June 30, 2008

Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers, and Mary Chapin Carpenter

The next book of Malcolm Gladwell's, the star of our last post, is called Outliers: Why Some People Succeed and Some Don't. It sounds like a great topic for Gladwell. I've been interested in a related phenomenon. Why do some...

June 21, 2008

I Wanna Love You Not So Tender

[With a little help from Mark Evanier]...

June 17, 2008

I Wanna Love You Tender

[Thanks to Elizabeth Frenchman]...

June 13, 2008

Crossing the Bridge

I haven't seen it, but have heard great things about this documentary about the modern Turkish music scene. Tonight on Sundance at 10:00 P.M. I'm firing up the DVR....

May 07, 2008

Who's This?

Two clues: 1. The category icon here. 2. I scarfed the image from Steve Simel's most excellent blog, PowerPop. Answer tomorrow....

April 23, 2008

My Christmas Gift To You (sure, a little belated)

April 16, 2008

Glen Campbell and Stevie Wonder

Here's one of the better versions of Blowin' in the Wind, one that outstrips Stevie's solo version. Two consummate musicians having a ball:...

April 04, 2008

I Can't Make You Love Me

The contender: George Michael. Verdict: Bad haircut. Good vocal. Reigning champion: Bonnie Raitt. Verdict: Decent haircut. Brilliant, heartfelt vocal. And great Bruce Hornsby keyboard. Bonnie Raitt, still champion. Of all the showcase songs that get trotted out on talent competition...

March 06, 2008

Nirvana Meets Don Ho

Smells Like [a different] Teen Spirit....

March 04, 2008

CD Pricing

The pricing of CDs never made much sense to me. Why do the big box retailers charge the lowest price for the most for current, in-demand titles, and the most for older and least desired titles? The new plan by...

March 01, 2008

Sleeveface

The album is not dead. [Thanks to James Gleick]...

February 10, 2008

Grammys

I'm writing this well into the third hour of the Grammy's, before Amy Winehouse's live performance. As anything could happen, let me just observe that this is the best Grammy broadcast in recent memory. Someone, bless him or her, decided...

January 12, 2008

Lou Christie and Devo, please meet Klaus Nomi

January 06, 2008

Igudesman and Joo

Check out all their videos, but we especially like this one. [Thanks to Gerry Fifer]...

December 24, 2007

Merry Christmas!

from Marvin Gaye and the Beach Boys. [Thanks to Phil Miglioratti]...

December 17, 2007

Worst Band Names of '07

My Favorite: Neil Diamond Phillips. ("Part Neil Diamond, Part Lou Diamond Phillips, 100% Rock!") [Thanks to Susan Thomas]...

December 08, 2007

Beach Boys vs. Nirvana

Smells Like Sloop John B: [Thanks to David C. Foyle]...

November 20, 2007

Take That, Katie Couric

BBC News readers perform "All That Jazz" from the musical, Chicago....

October 31, 2007

Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Fats Domino

And we'll throw in Paul Shaffer and Ron Wood, too. Ray Charles, Jerry Lee LewisUploaded by Hanvak...

September 02, 2007

Monterey Pop Festival

40 years later -- a slideshow....

August 17, 2007

British Singers with British Accents

I've joined the twenty-first century, folks. After more than a little resistance, I finally broke down and am now in possession of an 80-gig video Ipod. I've have many thousands of records and CD's and I work at home, with...

August 13, 2007

America's Got Talent

You're not going to find a talent contest/reality show cheesier than America's Got Talent, which makes American Idol look like Masterpiece Theater in comparison. But a strange thing has happened this season. The show features two wonderful performers. One is...

August 01, 2007

Song Tapper

Search for the name of a song by using your keyboard. Well, actually, just by tapping on the space bar. As Gloria Estefan would say if the lyrics to her wrong were slightly different, the rhythm's going to get you...the...

July 25, 2007

The Fendertones

For those of you who have a crying need to see and hear a Beach Boys cover band -- a fantastic one -- please meet the Fendertones. Here they are singing Little Girl I Once Knew and Help Me Rhonda...

June 21, 2007

Dion's Song for Paris

Thanks to Artie Wayne....

June 17, 2007

The Best Cat Ever

Ordinarily, I'm a "dog person." I've always considered cats animals that patronize us and badmouth us behind our backs. But not all cats are created equal. At least one has furthered the course of the arts and is worthy of...

June 05, 2007

Dancing with the Nag

Give this horse a reality show....

June 04, 2007

A Match Made in Musical Hell

This is not a joke. I think. [Thanks to Michael Feldman]...

April 29, 2007

Critical Metrics

Somehow, this very cool website has eluded me until I read about it in the Wall Street Journal. Here's how the site describes itself: Every week, artists, DJs, music tv networks, newspapers, magazines, retailers, and bloggers recommend hundreds of their...

April 15, 2007

You've Had a Little Work Done

One video you probabl won't see on MTV. Or CMT....

February 28, 2007

Turtle Turns Into Professor!

Strange but true!...

January 15, 2007

Rolling Stone

Occasionally, Rolling Stone redeems itself. This issue's tributes to two giants of rock and roll, James Brown and Ahmet Ertegun (co-founder of Atlantic Records) is well worth reading. Some of it is online but if you are fans of these...

December 25, 2006

R.I.P. James Brown

The Godfather of Soul is dead....

My Christmas Gift To You

I come bearing gift. My favorite part of the Christmas season is looking forward to hearing and seeing Darlene Love perform Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)on the David Letterman Show. Here is her brilliant 2004 performance, along with Darlene singing...

December 12, 2006

Music Video of the Day

is La La Means I Love You, written by Thom Bell and the the lead singer, William Hart. And the video, with nothing but the Delfonics lip-synching and dancing on a fake street, is just about perfect....

November 21, 2006

Bad Clothes, Good Song

I'm always happy when I like a song by a musical act that I don't usually like. It gives me the illusion of open-mindedness. I can't say I've ever enjoyed another song that the Osmonds ever issued. But I adore...

November 02, 2006

Thriller...

...with Legos!...

October 15, 2006

Piero Scaruffi

Piero Scaruffi is a man obsessed, and the New York Times wrote a profile of him yesterday. He's interested in many subjects, but one of his obsessions is making "best of" lists of rock music. He shares them at his...

October 06, 2006

Iggy Pop's Concert Rider

One of the great features of The Smoking Gun is the collection of concert riders. Iggy Pop's is not the most demanding, but it is certainly the funniest....

October 05, 2006

Sidethree

This blog does just what it promises: "finding cool pop videos so you don't have to."...

September 13, 2006

My Cubicle

James Blunt meets The Office....

September 07, 2006

The Beachles

The eternal debate: Which was greater? Sgt. Peppers vs. Pet Sounds? The solution? Mash them up. Introducing Sgt. Petsound's....

September 01, 2006

Diddy

The Andy Rooney of hiphop....

August 31, 2006

The Simpons vs. Star Trek

Nobody's a winner....

August 24, 2006

The Top 200 Singles of the 1960s

Pitchfork is one of the better pop/rock music sites on the Web, and often features irresistible lists, such as the "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s." But here's the latest. I must confess that one of the reasons I enjoyed...

August 03, 2006

Bedazzled

The amount of video online is staggering, and a trip to YouTube can induce a migraine and overload. So it's always great when someone with an astute sensibility and an archivist's soul filters a part of what's "out there." Such...

June 01, 2006

"Let Me Go the Right Way"

A user on YouTube has posted a slew of vintage 60s Supremes video, including my favorite song of the group, Let Me Go the Right Way. It was a superb single that didn't break out in the pop market. This...

May 17, 2006

Happy Birthday, Pet Sounds

Perhaps the greatest album in the history of rock and roll was released 40 years ago today. You can buy a 4-CD set documenting the sessions constructing this masterpiece, but a listen to the finished product is just dandy,...

May 03, 2006

LyricWiki.org

Websites with song lyrics don't usually last long, as their mission usually violates copyright laws. My pal Jerilyn Dufresne sent me the link for LyricWiki.org. I have my doubts whether the enterprise is ethical, but it sure is useful....

March 25, 2006

Nena's Proudest Hour

At 2:00 P.M. E.S.T. on VH1 Classic. Be there!...

February 24, 2006

Chris Bliss

The Beatles, as interpreted by three balls and two hands. Must-see viewing. Click on "The Big Finale." [Thanks to Bobby Lloyd]...

February 17, 2006

One Kiss Can Lead To Another

I wish I could write when I'm listening to music, but for some reason I can't. So I'm suffering from music withdrawal right now. When I can steal some time, I've been listening to a box set called One Kiss...

February 15, 2006

Band of the Day

You can't blame us if we're prejudiced....

February 07, 2006

TV Tonight

Has there ever been a contemporary song played on more dramatic and reality shows than James Blunt's "You're Beautiful"? Tonight, Blunt appears as himself on the so-far disappointing Love Monkey (CBS at 10:00 P.M.). On PBS, in most markets, there...

December 18, 2005

Google Music Search

Try typing "Bob Dylan" into the Google search box. Here's what you get......

December 10, 2005

Jersey Boys Soundtrack

I don't have a "theater" category on the blog, because it usually requires a crowbar, a free ticket, and some medication to drag me to a Broadway show. I haven't seen Jersey Boys, the show chronicling the Four Seasons. But...

December 05, 2005

A Different Pricing Model

One of the great female singer-songwriters, Jane Siberry, is offering a deal that she hope you can't refuse -- you can determine how much you are willing to pay to download her music, including as little as zero....

November 21, 2005

Pandora.com

Do you listen to music on the Web? Perhaps to a streaming radio show? Why not create your own station that plays the music you like best, and the music you didn't know you like best?...

November 14, 2005

Tonight Show -- tonight

It takes a lot to get me to tune in to the Tonight Show (I'm a Letterman fan), but tonight is an exception. Neil Diamond is promoting his new CD, and will be joined by Brian Wilson. Any live appearance...

October 02, 2005

Roger McGuinn

Roger McGuinn, leader of the Byrds, keeps one foot firmly in the past (he loves traditional folk music) and one foot securely in the future (he was an early adapter of the Internet and loves technology). Does that mean he...

September 06, 2005

Beatles Timeline

Since I've been plugging Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, how about some love for the Beatles. The Beatles Timeline site is a lot of fun -- and educational, too!...

September 04, 2005

Smile

The New York Review of Books, of all places, publishes a serious appraisal of one of Brian Wilson's masterpieces. Scott Staton's essay is so serious that the essay includes footnotes....

August 23, 2005

Britney Spears Will Not Play Turkmenistan

Sorry....

August 19, 2005

More Music News

So you want to work for a rock star?...

Inflation Isn't Just For Gasoline Anymore

We live in strange times....

July 21, 2005

My Idol

Here's someone who has/had a bigger vinyl collection than me, and finally did something about it (my bedroom has a "wall of vinyl," containing nothing but 45s and LPs). The seller on this Ebay auction, Marty Pekar, produced was a...

May 31, 2005

Smile

In a previous post, I looked forward to seeing Brian Wilson perform Smile at Carnegie Hall. I promised to report back. Is eight months later a timely report? The two concerts exceeded all of my expectations. As a performer, Brian...

May 12, 2005

John Lennon's Jukebox

I loved this Great Performances special on PBS (it will run and be rerun at different times -- check the PBS website for local listings). They had me at the premise: find and interview as many of the musicians as...

May 08, 2005

Musical Postmortem

Ever wonder how a performer critiques his own concert? If you've ever wondered how Paul Anka might behave after a less than perfect concert, and you don't mind some language that would make some sailors cringe, you can find out...

March 23, 2005

Ugly Things

The annual Popular Culture Assn. got off to a smashing start for me with the appearance of Mike Stax, editor of the fanzine,Ugly Things, who has a website of the same name. You got to love folks like Stax who...

December 24, 2004

A Merry Unplugged Christmas

from Brian Wilson and his band...

October 25, 2004

Ashleegate Revisited

If you just can't get enough of the SNL scandal, visit this brand new Australian website that is covering the cover-up. Or the frame-up. Won't the lessons of Watergate and Milli Vanilli ever be learned?...

October 24, 2004

Saturday Night, er, Live

Don't know how long it will stay up, but if you want a lesson the perils of singers working with prerecorded vocals, take a look at Ashlee Simpson on SNL last night, including the "cover-up" at the end of the...

October 10, 2004

Just This Side of Wimpy

I've always had a soft spot for what I call "White Wimp" music -- soft, melodic, harmony-laden music that comes more from a folk tradition than the usual blues. I was shopping at a Trader Joe's the other day and...

September 28, 2004

A Reason To Smile

For fans of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, today is the culmination of 37 years of waiting. I'm going to see Brian Wilson and his band at both of his Carnegie Hall appearances next week. I'll report back....

September 15, 2004

Finn-tastic

If I'm a little cranky about the state of rock, pop, and hiphop these days, it's probably because more than anything in music, I prize a great melody. The music industry is full of players with great instrumental chops, and...