David Bowie has some questions and criticisms about MTV’s lack of videos featuring black artists in this 1983 interview with Mark Goodman.
The greatest album covers of jazz
Blue Note captured the refined sophistication of jazz during the early 60s, giving it its signature look in the process.
When asked to visualize what jazz looks like, you might picture bold typography, two tone photography, and minimal graphic design. If you did, you’re recalling the work of a jazz label that single-handedly defined the “look” of jazz music in the 1950s and1960s: Blue Note.
Inspired by the ever present Swiss lettering style that defined 20th century graphic design (think Paul Rand), Blue Note captured the refined sophistication of jazz during the early 60s, particularly during the hard bop era, and gave it a definitive visual identity through album covers.
Some songs don’t just stick in your head, they change the music world forever. Join Estelle Caswell on a musical journey to discover the stories behind your favorite songs.
Photo Gallery: Snow Patrol with We Are Scientists at Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall
All photos by Mini’s Memories. You can contact her at minismemories@hotmail.com
Watch Roy Clark from Hee Haw perform an absolutely incredible version of “Malagueña” by Ernesto Lecuona on The Odd Couple TV show
In this episode of The Odd Couple, Felix gets Oscar’s old Army buddy into the music business. Likely, since that pal is Roy Clark. Watch him play an absolutely incredible cover version of the Cuban Flamenco song “Malagueña” by Ernesto Lecuona.
What does the universe sound like? Let a guitar-playing Astrophysicist explain it for you.
Is outer space really the silent and lifeless place it’s often depicted to be? Perhaps not. Astrophysicist and musician Matt Russo takes us on a journey through the cosmos, revealing the hidden rhythms and harmonies of planetary orbits. The universe is full of music, he says — we just need to learn how to hear it.
Something even more exciting about this system especially for me, and that’s the Trappist One is a resonant chain and so that means for every two orbits of the outer planet, the next one in orbits three times and the next one in 4 and then 6 9 15 and 24. So you see a lot of very simple ratios among the orbits of these planets. Clearly if you speed up their motion you can get rhythms right. One beat say for every time a planet goes around. But now we know if you speed that motion up even more you’ll actually produce musical pitches and in this case alone those pictures will work together making harmonious even human-like harmony.
Animated Video Of A 1992 Bill Hicks Commentary About Choosing Love Over Fear
Bill Hicks was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist and musician. His material, encompassing a wide range of social issues including religion, politics, and philosophy, was controversial, and often steeped in dark comedy. Here’s a brilliantly illustrated episode of After Skool features the very timely words of Bill from his “It’s Just a Ride” routine.
A choice right now between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your door, buy guns and close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us. Just one.
Chris Cornell Tells Howard Stern How He Wrote ‘Black Hole Sun’ Before Performing the Song Live on SiriusXM
In 2007, Chris Cornell visited the Stern Show and told Howard how he wrote the Soundgarden hit “Black Hole Sun” before performing it live in the studio.
Sesame Street: Your Grouchy Face with James Taylor
From 1978, James Taylor and Oscar the Grouch sing about how rotten they make each other feel!
My Next Read: Why You Like It: The Science and Culture of Musical Taste
From the chief architect of the Pandora Radio’s Music Genome Project comes a definitive and groundbreaking examination of how your mind, body, and upbringing influence the music you love.
Everyone loves music. But what is it that makes music so universally beloved and have such a powerful effect on us?
In this sweeping and authoritative book, Dr. Nolan Gasser ― a composer, pianist, and musicologist, and the chief architect of the Music Genome Project, which powers Pandora Radio―breaks down what musical taste is, where it comes from, and what our favorite songs say about us.
Dr. Gasser delves into the science, psychology, and sociology that explains why humans love music so much; how our brains process music; and why you may love Queen but your best friend loves Kiss. He sheds light on why babies can clap along to rhythmic patterns and reveals the reason behind why different cultures around the globe identify the same kinds of music as happy, sad, or scary. Using easy-to-follow notated musical scores, Dr. Gasser teaches music fans how to become engaged listeners and provides them with the tools to enhance their musical preferences. He takes readers under the hood of their favorite genres―pop, rock, jazz, hip hop, electronica, world music, and classical―and covers songs from Taylor Swift to Led Zeppelin to Kendrick Lamar to Bill Evans to Beethoven, and through their work, Dr. Gasser introduces the musical concepts behind why you hum along, tap your foot, and feel deeply. Why You Like It will teach you how to follow the musical discourse happening within a song and thereby empower your musical taste, so you will never hear music the same way again.
You can buy it here.
Eels’ E discusses the best show he ever saw, and what Leon Russell taught him
Was there a particularly memorable show you witnessed in your formative years?
I was lucky to grow up in the late ’60s and early ’70s. I had a sister who was six years older than me. She was into a lot of the best music of the time, so she took me to Neil Young’s Rust Never Sleeps concert when I was 16. I saw Led Zeppelin twice on their last tour. My very first concert was George Harrison with Billy Preston. I was very fortunate. I saw the Who with Keith Moon. I’m showing my old-as-fuck age, but I was a little kid at the time.
Did you become a student of performance along the way?
I was heavily influenced by all the people I saw. I remember learning some really great lessons. One day my friend, Anthony, I was probably about 18 at the time, called me and said, “Hey, Leon Russell is playing this horserace track in Maryland.” It as the middle of the day at like an arts and crafts fair. We drove out there, and there wasn’t really anyone there. Sparsely-attended.
I felt sorry for Leon. Then he came out and put on this show that, to this day, is one of the greatest shows I ever saw. It was as if he was blind and didn’t know how sparsely-attended it was. That taught me a really valuable lesson. We all have shows like that. It’ll probably happen to us on this tour. When that happens, I always remember what Leon taught me that day: Just fucking bring it.
Right on.
The funny thing is, the few times that’s happened to us, there was usually someone in the crowd who’s now a famous artist or filmmaker or actor or musician. They always tell me that they were one of those few people in attendance and that it made a huge impact on them. That makes the lesson even more valuable. You never know who’s out there. You’re doing God’s work.