Archive for the 'Editorials' Category
An important album from an important artist. Cover reprinted with permission of Nonesuch records.
You’re reading a review.
About someone you’ve never heard of.
But…
You should know her.
You should know her work.
You should know her work is.
You should know her work is for… YOU!
She is a performance artist, music, dance, theater, comedy, drama, love, hate, technology… She is a political activist. But I don’t go near politics and I don’t go near music artists when they sit between their wives and ex-wives.
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"Fabulous babe" Julie Slick bids adieu to the hometown crowd at World Cafe Live. Photo by Lynn Vala
Her last track, which I missed the name of, is another manic track. With eerie synths, this time the track is louder than the bass, even with the harmonizer on the bass. Even a fake-out stop can’t break her concentration; she counts it off, comes right in on time and wails to the end.
Ever shoeless, the thanks us and exits the stage having conquered it. During the intermission she disappears into the crowd.
After a brief change over to remove Slick’s equipment for the most part, Daniel Rowland comes out and starts the show with a midi-generated track, but no Belew???
One guy, a ton of equipment, and an even bigger sound. Photo by Lynn Vala
Belew then announces that his album e will be performed by an orchestra in Amsterdam. He then attempts to play “d” from his e album. After two times he gets his loop right. After that, flawless.
He seemed pleased with it.
Adrian Belew brings his art and music together in one place, The World Cafe Live. Photo by Lynn Vala
Philadelphia PA – I had seen the warnings on the suburban Philadelphia news channels. But no one told me JUST how bad the highway construction was going to be getting down to Philadelphia. I had seen multiple automobile accidents, right from the time I left my house before I even got on a highway, a few blocks from home was a triple-car rear ender. I knew the show was going to be worth the delays, I hoped it would be worth the apparent danger.
We were basically dodging bullets to get there.
Maniacal bassist and, as Dave Letterman used to say, "one fabulous babe," Julie Slick. Photo by Lynn Vala
Apparently my fears were not founded, or perhaps Belew has advised her that I have found evidence to support his claim that, he too, was on the outside of the truth about King Crimson’s demise, as she was very friendly, personable, even after letting her know that I was NOT the person she thought was connected to the Paul Green School Of Rock. A very nice woman, I only hope she continues to allow me to call her Birdwoman as it is a term of endearment and not derogatory (Robin, bird, Birdwoman, I couldn’t call her birdgirl as the producers of Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law would have my head) but I rarely refer to people by their names if they frequent my blog, I prefer to maintain privacy for people. If she has a complaint about it, she has my contact card and can stop me if she wishes. She’s so nice, I would for her.
25 Albums You Should Own
Author: Butler Bad
Over time, there have many great musical artists and from each artist comes an assortment of songs that become an album. In theory the sum of an album should be equal or greater than its parts (songs). If only this were true. Today, with streaming audio, and the ability to buy/download single songs, the allure and importance of the album has waned. Artists might release several EP’s before they release a full length album. Read the rest of this entry »
iTunes: Friend or Foe
Author: Butler Bad
iTunes might be the anti-Christ to the music industry. Now, before I get too far into this blog, let me go on record and say, I have drank the Kool-Aid from the crimson stained iTunes cup and I am a fan of all the flavors. I just don’t always feel good about it! Read the rest of this entry »
Blue is the new red for THIS year's energy dome. Let's hope there will be more NEW Devo albums like Something For Everybody! Cover reprinted with permission.
De-evolution is real! De-evolution is the condition under which a society returns to its roots. When individuals devolve, the basic human instinct kicks in and makes us want to drag our knuckles on the ground, carry a thigh bone of some sun bleached carcass, and appear disgruntled in Geico commercials.
When music devolves, its top performers appear in their underwear flipping the bird at a major league baseball game. (To Lady “MessMess”, I am a Mets fan, I hope every Mets fan that sees you in concert, on the street, with your parents, flips YOU the bird. The Mets will be around long after your 15 minutes of nudity are over!)
It’s time for common sense, it’s time for transparency in the music business, we are long overdue for some good music, and it is most definitely time, once again, for Devo…
Under the Covers: A list of great cover songs
Author: Butler Bad
Some songs are so great that everyone wants to sing them and add their own unique style. Some do it to pay homage to an artist, others feel a certain connection to the song and/or artist, and yet others are just looking to be the next American Idol.
The cover tune is the metaphorical equivalent of making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Anyone can do it but not everyone does it right. To make it right, PB&J requires lightly toasted bread, an abundance of peanut butter on both slices of the bread, and a generous slathering of jelly. I’m a grape or raspberry fan myself.
So, let’s get under the covers: Read the rest of this entry »
Belew motions for you all to come out to one of his shows and see his music. Photo courtesy Coming Age
In case you readers in the South East region of Pennsylvania don’t know about it, there is a wonderful multi-level music club/eatery/radio station near the 30thStreet Train Station called World Café Live. I have been there several times and even blogged about a couple of those experiences. It is a really nice venue for artists who don’t require the impersonality of a stadium. It is an intimate performance space capable of handling the loudest metal band to the most introspective and demure acts.
I’m positive Adrian Belew will plunk us somewhere right in between those two extremes.
Elvis Schmaltz Obscures Role as Music Pioneer
Author: Bob Bembridge
Surprise quiz.
Who was a bigger influence on popular music, Elvis Presley or the Beatles? Read the rest of this entry »
It isn’t often a small rags-to-rags magazine operating out of a one-room office in San Francisco grows into a monolithic industry-influencing powerhouse that Rolling Stone has become. This all falls on the shoulders of one Jann Wenner. To say a rock and roll magazine toppled an active-duty military General is unfair.
Stanley McChrystal brought himself down by being honest.
The Gateway to a wide-open dimension of contemporary, no-nonsense musical education, The Players School Of Music in Clearwater Fl.
American Idol, Season 9. (:P
Author: Melissa
On May 27, The ninth season of American Idol crowned their champion. Lee DeWyze, a paint store employee from Mount Prospect, Illinois used his sultry voice and knowledge of the classics to beat the odds and earned the title of America’s Ninth Idol. And nobody really cared. Read the rest of this entry »
Tony Dancy (l), Craig Fairchild (c) and Lanny Hale (r) are the Tygers in human form.
In my course of searching for that ever-elusive new music, sometimes you come across something unique, different, and if you’re lucky, sometimes you come across something with a gimmick to latch onto.
Never mind two!
Berlin poses with a neon copy of his Dean bass. A sweet sounding instrument as evidenced on his new album, "High Standards".
There used to be a blogger I worked with a while ago. Anthony Medici, whom I admired for his tenacity, work ethic and integrity. I especially respected him once he started to take on the major jazz publications and took them to task! He also had some harsh words for a local public radio outlet near his hometown (Washington DC area). But he knew his stuff about jazz, and were he still working for the blog, I would ask him to review Jeff Berlin’s new disc, and most likely ask him to do this interview.
It isn’t as though I am totally foreign to Berlin’s work. I was first exposed to Jeff Berlin during his tenure with Bill Bruford’s fusion band, Bruford in the late 70’s. Having recently purchased the “Bruford – Rock Goes To College ” DVD, I was able to watch a young Jeff Berlin toss around riffs with the likes of Bruford, Allan Holdsworth, among others.
Berlin has come a long way…
Bet You Don’t Have Just One! (Classically Speaking #2 by Ken Howard)
Author: Kenneth P. Howard
In my years of listening to classical music of all genres and forms, there are a number of compositions which speak to me so profoundly or entertain me on so many levels that just one recording of it is never enough. My father has often asked me, “Why do you have so many versions of one piece?” Very bluntly I would reply, “Because no two performances are the same.” This observation has only increased in truth for me as time has gone by. Verdi’s DON CARLO, Cilea’s ADRIANA LECOUVREUR, Puccini’s SUOR ANGELICA and Offenbach’s LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN top a very long list of my favorite operas – the Verdi and the Offenbach all the more because of the different versions which have been used. Symphonically speaking, I have several takes on Respighi’s THE PINES OF ROME, while the most entries in my choral section are of the requiems of Verdi, Faure, and Durufle as well as Orff’s CARMINA BURANA. Comparing tempi, articulation, vocal timbre, phrasing, etc. can be a fun sort of way to dig deeper into favorites and discover new nuances in the hands of different artists. Some collectors may claim that a particular recording or performance is definitive, but I prefer to allow room for other possibilities by saying that I have favorite interpretations based on the talents and temperaments of the forces involved.
DANGER DANGER, WILL ROBINSON! BOULE REVIEWS BELEW’S “e”! DANGER, DANGER!!!
Author: Jeff Boule
Sorry, my copy of Belew's e was written all over... BY THE BAND!! (Reprinted with permission from Adrian Belew Presents)
Hi! Remember me? I’m the guy who broke the story that King Crimson was rumored to be over because a player in the scenario affixed situations to realities and created a rumored scheduling rift between when Fripp had wanted to do Crimson dates and the subject of this review, the Adrian Belew Power Trio had dates scheduled during that time. When Fripp became aware of the scheduling rift, he took it as Belew not being as committed to KC as Fripp would have wanted.
Or so it is alleged. I am not sticking my neck onto that chopping block again…
Entertainment Is Killing Music!
Author: Butler Bad
Ok, I blog about music that I think is worth listening to. I have written about people that I have seen in concert and music that I listen to on a regular basis. I write about artists. The question that I often ponder when making my musical choices is this: What is the line that divides music between art and entertainment? Is the latest boy/girl band that sings over recorded beats art or entertainment? Personally, I consider it neither and closer to the eighth ring of hell. No offense to those kids who were new on the block, the boys of the backstreet, or the menagerie of boys that danced in sync because at 18-20, I would have probably sold my soul for the money and chicks as well. Read the rest of this entry »
BOSCH ARE MORE THAN GERMAN CAR PART MANUFACTURERS. MUCH MORE!
Author: Jeff Boule
BOSCH are (from l to r) Christopher Brown, Charles Greenleaf, and Kevin Sims. I dig `em daddy-o!
I find it hard to find new music I LIKE. Yeah, yeah, there are satellite channels, pay-radio, web-radio, TV “music” channels, friends, etc. But just because there are multiple sources of input does not necessarily yield categorical output.
I like BOSCH.