A few songwriters have figured out how to write exciting melodies whose notes follow in unexpected patterns to send shivers—visceral or intellectual—through the listener. Richard Strauss’ “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” (opening … Read more
Horace Silver, the jazz pianist and composer who pioneered the style that came to be known as hard bop, died yesterday at his home in New Rochelle, New York. He … Read more
The Hold Steady have gone from Minneapolis bar rats to one of the country’s most acclaimed rock bands in a surprising amount of time. Now, the band are back after … Read more
There was a time when Swans created music so dense and loud it caused visceral gastronomic reactions from audience members during their concerts in the late 80s and early 90s. … Read more
“This is not a gospel band,” Naomi Shelton has said, “It’s a soul band that happens to do songs about love and faith.” This first-rate soul band pumped out joyful … Read more
The disorderly conduct charges filed against Paul Simon and Edie Brickell by the state of Connecticut are set to be dropped this week. Prosecutors in the case are declining to … Read more
If you’ve ever wanted to own Lou Reed’s gear, now’s your chance. Some of the late singer’s equipment is being auctioned on a special eBay page created to raise money … Read more
Jack White’s new album Lazzaretto is a lot of things. It’s pretty good (according to us, at least). It’s a big seller that went to #1 on the Billboard albums chart in … Read more
When they fold up their billowing mushroom tent for the final time, 2014 will have been a full-on Allman Brothers year given the variety of concert celebrations, albums, DVDs, and … Read more
For audiophiles, the case of the Beatles’ catalogue is a frustrating one. Many audio purists will tell you that the Beatles’ early work was meant to be heard in mono, … Read more
