This category is for artists whom I thought significant enough to write multiple posts about.
The character of the base music here is overwhelming: complex, ebullient and life-affirming, and in yoking this intricate dance music to his sophisticated New Yorker sensibility, Simon created a transatlantic bridge that neither pandered to nor patronized either culture.” – The Independent He looks around, … Continue reading Featured Album – Graceland – Paul Simon (Final of Two)
Ordinarily when I write about a featured album, it’ s only one post. In this case, I’m going to do two, not necessarily because Graceland is such a great album, but because the story around it is so big, so relevant and so damned interesting. … Continue reading Featured Album – Graceland – Paul Simon (Part One)
“[People] think I should never have stopped writing three-minute story songs. But I’ve written so many of them the formula begins to reveal itself. The magic goes. It did for me, anyway.” – Ray Davies In 1973, it was Ray’s turn to be put through … Continue reading God Save The Kinks (final of four)
“I exalt Ray and Dave Davies. People in America talk about The Beatles, The Stones, The Who. For me, it’s the Beatles, The Stones, the Kinks … I certainly wouldn’t have presumed to compete with the Kinks.” -Pete Townshend These next few years were incredibly … Continue reading The Kinks (pt. 3) – It’s Only Juke Box Music
‘Ray and Dave were very volatile,’ Pete Quaife, who died in 2010, once said. ‘They could start a fight over absolutely nothing.’ I hope eventually to be sufficiently capable of expressing people’s everyday moods, thoughts, and emotions in music.” Ray Davies to NME in 1964. Interview … Continue reading The Kinks (pt 2) – Where Have All the Good Times Gone?
(pictured l-r: Mick Avory, Pete Quaife, Dave Davies, Ray Davies) The so-called British Invasion consisted of a fair number of bands including The Animals, Hollies, Dave Clark Five, Herman’s Hermits, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Peter and Gordon, etc. But for many people, (oh bloody hell, … Continue reading The Kinks – (pt. 1) Muswell Hillbilly Boys
“You know what foldin’ chairs are for,” drawled Bob Weir as they hit the stage (at Monterey). “They’re for folding up and dancin’ on.” It revealed a fundamentally different philosophy of performance. The Dead really were a dance band. “We were there to play,” he … Continue reading Grateful Dead (final) – I Know You Rider Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone
