Hot Damn Jammz 46: Slack by Slackwest
-Fri, Mar 12, 2010
You might have thought that after a week off, we’d come back with the strongest batch of Jammz yet to grace the HDJz. You might have thought we’d scour the internetz for the best looking, best sounding, most wonderfullest groups, bands, and artists we could find. Spare no expense, leave no stone unturned, follow all [...]
Samuel Barber, American Composer
Samuel Barber, one of the leading American composers of the twentieth century, is best known for his Adagio for Strings, but he created a large number of works in a variety of genres that are beloved by performers and audiences. For the celebration of the centenary of his birth, Stephen Eddins examines Barber's legacy and offers samples of some of his most memorable music.
News Roundup: 3/11/2010
-Thu, Mar 11, 2010
OK Go has left EMI Records and formed their own imprint, Paracadute. They’ll re-release their latest album, Of the Color of Blue Sky, which came out in January, later this year. Previously, the band publicly disagreed with EMI’s policy to disable embedding of YouTube videos on other sites. The band’s Rube Goldberg-esque video for “This [...]
News Roundup:3/10/2010
-Wed, Mar 10, 2010
British R&B vocalist Taio Cruz has set a record for the largest jump to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 by an act with its first charting single. Cruz’s song “Break Your Heart,” which features rapper Ludacris, jumped from 53 to 1. The record previously belonged to Kelly Clarkson’s American Idol song “A Moment [...]
New Sounds from Club 8
Up until now, every record the Swedish indie pop duo Club 8 has made has followed roughly the same basic template. Starting with 1996’s Nouvelle on through to 2007’s excellent The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Dreaming, they’ve made quiet, melancholy pop wrapped in soft synths, gentle guitars and very precise arrangements. With the exception of [...]
News Roundup: 3/9/2010
-Tue, Mar 09, 2010
Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, opens this evening at the Adelphi Theatre in London. Set in 1907, ten years after the original story’s conclusion, the show finds the Phantom working in New York City as a successful Coney Island magician. After building a new opera house, he [...]
Samuel Barber, 1910 – 1981
March 9 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of American composer Samuel Barber. Barber’s melodically generous and lyrical, romantic music has been in and out of favor with academicians and critics as musical fashions have changed, but it has never been out of fashion with the public. While he is especially remembered for his [...]
Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
-Mon, Mar 08, 2010
Gorillaz began as a lark but turned serious once it became Damon Albarn’s primary creative outlet following the slow dissolve of Blur. Delivered five years after the delicate whimsical melancholy of 2005’s Demon Days, Plastic Beach is an explicit sequel to its predecessor, its story line roughly picking up in the dystopian future where the [...]
News Roundup: 3/8/2010
R.I.P. Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse, who committed suicide on Saturday at age 47. Linkous’ family released a statement, saying “We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy and free. There’s a heaven and there’s a star for you.” Linkous’ four Sparklehorse [...]
Jimi Hendrix – Valleys of Neptune
After 40 years, a number of ill-conceived posthumous albums, and countless bootlegs, one would almost have to be skeptical of a new album billed as “12 previously unreleased studio recordings — almost 60 minutes of unheard Jimi Hendrix!” The good news is that Valleys of Neptune largely delivers on that promise. Even hardcore collectors will [...]