January 28, 2008
This excerpt from a Wired.com article is the funniest thing I've read in a long time, especially because it wasn't, as far as I can tell, supposed to be funny: "The prospect of having fans understand what I'm saying and repeat it in their language (drew me to) the company," said [rapper] Prodigy in a phone interview just before he …
Read more.
December 4, 2006
Sara and I went to see Jonathan Coulton perform at the Intersection last week, and we absolutely loved it. I've been listening to his music for a few months now, ever since a friend at work introduced me to the geek anthem, "Code Monkey." So, when the same friend told me that Jonathan Coulton was coming to town, I jumped …
Read more.
August 14, 2006
Last year I wrote about a cool web-based tool called Chord Guide. Well, recently I stumbled upon an even cooler tool of the same ilk — this one called chordbook.com. You can choose a base chord or any of its variations and then press the strum button to listen to the chord ring out on your computer. I would have …
Read more.
January 19, 2006
Over the past year, I've listened to a lot of new music, most of which, regrettably, I haven't liked very much. Because I have my headphones on during much of the day at work, I burn through music pretty quickly. Even though by now I should be content with the music I have, sometimes nothing in my library will do. …
Read more.
September 14, 2005
One of my greatest joys in life is discovering new things about old friends. I made just such a discovery (and felt the joy) two weeks ago when Peter LaGrand came over for dinner with his new CD in hand. When I first met Peter, I was a college student and he was a 10-year-old skaterat with long blonde hair …
Read more.
August 10, 2005
Inspired by my friend Drew's suggestion in a recent comment, I've put together a little list of songs that I really enjoy despite my better judgment. These are songs that are too trendy or too goofy or too something for any "serious-minded" music fan to admire. But I like them anyway, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Maybe just …
Read more.
June 28, 2005
Musical taste is an inscrutable thing. Some songs are immediately pleasing to the ear, while others demand a lot of work and repeated listens. Some are hailed by critics and spurned by the public, while others are panned by critics as they ascend to the top of the charts. On a much smaller scale, two people could have the same …
Read more.
April 28, 2005
With the release of "Bright as You," his second solo effort, Jason Harrod has clearly come into his own as a songwriter and as a musician. The album is a sweeping landscape of shadows and light, with richly textured melodies capturing moments of sorrow and exuberance. On "Messed Up Everywhere Blues," which isn't a blues song at all, Harrod in …
Read more.
January 24, 2005
There is a great tradition of visual artists using "found" objects to create new masterpieces, be they sculpture, collage, or mixed media. Musicians, too, have mixed a variety of elements into new compositions—bird songs, environmental noise, samples of other recordings. Now, someone who goes by the name Clown Staples has created a song using only the very basic Sound Recorder …
Read more.
January 1, 2005
Unlike most 2004 music lists, this one isn't limited to albums that were released during the year. Instead, it's merely a list of the albums I listened to the most, the tunes that got me through my days, the songs that accompanied me on the bus ride home from work. I wouldn't even call these the "best" albums of the …
Read more.
January 1, 2005
Bill Mallonee—singer, songwriter, poet, prophet, and former frontman for Vigilantes of Love—turns 50 today. Even though he started his music career about 15 years later than most other popular musicians, he has pursued it with such intensity and integrity that he has managed to release at least fifteen albums and has amassed a substantial cult following, all with little or …
Read more.
November 14, 2004
My new favorite album is One Moment More, the debut effort of Mindy Smith, a countryish, folkish singer/songwriter currently living in Nashville, where it seems just about every country artist and folk singer and even the stray electronica/dance/pop band (e.g. Venus Hum) winds up if they want to "make it" in the music biz. It's a wonderful collection of sweet …
Read more.
July 8, 2004
Last week's iTunes update included a recording by the rapper Lil Wayne. The name got me wondering: How many other Lil' Rappers are there out there? By doing a simple artist search in the iTunes store, I came up with this lil' list: Lil' Bow Wow Lil C Lil' D Lil' Donte Lil' Fats Lil Flex Lil' Flip Lil Hound …
Read more.
June 24, 2004
I just stumbled upon the coolest a cool site for anyone who likes to bang around on a guitar: chordguide.com. You just click on the root note to get a list of chords. You can make your own list of chords, with fretboard images showing the finger positioning, and click on a chord's name to get variations. It's so easy …
Read more.
April 24, 2004
Kim Taylor performed at Four Friends Coffeehouse on Thursday, April 22. I must say, it was one of the best concerts I have ever seen—and I've seen hundreds. It's a shame there were only eight people there to witness such greatness. A confluence of bad circumstances made for a terribly weak attendance, but the band played as if there was …
Read more.
