How many of the 14 “sunshine song” snippets can you identify? Use the comments section to post your guesses.
Pop Quiz: The Sunshine Music Mix
26 Jun 2015 1 Comment
in Best of the Blog, General Posts, Quizzes Tags: sunshine medley, sunshne mix
Recommended Albums #63
24 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in Recommended Albums Tags: rainy day music, the jayhawks
The Jayhawks: Rainy Day Music (2003)
Alt-country pioneers the Jayhawks, led by front man and main songwriter Gary Louris, released perhaps their defining statement with their seventh album, 2003’s Rainy Day Music.
The Ethan John’s-produced record was a return to the band’s core country-rock and jangle-pop musical sweet spot after their previous album Smile, produced by Bob Ezrin, experimented with drum loops, electronic sounds and other decidedly un-Americana touches.
Fortunately the sweet melodies and pop hooks remained intact. Bands like the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and even Crosby, Stills and Nash are regularly cited as points of reference to describe the Jayhawks’ sound, but it’s the songwriting of Louris that elevates the band above mere imitation of the styles and sound of those bands.
If the pop music landscape still allowed room on the radio for bands like the above-mentioned, Louris and the Jayhawks would be giants.
But the heyday of country rock, when Poco, Marshall Tucker Band, Pure Prairie League and the Eagles sent sweet harmonies wafting over steel guitar licks across top 40 radio waves, is long gone. Country radio is as subtle as a flying hammer, and as refined as a red Dixie cup of Pabst Blue Ribbon.
The Jayhawks stand as perhaps the best of the bands who still trade in this, one of many out-of-fashion genres.
Long may they rain!
Listen to: “Tailspin”
Listen to: “Angelyne”
Listen to: “Save it For a Rainy Day”
Listen to: “Madman”
Listen to: “Will I See You in Heaven”
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2016/05/04/songs-you-may-have-missed-588/
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/10/25/songs-you-may-have-missed-206/
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/01/30/songs-you-may-have-missed-312/
Digital Underground: Who Will Make Sure The Internet’s Vast Musical Archive Doesn’t Disappear?
24 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in General Posts Tags: digital music archive, music streaming
The Internet can be a wonderland of musical discovery and discourse, but it’s not built to be a permanent archive. Photo illustration: Claire O’Neill/NPR. Photos via iStockphoto and Flickr Creative Commons hide caption itoggle caption Photo illustration: Claire O’Neill/NPR. Photos via iStockphoto and Flickr Creative Commons
(via npr music)
by Ann Powers
Excerpt:
“Archiving used to be the domain of the tangible,” Cheyenne Hohman, the director of the Free Music Archive, wrote in an email. Hohman holds a degree in library science, and she sees pluses and minuses in the shift to the cloud. “Now that we’re in a sea of born-digital media, storing and accessing information and media has shifted to favor the ubiquity of web-based collections. But would I call an aggregator like Spotify an archive? Not really, because if they go bankrupt, they’ll probably shut down, and they’re not motivated by preservation and access as much as they are interested in providing a commercial music platform for consumers.” Hohman’s concerns echo Marshall’s, and reflect the reality that commercial streaming services aren’t primarily intended for the public good. They exist to make money, whether through subscriptions or ad revenue.
Read article: http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/03/411666224/digital-underground
Songs You May Have Missed #538
20 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: blow, theory of a deadman
Theory of a Deadman: “Blow” (2014)
WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT
Theory of a Deadman use a blunt instrument to make a keen point about our unfortunate choice of pop culture heroes and our proclivity for “celebrating the idiot”.
