It’s been a long, weird and expensive week all over. Why not stay in tonight and watch guys (mostly) with long hair playing strange and difficult music from a long lost decade?
posted on Oct 3, 2008 - View this thread

Concert promoter LiveDaily has an acoustic live sessions program (video starts playing). It's been running since March of this year and so far 33 artists have performed: Priscilla Ahn, The Raveonettes, Black Lips, Paddy Casey, Dawn Landes, Lykke Li, The Duke Spirit, Frightened Rabbit, Foreign Born, The Dodos, The Virgins, Radar Bros., Langhorne Slim, Shwayze, Joseph Arthur, Missy Higgins, Wild Sweet Orange, Le Switch, Deadly Syndrome, Steve Poltz, Weather Underground, Imaad Wasif, Rogue Wave, David Ford, Takka Takka, Black Ghosts, The Airborne Toxic Event, Tally Hall, Lionel Loueke, Calico Horse, Rademacher, Judith Owen and Carrie Rodriguez
posted on Sep 30, 2008 - View this thread

Pitchfork television is featuring "The Gits: Great American Rock and Rock Band" (music embedded) for the next week.
posted on Sep 19, 2008 - View this thread

The Cornell Evolution Project, which polls prominent evolutionary scientists about their religious beliefs, is part of a PhD thesis by evolutionary paleontologist and UCLA lecturer Greg Graffin. Mr. Graffin is also the lead singer of a band named Bad Religion, whose influential album Suffer turns 20 years old this week.
posted on Sep 6, 2008 - View this thread

This past Spring, Oklahoma State Representative Joe Dorman (D-Rush Springs) and State Senator John Ford (R-Bartlesville) joined together to put their bipartisan support behind House Concurrent Resolution 1047, a bill to designate the Official Rock Song of Oklahoma, as to be chosen by the people. As long as the song was written or recorded by an artist from Oklahoma, it would be eligible. The lengthy list of nominees has now been pared down to ten, and the voting has opened online. The finalists vary from Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" (written by Okie Mae Boren Axton) to "Do You Realize," by The Flaming Lips, and my personal pick, Three Dog Night's "Never Been to Spain."
posted on Sep 4, 2008 - View this thread

The Guardian has compiled a list of their top fifty arts videos, the majority being from either rare or obscure sources and uploaded onto YouTube.
posted on Aug 30, 2008 - View this thread

Classic tracks: Can't seem to face up to the facts? Searching for the heart of Heart of Gold? Mix Online delves deep into your favorite jams, to find out what was in the air when they were conceived. Know what I mean? via
posted on Aug 29, 2008 - View this thread

Last weekend, (22-24 August 2008) saw the fantastic Reading Festival take place (dodgy timeline). Emerging from the National Jazz Festival in 1961, it mutated into the National Jazz, Blues and Rock Festival festival in the 70s, and on into the eclectic festival it is today. My personal faves were 1989 and 1992, but the best moment was seeing Meatloaf bottled off stage in 1988! Due to the combined force of the BBC and the interwebs, most of this year's performances - many complete - are available online for your delictation...
posted on Aug 27, 2008 - View this thread

Surely one of the most memorable musician photos ever is this one: Johnny Cash, making his feelings known with customary aplomb. But did you ever notice he was wearing a jumpsuit in that photo, and not his more standard black shirt/trousers ensemble? Well, that very jumpsuit just went for a handsome $120,000 at auction. Someone else just paid $300,000 for one of Elvis' peacock-emblazoned jumpsuits. And remember that little necklace John Lennon wore on the cover of Two Virgins? Yep, the only thing he wore. Fetched a cool $528,000. Meanwhile, in Japan, a bunch of grapes just went for $910. What a bargain!
posted on Aug 11, 2008 - View this thread

He's no longer riding the escalator of life. RIP Robert, it was a good ride.
posted on Aug 6, 2008 - View this thread

Looking for the graphic "The Genealogy of Pop/Rock Music" I remembered from Tufte, I found HistoryShots. [previous mention]
posted on Jul 26, 2008 - View this thread

People have made some awesome animated videos for Ramones songs, and have uploaded them to Youtube for our viewing pleasure. I Don't Wanna Go To The Basement is probably my favorite. Commando comes in close second. Ramones as legos playing Spiderman wins on sheer novelty. The papercut animation in this video for Blitzkreig Bop is definitely worth a look. Finally, this snippet of the claymation Ramones playing Judy is a Punk is awesome, if painfully short.
posted on Jul 2, 2008 - View this thread

Chief Justice Roberts (mis)quotes Bob Dylan* in his dissent on Sprint Communications Co. v. APCC Services, Inc., making this the first known time that a Supreme Court Opinion has used a "rock song to buttress legal opinion," according to Alex B. Long of the University of Tennessee. Mr. Long knows a thing or two about this**, having authored [Insert Song Lyrics Here]***, a Washington & Lee Law review Article on the subject of Pop Music in legal writing. The article is funny†, insightful, comprehensive in its musical background††, and surprisingly knowledgeable about good taste in writing.†††
posted on Jun 30, 2008 - View this thread

Baby please don't go, baby please don't go, baby please don't go down to New Orleans, I love you so, baby please don't go.
posted on Jun 12, 2008 - View this thread

For Those Who Tried To Rock is a blog about the bands that never went anywhere, for example. Urbicide, The Tribulations and Only One. The band photos are usually accompanied by mp3s and short testimonies, such as this one about Soft Option: "Flock of Seagulls owned Liverpool when we came together but we were really Depeche Mode fans. Trouble was, we only had one Synth – the Roland pictured above – so on the more complicated songs we covered like Everything Counts (see cassette below) I had to play parts on a Melodica – the small keyboard you blow into. It was my Mother's idea. We went to an all boys school, so the gigs were boys only, which meant we did not get laid but the nights we played were some of the greatest of my adolescence." [via Carrie Brownstein's Monitor Mix]
posted on Jun 5, 2008 - View this thread

Legendary artist Alton Kelley created a graphic style that rocked the world beginning in the psychedelic sixties. His concert posters, logo designs, LP album covers, and fine art have forevermore defined that time. Kelley passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, June 1, 2008 of complications from a long illness.
posted on Jun 2, 2008 - View this thread

Rivers Cuomo (of Weezer) picks the theme, "80s radio," and develops a song, step by step, collaborating with some of his fans. Watch some of the responses. It's not his first collaboration, and he's no stranger to the internet.
posted on May 31, 2008 - View this thread

A Pig's Tale uncovers the history of one of rock's most famous flying props.
posted on May 22, 2008 - View this thread

A founding father of DIY indie rock, Will Rigby recounts the pilgrimages to locate underground rock legends Alex Chilton, (during his wry Americana deconstructo anarchy phase), and the 'McCartney' to Chilton's Big Star 'Lennon', the Brydsian Chris Bell. Blogs on bands may not seem to rate but cats with these sensibilities, unlike today, seemed incredibly uncommon then . Also mentioned, the Dbs, Little Diesel, and Mitch Easter. Free Mp3s of the rare 45s included.
posted on May 2, 2008 - View this thread

Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies (on Pitchfork.TV for one week, until 5/2/08). Very, very NSFW.
posted on Apr 26, 2008 - View this thread

Whole Lotta Shakin' - a PRI documentary series on the history of rockabilly, hosted by Rosie Flores.
posted on Apr 26, 2008 - View this thread

Keyboardist Danny Federici, founding member of Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band, has died.
posted on Apr 17, 2008 - View this thread

Are you sick and tired of telling those darn kids to "get off your lawn" because their "favorite band sucks?" Next time, instead of handing out snark, hand them a brochure for the Paul Green School of Rock Music! Before you know it, you'll be wishing that you had a bigger lawn.
posted on Apr 2, 2008 - View this thread

He was born on March 24, 1938 in Danzig, "the true nephew of William Tell". He studied under Stockhausen from 1963-1966, then threw it all over to help create Can, whose fans included a bemused David Niven. (I Want More. Hunters and Collectors. Moonshake.) You may know him best as a pioneer of the found/stolen/ethno mashup later popularized by Brian Eno and David Byrne. (Cool in the Pool. Persian Love.) But sometimes he just gives us a sweet little pop song. He's the bloody Energizer Bunny of Krautrock. So Happy 70th Birthday, Holger Czukay, you daft and awesome German uncle I never had. (Hey, why not go over to his MySpace page and give him your regards?)
posted on Mar 24, 2008 - View this thread

Dave Grohl for President!
posted on Mar 20, 2008 - View this thread

The Embarrassment playing live in 1981 at the Flatiron in Wichita, KS.
posted on Mar 8, 2008 - View this thread

From The Mike Douglas Show circa 1967: Moby Grape - Omaha & 8:05
From somewhere else circa whatever: Moby Grape - Hey Grandma & Sitting By A Window
And, you can hear, albeit with registration, three free songs at Wolfgang's Vault: Moby Grape Fillmore Auditorium San Francisco, CA 02/26/1967
posted on Mar 6, 2008 - View this thread

Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers - I'm A Little Dinosaur
Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers - New England
Jonathan Richman - Now Is Better Than Before
Spring is in the air today and here are a few slices of vintage Jonathan just because...
posted on Mar 2, 2008 - View this thread

Pere Ubu guitarist Jim Jones dead. Jones also played in The electric eels.
posted on Feb 20, 2008 - View this thread

Atomic Platters :: Cold War Music from the Golden Age of Homeland Security
posted on Feb 15, 2008 - View this thread

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea was released 10 years ago today. Happy Neutral Milk Hotel day.
posted on Feb 10, 2008 - View this thread

This week I've been perseverating on Chuck Berry's great 1964 song "You Never Can Tell", so now you get to too! Unless you're over 50, you probably know it from the Thurman/Travolta dance in Pulp Fiction, but here are some other versions worthy of your attention:
posted on Feb 10, 2008 - View this thread

I was going to share the many amazing videos that StSanders has uploaded to youtube featuring guitar gods like Van Halen and Santana shredding, since they have inexplicably only received scant mention on mefi so far. But StSanders' account has been suspended all all videos have been removed!
posted on Feb 5, 2008 - View this thread

Italian Progressive Rock, and a few examples of the genre: Locanda Della Fate, Premiata Forneria Marconi, Balletto di Bronzo, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Le Orme, New Trolls, Area.
posted on Jan 26, 2008 - View this thread

Before there was MTV, before mp3s or YouTube, there was ASCII ROCK!
posted on Jan 21, 2008 - View this thread

Heavenly Pop Hits: The Flying Nun Story. New Zealand rock doc (in 9 parts).
posted on Jan 6, 2008 - View this thread

The best music of 2007 according to Stereogum, Pitchfork, All Music, NME, PopMatters, The A.V. Club, Rolling Stone, TIME, MTV, the Guardian, eMusic, Amazon, Spin Magazine, Q, Largehearted Boy, and more. Among the most frequently listed are Radiohead, Spoon, Arcade Fire, Of Montreal, Feist, and The National.
posted on Dec 18, 2007 - View this thread

Courtney Love Rocks Harder Than You.
posted on Dec 14, 2007 - View this thread

Simone White can help calm your holiday rage. White is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter whose new CD, "I Am The Man" has been inching its way up the indie charts; people have been comparing her voice to Karen Dalton and Billie Holiday, but she's really her own creature, as you can tell from this dreamy new video, well-timed for the seasonal onslaught of consumerism and carols: "Christmas Makes Me Blue."
posted on Dec 13, 2007 - View this thread

Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know.
The piper's calling you to join him.
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know,
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind...
Led Zeppelin live - December 10, 2007
posted on Dec 11, 2007 - View this thread

Know your musical Jews!
posted on Dec 10, 2007 - View this thread

Unknown Hinson is the stage name of Stuart Daniel Baker. The persona is "dark parody of the country western stars from the early/mid 20th century." according to a Wikipedia entry. Playing this archetype his songs expose the often misogynistic, and violent life between the lines of "Old school country artists".
posted on Dec 8, 2007 - View this thread

The 28 Most Recognizable Guitars.
posted on Dec 6, 2007 - View this thread

You'd think news of a Creem Magazine retrospective book would be greeted with cries of glee. You'd be wrong. Occasional staff shutterbug Bob Matheu licensed rights to use the name of the beloved, iconoclastic Detroit rock zine years after it ceased to be relevant, but despite occasional "Creem is back" announcements, only produced a website.
posted on Dec 2, 2007 - View this thread

Classic post-punk music videos from, strangely enough, post-punk.com (via largehearted boy)
posted on Nov 29, 2007 - View this thread

Lucky Soul's 'Lips Are Unhappy' isn't the likliest of contenders for the UK's coveted Christmas number one, but this is the track (from a shortlist) selected by listeners of Last.fm to receive Last.fm's backing. Profits go to charity, as is the norm for Xmas No. 1 entries.
posted on Nov 26, 2007 - View this thread

Have these fellows whetted your appetite for Southern Hemispherical comic singer-songwriters who care about The Issues? Barefoot Australian Tim Minchin ought to satisfy that hunger with an environmental anthem and a peace anthem. But aside from his social activism, he's also vulgar, poignant, dark, and of course, rock.
posted on Nov 14, 2007 - View this thread

The Chicago Women's Liberation (embedded video) Rock Band
posted on Nov 14, 2007 - View this thread

Think the Osmond Brothers didn't rock? Think again. "In spite of their squeaky clean image, the Osmonds had a soulful, sometimes raucous sound which was a precursor of the power pop of later years." Color my preconceived notions shattered.
posted on Nov 12, 2007 - View this thread

BBC Introducing is an excellent way to keep tabs on what's fresh in the British popular music scene without having to live in a rainsoaked armpit. There are four podcasts for you to download, the flagship Best of Unsigned Podcast, Homegrown Mix with Ras Kwame, Scotland Introducing and BBC Radio Northampton's Weekender. All feature bands that are either unsigned or just recently signed and the music ranges from hip hop to punk rock to what sounds awfully like the soundtrack for a NES game with half-hearted chanting over it. This is an excellent resource whether you're casual searcher for new songs or the kind of anorak who knows which British indie band was first to use an 808.
posted on Nov 5, 2007 - View this thread