Category Archives: music
Bass parts that can’t be beat
I’m a little late in finding this, but it’s a thoughtful roundup of the best basslines of all time, ranging from Motown to prog. Of course, you could spend all day thinking of omissions. First one to leap to my … Continue reading
If Andy Warhol and Taylor Swift were contemporaries
Yes, it’s a 10-hour loop of a Taylor Swift chorus punctuated by a goat screaming. Doesn’t this sound like something Warhol would’ve done?
David Lowery sets the piracy issue straight, again
Good interview from my Popdose buddies exploring the new Camper Van Beethoven album, the use of major chords for a minor-key feel in Cracker’s Low, and an expanded look at the difference between getting free promo songs and just ripping off … Continue reading
Complex rock/classical hybrid stuff
Not sure which is more impressive here — the fact that these guys can play this Frank Zappa track or the fact that they can memorize it. Septuplets, triple-tuplets — this is insane.
Is jazz suffering from a lack of quality songs to twist?
That seems to be the point of this lengthy Salon piece on the decline of jazz: http://www.salon.com/2012/12/24/did_the_american_songbook_kill_jazz/
Rick Wakeman: Classical rocks
Occasional Yes keyboardist talks about breaking barriers between rock and classical. Video is amusingly punctuated with photos of Wakeman and his old capes.
When power ballads die
I love setlist.fm. It’s a great way to find out when Rush last played its current commercial hit Fly By Night (that would be 1978, not counting two cover versions by Smashing Pumpkins in the early 90s). And it’s a fun way … Continue reading
Why doesn’t MTV play music videos? Don’t ask
Crude but effective. (Translated: This has a lot of Not Safe for Work language and hand gestures, but it absolutely captures the demographic and technological trends that govern MTV’s current programming. And it’s really funny.)
Rush in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Up to the fans
I guess this is some sort of tacit admission that the Hall of Fame is no longer reserved for Jann Wenner’s buddies. The Hall has put in fan voting, and Rush is finally nominated. The case for Rush: Nearly 40 … Continue reading
Freedom — always a tough act to follow
The question really shouldn’t be whether George Michael had the right to play and promote one of his new songs after rocking the house with Freedom. The question is whether that song was any good, or at least whether it’s the kind of … Continue reading
