|
|
|
|
|
|
Musing about Music
The Black Keys’ recently played live to air on DJ Zane Lowe’s BBC Radio 1 show.
The Heartless Bastards have released one of the best rock albums of the year, an energetic collection of songs with powerhouse singer Erika Wennerstrom at the forefront.
In-Studio Performance. Alt-pop mainstays Nada Surf manage to rock Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop with nothing but an acoustic guitar, a box-drum and an arsenal of infectious, hook-laden tunes during SXSW 2012. - S. Simkoff.
In a nearly hour-long address from the stage of the Austin Convention Center at South By Southwest on March 15th, Bruce Springsteen spoke about his life as a musician and the artists who influenced his career. As Ann Powers wrote, "Springsteen identified himself as a Motown-loving, Sex Pistols-fearing fan of country's Silver Fox — Charlie Rich. He vehemently argued for the belief in popular music as dynamic and flexible, kept alive through constant redefinition by new players and fans.
This npr Music feature from February 20, 2012 on "Nada Surf" shows that even after nearly 20 years on the road, Nada Surf plays with the vigor and vitality of a new band. Here, the group performs a lengthy set of songs from its new album, with a few classics thrown in for good measure.
Alice Cooper is into his fifth decade in the rock business. This BBC "Your World" profile looks at the way Alice has shaped rock performance around the globe, starting with his latest Halloween gig in London's Alexandra Palace.
This npr Music "All Things Considered" program by Eric Westervelt looks at the background to John Coltrane's seminal recording "A Love Supreme" that Coltrane wrote in 1964.
CBC Radio show Q, hosted by Jian Ghomeshi, is a daily arts, culture and entertainment magazine. On this episode from 07/10/2011, Canadian Singer Songwriter FEIST performs songs from her latest release Metals, with the live music kicking in around minute 5.
In this in-studio performance from 12/17/2011, legendary alt-rockers Dinosaur Jr. swing by the studio with this blistering set recorded live on KEXP.
Even if the Goth-tinged post-punk band seemed slightly out of place at All Tomorrow's Parties, there was plenty of chatter surrounding The Horrors. Singer Faris Badwan was downright Bowie-ian in voice over shimmering guitars and synths straight out Bauhaus and The Jesus and Mary Chain. But really, the effect was more like U2: bold and confident, and maybe not as brooding as Badwan's leather jacket and shaggy hair might suggest. In the Convention Hall at Asbury Park, N.J., where the acoustics boomed in not-so-flattering ways, The Horrors seemed to make a case for arenas with the same problem.
The British garage-and-blues rock outfit came together in 2008, when veteran rocker Jim Jones met guitarist Rupert Orton at the aptly named "Not the Same Old Blues Crap" club night. They recorded an eponymous debut in 48 hours, inspired by the likes of The Sonics and Little Richard. The group's second release, Burning Your House Down, was produced by Jim Sclavunos, who's worked with Nick Cave projects The Bad Seeds and Grinderman. It's a collection of bluesy riffs and raspy vocals, all infused with primal energy.
It's been eight years since her last studio album, but Gillian Welch has been busy. She and her longtime musical partner David Rawlings are deeply involved in each other's music, so when Welch had trouble writing new material for her own record, the two turned their focus to Rawlings' first solo album under the moniker "Dave Rawlings Machine". Recording his album was the first time the two had entered the studio in many years, as they'd been touring extensively. The recording process, Rawlings says, acted as a warm-up for Welch's fifth album, "The Harrow and the Harvest", which took as little as a month to record. "The Harrow and the Harvest" is an apt title for the album Welch struggled to complete. She left her home in Nashville to write it, and the result is a collection of songs that are as introspective, personal and dark as anything she's recorded. The mournful, hauntingly harmonized "The Way It Will Be" has stuck around since the recording sessions from 2003's "Soul Journey", and Rawlings says it marked a new style of singing from the pair. Still integral to each other's creative processes, Welch describes how a potential collaboration with Levon Helm inspired her to write "Hard Times," with Rawlings adding the chorus later on.
Hear the pair perform songs from "The Harrow and the Harvest" on NPR's World Cafe session - November 24th 2011.
From the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., Wilco play their 2011 release "THE WHOLE LOVE" in a full concert, webcast live on NPR Music - September 25th 2011.
Fleet Foxes perform songs from their 2011 release "Helplessness Blues" on KCRW's Morning Becomes Electric - September 12th 2011.
"TV on the Radio" joined KCRW's Scottish post-rock instrumentalists Mogwai conjure some expansive guitar-driven tunes live in the KEXP Seattle studio.
"TV on the Radio" joined KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic for a live session after a triumphant show at the Hollywood Bowl.
Tom Waits chats with npr Music Fresh Air's Terry Gross about his new album, Bad as Me, his first studio recording in eight years.
"All Tomorrow's Parties" isn't like most music festivals: It looks for artists on the fringes sonically and aesthetically, with guest curators adding a personal touch. The festival, which began in 1999, is held in both the U.K. and the U.S. The American version took place October 1st & 2nd 2011 on the boardwalk of Asbury Park, N.J. Portishead picked the bands to play Saturday's shows, which included everything from the U.K. post-punk group "The Horrors" and messed-up dub-rock outfit "The Pop Group" to a massive, bludgeoning two-hour set by "Swans".
September 24th 2011 marks the 20th Anniversary of the release of Nirvana's landmark album, Nevermind. Now considered a modern classic, Nevermind had a profound impact on pop culture. With the album's mixture of crunching power chords, melodic hooks and vocalist Kurt Cobain's disaffected lyrics, Nevermind transcended musical genres and won over an enourmous mainstream audience. On the eve of the album's anniversary, Nirvana bassist and co-founder Krist Novoselic talked to CBC Radios Jian Ghomeshi about the legacy of both Nevermind and Niravana.
After 31 years as a band, R.E.M. announced Wednesday 19th September 2011 that they're calling it quits. PBS Reporter Jeffrey Brown talks to Anthony DeCurtis, a longtime contributing editor for Rolling Stone magazine, about the band from Athens, Ga., that shaped much of the alternative music of the era.
Melbourne punk rockers Eddy Current Suppression Ring perform their 'RUSH to RELAX' disc for "triple j" on October 27th 2010.
Wollongong's early 90's psych punks TUMBLEWEED perform their classics like Sundial, TV Genocide and Daddy Long Legs at Sydney's Metro Theatre on February 18th 2011.
LA Rockers Grant Lee Buffalo play a set live on KEXP from the Bumbershoot Music Lounge.
AUSTIN CITY LIMITS - Broadcast: Nashville's "Kings of Leon" rock the ACL studio in support of "Because of the Times". Psychedelic innovator and 13th Floor Elevators frontman, Roky Erickson performs songs from his legendary 40-year career.
A 2007 interview with Mike Ness, founder, singer, guitarist and prime songwriter of seminal LA punk band Social Distortion.
On the Memorial Day weekend in May, in Washington State the Sasquatch Musical Festival is held every year. This year Wilco played a blistering set, covering material off all their seven studio albums. The set in its entirety is provided by great Seattle radio station KEXP 90.3 FM.
One time Talking Head David Byrne talks to Wired magazine about the changing nature of the music industry and what survival stratergies may be appropriate.
A 1986 Creem Magazine interview / drinking session with US Punk Rock band The Replacements, touring their ' Let it be" album.
A very wide net is cast by interviewer Judy McGuire in this PUNK magazine interview with the late Joe Strummer, singer/songwriter from English punk band The Clash.
In Wired Magazine Radiohead singer songwriter, Thom Yorke, and Talking Heads founder, David Byrne, talk about the music industry, on line distruibution and the carbon footprint issues of being a touring band.
Mike Watt the bass player from seminal US punk band Minuteman tallks about their 1984 album "Double Nickels on the Dime".
2011 BBC Radio4 program in which musician and composer Roger Waters, who co-founded Pink Floyd, joins Kirsty Young to choose his Desert Island Discs (starts at 1:48 min).
2003 BBC Radio4 program with Pink Floyd guitarrist and vocalist David Gilmour.
Foo Fighters 2011 Tour Rider - what the promoter need provide the band on tour - this one is especially good and includes a copy of the Foo Fighters " Field Guide to Food Colouring and Activity Book".
KEXP Radio Station in Seattle broadcast great live in the studio concerts, a fantastic weekly punk rock show called Sonic Reducer and a monumental weekly rockabilly show called Shake the Shack...
Discovery Records
Great music store in Toronto Canada ( Queen St. East ) run by Jim Levitt, with the web site updated weekly.
Moshcam
http://www.moshcam.com/
Local and international artist live music/concert repository, e.g. Magic Dirt, U V Race, SIA, Descendants, ALEXISONFIRE, Brian Jonestown Massacre and Jane's Addiction at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney in 2010 is epic!
Later with Jools Holland
Great BBC live music show hosted by ex Squeeze keyboardist Jools Holland.
D-22
http://www.d22beijing.com.cn/index.htmls
If in Beijing, the best Punk Rock live music venue is D22 in the Haidian district (between the 3rd and 4th ring roads).
American music blog and excellent live podcast source (e.g. the Wilco, Television, Pavement, Jane's Addiction, P J Harvey, the Pixies, the Cramps, etc).
LP Cover Lover
http://lpcoverlover.com/
The World's Greatest LP Covers...
How Heavy Metal Is Keeping Us Sane
In this 2011 The Atlantic article, James Parker discusses heavy metal and how it is "...doing bootleg rage therapy for a mass audience..."
A 1979 article by Lester Bangs on the Free Jazz and Punk Rock music scene in which he extols the virtue of improvised music.
Playboy Interview: Bob Dylan
http://www.interferenza.com/bcs/interw/66-jan.htm
A 1966 conversation with the iconoclastic idol of the folk-rock set.
Frank Sinatra Has a Cold
http://www.esquire.com/features/ESQ1003-OCT_SINATRA_rev_?click=main_sr
This famous series of Esquire magazine acrticles by Gay Talese originally ran in 1966 and offers one of the best profiles of Sinatra.
Muddy Waters You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had
Muddy Waters You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had. Live in 1964 on a UK television show called "The Blues and Gospel Train" - we were thinking of putting this under the "Economics" tab...
John Coltrane - The Official Site
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|