Art is the music we make from the bewildered cry of being alive. ~Maria Popova
12 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: billie jean, do it again, steely dan michael jackson medley
Perhaps you’re unfortunate enough to remember this ill-advised musical pairing from 1983. Italian disco studio group Club House hit number 75 on the American pop charts with this Steely Dan-Michael Jackson mashup/medley.
What else could we expect from the decade which brought us inferior versions of “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me”, “Lean On Me”, “Bang a Gong (Get it On)”, “Baby I Love Your Way”, “I Think We’re Alone Now” and even “Funkytown”?
07 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: hired gun, session musicians
Millions of fans have seen them and know their music, but who are these world class musicians?
We’ve all heard them perform at concerts and on countless recordings. Millions have watched and listened to them play the music of the famous stars who hire them. They are the “First Call, A-list” musicians, the go-to players standing in the shadows of our favorite stars on stage and backing them up in the studio. They are an indispensable part of every performance but who are they really? What makes them tick? Why do some succeed while others fail? Why are some in demand while others are left for dead in the wreckage of a failed career?
Read more and help fund this film’s release: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hired-gun-music-s-unsung-heroes
“I used to watch Behind the Music, and the beauty and appeal of that show was you could peel back a layer and find out what really happens behind the scenes. Thats the essence of a great documentary… its about seeing something for the first time, or hearing stories for the first time that you weren’t supposed to hear when it was happening, and that is the starting point for Hired Gun.”
– Jason Hook (Five Finger Death Punch)
07 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: elo, jeff lynne
(via Prog Magazine)
by Scott Munro / 07 Nov 2014
Jeff Lynne has revealed he’s working on new ELO material.
And he says he’s planning more live dates following his appearance at London’s Hyde Park earlier this year – an event he feared could have been a disaster.
Lynne picked up the Outstanding Contribution award at the Classic Rock Roll Of Honour event in LA this week and had previously hinted at bringing ELO back. Now he’s confirmed future plans are in place.
Read more: http://prog.teamrock.com/news/2014-11-07/jeff-lynne-working-on-elo-album
01 Nov 2014 2 Comments
in General Posts Tags: gene simmons, kiss
29 Oct 2014 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: album cover art
Having posted here the lamentable news that 2014 will go down as the first year with zero platinum-selling albums since the inception of platinum certification, I think it worth pointing out that as the album’s importance diminishes, something else is lost: the emphasis on great cover art.
Since the era of the Beatles, when the LP first gained preeminence, iconic album art has played a major role. It grabbed your attention on the record store shelf. It summed up a record’s message, style or attitude. It could convey one more layer of meaning, beyond music and lyric. Great album covers became emblematic of the great works within.
Album covers were routinely perused, often while the music played, as fans gazed at images of their heroes, or searched for additional clues as to the music’s meaning, or simply lost themselves in a fanciful alternate reality.
Here are a few contemporary examples of striking album artwork:
18 Oct 2014 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: platinum album sales
(via deathandtaxes)
While there were certainly a number of great albums you need to have from this year, 2014 will mark the first year since its inception in 1976 that no artist’s album will be certified as platinum from sales. The award is given by the RIAA to mark one million units sold, and with only a few weeks remaining in the year, no album is even remotely close to making the threshold.
The two records nearest the magic number are Beyonce’s self-titled album and Lorde’s “Pure Heroine,” but neither have even crossed the 800,000 mark, with sales of both having tapered off months ago. There is one caveat, and that is the fact that the soundtrack to the animated film Frozen has moved well over three million units; but it being a soundtrack and not a single-artist release places it into a slightly different category.
Read more: http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/229695/2014-is-first-year-ever-with-zero-platinum-certified-records/
Every Moment Has A Song 