DJ Earworm has released his annual "United State of Pop" mashup of the year's 25 most popular songs according to Billboard's charts:
Shine Brighter.
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posted by zarq
on Dec 20, 2012 -
39 comments
Hurry Hurry (YouTube) is the single on Boston band
Air Traffic Controller's (Official Site) new album
NORDO (SoundCloud). It's an insistent, catchy, exuberant anthem to all those who feel like no matter how fast they run, life runs faster. It absolutely nails the sensation of pushing oneself to the point of destruction while simultaneously feeling as though one is falling farther and farther behind. It will also lodge itself deep inside your brain and refuse to stop playing, so be warned.
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posted by Scientist
on Aug 17, 2012 -
20 comments
"It is a familiar complaint from those of a certain age: today’s pop music is louder and all the songs sound the same.
It turns out they are right. Research shows that modern recordings are louder than those of those of the 1950s and 60s. They are also blander, with less variety in terms of chords and melodies."
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posted by TheSecretDecoderRing
on Jul 27, 2012 -
152 comments
In the sixty-odd years since their composition, the Four Last Songs have acquired in many people’s minds an unassailable status as simply the most beautiful music known to them, to be listened to in a dimly lit room and a state of rapt meditation, surrendering to the extraordinary spell of profound, other-worldly calm that they cast. This is not surprising. They were, indeed, the last things of any significance that Strauss wrote, between May and September 1948, at the age of eighty-four. (previously) [more inside]
posted by Trurl
on Mar 24, 2012 -
11 comments
From Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of
South Park, and Robert Lopez, of
Avenue Q, comes the new Broadway show
"The Book of Mormon." The
show "tells the story of two young Mormon missionaries sent off to spread the word in a dangerous part of Uganda" while gently (and no so gently) lampooning organized religion and traditional musical theatre.
The entire show is now streaming on NPR. Songs are extremely Not Safe For Work.
posted by ColdChef
on May 9, 2011 -
84 comments
How I Wrote is a series of videos from The Guardian where musicians perform a song after talking about it a little bit. Among the artists who've taken part are
Rufus Wainwright,
Kristin Hersh,
Corinne Bailey Rae,
Laura Marling,
Keren Ann,
Patrick Wolf,
Elbow,
Gruff Rhys,
Warpaint,
Cee Lo Green,
Antony and the Johnsons,
P. J. Harvey and
Emmy the Great, who sings a song about the Royal Wedding, appropriately enough for today (though I suppose the Cee Lo Green song is appropriate too).
posted by Kattullus
on Apr 28, 2011 -
27 comments
"The "chitlin' circuit" sounds like something that's gone, and with good reason. After all, the name itself derives from the "soul food" of chitterlings (fried pig intestines) that was a staple at early performances. But from CC Blues Club on Thomas Street to the Cannon Center downtown, thousands of Memphis music fans flock to hear stars like Marvin Sease and Bobby Rush sing what's too risqué for radio play, and to watch dancers shake what's too big for TV. That's both the beauty of the chitlin' circuit and the reason for its survival. While its roots run back to racial segregation, it thrives today because performers give audiences what they can't get through mainstream media. It's called "grown folks music," and it's all in the name of the blues."
Soul-blues singer
Marvin Sease has
died at age 64. Here's
a comprehensive playlist of his (sexually-explicit/NSFW) songs on YouTube, including the one that never received any radio airplay but whose title the former gospel singer took as his professional nickname:
Candy Licker [more inside]
posted by zarq
on Feb 9, 2011 -
15 comments
And just think: When your shitty kid marries someone you violently disapprove of 20 years from now, this song -- with its references to blowjobs and songs that were ground into the ground before the kid was a twinkle in your eye -- will serve as the couple's first dance. As you watch your offspring and new in-law twirl around the dance floor, you will reach for a glass of Champagne Loko (President Kid Rock won't try to ban the stuff until he's up for re-election in 2032) and wonder how everything went so, so wrong.
The Village Voice presents the
20 Worst Songs of 2010. [more inside]
posted by Lutoslawski
on Dec 22, 2010 -
169 comments
The Music of Jacques Brel is an article by music journalist Amy Hanson about the career of pop music legend Jacques Brel and his effect on popular music in the English language. A lot of songs and covers are mentioned in the article, below the cut are links to the songs that I could find videos of online.
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posted by Kattullus
on Aug 6, 2010 -
49 comments
'A site dedicated to songs about London. The only rules are that the songs must be brilliant and that the blindingly obvious numbers are excluded.'
The London Nobody Sings takes you on a musical tour of the capital, by
bus,
train and
tube, via
Camden Town,
Parliament Hill,
Portobello Road,
Shepherd's Bush,
Southall,
Tottenham and
Tooting Broadway. And if it's
too late to take the Underground? Don't worry, the
trams may have gone, but you can always catch the
Nightbus home.
posted by verstegan
on Feb 14, 2010 -
14 comments
Pain Pack — Ze Frank posted a phone number and asked that anyone experiencing emotional pain leave him a message. He received a number of very distraught messages. From those, DJs and musicians created 138 samples for him—and those samples have since been made into songs—and the collaborative process continues.
posted by netbros
on Feb 1, 2010 -
26 comments
The Belfer Cylinders Digital Connection is a collection of old cylinder records at Syracuse University. The library has started to digitize them, both in mp3 and wav format. They have only
293 online yet but aim to have 6000 cylinders digitized by the end of next year. It can be searched either by genre, keyword or Here are a few that I really like:
Bedtime at the Zoo,
That Syncopated Boogie-boo,
Mary, You're a Little Bit Old Fashioned,
Fifty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong,
Phoebe Brown,
Was zu Gott ist zu Gott und was zu leute ist zu leute,
Aberystwyth,
Glada na lusch,
I Love a Lassie and
Pussy's in the Well.
posted by Kattullus
on Apr 1, 2009 -
22 comments
The 25 Greatest Duets Of All Time (with embedded YouTube videos of each) from retroCRUSH.
Duets, by nature, are a corny type of song. Sure, there's a handful that we recognize here that are also some of best tunes ever recorded, but there's something inherently cheesy and fun about duets that make them a fun guilty pleasure for millions to enjoy.
posted by amyms
on Jan 26, 2008 -
67 comments
Claude François was one of France's most successful popstars, a complete song-and-dance act who remained at the top of the charts for almost ten years before his career was tragically cut short when he tried to change a lightbulb while in the bath (youtube ahead).
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posted by jacalata
on Nov 11, 2007 -
19 comments
First she was a dancer but after an injury she had to sing to make a living. She still dances a little during her songs (a rare feat among flamenco cantaoras). I first heard about her when she made a whole record (cd) of Edith Piaf's songs in spanish. You can get a taste
here. She talks about it
here (spanish + french, excerpts). She sang
les feuilles mortes too. But nothing equals seeing her, I think : so here she is with two covers from a recent documentary : a song by
Edith Piaf, a song by
Lola Flores. Btw, If you get into french songs in the flamenco idiom, try
this.
posted by nicolin
on Oct 11, 2007 -
4 comments
