music

Stories 641 - 660 | << Prev   Next >>

At 50, Kind of Blue Still Totally Awesome

(Newser) - In 1959, Miles Davis was looking to forge a path away from the bebop spearheaded by mentor Charlie Parker, Fred Kaplan writes on Slate. “Parker not only invented bebop, he perfected it,” Kaplan continues, leaving Davis nowhere else to go. So when Davis was introduced to so-called “...

New Kiss Disc to Land at Wal-Mart

Group becomes latest classic band to move merch through retailer

(Newser) - The deal was sealed with a Kiss: the heavy metal band is joining the ranks of classic bands releasing their music through Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, the AP reports. Their new collection, “Sonic Boom,” comes out Oct. 6 only at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club; it...

RIP, Mix Tapes, Porn Age Limits, Typewriters, and More

(Newser) - Word processors, dot-matrix printers, rotary phones, and other formerly state-of-the-art technologies are just about gone and nearly forgotten. Carrying the torch for the likes of holding up a cigarette lighter at a concert is JR Raphael of PC World, who lists 40 leading lights of abandoned technology:
  • Looking up numbers
...

Hold Music Improves, But Slowly

(Newser) - We may have Erik Satie to blame for hold music—the composer “developed a very cynical attitude” toward a distracted listening public and decided modern music would be more like a chair than an intellectual pursuit—but the science behind it is state-of-the-art, Newsweek reports. Studies on the intrusion...

Dance the Night Away With Handclap
 Dance the Night 
 Away With Handclap 


MUSIC REVIEW
Aug 14, 2009 2:51 PM CDT

Dance the Night Away With Handclap

Band has high-profile guests and a fun vibe that runs a bit too long

(Newser) - The Phenomenal Handclap Band gets a leg up on its self-titled debut from buzzworthy guests like TV on the Radio and the Dap-Kings—but one of the unfortunate consequences is that “there's a feeling of anonymity to the band,” writes Paul Thompson for Pitchfork. Nonetheless, when it comes...

Mel, Babymamma Record Duet
 Mel, Babymamma Record Duet 
Aug 14, 2009 9:30 AM CDT

Mel, Babymamma Record Duet

Duets with babymama to be released, plague us all

(Newser) - The 40th anniversary of Woodstock—what a perfect day for the announcement that Mel Gibson is making what is sure to become known as musical history. The actor provides guest vocals for two of the tracks on babymamma Oksana Grigorieva’s upcoming album, the Mirror reports. In not nearly so...

The Music Sucked at Woodstock
 The Music Sucked at Woodstock 
OPINION
Aug 14, 2009 7:06 AM CDT

The Music Sucked at Woodstock

(Newser) - Woodstock become an iconic event of the '60s, but according to Wall Street Journal critic Jim Fusilli, it was a mediocre festival at best. Major artists like Lennon, the Doors, and Led Zeppelin stayed away, those who did show were drugged up, and sound equipment failed—the whole thing was...

Music Legend Les Paul Dead at 94
 Music Legend  
 Les Paul Dead at 94 
obituary
Aug 13, 2009 1:05 PM CDT

Music Legend Les Paul Dead at 94

Inventor, guitarist 'changed the course of 20th-century popular music'

(Newser) - Musical innovator and guitar legend Les Paul died today in White Plains, NY. He was 94. A “virtuoso guitarist” himself, in the early 1940s Paul pioneered the “log” guitar, “probably the first solid-body electric guitar," writes Jon Pareles of the New York Times. His popular Gibson...

Best Rock Documentaries
 Best Rock Documentaries 
Aug 11, 2009 2:47 PM CDT

Best Rock Documentaries

(Newser) - In honor of Woodstock—which happened 40 years ago this weekend—and the “seminal documentary” that captured it, John Farr shares his list of the 10 best rock concert/performance films—all of which are “meant to be played loud,” he writes on the Huffington Post. “So...

Happy 100th to the Man Who Changed Rock
 Happy 100th to the 
 Man Who Changed Rock 
appreciation
Aug 10, 2009 11:41 AM CDT

Happy 100th to the Man Who Changed Rock

Leo Fender, inventor of the Stratocaster, born Aug. 10, 1909

(Newser) - Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of a man who forever changed rock and roll—even though he couldn’t play the instrument inextricably associated with his name. Leo Fender designed guitars and amplifiers that have endured for decades, including the legendary Fender Stratocaster, played by Jimi Hendrix,...

Radiohead Stuns With Anthem for WWI Vet
 Radiohead Stuns With 
 Anthem for WWI Vet 
MUSIC REVIEW
Aug 10, 2009 7:39 AM CDT

Radiohead Stuns With Anthem for WWI Vet

(Newser) - Radiohead made waves when they let fans download their last album for whatever price they wanted, yet a new online-only track has been released in the past week to far less fanfare. "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" commemorates the last British veteran of World War I, who died last...

Maxwell and K'Jon Force Soul Music to Grow Up
Maxwell and K'Jon Force
Soul Music to Grow Up
ALBUM REVIEWS
Aug 8, 2009 3:52 PM CDT

Maxwell and K'Jon Force Soul Music to Grow Up

Maxwell, K'Jon lead return to classical soul era's adult themes and sound

(Newser) - Soul music has always been adult, conveying mature themes like financial insecurity and emotional anxiety. Now, with the emergence of K’Jon and the return of Maxwell, it finally sounds adult, too, Jon Caramanica writes in the New York Times. “K’Jon and Maxwell represent a strain of R&...

New Generation of UK Rappers Steps Out

Kids are coming out of the woodwork earlier to become Internet sensations

(Newser) - Grime—a musical genre fusing, among other things, hip-hop, electronica, and Caribbean influences—is being rejuvenated and redefined by “youngers,” the new generation of Internet-savvy MCs reaching for the charts, the Independent reports. “The ‘olders’ grew up listening to rap and hip-hop and other artists from...

Beastie Boy Yauch Has Successful Cancer Surgery

(Newser) - Beastie Boy Adam Yauch has had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his salivary gland and is recovering at home, Rolling Stone reports. The rapper says he had the procedure a week and a half ago, and spent just one night in the hospital. Though his recovery is going...

Boyle: I Did It for My Mom
 Boyle: I Did It for My Mom  
Interview
Aug 6, 2009 2:23 PM CDT

Boyle: I Did It for My Mom

Fame hasn't gone to singing sensation's head

(Newser) - Soaring to stardom was “too big for anyone to handle,” says Susan Boyle. But in her first major magazine interview, the singer doesn't pause when asked whether she’s glad she went on Britain’s Got Talent: “Come on! It goes without saying,” she tells Harper’...

Hip-Hop's Next Big Thing 'Fine, Fresh, Serious'

Sure, her life wasn't all hard, but don't write her off as a rapper

(Newser) - “Even in a ‘post-race’ world, street sells,” writes Amy Granzin for Pitchfork. That would explain why some looked at Speech Debelle—the once-homeless UK rapper turned Mercury Prize nominee and "hip-hop's next big thing"—and spun “a tiny bit of flash into blinding bling....

Seacrest, Idol Alums Sorry to See Abdul Go

Hosts, finalists Tweet their sadness over resignation

(Newser) - Paula Abdul’s surprise announcement that she won’t return to American Idol has disappointed fellow host Ryan Seacrest and several Idol alumni, E! Online reports.
  • "I was shocked," Seacrest said on his radio show this morning. "I'm just bummed because we've worked together for so
...

Gangsta Rap Has Nothing on Filthy Blues of Old

(Newser) - Some complain about the explicit lyrics in rap, but modern MCs have nothing on early-20th-century blues singers. Compared to them, “the members of NWA are levelheaded concerned citizens,” says Cracked. A sampling:
  • "A to Z Blues," Blind Willie McTell, 1956: "I'm gonna cut A, B,
...

Asperger's Man Could Be Next Susan Boyle

Briton who can barely leave the house wows X Factor judges

(Newser) - A young singer with Asperger’s syndrome who once spent 7 years without leaving his home is poised to take the British reality TV world by storm, the Independent reports. 21-year-old Scott James’ yet-to-be broadcast audition on the show X Factor features a rave review from Simon Cowell, earning him...

Take Those Tunes Beyond Your iPod

 Take Those 
 Tunes Beyond 
 Your iPod 
OPINION
Aug 5, 2009 12:22 PM CDT

Take Those Tunes Beyond Your iPod

At least five sites can help

(Newser) - Sure, you can listen to the hundreds of gigs of music you have on your computer—but why limit yourself? Mashable lists the top Web sites and applications to help you really utilize your audio library:
  • Last.fm: One of the Web’s most popular music social networks, the site’
...

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