It's the story that has Britain in uproar*: Cliff Richard and General Franco: the 1968 Eurovision mystery. Did General Franco scupper the judging? Exhibit A: Cliff's UK entry, Congratulations. Exhibit 2: Spain's winning entry by Massiel, La la la. For added measure, exhibit iv: here's Cliff's 1973 entry, which believe it or not also did not win, Power to all our Friends (though Cliff's spectacular moves should not sway your opinion on the controversy* in any way). [*not really].
posted on May 12, 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

Robert Wyatt is not dead. In fact, he recently released a new album titled Comicopera.
posted on Feb 2, 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

While the Spice Girls are currently inflicting their 4th division nightclub appearance act on their poor fans I was rather surprised to see a tiny little ad in the newspaper announcing a UK tour by the Backstreet Boys. While on the surface it seems that this reflects the popularity of one over the other, I can't help thinking that this is pretty much the way they want it (hee!) having observed how completely insane their fans used to be.
posted on Dec 22, 2007 - 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

"I edited this short film set to the tune of The Zombies' "This Will Be Our Year" featuring Super 8 footage shot by my parents between 1965-1979."
posted on Dec 13, 2007 - View this thread

Know your musical Jews!
posted on Dec 10, 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

TaB history, photo galleries, and Generation TaB: The Motion Picture.
posted on Nov 2, 2007 - View this thread

Stylus Magazine is closed. Home to some of the best writing about rockism, and Rasputin, slsking and The Stranger. Greatest hits/bluffer's guide here.
posted on Nov 2, 2007 - View this thread

Pop Songs 07 is a blog by Matthew Perpetua, founder of Fluxblog, in which he is attempting to write about every R.E.M. song eventually. With the recent release of Stereogum’s tribute to Automatic For The People, Drive XV, (free mp3s of covers of every track on the record by a range of indie rock acts) he was asked to write an essay about the album: Sweetness Followed: 15 Years After Automatic.
posted on Oct 16, 2007 - View this thread

[SeinfeldPlotSingleLinkVideoFilter]: Michigan wants its $50 million back.
posted on Sep 28, 2007 - View this thread

The South Bank Show is the longest running arts show on television. Melvyn Bragg has presented an eclectic mix of televisual joy since 1978. SBS has presented in-depth portraits of many different types of artists during this time, covering a huge range of topics. From high art to low art, classical music to pop music, canonical literature to airport blockbusters it has offered some of the most insightful and enjoyable arts programming around. Much youtubery awaits inside
posted on Sep 27, 2007 - View this thread

Indiana's Sardina. The New Pornographers of the '90s, the Sardinas released two fantastic albums full of mixtape fodder. Now everything they've got, including some live gems, is up online.
posted on Sep 25, 2007 - View this thread

Interesting discussion on classical and pop music, and two related older articles on the Pulitzer nomination process from Greg Sandow.
posted on Aug 23, 2007 - View this thread

Hailing from wholesome Riverdale, USA, The Archies were a fresh-faced gang of teens who rocketed to the top of the pops. Listen to their first album on ArchieComics.com now! [Via Comics Should Be Good!]
posted on Jul 25, 2007 - View this thread

Speaking of 'highly virulent earworms,' today's NY Times suggests that searching for this year's 'song of the summer' may lead to "one sad conclusion." Have today's hitmakers failed to live up to the jams of yesteryear? Others have offered their opinions...
posted on Jul 19, 2007 - View this thread

Fuck Yuo I Am a Robot are offering their album Compensator for the Accelerator for free download from their site. Infectious ass-shakin' Estonian electro-pop. Lyrics to track 2 NSFW, likewise sleeve art jpgs if you opt for the .zip download. You can sample one of the tracks, Hydraulic, on YouTube if you don't know them and would like to check them out first, though personally I can't get enough of Zukunft (direct mp3 link).
posted on Jul 12, 2007 - View this thread

Before he was the lead singer of popular* Australian rock band Thirsty Merc, which has produced songs such as 20 Good Reasons and Someday Someday, Rai Thistlethwayte had a short, unsuccessful career as a solo pop artist. The result was the song Give A Smile To The World.**

* Warning: Your-favorite-band-sucks-filter.
**Warning: Whether you love Thirsty Merc or not, this song is awful in countless ways.
posted on Jun 9, 2007 - View this thread

Here's a set of some great balloon popping photography from the Maker Faire this past weekend. My favorites: 1, 2, 3
posted on May 22, 2007 - View this thread

A graphical dissertation of Mims' "This Is Why I'm Hot". Consider the reasoning, first, of just "I'm hot 'cause I'm fly": Mims is hot because he's fly. But it raises the question: Does being hot guarantee one's being fly? "You ain't 'cause you not" would seem to clear that up: It would appear that fly and hot are interchangable. If you are one, you are both; if you aren't at least one, you are neither.
posted on Apr 23, 2007 - View this thread

R. Luke Dubois' Billboard is a study in time-lapse phonography. Dubois digitally analyzed every #1 Billboard single from 1958 to 2005 and found a "spectral average" sound for each song. Every second of the piece represents one week in music history. The results are more interesting than you might think: compare the Beatles-dominated 1964 with the more processed, percussive sounds of 1997. Dubois has also created a time-lapse study of Oscar-winning movies. See also: "Chart Sweep" (scroll down to bottom of page). (via)
posted on Feb 25, 2007 - View this thread

Pop Vs Soda
posted on Feb 16, 2007 - View this thread

Pepsi Blue, et al. Dead soda visited by X-Entertainment, purveyors of much 80s-90s nostalgia. Previously.
posted on Feb 7, 2007 - View this thread

"Once Were Kings" Some call them 1980's pop icons, others the Kings of Heavy Metal. Regardless, Van Halen has announced a 2007 tour with David Lee Roth. But without Michael Anthony, will it be worth paying to see? While Dave's current fan base is huge, others feel he has not aged gracefully. Well, it could be worse.....(youtube, ytmnd, and bad 80's haircuts warning)
posted on Feb 3, 2007 - View this thread

'Cause 2006 is butt naked. How to Create a Sexy Pop Star, a video clip from the film "Before the Music Dies."
posted on Dec 3, 2006 - View this thread

Alan "Fluff" Freeman has died at the age of 79. Although he gave up broadcasting in 2000, due to poor health, he will always be remembered as the man who invented the chart rundown, complete with background music and jingles.

He is probably best known for Pick of the Pops, which reached a mainstream audience, but was also a champion of rock music. Along with John Peel and Tommy Vance, Fluff was the last of the three great DJ's I grew up listening to on late night radio. I'm too young to remember his Radio Luxembourg shows, but The Saturday Night Rock Show on Radio 1 was compulsory listening, part for the music and part for Fluff's unique catchphrases and jingles, particularly Sign of the Swingin' Cymbal (rm) which became his theme on all his radio shows. He was also the inspiration behind the Harry Enfield character Dave Nice. We'll miss you Fluff. Not 'arf!
posted on Nov 28, 2006 - View this thread

Emitt Rhodes "still doesn’t know what hit him. Thirty years ago, he was the new Paul McCartney, an ambitious kid who craved the perfect pop song. Then he got blindsided into submission by the heartless business of music. Now he’s just another sad guy with a boatload of talent that got buried in a black hole of depression."
posted on Oct 12, 2006 - View this thread

Rainbow in the dark: Gays in Metal From the best metal magazine around, Decibel.
posted on Aug 16, 2006 - View this thread

Every Brian Jonestown Massacre album for free. Druggy, poppy, woozy, Rolling-Stonesy music. Want more free music? Butthole Surfers- Double Live Jad Fair- Sunshiney Sunshine Complete Dolly Mixture discography Animal- Sawn Creator and Deaf Ox and John Vanderslice. (some via)
posted on Jul 13, 2006 - View this thread

Steven Thomas Erlewine prosecutes Sufjan Stevens A solid indictment of both Stevens and Indie Pop, from AMG's Whole Note series. Hopefully, the Arcade Fire get theirs next.
posted on Jul 12, 2006 - View this thread

Arif Mardin passed away Sunday. Yes, the first is a NYTimes link, but here's an obit from the Independent newspaper, and here's a BBC obit as well. It would be unseemly not to note the passing of the arranger or producer (or both, or co- ) behind the Art Farmer Quartet's Live at the Half-Note, Sonny Stitt's Stitt Plays Bird, Max Roach's Drums Unlimited, the Rascals' "Good Lovin'" and "Groovin'," Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You and Aretha Now, Dusty Springfield's Dusty in Memphis, Donny Hathaway's Extension of a Man, the Stones' Black and Blue, Chaka Khan's first several solo albums, and hundreds of others all the way down to Norah Jones ... a list almost too long to compile. NPR interview here, lengthier article from Sound on Sound here, his discogs.com list here.
posted on Jun 27, 2006 - View this thread

Taylor Hicks wins American Idol.... It could be something worth talking about given how powerful the show has become: #1 show on television, contributed to over 30 million records (records -- yes records not itunes singles) sold, and a show where Queen, Rod Stewart, and, tonight, TAFKAP (or he could be Prince again) are clamoring to be on it. Moroever, some conventional wisdom seems to support that the show is not karaoeke-izing pop music and instead contributes to it surprisingly positively. While it might not lead to debates on metafiler, arguments as to what makes a good Idol can be seen here.
posted on May 24, 2006 - View this thread

Music from Morrisania: Dr. Mark Naison, urban historian at Fordham University and principal investigator of the Bronx African-American history project, leads a musical tour of one South Bronx neighborhood from the 1950s to the present, describing how hot summers, open windows and a fertile mixing of ethnic groups influenced landmarks in American musical history -- from Tito Puente to "Watermelon Man" to KRS-One.
posted on May 18, 2006 - View this thread

Brian Eno is the godfather of electronica, the inventor of ambient music, and producer of the best work by bands like the Talking Heads and U2. Tchad Blake has helmed the mixing board for Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Soul Coughing and the Bad Plus, to name just a few. Paul Simon is one of the most recognized names in pop music both for his work with Art Garfunkel and for his fusion of American pop music with African and South American music. Surprise is the the album they collaborated on, the new Paul Simon record featuring Eno's signature sonic landscapes all over it, and the entire lovely thing, complete with liner notes, is available to listen to on Simon's website.
posted on May 9, 2006 - View this thread

Answer to one of the most frequently unasked questions— What is Romo? Romo (Romantic Modernism) was an early '90s pop "movement" in England that Melody Maker claimed was going to save music, mostly from Oasis. How? Well, by reviving the true British spirit— Roxy Music, Manic Street Preachers (before one of 'em wandered off never seen again) and Duran Duran's wardrobe! Due to unfortunate timing issues (like that Melody Maker didn't wait for any of the bands to actually put out any music before declaring them saviors, and that they were 10 years too early to be Fischerspooner), Romo now only rates a two-word aside in All Music's entry on New Romantics. While Romo vaguely had a "sound," that of croony Morrissey-lite synthpop often, there were hidden gems like the crunchy spiky Plastic Fantastic. Indulge your curiosity about this overlooked musical "genre" here and here (warning— Second link NSF people with aesthetic visual sense).
posted on Apr 12, 2006 - View this thread

Miles Davis? Kanye West? The Beatles? Oh... you mean Muzak? Ike played it in the West Wing, NASA used it to soothe astronauts' anxiety. But it's not just your daddy's elevator music anymore.
posted on Apr 6, 2006 - View this thread

The 23rd Century is a sweet band that just released their new CD, "Take A Trip Though Time With...The 23rd Century", for free online in mp3 format. The album was created by metafilter user tcobretti and his cousin. You can purchase the album here to support them, or you can buy their tshirt, obviously inspired/ripped off from the John Titor insignia. There is also a cool schematic-based navigation to the site, presumably from the same great mind who brought us runoffgroove.com. [via mefi projects]
posted on Mar 17, 2006 - View this thread

One of the great virtues of the internet is the manifold ways in which it has revolutionised the arts. The postmodern works of contemporary artists Pomme & Kelly (Google Video), when viewed together in context, form a striking example of a well-placed critique of popular culture, and modern living at large. The zeitgeisty meta-irony of their seemingly content-free interpretations of popular songs are only enhanced by the fact that, in a clever keeping with style, they blog about it as well.
posted on Feb 28, 2006 - View this thread

Ukulele Ike. We know his quavering, tentative, high tenor voice from his voice work as Jiminy Cricket, but Cliff Edwards -- aka Ukulele Ike -- was much more than that. Wikipedia offers a brief introduction to the man, his life, his works, and his lonely death. But, to my tastes, the best introduction to this once hugely popular singer is the man's own voice (mp3 links).
posted on Feb 24, 2006 - View this thread

Neutral Milk Hotel demos, videos, and bootlegs. Brainchild of enigmatic, now-reclusive singer/songwriter Jeff Mangum (not Magnum!), the "fuzz-folk" project known as Neutral Milk Hotel began and ended in the 90s and only released two LPs, but is still held as a touchstone by many indie rock critics. More live recordings can be found at the site for Elephant 6, the collective which included NMH and other bands like Beulah, Circulatory System, Elf Power, and Apples in Stereo. The complete discography and more MP3s. Some lyrics. (Previously)
posted on Feb 22, 2006 - View this thread

Unbelievably ass kicking playlist of french pop culture hits from the 60's. Featuring the ever zany Brigitte Bardot, Jaques Dutronc, France Gall, Serge Gainsbourg, and more. (via)
posted on Jan 31, 2006 - View this thread

Signore e signori: Piero Piccioni! Continuing my (apparent) obsession with Italian composers of the 1960s, I present you Piero Piccioni: jazz pianist, son of a conservative Italian politico, suspected murderer, and composer of some of the hippest, grooviest soundtracks ever put down on wax. [via this unbelievable vinyl sharity blog]
posted on Jan 28, 2006 - View this thread

American Idol 5 on Popmatters. "There are two pre-audition selection rounds before contestants are allowed to meet the judges. Clearly then, the show's army of "talent" spotters deliberately sent Derek, Crystal and the others crashing and burning onto national television, in the sure and certain knowledge that humiliation means ratings." Some insights into the corporate machinery behind American Idol, as well as thoughts on the current season.
posted on Jan 25, 2006 - View this thread

The Art of Chris Turnham. Vivid, highly-stylized illustrations. The first four 2D images are part of a series that depict scenes from Decemberists songs.
posted on Jan 16, 2006 - View this thread

Wolfgang's Vault : Bill Graham, of Fillmore fame, was born Wolfgang Grajonca in Berlin. He grew up to invent, more or less, the modern rock 'n' roll promotion industry. He also had an eye for the future, stashing away posters, T-shirts, backstage passes, tickets, and photography for posterity (us).
Now, 15 years after his death, you have him to thank not only for $350 Rolling Stones tickets but also for $3800 Rolling Stones posters.
Purchased from Satan at a crossroads Clear Channel a few years back, the vault also contains a bunch of audio and video that Clear Channel didn't know it had and which we may or may not ever get to experience.
posted on Jan 6, 2006 - View this thread

All hail the King of Fuh Since 1965, Stephen "Brute Force" Friedland has been a professional blower of minds. He began his musical career penning the first existential/psychedelic girl group record, graduated to tapeworms and sat-upon sandwiches, then was personally signed by George Harrison as an Apple artist with the sly and ultimately unreleasable "King of Fuh." (Turn it inside out. There, you see. MP3.) But oddball songs of love and linguistic quirkiness are just the tip of Brutie's iceberg. In 1969, he swam half way across the Bering Strait in a symbolic plea to warm up the cold war. He does deliciously absurd stand-up prop comedy interspersed with song. And his eyebrows are a work of art in their own right. So all hail the Fuh King, who has never compromised his deliriously batty vision, and at this point assuredly never will.
posted on Nov 20, 2005 - View this thread

Marguerite Perrin gained infamy as the self-proclaimed "God Warrior" on Fox's Trading Spouses. If you hurry, you can claim your own personal "God Warrior" to help you defend yourself against all the tainted, ungodly elements in the world.
posted on Nov 16, 2005 - View this thread