk band Prince, Funkadelic, Sly, etc, 1970s sounds through intricate experimental dance vibes all the way to the most intimate sharing. But it is more than that. he keeps on the one for 150 minutes, whether dressing down syncopated rhythms or destroying his rhythm section with mind blowing precision, any complaints have to be seen through this paradigm of world class dance music.
Pounding and spacey drums with deep male voices in harmony start the song, until loud rock guitars kick in and more layers are progressively added to the soundscape. Soon there is a lot going on, the drums stay thunderous but female back up vocals are added deep in the mix
Crawford’s book is not unlike the man himself, he seems unassuming but he takes you by surprise, he doesn’t shout in his writing, he lets his wide knowledge and wry humor work for him. He expects you to appreciate his writing and you? You’ll dip into it with Spotify on, and before you know it hours have passed
The question is the same as to why Taylor Swift left Spotify, the advertising generated free plan. ITune’ “IPlay” won’t have it because they don’t need it, they have 800 Million clients with credit cards already. Spotify won’t give it up because they will lose their subscriber base
Talk about a must see, the remaining Python’s all under the same roof (the roof in question being Beacon Theatre) as part of the Tribeca Film Festival on April 24th (a Friday!) and while I expect we don’t get much from them, it is like, well, to be obvious, if the Beatles reformed to play “All You Need Is Love” -just one song, but would you want to miss it? I think not.
It looked to me, her larynx, like a vagina, and I am guessing either I have a dirty mind, or it was intentional, or both. The song is a beauty but you know that, a before the fall love song: “maybe he will come out of this loving me, maybe he won’t…”
The World Ender – Lord Huron – I dismissed this out of hand the other day but more out of pique that it wasn’t “Fool For Love” than anything personal, a coupla more listens and it reveals itself as a twangy West meets rockabilly song with a very tasty drum roil – B+
‘Hits Of The Year’ had iffy music, made worse by a terrible lyric. Difford: “It was an abortion, actually. It was a song from Difford/Tilbrook which hadn’t come out right and we decided to record it again. I decided I didn’t like the lyric, Glenn said the lyric wasn’t strong enough, the producer didn’t like the lyric
Honestly there is so much to choose from it’s overwhelming and as expected everything is on vinyl now, does it mean we are really sticking with nostalgia? I wonder how many of these will end up on eBay. Record Store Day 2015 happens on April 18th
I’ve written before about the impermanence of what feels like it will last forever. The way the Ramones were always playing around town in the late 1970s, early 1980s, we just assumed it and now it felts like a dream. In the 1990s, Morrison recorded album after album in the 1990s -TWELVE! We thought it would never end but in the 2010s he has recorded exactly one album of new material
Nothing new here, last year it was Tay keeping Meghan down, this year Mark keeping ed out of the # 1 position. That ten weeks at the top is pretty damn impressive I will say that.
This was a great song when Van sang it with the Chieftains and who knows, this may be as good –his singing is warmer and Mark is tapping his Local Hero. Next, “All Day” is the return of Kanye at full power, every sound on this track will make you stop and listen. Finally, “Joan Of Arc” is the most emotionally naked song Madonna has ever written.
Impressed by Kelly? Really? She moved 83K units, or if you prefer, she completely blew it and it is a miracle she got to the top, a miracle or good planning, depending on your take. For sure, it ain’t great. Plus, where, exactly, is Kid Rock? I think the heart of the charts is stuck in place: 50, Tay, Drake, Maroon 5, Sam and Meghan., and the other four in flux. A little different than last year when the chart was much more volatile.
Bad Day – Evans The Dead – This London indie rock band will break big any second now, and one reason is this exceptional fuzzed guitar and keyboad track, it is really a deep album track but it stands out because everything stands out. This is a beautiful track, a rolling out roar of melody and mood – A
They did a very funny and playful version of ‘Manic Monday’ with strings and many detours, and I could tell they were having fun with the catchy song. Her voice is still incredibly youthful, high pitched, she beautifully harmonized with Petra and the other members of the band’s voices during Bob Dylan’s ‘I’ll Keep It With Mine’ and they gave us a very Ronstadt-esque version of ‘It Doesn’t Matter Any More’,
When I got there I found him on the floor and I tried everything; CPR, I tried to stop the blood from the wound. Obviously there must have been an argument – that’s what my little brother told me, because I was asleep. He told me that they started arguing and they locked him outside.’
There have been riots (Run DMC and the Beastie Boys) near riots (Public Enemy), concerts with a single white person (New Edition, Black Street -I sat behind Whitney Houston), people dying mid-set (Patti Lupone), standing in line for entire days (David Bowie at Roseland -actually my friend did most of the standing), hostile audiences (Liz Phair got booed off stage at Town Hall
Mainman Sinjin Wheatley says: “Lately we have been receiving a lot of hate mail because people have been confusing us with Nuclear Hellfrost. We just want to clarify that we are not associated with them or the recent vandalism to Dimebag’s grave.”
This was City Winery, you can’t find ticket brokers for it, they don’t provide tickets so why didn’t I think, “oh ok, I haven’t heard Croz yet, but if it is a dog I’ll just blow off the $60 or whatever and if it is good? So much the better, right? That was what a smart person would do but nooooo.
The first song off his eagerly anticipated collaboration with Pharrell is a Parliament/Funkadelic soundalike plus Snoop rap, and what is wrong with that? Nothing, but it isn’t exactly a shocker either and the heart of the song is a blad everyman modern hip hop veneer on a nothing special track – C+
This is their first new album in decades and while Jo Callis is missed, Fay Fife is here and though these have moments of maturity (sadly) and though there is nothing as great as “(My Baby) Does Good Sculpture” -what do you care if you’re listening to “Spike Heel Assassin”? Terrific, fun, a little older, not much wise… and FAY FIFE – ALBUM OF THE WEEK A-
The book is supposed to crack the case of one of the most tragic mysteries in music history,… if you read his Wikipedia page, it tells you that Bobby was found dead in a car, asphyxiated by gasoline vapors, and that his death was declared an ‘accident’ and a ‘suicide’ by the LAPD, but conspiracy theories, as we like to call them, have never ceased since that time
The negotiations for Lennon’s old guitar were complicated, it was said. The owner was a crusty old cob who knew the great value of his one prized possession. It took 15 back-and-forth exchanges, like the highest-stakes ping-pong match, to arrive at the final figure.
To the painting, this is for Denny Tedesco and is his property (sorry, not for sale), and I just took off on his “The Wrecking Crew” film logo and added my own colors and bits and pieces and highlights, all in acrylic. That is Denny’s father, Tommy Tedesco, in the corner,
This is the truest song you will hear about how death effects the living, it is so mournful it hurts to listen to it. When I saw him perform the album at Carnegie Hall, it sounded like words left unsaid. Today it feels like the deepest recesses of untimely grief. His greatest and most human song.
Thorns Of A Rose (Interlude) – Ru Paul – Spoken word shout out to “the sweet sensitive souls who uncovers life cruel hoax”… Ru Paul advises prayer and stillness and why not? It isn’t a song but I don’t think it was written for me abd its audience might appreciate the sentiment – C+
Come to Me – Bjork – The difference between Bjork 20 years ago and Bjork today is not sentiment, certainly not her singing, but the way she uses melody. In 2015, she does give us the luxury of melody and replaces it with texture. In 2003, she did both – A
Any afternoon, any time at all, you get to listen to such a great collection of musicians, especially in such an intimate space, is a great afternoon. Or evening. And in aid of such a wonderful project: music can change your life
Working her way through her ninth and one of her best albums, the recently released Vulnicara, what I know about the show is what I read in the tabs: the Post, NYT and USA Today all raved, though, reading between the lines a little, Bjork and her 15 member orchestra may have been a little snoozy at times.
it demonstrates two things: that a lot of stupid people are really buying the Kanye hype and that that this bag may be the symbol of Kanye West’s greatest accomplishment… when you can sell air to people, you may have reached the apotheosis of success?
White told his employees at Third Man Records in Nashville that the label will issue this on vinyl on Record Store Day… This piece is totally historic and unique, it’s the King’s first ever record, which was recorded on July 18th 1953 by a 18-year-old Presley at Sam Phillips’ Memphis Recording Service for only $4.
If you were in London, you coulda seen Kanye West meet up with the stars of Grime (stars? No Dizzee Rascal, no Tinie Tempah) after inviting them up on stage at the Brit Awards. Of course, you Brits shoulda absolutely included in their own homegrown rap scene -one we’ve covered for five years or something.
Now this is a fun list of songs, I will never like the Ellie song any more but I don’t hate it as much since watching that movie, and just about everything else is at least ok. Of the two new arrivals, Marlon is middling House pop and Years & Years is slightly above average synthpop.
Aluminum Crown – Of Montreal – Another piece of droney psychedelia that reaches nowhere as it changes tempo and sound at the midway point like the Only Ones but not really vocals , and reaches its end not fast enough. “I’ve been hurt by trouble tree”? – C-
