Slideshow

Live, Slideshow

Hunny At Bardot, Monday August 17th 2015 Review

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They have been declared emerging band of the week by Obey Clothing Propaganda, ‘Cry For Me’, a song they have posted on Soundcloud (produced by Doug Boehm who worked with Girls, Tokyo Police Club, Christopher Owens) got more than 800,000 listenings, they got some local support from KROQ’s Locals Only Show, they had an LA residency at the Bootleg last June, and have booked a national tour with The Neighbourhood in the fall… So there’s no doubt they are a hot new band of the moment while they formed only a year ago.

Lists, News, Slideshow

President Obama’s Summer Playlist 2015 Reviewed!

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The first thing that jumps out here is the complete lack influence his teenage daughters have over Barack Obama.on this playlist. one of whom is pictured above in a “Pro Era” tee shirt -the rap collective which includes Joey Bada$$ and Dirty Sanchez. Perhaps we don’t expect the POTUS to be namechecking them, but this is the man who quoted Jay Z’s “Dirt Off Your Shoulders” on the Presidential trail and pals about with Queen Bey, so he must have a feel for pop but pop is resolutely invisible. .

News, Slideshow, These Days

These Days: Tuesday, August 18th, 2015

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Let’s hear it for Florida, who recently tried a 16 year old as an adult for murdering his mother and gave him 28 years in prison. OK, but how comes this sixteen year old is an adult when he is a murderer and a child when he is 17 years old and having sex with Jennifer Fichter (22 years in prison folks), oh, and a dead hoodlum in a hoodie when he meets the dangerously deranged George Zimmerman. George, the only one of the three who should absolutely be in prison, just painted a Confederate Flag in support of a Gun Shop which won’t serve Muslims. Wait a second, Zimmerman can still legally buy guns? Forget it, it’s Florida.

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Echo Park Rising Day 3, Sunday August 16th 2015 Review

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so I climbed on the stage, and found a good spot just behind the musicians, observing the incessant crowd surfing, thrilled by the experience and their dark-wave punk sound. It was the perfect ending for this Echo Park Rising, which was attended by 10,000 people according to the news, a really impressive number for a neighborhood festival, free for all, with no big stars or big names, just local bands, but a ton of them celebrating the rich diversity of Echo Park.

Live, Slideshow

Oldies But Goldies: Elvis Costello Loads His Revolver In 2011

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A purely excellent two and a half hour set. I always write exactly what I believe and I have ragged on Costello for a couple of years now, but credit where it is due. He reformed the Attractions (c’mon, that’s what he REALLY did) and played an Attractions set. Just like that. And he was so good he made iffy songs sound like masterpieces.

Recorded, Slideshow

10 Songs: Monday, August 17th, 2015

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Why Do Fools Fall In Love – Frankie Lymon And The teenagers – I consider myself a serious music fan, not stuck in any particular decade, way on top of modern pop but I am damned if I can find anything on the charts as great as the terrific teen wonder – A+

News, Slideshow, That Was The Week That Was

That Was The Week That Was: August 10th, 2015

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Sure it has been the dog days of summer, and news has been kinda slow, so here comes Donald Trump (who I have met on three occasions socially and who I consider quite as slimy as Rupert Murdoch) to kill some time and space. Fine. But when the leading candidate for the GOP is seriously discussing deporting 11.3 Million people PLUS legal and documented people, well, that joke ain’t funny anymore. This guy is beyond the pale and silly season needs to come to an end now. He is dangerous

Charts, Slideshow

US TOP 10 Albums 8-29-15

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I promise you that given the choice between embracing Luke and loathing him, I’d much prefer to love the wee tyke, if only out of respect for the zeitgeist but it can’t be done. If the Spring Break stuff was Jimmy Buffet for 30 something college kids, the new one is moribund drag country for bores hitting 40 and their first divorce. It is awful and one OK song, “Strip It Down” doesn’t come close to saving it.

Movies, News, Slideshow

“Straight Outta Compton” Review

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This is an intense and thrilling ride into the charts, with police trying to close down their shows, Suge trying to kill anybody who crosses him, and the three friends falling apart till the end, when Dre leaves Death Row to form his own label (and discover Eminem) and Eazy E calling the band members with Dre and Ice Cube agreeing to reunite the group, before E falling sick with AIDs and dying six months later

Live, Slideshow

Echo Park Rising 2015 In A Few Pictures

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Things got weird with Man or Astro-Man?, tender with Dengue Fever and wilder with Hanni El Khatib. Birth Defects put the stage on fire, Three Common invited everyone to join them on stage, and Corners’ set was a crowd surfing party… I wanted the festival to last at least a week, I was just getting in the rhythm after these three days! See you next year…

Live, Slideshow

The Romanovs At Saint Rocke, Hermosa Beach, Saturday, August 16th, 2015, Review

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The Romanovs, with their own brand of “pre-classic rock, ‘re-imagined” made for some stand out gems last night. ‘Be Mir Bist Du Schon’ and ‘Honey Don’t’ had the audience on their feet and dancing up a storm. Los Angeles scenester John Mendelssohn’s brilliantly arranged music with the combined talents of guitarist Pete Castle (aka The Ledge) and bassist Kirk Henry brought the house down.

News, Slideshow, These Days

These Days: Sunday, August 16th, 2015

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After getting swept by the Blue Jays in Yankee Stadium last weekend, they have beaten em twice in a row in Toronto, are 2 1/2 games in first and need want more to return the favour. And then they go head to head seven more times before the end of the season. Meanwhile, the Mets just lost in 14 innings but both teams are making for a thrilling year of baseball. Meanwhile, the Jets are still the Jets and the Giants are still the Giants FYI

Charts, rock nyc top 10 songs, Slideshow

rock nyc Top 10 Songs 8-14-15 -8-20-15

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a terrific week, every song here is excellent and “In Time” and “Girls From Texas” is so good I regret not bothering to catch Lyle at Lincoln Center last week. As for FKA twig? A flat out masterpiece that EP -I adore the woman. Herb Eimerman has a great EP about to drop, and I’ll review it soon) but this song with its terrific Byrdsy intro is beyond great.

Slideshow

10 Songs: Sunday, August 16th, 2015

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Mountain At My Gate – Foals – The honest voice of alt rock from the UK, sound the way Elbow might if they were less ambitious and also sound the way you hope rockers might with a rush at the end that storms both the mountain and the gate – B+

Recorded, Slideshow

Other Presidents Of The USA Favorite Music

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With news of President Obama’s recent Spotify Summer Playlist still ringing round the world, I wondered what other Presidents might have been listening to. Thanks to a mix of temperament (I can’t imagine Reagan listening to Gangsta Rap, can you?), and age and history and, well, just plain ol’ fashion imagination, I got half way through this and thought… wait a second, why not google it? So I started from the top…

Live, Slideshow

Echo Park Rising Day 1, Friday August 14th 2015 Review

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Each year, I get the impression that Echo Park Rising is growing by amazing proportions! The free festival now spreads over three days with hundreds, yes hundreds, of bands playing in a dozen of different locations. How do you cover such an event? You don’t, because you can’t… on Friday I did count about 80 musical acts playing at the Echo, Echoplex, inside and outside the Taix restaurant, at Lot 1, Origami Vinyl,… I am not delusional, I can’t cover such an event by myself, so instead of trying to run a marathon I would never be able to finish, I decided to concentrate on a few bands playing on Liberty Street Main stage, at the Echo and the Echoplex, all located in the same area of Sunset boulevard.

News, Slideshow, These Days

These Days: Saturday, August 15th, 2015

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I am against the death penalty because a) only the poor will die, b) I don’t trust the legal system as far as I can throw it, c) the reason for legal punishment is prevention and rehabilitation. However, news that the repeal of the death penalty in Connecticut means that Joshua Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes won’t get it is well

Slideshow

10 Songs: Saturday, August 15th, 2015

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Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffett – 30 years after the fact, Jimmy still is defined by this masterpiece of loneliness, lost love and Tequila, a terrific heartbreaker which also placed him in a certain time and place he never left. It aches in all the right places as he searches for his lost shaker of salt – A+

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Let’s Active: rock nyc Concert Picks Week Of August 17th, 2015

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On record, Earl Sweatshirt is all dark lyricism and hard vibrating beats, he rhymes his way through life and, not unlike pal Tyler, is like a rhyming diary of problems, including his health. He rescheduled this Best Buy concert from April to this Saturday due to health problems, but who would cash in their ticket when they could see one of the primary rhymers in the country? The man is one of the best, up there with his buddy Chance The Rapper, and this is a must see.

News, Slideshow, These Days

These Days: Friday, August 14th, 2015

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How shocking, Sesame Street is going to a pay to view network, HBO and I realize they thing well now they can produce 36 episodes a season instead of the skimpy 18 PBS can afford to pay em. That’s the good news (to a degree, there is the question of quality control) , now here is the bad news: Sesame Street taught generation after generation, regardless of race or class, and that is now over. Congratulations, you nitwits.

Slideshow

10 Songs: Friday, August 14th, 2015

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Fuck Tha Police – N.W.A. – It has aged a little though the sentiment is essentially timeless, and if the stories coming out of Compton from the licks of Vince “I never run from nothing but tha police” Staples is to believed, not a damn thing has changed so with all the interest back on full beam, it sure sounds fresh enough in some ways – B+

Live, Slideshow

Alabama Shakes At the Greek Theater, Thursday August 13th 2015 Review

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All night-long, her weird howls soared and crashed into intimate whispers of a vulnerable beauty, then rose again into a wall of thunder over wobbling keys and shuffling drums. Even the slower tunes such as ‘Gemini’ or ‘Dunes’ were intense, and she held the audience at the tip of each of her screams, while making strong facial expressions, sweeping the sweat from her eyebrows between songs.

Charts, Slideshow

UK Top 10 Albums: 8-14-15 – 8-20-15

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The new Dre does not compare with the old Dre -this kitchen sink stuff, this throw every sound in the world at Compton, I dunno, it goes from fresh to stupid before you know what’s hit you. But at least it isn’t Frank Turner -the man who gives paradise postponed a bad name.

Charts, Slideshow

UK Top 10 Singles 8-14-15 – 8-20-15

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The Charlie Puth (he is the bloke who has been singing the Wiz Khalifa hook all year) song has been around for a month or so and I loved it then, a little tired of it now. Meghan Trainor sounds really good as well/ Though at the top there, it makes the entire chart a little more interesting. 1D? Yeah, when it isn’t selling it sounds a lot worse.

Live, Slideshow

Alabama Shakes At The Greek Theater, Thursday August 13th 2015

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Alabama Shakes were fantastic last night, I could only see Brittany Howard from where I was, and I feel sorry for the rest of her excellent band but that’s all I needed to see. She was a force, a fury, commanding the stage like a rock star, and the public was responding to each of her howls with cheers and claps with cheers and claps in a way I have rarely witnessed at a concert.

News, Slideshow

Watch The Psychedelic & Satanic New Video By Moonlandingz

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‘We hooked up in private with Sean to record some parts in an undisclosed ex-air raid shelter in south Yorkshire, in the north of England. Sean took the recorded parts away back to his studio in NYC, added his own thing and deconstructed the track – we were blown away by what he brought to it, Sean’s such a talented musician.’

Slideshow

10 Songs: Thursday, August 13th, 2015

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White Christmas – Bing Crosby – The thing that is lost here, is this was released in the middle of 1942, the melancholia (from Jewish American Irving Berlin), makes more sense when you put it right up close to “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”: both songs suggest that they may all be white Christmases but it isn’t a sure thing by any stretch of the imagination – A+

Live, Slideshow

Oldies But Goldies: Three Years Ago I Saw Henry Rollins At Joe’s Pub, Now Can we Interview HIm?

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Helen Bach called me to announce she was after Henry Rollins for another interview. Alright by me but if ever a guy seemed to have places to say whatever he wanted to say, that man is Rollins. Personally, I appreciated the first interview he did with us but if Helen wants to double down, so be it. I will say one more thing: I tend to be closer to his opinion about Barack Obama in 2015 than I am to my own in 2012. I would love to hear his take on the Nuclear T

News, Slideshow

Over One Trillion Streams In 2015.. SO FAR!

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As we pass the half way point of 2015, here comes the latest news: over trillion songs streamed so far. Last year had a total of 440 Billion over the entire 12 months which seems to me to prove that we are looking at the of the game when it comes to streaming. This means over a year streaming will have increased by 400%.

News, Slideshow, Video Review

Alt Soul Band weareTheBigBang Shares New Video For ‘No’

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The song brings some nostalgia for Donna Summers’ ‘She Works Hard For The Money’, with a modern twist, combining soul and an energetic dance over some infectious beats. weareTheBigBang was listed in Music Connection Magazine as ‘one of the best-unsigned bands to see live’, which can be easily understood from the video below, a playful mini-movie directed by Emmanuel Fordjour.

News, Slideshow

Social Media And The Favorable Review

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Why bother working for hours and hours on the damn thing when I know no one will read it? Nothing would’ve been easier than to remove my caveats from the story and leave it as unstilted praise but then why bother working so hard in the first place, right?

Recorded, Slideshow

10 Songs: Wednesday, August 12th, 2015

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For The Love Of Money – Dr. Dre – This is the one, a topnotch r&b-soul track with a great rap from Black-Korean Anderson. Paak, who should see his public image go through the roof after his work on Compton, and Jill Scott who does a terrific job on the hook – B+

News, Slideshow, These Days

These Days: Wednesday, August 12th, 2015

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“Retired Army Spc. Tyler A. Jeffries offered up a heartfelt proposal — and ringbox — to Lauren Lilly, who said “Yes!” as former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, along with former First Lady Barbara Bush, looked on. Jeffries, from Florida, lost both legs to an IED in October 2012.” I am sure everything was very heartfelt, and it is a moving story of true love,. HOWEVER, what if Lily really didn’t want to marry him?

Live, Slideshow

One Direction: The View From A Former 17 Year Old Babysitter

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“Whether a teenager is writing music, identifying with lyrical and musical themes, or dancing wildly at a live show, the cathartic experience provides a channel for expressing and dealing with a wide range of emotions. A shared love of music gives those in the group a common interest and a basis for friendship, which has many potential emotional benefits (Livestrong, 2013).

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