With each passing year, the R&RHoF further distances itself from any pretense at credibility. Artists who haven’t gotten the call should be proud. It’s that time of year again, when the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (aka, the Mistake by the Lake, part 2) reminds us of the depth of their corruption and irrelevance. That’s right – the annual list
Read moreDylan is one of the greatest artists of his time. But his genius wasn’t about Literature. Part 1 of a series. The Nobel Committee today awarded American folk icon Bob Dylan its annual prize for Literature. Not surprisingly, reactions have been mixed. I’m a bit torn myself. There is no questioning at all the immensity of Dylan’s artistic accomplishments, and
Read moreYabba dabbo do, bitches. It’s beer:thirty.
Read moreWith the 1962 World’s Fair, Seattle asserted itself as the city that invented the future. Seattle Center, home to the Space Needle, Key Arena, the Pacific Science Center and other Jetsonesque architectural wonders, gave us a stunning Mid-Century Modern vision of our presumed technotopian future. In 2000 the EMP Museum opened, inserting a postmodern generational overlay in the form of Frank Gehry’s gripping postmodern
Read moreWe live in an era, sadly, where all too often our greatest talents never find the sort of broad audience their genius deserves. Once upon a time, back in the age of mass media and record labels committed to artist development, back before the Internet nichified music almost to death, back then Jeffrey Dean Foster would have been a massive star.
Read moreSiyayilanda – we are fetching our future. It’s #HopeTuesday, and time for a brief object lesson. Few cultures in our lifetimes have struggled harder against oppression than the South Africans.
Read moreBecause it’s a Power Pop Saturday and I can, that’s why. FYI, Rick didn’t cease to exist at the end of the 1980s.
Read moreWhen they first hit in 1997 with “MMMBop,” I remember Hanson being dismissed by my music intelligentsia friends as some kind of put-up job, a prefab kiddie novelty act. Thing is, it wasn’t true. At all. The brothers Hanson – Taylor, Isaac and Zac – were legit talented, their shiny, radio-friendly sound underpinned by a rich sense of Chicago R&B rhythm
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Rich Flierl may be at the mercy of circumstances, but new CD makes clear his rage to grow and innovate. Let’s hope A Swan’s Song isn’t. Dotsun Moon was rolling in the wake of 2011’s outstanding 4am, but a couple years later singer Mary Ognibene departed the band, leaving songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rich Flierl wondering what to do next. An extended search for a worthy
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I think we all have something we nerd-out over. One of my weaknesses is a capella. I grew up Southern Baptist and in some ways my entire musical aesthetic is driven by the sounds of my childhood: the choir, of course, and also gospel quartets. Every Sunday I’d get up and flip to WXII for the weekly quartet show before church. Modern a capella
Read moreThey don’t even know what it is to be a fan. Y’know? To truly love some silly little piece of music, or some band, so much that it hurts. – Sapphire, Almost Famous My Last.FM profile says I have played Space Team Electra tracks 1,093 times. But that’s misleading. For starters, Last.FM didn’t launch until three years after the band broke up.
Read moreI’m not good with video, but the Space Team Electra reunion show is less than two weeks away and I was inspired to try. If you’re in Denver (or can get here), the details follow the video.
Read moreToday on SVR we honor Dire Straits, one of my all-time favorite bands. I will always remember the exact moment when I first heard Mark Knopfler’s opening note of “Down to the Waterline” – that was back when kids who loved music sat around together in the basement and listened to their big brothers’ and big sisters’ albums. End to end.
Read moreMatt Grimm offers up a new campaign anthem. Line of the year: “What if ideas were the only things too big to fail?”
Read moreOne of popular music’s greatest artists was also an icon of content marketing This may be the most unexpected tribute you read to Rock megastar David Bowie, who has died at age 69 a mere two days after the release of his acclaimed new CD, Blackstar. Before I start, let me acknowledge that some readers may feel like I’m sullying the legacy
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lullaby pit 