Well well well, Columbus Day is right around the corner, which means there’s a very good chance you’re about to enjoy a three-day weekend. Good for you! Though of course, by this point the smoke and mirrors surrounding Christopher Columbus’ “discovery” of America has long cleared to reveal a lost Italian (by way of Spain) washing ashore to steal land from the native inhabitants…..but still, three-day weekend! Regardless of your own personal feelings about this holiday, enjoy the following mix, specially created as a sort of chronological story of what happened in 1492 along with generous helpings of moral ambiguity with smooth listening. In other words, perfect for a three-day weekend….
Read more…
“Mother and Child” by Nigel Short & Tenebrae which clocks in at 12:39.
The following is Part 4 of a four part 8+ series based upon songs from the film ‘Children of Men’, the film itself, and the writing of Jorge Luis Borges. Read the first chapter HERE, second chapter HERE, third chapter HERE. Read more…
In many ways, Creem - self-proclaimed as “America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine” - set the template for current music blogs and new media sites. The outsider perspective, personal and subjective approach to stories and content, willingness to champion relatively unknown bands, and ability to spot trends early (Creem allegedly coined the term “punk rock”) are just some of the ways this Detroit-based publication helped revolutionize music journalism for future generations.
Of course, while Creem may share these characteristics with contemporary blogs, it also did all of these things about a hundred times better than anything out there right now. Where else could you read a live review of a Rolling Stones show written by Charles Bukowski (framed entirely around the venue’s coincidental proximity to a racetrack he enjoyed visiting)? Or enjoy a glossy cover hand-drawn by R. Crumb? Or have Lester Bangs, Cameron Crowe, Robert Christgau and Nick Tosches all on the same masthead? Exactly. From 1969 to 1989, Creem dared to elevate music journalism as a form of artistic expression in its own right.
I highly recommend checking out the recent hardcover Creem retrospective for an absolute assault on the senses. From this collection, we’ve culled some of our favorite cover shots over the years that we feel capture the spirit and energy of their particular era as well as of Creem’s own reckless bravado.
Read more…
Listen: “Weak Spots” by The Adored from A New Language
View: Image search results for Weak Spots - above image is from the 7th page of results (and was originally from HERE).
–
EAR FARM’s Hit-or-miss is a weekly feature (every Tuesday) wherein the EF music library is put on shuffle, the song that plays is then searched (using the song title) on Google images and a resulting photo (plus an MP3 of the song) is posted. You can see all of EAR FARM’s Hit-or-miss posts thus far right HERE.
The Academy-Award nominated, Emmy-winning, ever-brilliant entity known as South Park returns this Wednesday following a brief hiatus. Over the last dozen years, Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s brainchild has evolved from a simple gross-out cartoon intent on pushing the boundaries of basic cable to a whipsmart satire of contemporary American politics and culture (intent on pushing the boundaries of basic cable). At times, the turnaround from current event to grist for the South Park mill has been staggering; many episodes have gone from conception to broadcast within as little as two weeks.
As such, it’s fairly likely that if a story is making waves in society, you’ll be treated to Parker and Stone’s refreshingly simplified and hilarious take before the ink has had time to fully dry. And when we’re really lucky, we get treated to an episode inspired by some inane aspect of the music industry that the duo just can’t resist picking apart, because let’s face it, there’s lots to make fun of here. So here we present our top 10 favorite South Park music-related episodes, realizing fully of course that there are many more we left out (including, for the obvious reason that it’s not an episode, the Academy-Award nominated South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut). Honestly, you wouldn’t even believe how many times we got Rickrolled while foraging for clips on YouTube, and yet we persevered to bring you the crème de la crème: Read more…
Just because I didn’t like the first mix I had going, I scrapped it to go for a more well-formed mix. One that presents a clear mood throughout. Just because this year has been so full of good music I limited the selections to songs that have come out in 2008. And, because this year has seen major advances for women in American politics, I decided to limit the selections even further to music performed by female artists. To recap: gotta fit the intended mood, released in ‘08, women artists only. This one turned out pretty well…
Read more…
“Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima” by Krzysztof Penderecki & National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra which clocks in at 10:00.
The following is Part 3 of a four part 8+ series based upon songs from the film ‘Children of Men’, the film itself, and the writing of Jorge Luis Borges. Read the first chapter HERE, second chapter HERE. Read more…
From the Inside Looking Out is our opportunity to have those involved within the music world tell us a bit about things from their point of view. This time around, we have Daniel Neely
At some point during the summer of 2002, my mother-in-law sat my wife, her sister and I down to tell us how she “just loved that Ozzy Osmond and his wife Sharon,” because they took such good care of their kids. It was around the time the Osbournes reality show was getting popular and I think it was her way of being hip with the kids. It was probably the lounge-y version of “Crazy Train” they used for the theme that drew her in. Anyhow, two weeks later, we had finally stopped laughing about “Ozzy Osmond” and it began to dawn on us that Ozzy and his music had become more mainstream than we had realized.
This didn’t strike me as a bad thing. I grew up playing guitar and on occasion–like every adolescent boy with six strings and a dream–my friends and I would get together on Sabbath tunes. In fact, every kid in every band I knew growing up played Sabbath tunes. It was a kind of rite-of-passage that everyone went through. In my work Directing the New York State Musicians Index and Archive (NYMIA), I’ve come to notice that this hasn’t changed, so I started up a little project I call the “New York Black Sabbath Covers Project”. Here’s how it came about.
Read more…
Listen: “Hot Sex” by A Tribe Called Quest from The Love Movement
View: Image search results for Hot Sex (entirely NSFW) - above image is from the 5th page of results (and was originally from HERE).
–
EAR FARM’s Hit-or-miss is a weekly feature (every Tuesday) wherein the EF music library is put on shuffle, the song that plays is then searched (using the song title) on Google images and a resulting photo (plus an MP3 of the song) is posted. You can see all of EAR FARM’s Hit-or-miss posts thus far right HERE.
Over the past week, Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been taking a lot of heat for the answers she gave in an interview with Katie Couric on CBS News. The portion that’s getting the most critical attention is that bit about Palin’s foreign policy credentials… Read more…
Last we checked, tonight’s scheduled presidential debate in Mississippi is still up in the air. But hey, that doesn’t have to stop us from putting together a soundtrack for the planned throwdown. So if things do go as planned tonight and you find yourself at home, beer nestled in crotch and eyes glued to the television, consider putting the below mix on for some soothing - and pertinent - background noise and/or soundtrack for when you need a breather (you will need a breather). Will they or won’t they delay it? Stay tuned, and let’s get ready to rumble!
Read more…
“Eternity’s Sunrise” by Paul Goodwin & The Academy Of Ancient Music which clocks in at 10:53.
The following is Part 2 of a four part 8+ series based upon songs from the film ‘Children of Men’, the film itself, and the writing of Jorge Luis Borges. Read the first chapter HERE.
After nine or ten nights staring into the firmament of her mind, transfixed on her students in the night sky, on the ground, in her presence, entirely in her mind and not at all, she understood with acute acerbity that she could expect nothing from those pupils who accepted her tenet passively, but that she might expect something from those who periodically dared to challenge her. The former group, although worthy of love and affection, could not ascend to the level of individuals; the latter pre-existed to a slightly greater degree. One afternoon (now afternoons were also dominated by sleep, she was at this point only barely awake for a few hours each morning at sunrise) she dismissed the entire student body for good and retained one sole pupil. He was a reserved, sickly boy, often obdurate, whose rounded dark features resembled of those of his dreamer and whose thoughts focused upon the other students. The swift elimination of his peers did not concern him for long though; and after a few private lessons, his progress was enough to amaze the teacher. Nonetheless, a catastrophe took place. One day, Kee emerged from her sleep as if from a vast desert, peered into the ineffectual afternoon light which she immediately confused with the dawn, and understood that she had not been dreaming. All night and all day long, the unbearable lucidity of insomnia fell upon her. She remembered her baby. She clung to the thoughts that danced through her mind and considered ways in which to exhaust herself. She tried exploring the nearby forest, to lose her strength, and among the willows she barely succeeded in stealing several short moments of sleep, dominated by fleeting, embryonic visions that were ineffectual. She attempted to assemble the student body but barely had she mouthed a few brief words of encouragement before it became misshapen and vanished. Her mind was weak. In this perpetual vigil, tears of anger burned her weary eyes.
She reasoned that exploring the disjointed and dizzying matter of which dreams are made was the most difficult task that a woman could undertake, even though she could decipher all of the enigmas of a superior order; this, this was much more difficult than weaving a rope out of sand or catching lightning in a bottle. She vowed that she would forget the hallucination which had displaced her thoughts and sought another method of work. Before putting it into action, she spent a week recovering her strength, which had been drained by her delirium. She abandoned the obsession with dreaming and almost immediately succeeded in sleeping a large portion of each day. The few instances that she did have dreams during this period, she ignored them. Before resuming her task, she waited until the moon’s profile was perfect. Then, in the afternoon, she bathed herself in the shallows of the river, worshiped gods of another era, and went to sleep. She dreamed nearly immediately, with her heart pounding steadily.
Kee dreamed of a warm secret, about the size of a clenched fist, and of a deep red color within the shadow of a human body as yet without face or sex; during fourteen lucid nights she dreamt of it with great care and effort, conscientious love. Every night she perceived it more clearly. She did not touch it; she merely allowed herself to witness it, to observe it, and occasionally to remedy it with a glance. She observed it and lived it from all angles and distances. On the fourteenth night she lightly caressed the pulmonary artery with her index finger, then the whole heart, outside and inside. She was pleased with the examination. She intentionally did not dream for an evening; she took up the heart again, invoked the name of an ancient god, and undertook the vision of another of the major organs. Within a month she had come to the skeleton and the ears. These were surprisingly simple to conjure. The nearly infinite roots necessary for hair were perhaps the most difficult task. But she soldiered on. She dreamed an entire man -a young man- who did not speak or move, and who was unable to even open his eyes yet. She maintained a peaceful existence of sleep for him. In dreams she rested; he rested. Night after night, Kee dreamt him asleep.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Buy Children of Men (Music from the Motion Picture) HERE.
*front thumbnail and top photo from HERE.
EAR FARM’s 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. Click HERE to see the songs recently featured in EF’s 8+.
Michigan-based quintet Mason Proper released their outstanding sophomore album Olly Oxen Free (Dovecote Records) yesterday. A tightly coiled collection of smart hooks, patient songwriting and restrained arrangements, Olly Oxen Free is both a creeper and an instant obsession, forging a comfortably warm landscape that often makes it damn hard for the listener to stop playing the first three songs on repeat (that is, until you realize how great the rest of the record is too). Bands like this - and albums like this - just don’t materialize from thin air, people. To that end, we cornered lead singer Jonathan Visger and prodded him with a vague series of origin-themed questions, from songs to cover art and lasagna to the gentle art of naming one’s band. Enjoy the inquisition… Read more…
Listen: “She Just Started Liking Cheatin’ Songs” by Alan Jackson from Under The Influence
View: Image search results for She Just Started Liking Cheatin’ Songs - above image is from the 1st page of results (and was originally from HERE).
–
EAR FARM’s Hit-or-miss is a weekly feature (every Tuesday) wherein the EF music library is put on shuffle, the song that plays is then searched (using the song title) on Google images and a resulting photo (plus an MP3 of the song) is posted. You can see all of EAR FARM’s Hit-or-miss posts thus far right HERE.
Metallica’s ninth studio album, Death Magnetic, has “officially” been out for little over a week, but what a week it was. Awarded a degree of media attention that could only have been eclipsed by Jesus coming back to release The Second Coming: A Hip Hopera via iTunes, Death Magnetic has grabbed far more headlines than your average run of the mill chart-topping, Rick-Rubin-produced comeback metal album probably ever should. From Jessica Simpson to Mrs. Sarkozy, foot-long beards to fine wines, it’s Metallica’s world…we’re just reading the headlines. So for this week’s countdown, we’re running back the top ten Metallica-related stories that dominated the week that was (with a keen eye towards avoiding any “magnetic” puns wherever possible). Read more…