Like anyone who understands good music, I hold the opinion that the Beatles were the most significant popular music act of the 20th century, and, depending on what standards by which you measure significance, perhaps the most significant in recorded… Continue Reading
Well, not “dead” like tissue, but “dead” like a marriage. So says Sam McPheeters in this Vice article from 2010. Comparing rock circa 1994 to the Wild West circa 1890, he describes a “closed frontier,” a state in which the once… Continue Reading
A friend posted this article to Facebook: Ramin Street — Top 10 Reasons Why the Music Industry is Failing And while I have indulged in my own share of curmudgeonly ranting over the state of modern music, Street’s article attacks… Continue Reading
Today the world says goodbye to Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman. Slayer are, as I mentioned in my History of Metal, the one group in thrash’s “Big Four” that seem to have maintained the highest level of credibility among listeners throughout… Continue Reading
Jazz seems to be on a decline. Here in Madison, I have seen most of the (already few) clubs that hosted live jazz either change their format or close their doors. In this article by Kurt Ellenberger, we learn that… Continue Reading
I have a theory about what coffee and wine have in common: With either, when you first try it, you don’t care what you’re getting. Once you get into it, you care what you get. Then, once you’ve gotten quite… Continue Reading
May I present this video of a performance of Erik Satie’s Vexations: And here is the related Wikipedia article, a rather interesting read: Vexations (Wikipedia) In The Time of Music: New Meanings, New Temporalities, New Listening Strategies, Jonathan Kramer… Continue Reading
In the wake of the passing of one visionary, we commemorate the passing of another: John Lennon, who would have turned 71 today. I consider John Lennon to be one of Rock’s two most important figures, along with Frank Zappa.… Continue Reading
Check out this debate from a 1986 episode of Crossfire. Today, I find it bewildering that rock music censorship was ever on the table.
“Everything I need to know I learned from…” fill in the blank. That was a popular subject of posters and T-shirts in the 80’s and 90’s. And I’m going to exhume it for a moment. It occurred to me that… Continue Reading