Category Archives: music

music: a chorus of Blackbirds

Posted on 2022-09-10 by skierpage

Did Paul McCartney know he wrote the greatest jazz standard since the golden age of the American songbook? The supremely confident moving bass line, the single note “Blackbird singing in the”, the early “dead of” leap in the melody, the … Continue reading →

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music: so much great instrumental guitar

Posted on 2022-08-16 by skierpage

All the tired old people complaining about “the music today” just aren’t trying. With nearly all recorded music a click away, today’s musicians are building on the best in every genre. My journey through modern instrumental guitar from Vulfpeck to … Continue reading →

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music: tracing samples and beats

Posted on 2022-05-25 by skierpage

I knew the Beastie Boy’s Paul’s Boutique is the apotheosis of sampling; now https://www.whosampled.com/Beastie-Boys/B-Boy-Bouillabaisse/samples/ lays out all 26 samples. You can also explore J Dilla’s dense samples on the site. It still feels strange to me that artists hear a … Continue reading →

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music: a return for Spinal Tap!

Posted on 2022-05-20 by skierpage

zOMG there will be a sequel to This is Spinal Tap. After 38 years, it can only be even sadder than the band’s first tour film; the original was another product of 1984, the high point of Western civilization. This … Continue reading →

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music: the B-52’s loss

Posted on 2022-05-02 by skierpage

I forgot how great the B-52’s briefly were and what an excellent album Cosmic Thing is. Beyond the smash “Love Shack” (produced by Don Was) with Cindy Wilson’s immortal “Tin roof, rusted!” are several more great songs, including the eco-optimistic … Continue reading →

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art: artists respecting artists

Posted on 2022-04-13 by skierpage

Here’s the cover of Paul McCartney’s 2013 album New: I saw it and immediately knew the cover’s designers were riffing on Dan Flavin‘s neon fluorescent tube sculptures. Dan Flavin was “an American minimalist artist famous for creating sculptural objects and … Continue reading →

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music: this Bach guy is seriously good

Posted on 2021-12-14 by skierpage

In his solid interview with Sting and his long-time guitarist Dominic Cooper, Rick Beato asked “If you were able to meet one musician, go back in time and hear one musician play…” and both immediately answered Bach. So I checked … Continue reading →

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excess: own something owned by someone famous, for crazy money

Posted on 2021-11-27 by skierpage

Nile Rodgers is auctioning a bunch of guitars. I don’t think he’s selling his famous white Fender Stratocaster “the Hitmaker,” which I couldn’t afford anyway. It reminded me that I meant to blog about David Gilmour (of Pink Floyd’s) record-breaking … Continue reading →

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The rise and fall of Ovation

Posted on 2021-11-27 by skierpage

I blogged about the crazy auction prices that guitars owned by Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour attained, particular those he’d never even used. The example I gave was a Ovation 12-string acoustic bought from the factory along with several other models, … Continue reading →

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music: The Sundays trounce Joni Mitchell

Posted on 2021-11-02 by skierpage

You dance with the lady with the hole in her stockingDidn’t it feel good?‒ Joni Mitchell Oh, you see me in a cardiganIn a dress, dress, dress that I’ve been sick onOh, how are you?Can’t say I really care at … Continue reading →

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