Poet and mystic William Blake was considered a madman by his contemporaries. His work received little attention while he was alive. I didn’t became aware of Blake until I plugged into Allen Ginsberg’s versions of Blake via Ginsberg’s song/poems – and via Van Morrison’s Sense of Wonder and Veedon Fleece albums where Van quotes and …
Jerry Rubin died 18 years ago in a Los Angeles hospital. An anti-Vietnam War demonstrator during the 1960’s, he and Abbie Hoffman (and many others) marched on and surrounded the Pentagon in ’67, led the riots at the Chicago ’68 Democratic Convention, and inspired John & Yoko to campaign against Nixon in ’72. By 1980, …
This tune is neither as immediate or as disarming as her cover of “Pursuit of Happiness,” but it has its moments. I’m sorry I missed this when it came out in twenty ten.
With an original single that clocked in at 8:30, one of the granddaddies of late-night, groove electronica. (For the last 20 years, it has served as the intro music to paranormal radio show, Coast to Coast AM.) It should be required that either you have to have the lights off or be in a car …
The paradigm for the first two Duran Duran albums… This is the shit right here, it doesn’t get much cooler than this. – Steve Stav
An interesting cover of the Radiohead tune.
Right at the beginning of Beware of Mr. Baker, the film’s director, Jay Bulger, is attacked by drummer Ginger Baker, physically, with a metal cane that draws blood when applied to the bridge of the filmmaker’s nose. Mr. Baker, whom we will subsequently encounter in less agitated moods, is upset about the direction of Mr. …
I LIKE that we kill trees to make books. I love trees. I’m leaning up against one right now. I feel like a hunter of the Great Plains standing over the last gasp of a dying Buffalo when I hold a good book; admiring its achievement and its power. This book used to be alive …
This is my personal fave Supremes number because it is a sweet, soothing, detumescent lullabye with lyrics hinting at big city summertimes and forbidden roof-born romances struck with both hoody squalor and electroluminescent skylines in view. Coming towards the end of the Supremes run, this tune was the first single to feature Jean Terrell on …
This vid is a lot of fun. Sure, at the beginning it looks like a commercial for any feminine product of the last 70 years, but once it gets going, the movement is infectious. Nossa is a French girl group and they’re covering “Mas Que Nada,” the signature tune for Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66.
Before his appalling murder on December 4th, 1969, Fred Hampton, head of the Chicago Panthers, formed an alliance with the Puerto Rican Young Lords and the Patriot Party (consisting of impoverished Chicago whites). Hampton announced this multiracial banding as “a Rainbow Coalition,” years before Jesse Jackson co-opted the term for his own political means. In …
So you’ve decided to put yourself out there. You sign up for an account with match.com – it’s one of the first and arguably the most popular dating sites, so why not? But after you get your account, you immediately hit a road block. What on earth do you say about yourself? If you’re new …
This isn’t even one of my top 20 favorite songs by The Beatles , and there is still so much to learn in terms of composition, performance, and production from this deep ass cut. Great band, right up there with Kool & The Gang and Frankie Beverly’s band Maze. – Davin Michael Stedman
FULL DISCLAIMER: My father’s name is Bruce. I love My Dad Bruce’s new music video for “Popcorn.” Good song, nice video, BAD ASS BOAT. Not much more you can ask for accept I could have used a water ski and a chopper. Rappers been sleeping on the helicopter / water ski combo since The Fugees …
Thailand remains one of the premier vacation destinations out of any other place in Asia. Because of its location off the southeastern part of the Asian continent, it has some of the most beautiful tropical landscapes in the world. From its pristine beaches to its golden temples and its cool, northern jungles, Thailand offers the …
Acclaimed Oregon troubadour Tim Hardin is one of the most influential and respected singer-songwriters of all time, not that the man himself cared much for the title. “My songs aren’t personal,” he insisted before his death in 1980. “They sound it ‘cos it was me who revealed them, but it was my head that got …
Having spent nearly two decades creating uniquely affecting music defined by deep personal sentiment and attracting listeners across musical genres, Hayden announces his seventh full-length record, Us Alone, out February 19th on Arts & Crafts. To celebrate, Hayden shares “Old Dreams” off the upcoming album. An MP3 of the full song is below, a brief …
Since releasing a series of ghostly singles ft. The xx’s Romy Madley-Croft, Nina Sky & Holly Miranda and cinematic videos w/ directors Ellen Francis, Fischerspooner’s Warren Fischer & more, Brooklyn duo CREEP wanted to share an early taste of what’s to come from their debut album due out next year. Blending lush layered vocals over …
Are you graduating nursing school? Congratulations! You should be proud of the hard work you’ve put in to pass your NCLEX and become an RN. Chances are when you decided to train to be a nurse, you read up on the medical worker shortage in the United States and how the aging population has made …
Decades ago, I was wondering around the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY and stumbled upon Graham Parker playing at Barton Hall, and it was great- reminded me of the missing link between Elvis Costello and Van Morrison. The Rumour to me, were the post-punk answer to “The Band” – they’ve finally reunited and …
Deerhoof are a band I’ve been in the next street to but inexplicably never managed to see in the flesh. That’s likely to continue for a little while as, despite being over here for ATP, and furthermore playing a couple of gigs either side, I’m sadly going to be in fail mode yet again. I’ll …
LCMDF are more on the money than ever. We’ve been chasing their moves ever since seeing them in a dank dripping concrete cellar in Liverpool. That’s been a year or two, they’ve been through some slightly fallow and middling times with Kitsune, and have now totally found their bite with this new song “Paranoia.” It’s …
“J’attendrai” (I Will Wait) was a pop hit for the French chanteuse Rina Ketty in 1938. Here it is covered in stunning fashion the next year by The Quintet of the Hot Club of France, led by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. This clip not only shows us the interplay of two jazz giants but …
Whoa. Found out recently that Larry Hagman passed. Guess I’ve been under a rock. Sad to see a legend go, but damn that dude lived a full life. I had the pleasure of meeting Larry once in LA and we chatted for about an hour or so. He told me about the old days of …
The Stone Roses are one of those bands I never really got, probably because I was living in Seattle when they were on the way up and there was so much local music at the time. Here’s an interesting documentary about everything that is bad about the music industry… Self destruct now, and watch… and …
Until a couple of weeks ago I could hardly be bothered with the NFL. The 49ers were playing well, but Orange October baseball had upstaged them and temporarily reversed the general preference for football in the hearts and minds of fans and media schedulers, at least in San Francisco. Once the Giants disbanded to their …
I can’t recall the last time a song had me at a single listen. No, that’s not true. I do recall and it just so happens it was from same band. So what is it, exactly, that’s going on here? “This Ladder Is Ours” is the third new release from TJF and the second song …
“Everything I touch gets ruined.” Recently I experienced my 44th straight viewing of A Charlie Brown Christmas… yes, I have the DVD, but there’s nothing like recreating the delayed gratification of one’s youth by watching it on broadcast TV. (Sans the Dolly Madison commercials, sadly.) A Charlie Brown Christmas, to me, is like spending bittersweet, …
Mika has sold over 8 million records worldwide, and returned last month with his third DIY The Origin Of Love via Universal Republic.