Category Archives: music

music: Cory Wong, rhythm guitar ace

Posted on 2019-08-22 by skierpage

YouTube recommended Vulfpeck to me, mid-West funky players with a killer bassist Joe Dart, but a bit too whitey-tighty. They occasionally play with rhythm guitarist Cory Wong, who is just great. The love child of Nile Rodgers, Prince, John Mayer, … Continue reading →

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music: PBS Soundbreaking embarrassingly wrong

Posted on 2019-08-22 by skierpage

I should like the Soundbreaking documentary series more than I did. A bunch of musicians talking about recorded music, sign me up! But it’s a crazily scattershot as struggles to edit brief comments by musicians and pretentious journalists into a … Continue reading →

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music/web: need a precise neutral way to refer to songs

Posted on 2019-07-22 by skierpage

“Introducing NPR Music Playlists: From the songs played between news stories on-air to the most essential releases out every Friday, we’re committing a series of playlists on Spotify and Apple Music, updated every weekday.” This is no use if you … Continue reading →

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music: Lil Nas X and pop today

Posted on 2019-06-29 by skierpage

Meaghan Garvey wrote an insightful funny review of Lil Nas X for NPR that’s also about the state of pop music, and funny to boot! “the exquisite schadenfreude of the biggest pop stars on the planet, including Drake and Taylor … Continue reading →

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music/audio: great recording of great playing

Posted on 2019-06-01 by skierpage

I listen to the NPR news summary on the main NPR page and the web page often features Tiny Desk concerts recorded at a not-so-tiny desk at some NPR office (and promoted by cute hedgehogs). Many are excellent. I grooved … Continue reading →

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music/web: Sundays spent disambiguating

Posted on 2019-05-26 by skierpage

The Google Now screen on my phone does a good job presenting news relevant to me. It struck gold when it displayed “new album out now” by The Sundays, zOMG!! After 22 years, out of nowhere they deliver a new … Continue reading →

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music: the Isley Brothers

Posted on 2019-05-23 by skierpage

3 + 3 > 5, ergo The Isleys were more talented than the Jacksons, QED. On “The Highways of My Life” brother-in-law Chris Jasper is immortal on piano and ARP synthesizer. Wikipedia says Stevie Wonder was making Innervisions down the … Continue reading →

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music: how to contribute scanned lyrics to the web

Posted on 2019-03-13 by skierpage

Lyrics are everywhere on the web, yet I regularly come across popular songs whose lyrics are nowhere to be found. Sometimes I have a CD or LP on the shelf with the missing lyrics printed in it! Time to make … Continue reading →

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music: Look Now, a great Elvis Costello album

Posted on 2018-10-18 by skierpage

Slate’s Carl Wilson said it well “Elvis Costello’s New Album Is His Best This Century” Yes it is. Look Now has the horns and backing vocals of Punch the Clock, more Bacharach collaborations like Painted from Memory, varied production that … Continue reading →

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music: Corduroy transcends Acid Jazz

Posted on 2018-09-22 by skierpage

I somehow found out about Acid Jazz in 1992 entirely through a few compilation CDs. One of them (100% Acid Jazz) contained an effervescent funky pop song called “Mini” by Corduroy, about… the Mini car. I like the way your … Continue reading →

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