Commentary Archive
Holding Out for a Hero: Feeding the Reunion Starved Fan
March 28, 2014
Tickets to see Kate Bush’s first live shows in thirty-five years have come under such a deluge that the things sold out in just 15 minutes. 15 minutes for Kate Bush is pretty understandable though, being only twenty years old when she toured for the first and only time. She’s been somewhat of a musical
How Did Phish Become So Popular?
March 27, 2014
For those few among you who are trying to work out why no-one’s spotted the typo in the headline of this article, I can promise you that Phish are far from some mangled aquatic misspelling. Phish, who’ve been around for over thirty years, are one of the bands who seem to hold fans in a
Is Streaming Killing the Music Industry?
March 26, 2014
Apple has recently announced it has plans to launch a streaming service to tackle the threat posed by services like Spotify, Youtube, Soundcloud, Deezer and other corporate music efforts in the form of Google Play and Microsoft’s Xbox Music. The news comes after recent double-digit falls in iTunes sales. A scare for those who had
Seven Best Song Duets of Diana Krall
March 26, 2014
15 million albums sold worldwide, eight Billboard Jazz Chart number one albums and a clutch of Grammy and Juno Awards, Canadian vocalist/pianist Diana Krall has become one of the most successful easy-listening acts of her generation pretty much all by herself. While her own eleven studio efforts are resolutely solo affairs, she isn’t averse to
Will Country Music Ever Be Cool Again?
March 25, 2014
In recent years you’d be forgiven for thinking that Country music had let off a bit of wind in pop-world, as some of its youngest adherents have just recently left the room. Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift are among the most prominent of the genre’s performers whose gaze has shifted from the old-school southern sound
Behind the Majestic Sound of Sigur Rós and Their Made-Up Language, Vonlenska
March 24, 2014
Icelandic post-rockers Sigur Rós craft one of the most strikingly unique sounds in the world. Its a swelling blend of orchestral grandiosity, tranquil cinematic lulls, and frontman Jónsi’s piercing falsetto. This is all heralded by perhaps their most unique trademark, that many of their vocals are sung in a made-up language created by the band
How Do Rock Bands Decide Who Opens for Them in Concert?
March 21, 2014
I remember the very first gig I ever attended. At fifteen, I rolled around to our local venue of choice to see my favorite metal band rip up the stage and generally have a merry old time of it. What I didn’t know then was that we were going to be subjected first to no
The Evolution of No Doubt
March 20, 2014
When No Doubt formed in 1987, they aimed to create a sound that captured both the emerging ska and punk scenes rampant at the time. Even as these movements were largely nostalgic and revivalist in nature, lead singer Gwen Stefani’s vocals fit the bill – and the group’s shared love for ska/punk combiners Madness made
Ten Best Concept Albums Ever Made
March 19, 2014
Concept albums are very nearly a dirty word in modern music. Written off as either overtly pretentious tripe with some not-so-hidden agenda or self-indulgent prance through the authors psyche, there’s little room for them on most CD shelves (or, more realistically, iPod playlists). But what of the forgotten gems? That is to say, what of
Assembling the Ultimate Superband
March 18, 2014
The concept of the supergroup used to be confined to dad-rock favorites such Cream, The Travelling Wilburys and Crosby, Still, Nash & Young. But lately everyone is getting on in the act with artists from the worlds of club music (Swedish House Mafia), hip-hop (The Throne), and even boyband pop (NKOTBSB) joining forces in addition
