The mission of this blog is to review, discuss and appreciate various music and musicians. Your contributions on these topics will be both welcome and appreciated. From major label to indie release, all music is fair game.
In 2011, The Black Keys released their seventh album. Called "El Camino," the album had an unenviable task: It had to follow its very popular predecessor "Brothers."
"Brothers" is how I got into The Black Keys. A very good friend of mine (the same friend who got me into The White Stripes) bought a copy of the album for me. Knowing my tastes in music as he did, and knowing how I appreciated good sounds and was wanting to expand my knowledge of modern bands, my friend figured "Brothers" was a good place to start. He was right.
Sorry it's been a while. I was waiting to see if I'd get any feedback or suggestions for the live blogging listening party idea. I didn't get anything, so I'll just have to choose something myself.
Works for me. :)
I'll grab an album I haven't heard before (or haven't listened to in a long time) and get that entry done before the year is over.
I wish you all the very best this holiday season. No matter your religious beliefs, political stances or anything else, I hope your next several days are full of peace, caring, comfort and good will.
I haven't gone to enough of them. So my latest flash of brilliance (that might be an exaggeration) was to listen to an album and blog as I'm listening. Giving impressions, first reactions and whatever thoughts pop into my head at the time.
On this day in 1980, John Lennon was slain by Mark David Chapman outside the Dakota Apartments in New York City.
The man, as a Beatle and as a solo artist, created some amazing music and helped forge a sense of political and social activism that few rock musicians had shared up to that poet (sure, you had folk artists doing it). His peace anthem "Imagine" continues to rally people worldwide. His love songs, his family songs, his artsy songs ... They all form a musical fabric that have colored and enriched so many of us.
One can only wonder what kind of music would have been released in the last 21 years had he lived. Would the Beatles have reunited? Would "Free as a Bird" or "Real Love" have been released? Would "Milk and Honey" have been released, at least in the form it took? Would John and Yoko still be together? Would John have gotten closer to Julian?
These questions, and more, can never be answered.
But the music lives on, and for that we can be grateful.
I have a lot I can say about Lennon. I was born in July of 1980, so I was too young to care about his music before he died. But the Beatles were very important to my young life, and continue to be now. His solo works provide important, interesting material that continues to inspire (and confound, at times). But my words pale in comparison to Lennon's own. So ...
Here's one of my favorite John Lennon songs, "Instant Karma!" We all shine on ...
What's your favorite band? Who is your favorite singer? What is your favorite song?
Common questions. Sucky questions. For the music addict, those questions can be nearly impossible to answer.
But we're all friends here, and we can take the time to discuss the most mundane things and the most challenging things alike. After all, you're reading a blog ... you don't have anything better to do! :)
I love to listen to it. I love to think about it. I love to talk about it. I love to challenge myself with it. I love to look at it. I love to look for it.
Music borders on obsession for me, and in some cases it does more than border obsession. If it involves my favorite groups, I am admittedly obsessed with the music. The Beatles? The Beach Boys? Queen? Pink Floyd? Weezer? You can name dozens of groups and individual artists ... I dig their stuff, and I jump in head first.
