My first musical memory is watching Arthur Fiedler’s Evening at Pops with my dad when I was 2 or 3 years old. I don’t remember anything other than the closing credits, where sad music played over images of the theater emptying. Somewhere, there is a recording of me crying hysterically because that closing sequence devastated me. Yet I was hooked…. Read more »
Released: February 26, 2021 Years ago, my friend Kelly and I would listen to music and dance for hours on the roof of his Greenwich Village apartment building. It was a celebration of music and movement and friendship on starry Saturdays when we had no money or cloudy Mondays when the city that never sleeps was sleeping. Looking back, dancing… Read more »
Released: 1985 The Paul Stolper Gallery is showing the video for Thursday Afternoon in their front window and on their website (with a helpful write-up) from February 24 through March 15, 2021. Reverb Machine has an interesting analysis of the music. Thursday Afternoon is a single piece of music (60 minutes on album or 82 minutes in the video) that… Read more »
Released: November 22, 2019 Amelie Lens’ first mix for Fabric opens with the kind of ebb and flow that makes me love electronic dance music. The ambient soundscape in “Theory of Relativity” drops into a beat that makes your heart rush a little faster, and the retro techno melody of “Limits of Real” builds and evolves and builds and evolves… Read more »
Released: December 1978 When I think of Kenny Rogers, I think of a storyteller. He wasn’t known for being a songwriter, and a 2020 Billboard article quotes him as saying, “Most (of the story songs that writers sent me) were stupid and not well-written, but boy, when you found a good one, it made it all worthwhile.” There are some… Read more »
Released: February 19, 2021 I’ve always steered clear of compilations like this. The reasons became painfully clear as I listened to Trance Party 2021. First, it’s not a mixed set. Part of the joy of this kind of music is the seamless movement from one song to the next, one mood to the next. Second, there’s no flow. Anyone who… Read more »
Released: October 2, 2012 Every time I listen to this record, I hear something different. One day I hear Bill Laswell, the next Parliament, the next Bowie or Prince or Zappa. I heard the Grateful Dead once, but even though I’ve tried, I just can’t find that vibe again. I hear dodgy wanker music on Monday and then on Tuesday… Read more »
Released: March 19, 2013 As a DJ, producer, and label owner, Ellen Allien has pushed the boundaries of techno and electronic music for decades. Her music recreates the energy of Berlin much in the same way Coltrane’s music recreates the energy of New York City. One thing I like about Ellen Allien is her willingness to experiment, to risk failure… Read more »
Released January 27, 2014 The opening track, “Forgiven,” creates a grey mood from its first notes. Its factory-like drone stretches for over seven minutes, the two chords changing in small and interesting ways yet staying the same. It’s the kind of song that could be annoying but makes me excited to hear more. Unfortunately, Ghettoville doesn’t deliver on the promise… Read more »
Released: April 22, 2016 Appearances are a strange part of being a music fan. Sometimes it feels more important to like music that has been accepted by cultural tastemakers than to vulnerably and proudly wear our own tastes. Upon listening to Therapy Session, I immediately recognize that NF is the kind of musician that tastemakers love to ridicule. He’s Christian… Read more »