Long lost 80s tribute to Indiana Jones
Thursday, July 17th, 2008Wow. Doogtoons totally nailed the 80s vibe with this ‘find.’ I’m still wiping my eyes. Awesome.
Archive for the 'Music' Category
The real value of Guitar Hero
Monday, May 19th, 2008My son just got Guitar Hero III, and I was skeptical at first if it was worth it. I mean, if you want to play guitar, buy a guitar and practice, right?
I play guitar already, albeit badly, so I get a bye, okay? Well, let me just say, Guitar Hero III is awesome. [...]
Shatner sings Elton John: True Era of Excess
Thursday, February 28th, 2008If you haven’t seen William Shatner perform Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man,’ you haven’t experienced true song butchery. First, listen to, and appreciate John’s version. Listen a couple times if you haven’t heard it before. Then, when you’re ready, steel yourself, then douse yourself in the lighter fluid and flames that is Shatner singing.
Yes, this is [...]
The 70s: Musical Black Hole?
Thursday, February 21st, 2008I’ve long considered the 70’s to be a time of stunted musical growth. To my mind, a lot of poor quality music was produced, especially the type of mellow, string-backed soul such as “The Games People Play” and tunes like “Color My World” from Chicago. Ack.
However, after surveying the music, I was reminded [...]
Music for Maniacs
Sunday, February 10th, 2008I just stumbled across a great music blog. Music for Maniacs reviews all sorts of off-the-wall stuff and usually includes links to mp3s, so you actually get to listen as well.
There is a fascinating entry on LemurBots, which actually create and play music.
100 Years of Payola
Thursday, January 17th, 2008Interesting article at www.performingsongwriter.com/vault/special_89.pdf
The gist is that payola was not just an isolated problem in the 50s & 60s.
Additional listening resources
Monday, January 7th, 2008You may have some luck finding some older recordings (public domain) at archive.org. You can usually download an MP3 or stream the selections. I found Mamie Smith’s Crazy Blues there.
Another way to expand your learning experience is to create a custom radio station on Pandora. It’s free. I just ’seeded’ a [...]
David Byrne and the evolution of music
Thursday, December 27th, 2007David Byrne has a fascinating article in Wired about the changing face of the music industry. He really illuminates new distribution channels and illustrates how the legacy record companies are too big and will be crushed under their own weight.
There’s a bonus interview with Brian Eno that is well worth a listen.
One of the most [...]
Who was Judith?
Wednesday, July 18th, 2007I was perplexed when I was reading about Baroque music and saw the painting Judith Slaying Holofernes (c. 1613) by Artemisia Gentileschi. The subject of the painting is brutal and bloody, and I had to know the story behind it.
It turns out that Judith is a deuterocanonical book of Bible. It tells the story of [...]
Online sources for new music
Wednesday, July 18th, 2007Two great tastes that taste great together, KEXP and KCRW. Both radio stations have excellent programs, and both have iTunes syndicated podcasts.
KEXP offers a song of the day and some fantastic in-studio live performances. Check out the Live Performances podcast; the station has fabulous guests weekly and makes most available in MP3 format.
KCRW also offers [...]