The Oscars take their revenge this year on Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross for winning the Music (Original Score) category with their innovative and beautiful score to The Social Network. This year, no electronics, no creative and emotional use of sound, nothing that might for a moment be considered contemporary. Instead, Oscar whore (and I…
Category: Reviews & Commentary
Reviews & Commentary
Tangerine Dream Live at Moogfest
Is It Safe To Listen To Tangerine Dream Again? This might come a bit late but I’ve come across very little coverage about it since Moogfest 2011 at the end of October. Tangerine Dream headlined the festival and did a 2 hour show. Like many fans, I’ve become a bit inurred to the band. You…
Reviews & Commentary
McCartney does Bennett
Do I really need Paul McCartney singing the music from the Ratpack generation? Sometimes I think it’s a sign of my growing lack of maturity that I can still never completely relate to the music my parents listened too. Intellectually I can dig Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Mel Torme, and I actually like Tony…
Reviews & Commentary
Orbital Never Say Never
After supposedly calling it quits back in 2004 with the release of Blue Album, the U.K. electronica duo, Orbital are on the verge of completing the inevitable comeback they began back in 2008. A new album, Wonky, is set for April and they’ve already released a teaser single, a light, effervescent bit of alka-synth-pop called,…
Reviews & Commentary
Lola Dutronic Does Suicide (the band, not the act)
I came across this charming video of Lola Dutronic singing Suicide‘s “Keep Your Dreams.” It’s a long way from “Ghostrider” and “Frankie Teardrop.” John Diliberto ((( echoes )) .
Reviews & Commentary
Progressive Rock Returns WXPN 7-Hour Marathon
I’m just hours away from WXPN‘s Progressive Rock Marathon. I’ll be joining Dan Reed, Biff Kennedy and Star’s End pilot Chuck Van Zyl bringing Progressive rock to the airwaves of Philadelphia, Central PA and the world Saturday, January 7 from 10AM-5PM. Since the show is a special segment of XPN’s “Highs in the 70s,” it…
Reviews & Commentary
Sam River’s Final Note R.I.P.
Jazz Giant Sam River’s Passes Away. I was so sad to hear of the passing of Sam Rivers at 88 years of age on December 26, 2011. He was an iconoclastic musician who came up in the free jazz days and cut through that scene with music blazing in serrated slices. I got to see…
Reviews & Commentary
These are the 100 Greatest Guitarists?
M.I.A from The Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Guitarists 100 Best Whatever-lists are designed to engender debate and outrage and 100 Greatest Guitarists is likely to create even more of a firestorm than usual. Of the millions who followed the Byrds’ dictum to “get an electric guitar and learn how to play,” many are bound to be…
Reviews & Commentary
NEARFEST Apocalypse
After announcing that they were resurrecting NEARFEST in 2012, the festival organizers have decided that 2012 will mark the last NEARFEST. In true ProgRock fashion, they’ve labeled it NEARFEST APOCALYPSE. Prog was never known for understatement. Well, like just about every classic prog group they’ve presented over the years who were resurrected from the grave,…
Reviews & Commentary
NEARFEST RETURNS IN 2012
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, or maybe King Crimson rising from Robert Fripp‘s mind, NEARFEST, the venerable progressive rock festival, will return in 2012 after cancelling the 2011 show due to poor ticket sales. With the original founders back at the helm, look for the festival to return to it’s mix of vintage…