Mark Olson revealed on Many Colored Kite
As a founding member and primary singer/songwriter of The Jayhawks, Mark Olson often sang behind the beat, letting the music dictate which direction his voice would travel, but on his newest album to date, Many Colored Kite his voice leads the inspiring sounds that create this beautiful collection of songs.
Nneka Not Even Close To Ease
When your heart is as big as your Afro, when your talents stretch from teardrop soul-singing to freestyle rapping to a first-class degree from a top Continental university, when you’ve got so much to say about so much, then you are in it for the long haul.
Sweet Cyanide Part Deux
With stellar songs like “Bad Jesus,” “Red Rats,” and my personal favorite, “Dirty Sexy Pig,” the album should have been titled kick your ass and leave you begging for more because that is exactly what it does.
Justin Currie takes Joe’s Pub through The Great War
When Justin Currie performed at New York City’s famed Joe’s Pub in mid-June the place was packed with people of all ages expecting to hear tunes from the group he co-founded in Scotland during the mid 80’s called Del Amitri. His songs gained notoriety because they combined uplifting tunes and darker lyrical themes.
How The Stones Survived Exile On Main Street
Director Stephen Kijak takes us back to the villa called Nellcote at Villefranche-sur-Mer in the South of France where the Rolling Stones wrote and recorded their seminal classic, Exile On Main Street. While watching the extraordinary film you get a sense of the turmoil and emotion that went into this phenomenal record.
Massive Attack Sheds a Teardrop in NYC
The group's most recent album, Heligoland features the singing of perennial choice Horace Andy plus the following invited vocalists: Tunde Adebimpe of TV On The Radio, Damon Albarn of Gorillaz, Hope Sandoval of Hope Sandoval And The Warm Inventions and Mazzy Star, Guy Garvey of Elbow and Martina Topley-Bird
Tracey Ullman Takes on America in State of the Union
Tracey is back with a high octane comedy about the many flavors of American culture called State of The Union. It's like a YouTube-mentality show. I don't think anyone's got the focus at the moment for 14-minute sketches, so I decided to make it fast and furious," says Ullman. "It's never boring. If you don't like this bit, you'll like the next bit.
Hank & Cupcakes Rock Out While Giving Back
"We create something new every time we play we play and invite the audience to take part in the process," and that is exactly what happened when the duo brought their explosive sound the New York City's famed Mercury Lounge in early June.
New York City’s Enigmatic Linfinity
Linfinity are a New York City based group of musicians who helped form a band around enigmatic front man Dylan Von Wagner. The initial impetus behind the endeavor could best be described as a spark, or the clicking on of a light bulb.
Metallica vs. Megadeth: The Great Debate
Alright, we all know the story about Dave Mustaine being kicked out of Metallica before the band recorded its first album, 1983’s Kill’Em All, and the how Mustaine was so pissed after his departure that he created the band Megadeth, which he deemed harder and faster than Metallica. But this doesn't settle anything.
Jace Everett Bleeds Intensity on Red Revelations
Although “Bad Things” is the song that took off, Red Revelations is filled with heavy music that grabs at the soul with unbelievable precision. “Burn For You,” is a riveting song that emphasizes how hot the feeling can be when two people are madly in love.
Common Gets New York ‘Just Wright’ For Movie Premiere
He sports an old school style of rap reminiscent of lyrical geniuses such as Kool G Rap, Rakim, and KRS-One, and on a chilly saturday night in New York City the Man from the City of Wind blew the roof off Highline Ballroom to promote his new movie Just Wright, starring himself alongside veteran actor/rapper Queen Latifah
Turkish Superstars Rock the Hiro
Painted On Water, the duo of star Turkish performers, whose current self-titled album project by the vocalist Sertab Erener and composer/guitarist Demir Demirkan, recently performed at the Hiro Ballroom in New York City. A highlight of their show, “Love” features a powerfully mesmerizing vocal by Erener with a rare background by Demirkan.
Mark Olson revealed on Many Colored Kite
When singers perform on stage with a band it’s very easy for their lyrical potency to be diluted by the onstage sonic alchemy. As a founding member and primary singer/songwriter of The Jayhawks, Mark Olson often sang behind the beat, letting the music dictate which direction his voice would travel, but on his newest album to date, Many Colored Kite his voice leads the inspiring sounds that create... [Read more]
Nneka Not Even Close To Ease
Pop music is a ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ world. A starburst of YouTube notoriety and then oblivion. Or at least it is for most. But when your journey has been as long and extraordinary as Nneka’s – when you’ve travelled 10,000 miles and are still only just starting out – then instant celebrity is the last thing on your mind. When your heart is as big as your Afro, when your talents... [Read more]
Sweet Cyanide Part Deux
When bands release their debut album it’s hard to tell whether they will be successful enough to put out a second effort. Some bands break up while others become one hit wonders. Black Sabbath’s second album, Paranoid still demands airtime decades after its release. Van Halen’s second album paved their way to international stardom, and Led Zeppelin II gave us “Whole Lotta Love,” “Heartbreaker,”... [Read more]
Justin Currie takes Joe’s Pub through The Great War
When Justin Currie performed at New York City’s famed Joe’s Pub in mid-June the place was packed with people of all ages expecting to hear tunes from the group he co-founded in Scotland during the mid 80’s called Del Amitri . Songs like “Kiss This Thing Goodbye,” “Just Like A Man,” and “Always The Last To Know” gained notoriety because of Currie’s ability to combine uplifting tunes... [Read more]
How The Stones Survived Exile On Main Street
One of my fondest memories of college was when my friend Brad invited me into his apartment and got me listening to The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on his really expensive Sony headphones. It was after this listening session that I became a devout fan of The Beatles’ music, and unknowingly chose sides in the great musical debate. Most people I knew who liked The Beatles were... [Read more]
Massive Attack Sheds a Teardrop in NYC
Massive Attack are a collaborative British music production duo from Bristol. Working alongside co-producers, various favoured session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be progenitors of the trip hop genre. Originally three in number, DJs Grantley “Grant” Marshall (a.k.a. Daddy G or “G”), Andrew “Andy” Vowles... [Read more]
Tracey Ullman Takes on America in State of the Union
In the early 80’s, Tracey Ullman entered a competition in London for an improvised play about club acts. It was here she created the character Beverly, a born-again christian singer. Being Beverly won her the “Best Newcomer Award,” and launched a career that would go on to profoundly impact generations of television viewers. You know that crazy little show that has been around for... [Read more]
Hank & Cupcakes Rock Out While Giving Back
“Since we’re a couple, our love and musical communication gives the music a sense of urgency when we play live,” Cupcakes explains. “We create something new every time we play we play and invite the audience to take part in the process,” and that is exactly what happened when the duo brought their explosive sound the New York City’s famed Mercury Lounge in early... [Read more]
New York City’s Enigmatic Linfinity
Linfinity are a New York City based group of musicians who helped form a band around enigmatic front man Dylan Von Wagner. The initial impetus behind the endeavor could best be described as a spark, or the clicking on of a light bulb. He began the project after something unknown popped in his brain and the drive to create became impossible to contain. Getting serious about music in his late 20s, a... [Read more]
Metallica vs. Megadeth: The Great Debate
When Metallica was inducted into the Rock’N’Roll Hall of Fame last year I was not surprised. Their newest album, Death Magnetic, is a blitzkrieg of sonic mayhem that includes heart pounding bass lines from newbie Robert Trujillo on top of Rick Ruben’s dynamic productions. Besides the band’s countless world tours Metallica have gone on to sell 52,271,000 albums in the United States alone, so... [Read more]
Jace Everett Bleeds Intensity on Red Revelations
In his “shadow theory,” Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung talks about that special place in all of us where the “good half” of our personality stores the “bad half.” For example, let’s say you want a shot of Jameson’s Irish Whiskey, but learned from an early age that it causes liver damage, the “good half,” according to Jung, will trap that urge in the shadow to protect itself from harm.... [Read more]
Common Gets New York ‘Just Wright’ For Movie Premiere
Congratulations to Mr. “Can I Borrow a Dollar?” himself, Common Sense, the Chi-Town native with a penchant for the type of rap us writers like to call…good. He sports an old school style of rap reminiscent of lyrical geniuses such as Kool G Rap, Rakim, and KRS-One, and on a chilly saturday night in New York City the Man from the City of Wind blew the roof off Highline Ballroom to... [Read more]
Turkish Superstars Rock the Hiro
Painted On Water, the duo of star Turkish performers, whose current self-titled album project by the vocalist Sertab Erener and composer/guitarist Demir Demirkan, recently performed at the Hiro Ballroom in New York City. A highlight of their show, “Love” features a powerfully haunting and mesmerizing vocal by Erener with a rare background vocal by Demirkan. Recorded in Istanbul, “Love” was... [Read more]
New Amerykah from the “Window Seat”
Source:Wikipedia In contrast to its predecessor New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) (2008), which was digitally produced and political in tone, New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) incorporates sampling and live instrumentation, while its more personal lyrics focus on themes of romance and relationships. Badu has described its sound as “very analog”. Recording during 2006 to... [Read more]
Believing in Goldfrapp’s Head First
Source:Wikipedia Head First is Goldfrapp’s most powerful trip to date, a speedy rush of synth optimism, euphoria, fantasy and romance. With life affirming lyrics and stellar production it lifts off at full tilt and takes us on a journey to the heart of 2010. The duo’s fifth album, ‘Head First’ is written and produced by band mates Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory and was recorded... [Read more]
Moya Brennan Captivates Manhattan
The spiritual presence of her sound is intoxicating, and the 50 plus people who watched Moya Brennan perform at The Winery in late March witnessed sonic beauty at its finest. Standing between two harps her music radiated throughout the venue, causing waiters and other venue employees to stop dead in their tracks. Moya’s beautiful voice has the power to melt hearts across the globe, and this enchanting... [Read more]
Knebworth Concert Revisited
When Pink Floyd closed out Live 8 with their magnificent rendition of “Comfortably Numb” back in 2005 the event became epic for a number of reasons. Besides the unlikely Floyd reunion, the funds raised by the event, and the multiple locations around the globe that participated it was the first time in 15 years this caliber of talent congregated for charity. The year was 1990, and the location... [Read more]
The Bravery Come For Blood in 2010
We finished touring last summer and immediately returned to the world of writing and recording. There was a new sense of vigor and excitement. We’d never felt more excited to be making music. I wrote songs frantically, all the time. I would go out and come home in the morning with my pockets full of napkins that I’d written lyrics on. The songs were darker, stranger. I have often written about... [Read more]
