music

I Saw a Film Today, Oh Boy

June 3, 2009

When Harmonix released the first Guitar Hero game I was rooting for them. The company had been co-founded by an old MIT friend, and the game looked like a lot of fun. I was rooting for them again when they were purchased by Viacom, which resulted in their “reboot” of the guitar game as Rock [...]

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Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?

April 30, 2009

While consulting a map of the London neighborhood near our hotel, I made an important discovery: we were a mere ten minute walk from one of the most famous landmarks in the history of pop music. So on Sunday morning, before traveling into the city for the day’s activities, we made a slight detour to [...]

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Living in this darkworld

March 23, 2009

Someone and the Somebodies was the first local band I saw perform, but the first band I reviewed when I returned to Boston was the Dark, a quirky quintet with a hyperkinetic punky sound and a black (uh, dark) sense of humor. Even though they were a new band, they played mostly original material. Their [...]

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They Do The Mash

March 12, 2009

In his story “Burning Chrome,” William Gibson wrote the now-famous aphorism “The street find its own uses for things.” That observation has always been at its most appropriate in music remix culture. DJs discovered an alternate use for the turntable and a whole new type of music was invented. It became possible to build songs [...]

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The star maker machinery behind the popular song

February 25, 2009

Chris is back from Wales, where he worked on the new record by Super Furry Animals. The band decided to document the entire production process: Super Furry Animals are never ones to stay still creatively, and with their forthcoming (currently untitled) 9th studio album they have decided to document the process on 4 individual hand [...]

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Reach out to Someone and the Somebodies

February 21, 2009

U2′s Bono loves to talk to his audience during instrumental breaks. He usually goes on about politics or saving the planet, but every now and then he engages in Joycean free association (it must be a Dublin thing). If you’re a die-hard U2 fan, you have heard Bono say “… reach out to Someone and [...]

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‘Cause inside everyone is a heavy metal kid

January 30, 2009

The “other interests” section of my resumé includes an entry for “heavy metal backup singer.” Most readers assume it’s a joke, or added to see if they’re paying attention. I assure you it’s true, and I have my brother to thank for it. After graduating from NYU, Chris got a job at Greene Street Studio, [...]

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I’m a fool for the Holy Grail

January 28, 2009

I’ve mentioned that I’m a sucker for music lists. I love collecting songs and albums that fit a particular classification, the more obscure, the better. Most of these lists haven’t been too difficult to compile; in some cases it’s a simple matter of assembling music I already have into a new playlist, in others I [...]

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I’ve got a little list

January 22, 2009

Like Rob Gordon and his shopmates in High Fidelity, one of my musical obsessions is compiling song or record lists. I could rarely narrow things down to “top fives;” the best I can usually do is 10 or 20. Before the advent of inexpensive home recording and internet distribution, it was possible to have a [...]

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Like Rock Band, only less fun

January 14, 2009

I had a classical station on the radio while I was driving Miles home from school today. The Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor was playing and I was humming along with it. Miles asked “Dad, how do you know this music?” “My dad used to play it,” I explained. “Papa played with [...]

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