All music discussion goes here, kiddos.
Why would anyone want to write about the Counting Crows? They’re neither obscure nor particularly interesting, right? Well, I’ll grant you the first one. For a long time, they were pretty unescapable. But I think they are more interesting than … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Counting Crows – Just Hear Me Out
I’ve always thought of Ladytron as rainy-day music. Not as in, you stay inside and curl up on your sofa with a blanket, a novel, and a warm cup of tea. More like, it’s raining but you’re out in the … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Ladytron
Dig that awkward announcer! I’ll try my best to do better. In the 50’s and 60’s, Jamaica was getting an influx of American music, notably jazz and rhythm & blues via radio broadcasts from New Orleans; crossbreeding these sounds with … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: First-Wave Ska
Nickel Creek have been together for over 25 years, if you include their hiatus. The band is made up of siblings Sara and Sean Watkins and their family friend Chris Thile. Vocals are sung by all, Sara plays the violin, … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Nickel Creek
This article is the work of commenter Man with Lute. A$AP Rocky is fun. That’s why I like him. His music is fun. It exudes fun even when the song also exudes the flavor of too much cough syrup and … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: A$AP Rocky
part one: https://disqus.com/home/dis… yesterday, we watched Contemporary Christian Music rise out of a marriage of religious and protest folk music and slowly transform from rebel prophet to establishment priest. Despite having outlasted most of its critics, the industry was more careful … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: CCM (Christian Contemporary Music) 1982-1997 Part Two
(DISCLAIMER: I’m focusing on groups that have been primarily marketed to religious audiences and are generally considered part of the CCM “scene.” This excludes groups like U2 and Johnny Cash, who sing about god and religion and who have … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: CCM (Christian Contemporary Music) 1982-1997 (Part One)
Factory Records. Mute. Rough Trade. 4AD. These record labels defined UK independent music in the 1980s. Post-punk is about as useless of a description as new wave (and later, alternative), but each label showcased the era’s best music, and each … Continue reading Record Label Spotlight: 4AD
Buenos ding dong diddly dias. I’ve used ‘Eres Para Mi’ in two previous spotlights for Ana Tijoux and Mala Rodriguez. This time I’m focusing on Julieta Venegas herself. Here’s her solo take She’s not a bad rapper, as well as … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Julieta Venegas
Sometimes you have to remind yourself, listening to Rodrigo y Gabriela, that you’re only hearing two guitarists. Not a drummer, not an 808, not a bunch of samples. Not a hurricane, though you might be forgiven for thinking that. Here’s … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Rodrigo y Gabriela
Bruce Springsteen (and the E Street Band to get really technical about the gist of this write up). I’ve been listening to him dating back to my childhood. My mother was a big fan. So if you end up hating … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Bruce Springsteen
Who better than a machine to tell you about Kraftwerk, the band who became one with their machines? Originally formed formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, Kraftwerk pioneered what electronic music might, could and did become. The … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Kraftwerk – Rise Of The Machines
Evening all. Welcome to a discussion of a scene that was dear to my heart. The scene that convinced me dance music was a viable art form, not just a drug accompaniment. The ‘second summer of love’ in 1988 had … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: Big Beat
Let’s start where I started with Mirah. If you can, I’d like you to put headphones on for this track, so you can hear everything — every intake of breath, every vibration of the string quartet, even the slow decay … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Mirah
Part I of this Spotlight covers the history through 1992. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds were riding the success of Henry’s Dream when they were tapped to play Lollapalooza in 1994. At their greatest commercial exposure to date, anticipation … Continue reading Artist Spotlight – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Part II)
I first discovered Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds when I was in my early teens. Watching Teletunes, a 2-hour block of alternative videos that aired at 10:00 PM every Sunday night, worlds of musical and artistic creativity were opened … Continue reading Artist Spotlight – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Part I)
Martin Denny could be described a lot of ways. An ethnomusicological pastiche artist. An embarrassing cultural imperialist. The logical conclusion of “tiki culture.” A watered-down jazz performer. A creator of overcooked elevator music. The soundtrack to every Shag print ever … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Martin Denny – Jimmy Buffett for the Mad Men Set
Artist Spotlight courtesy of Callipygian Pigeon Twee pop was ostensibly a response to the hyper-masculinity of early punk and the strictures it placed on scene signifiers. Belle & Sebastian and Beat Happening are probably the most famous twee pop bands, … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: Cuddlecore
One rainy night in 1994, I went with my saxophone teacher to Tower Records and bought two CDs: Don’t Try This at Home, by Michael Brecker, who I covered in my last Artist Spotlight ; and Blue Train, by John Coltrane. At the time, … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: John Coltrane
Greetings Avocadoans! Today for my first Scene Spotlight, I will be focusing on that most reviled of genres, the 80s Glam/”Hair” Metal scene, an article which I expect will be embraced by few and ignored by many. But that is … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: ’80s Hair Metal
Sorry LMFAO, you might have been Party Rockin in 2011, but Andrew WK was the one that started the party. Welcome to Artist Spotlight – Andrew WK. A lot of music and new artists I hear about nowadays is thanks … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Andrew WK
