79 posts tagged with music by hippybear.
Displaying 1 through 50 of 79.
They even cover All Star
Robot Slide Whistle Orchestrion [14m] has performances by the orchestrion plus background facts about its construction. It's charming and really nerdy.
RIP Karl Wallinger
RIP Karl Wallinger. [NYT, ungated] Keyboardist for The Waterboys [Wikipedia] and creative force behind World Party [Wikipedia], he passed of undisclosed reasons this past Sunday at 66. He was well known for Put The Message In The Box, Private Revolution, and Ship Of Fools. The Guardian has a truly lovely write-up about Wallinger. [more inside]
Detroit's Music Scene
Motor City's Burning: Detroit from Motown to the Stooges [1h, 2008, BBC] Is a look at the history of Detroit through the lens of music, from John Lee Hooker to Eminem. It's a really interesting scope through which to view this city.
Sub Berlin : The Story Of Tresor
Sub Berlin - The Story of Tresor [1h24m, mixed language with embedded English subtitles] is a 2012 documentary about the Berlin nightclub [Wikipedia] that started before the Wall came down, and was one of the defining actors in the evolution of Techno in the early Nineties.
The Pomp Room
What happens if you have a bar, sort of in the middle of nowhere, that becomes a really popular local music spot with a super loyal local crew, but then that grows and everything begins to blossom beyond your expectations? The Pomp Room: A Rock N Roll Bar Story [1h40m] is set in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, covers decades, and was bigger than you think.
It's true... 1984 was 40 years ago
180 Songs That Turn 40 Years Old in 2024 [18m22s] is a cavalcade of song hooks coupled with titles. Great for making Gen X feel super old, or maybe as a reference piece for youngs who would recognize a melody but not know the title. It's a lot. I'm sorry.
They used to have Spooky songs in the past
It's hard to find new music for Spooky Season. But it turns out, there's a century of tunes to turn to! 13 Halloween Songs from the 1920's & 1930's [40m] and Vintage Halloween Music [50s and 60s, 40m] are both probably full of songs you didn't know exist. For something a bit more modern, perhaps Spooky Swing - Electro Swing Halloween Mix 2020 ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ [1h40m] will get you up and hopping. [more inside]
Oh yeah, he's THAT guy!
It took three years for Colin Hay's band to rise from playing pubs to being the biggest band in the world. Three more years, and Men At Work was over, as was all the momentum for Colin Hay's career. Colin Hay: Waiting For My Real Life [1h24m, 2015] documents the rise, fall, and continuing lingering legacy of one of Australia's biggest musical heroes.
Beato + Saliers = Great Interview
Rick Beato sat down with the Emily Saliers half of Indigo Girls for a conversation about her decades of making and recording music: In the Room with Indigo Girlsโ Emily Saliers [50m]. It's a free-wheeling talk that I, as a long-time IG fan, felt was revelatory and insightful. And there's a lot of joy happening here, too! Includes solo performance of song Look Long.
I can't talk about my work without talking about someone else's work.
Happy Pride Month! I was surprised to learn that Kara Jackson is not only a raw, inventive young musician [Kara Jackson Uses Rage, Channels Brandy, Ponders The Human Predicament On Astonishing New LP, Country Queer], but she was a 2019 National Youth Poet Laureate. The Poetry Vlog interviewed her in 2019 about where she was then. [31m] She talked to Kyle Meredith recently about where she is now. [23m] Her recently released album, Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love? [YT playlist] is an emotional dreamscape full of searching.
The part of 60s music that wasn't Laurel Canyon
Greenwich Village: Music that Defined A Generation [1h32m] is a 2012 documentary that looks at the part of the 60s folk and subsequent rock revolution that wasn't based in California. Guthrie, Seeger, Dylan, Baez.. and that's just the beginning. A really great look at a fascinating era of music that shaped what we all listen to now.
Ten Minute Nostalgia Hits
YouTuber @TheManInMeOfficial has created a series of videos summarizing "Iconic Albums" released each month during different decades. I don't know what the criteria are, but I have to say, the selections are indeed iconic. Each video runs 11m. Most Iconic Album Released Every Month Of The '60s. The 70s. The 80s. The 90s.
Whaddya call a person who hangs out with musicians? A harmonica player.
Pocket Full Of Soul: The Harmonica Documentary [1h26m, 2009] is precisely what it says on the tin. I can't think of many who I can picture playing harmonica who don't appear in this movie. It's full of joy and harmonica music. CW: Harmonica Music
Revisiting a favorite from long ago
Ever since we first discussed this in 2011, I keep coming back to it regularly. Oração - A Banda Mais Bonita da Cidade is a six minute long tracking shot through a house full of musical people making music in variously combinations before they all join for a joyous conclusion. Syracuse.com provides a bit more background information. I just love it so much
South of The Border (Down Mexico Way) Bears Its Fruits
Coming from the Louisiana Channel and the Louisiana Museum Of Modern Art (for reasons I can't quickly determine), here is Music Is a Continuum, a half-hour spent with composer Terry Riley at his home in Japan in June 2022. He talks about basically everything, and it's a fascinating glimpse into the world of one of the 20th Century's most important musical influences.
The last century of LGBTQ+ history, two beams out of the prism
100 Years Of LGBT+ Music: From Ma Rainey To Lil Nas X [42m58s] comes from YouTube's AreTheyGay and, while it curiously skips over the 80s Europop gay invasion, draws a line from the early 1900s to today. Meanwhile, Kat Rowe has Terror And Vice: LA's Painful Gay History [35m], which covers the same time period, but has much more to do with the direct effect of the dominant culture on the queer underclass. [more inside]
David Byrne had one big question, though: โWhat if it had cooler music?โ
Contemporary Color [1h37m] is a 2016 documentary music performance of only the kind David Byrne could envision: championship-level color guard / flag corps performances matched with live musical acts like St Vincent, Nelly Furtado, Ad-Rock and others. Here's the trailer [2m8s] if you just want a taste. Here's Rolling Stone loving the project, and Matt Zoller Seitz for RogerEbert.com not so much. [more inside]
High Weirdness By YouTube
Entertainment Made By Cults is a tight hour of all kinds of things you'd expect to encounter, and a lot of stuff you didn't. It's a fascinating glimpse into the creativity of the fringe, certainly worth a bit of time.
Bowiemas/Bowienalia 2022
January 8 is Bowiemas. He would have been 75 years old today. This is going to be a big party. [Rolling Stone archive link] You can buy a ticket to attend! [box office link] Madame Tussauds London announce new David Bowie figure to celebrate his 75th birthday [NME] David Bowie - Shadow Man (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix) is a recording you've never heard before, released just yesterday. [more inside]
Many Reflections On The New Year!
It's Just Another New Year's Eve (Barry Manilow), Happy New Year (ABBA), My Dear Acquaintance (A Happy New Year) (Regina Spektor), New Year's Eve In A Haunted House (Raymond Scott), What're You Doing New Year's Eve (Harry Connick, Jr.), Toast To The New Year (Carbon Leaf), The Closing Of The Year (Wendy & Lisa)
How Black women reclaimed country and Americana music in 2021
Want some really amazing good news about the state of the world today? How Black women reclaimed country and Americana music in 2021 [medium read NPR article with links and YouTube videos] is a month-by-month look at the process and progress of remarkable artists this past year. I'm going to be tapping into this for artists to check out for a while!
A Couple Of Lists Of Christmas Music
15 unconventional Christmas albums from the past 50 years,from KTVZ, Bend, OR. Also, 20 New-ish Christmas Albums That Actually Rule from Esquire. I will admit to ordering an album from one of these lists and expect to be pleased.
What year is it?
New music this week! Duran Duran's new single Invisible [3m24s] has them sounding a lot like Duran Duran, while Pet Shop Boys' Cricket Wife [10m] is a neo-classical Lied. [more inside]
January 8 -- Bowiemas 2021
Bowiemas is upon us! Jan 8th would have been David Bowie's 74th birthday. So many ways to celebrate! Perhaps begin with David & Cher performing Can You Hear Me, the b-side for the single Golden Years in 1975. [more inside]
Christmash.com
In years past we've had the entire Santastic series here. Well, now we have Christmash.com, the home of the entire Santastic series! Everything all on one page, to help save your sanity from Normal Christmas Music during these trying times.
WHOOOSH!
How is Duran Duran's Simon LeBon staying busy during the pandemic lockdown? In late April he started up a podcast WHOOOSH!. It's available to listen to online. So far there are 11 episodes, and they are full of interesting music and discussion. No RSS feed, but here's a YouTube playlist (audio only) of the episodes thus far, I assume it will continue to be updated.
Indigo Girls expand Country Radio with Black, Brown, and Queer Musicians
Indigo Girls' latest album includes the song Country Radio, a paean to being a queer kid listening to straight songs. In an article in The Bluegrass Situation, Amy and Emily engage in perhaps the most outspoken discussion of politics and race I've ever seen from them and provide a playlist of country and Americana songs that address diversity, heteronormitivy, race, and gender. [more inside]
A Not-At-All Exhaustive LGBTQIA+ Country Playlist
NPR Music brings us A Not-At-All Exhaustive LGBTQIA+ Country Playlist. You can stream the playlist at YouTube or Spotify. [more inside]
Smithsonian Presents: Project Pride
Foregoing plans to launch Pride Month with live events across their network of museums, the Smithsonian presents Project Pride, a 2 hour video [YT link] which host Ari Shapiro introduces as a time capsule of LGBTQ Pride in 2020. Participants include Alex the Astronaut, Big Freedia, Bright Light Bright Light, Cameron Esposito, Courtney Barnett, Claud, Dorian Electra, Girl in Red, Indigo Girls, Jake Shears, Joy Oladokun, Kat Cunning, Madame Gandhi, mxmtoon, Nakhane, Pabllo Vittar, Pet Shop Boys, Roxane Gay, SOKO, Tig Notaro & Stephanie Allynne, VINCINT, and other guests. And the Smithsonian throws in their own historical context too. [more inside]
Dance Music Sex Romance: Prince Streams 4 U
NPR reminds you of 4 2017 Prince playlists via Spotify. "This is Prince, never 2 B 4gotten: the man who made music divine." [more inside]
It's now made people all over the world very happy too.
The fart heard round the world: how an Australian musician's fart went viral. "When an Australian musician recorded his fart on his phone he had no idea it would become an educational talking point for music students all around the world. His 7-tone fart was so unique, he turned it into a symphony and it went viral." [2m9s]
The Five Funniest Tiny Desk Concerts
Weekend diversion! Stephen Thompson from NPR Music curates a video playlist of the five funniest Tiny Desk Concerts. The performers are Fragile Rock, Reggie Watts, "Weird" Al Yankovic, Dan Deacon, and Neil Innes. Total Playtime runs about 1h15m.
Bowienalia 2020
January 10 marks 4 years since the interdimensional being known on this planet as David Bowie left our presence. Let the bells ring strong! Bowienalia 2020 invites you to revisit his final performance (Heroes, Hurricane Festival, 2004), to examine an old hit through a modern lens (Space Oddity 2019 50th Anniversary Mix), to think about a young David Bowie as he emerged (Stardust will be a film about Bowie's artistic transition in the early 70s, not a music biopic), and to consider how Bowie's sudden departure might have torn someone's universe (Speed Of Life trailer). [more inside]
Bowiemas 2020
January 8 marks 73 years since the interdimensional being known on this planet as David Bowie was incarnated amongst us. Bowiemas 2020 encourages you to look at art that David Bowie did (4 slides with accompanying article), the art David Bowie has inspired (comic book telling of the life of Ziggy Stardust), the music David Bowie did (writing Under Pressure with Queen, and isolated vocals by Bowie and Freddie Mercury from Under Pressure), and the music David Bowie has inspired (the composer for Little Women was told to do "a mix of Mozart and David Bowie, title music track "Little Women" (perhaps you agree he sort of nailed it)). Merry Bowiemas to everyone!
This is your father's electronica
French soundtrack composer Jean-Michel Jarre burst into the public mind in 1976 with the release of his synthesizer album Oxygène. Presented here in two sides, as originally released. Side A: Oxygène (Part I), Oxygène (Part II), Oxygène (Part III) [18m45s] [more inside]
If I cannot bring you comfort, then at least I bring you hope
What to do when one of the biggest music producers in the world joins with one of the biggest movie composers in the world to create the soundtrack for a truly brilliant and bizarre sort of artistic failure of a movie? Have it mentioned here as a joyous and introspective album for the turning of the seasons! Trevor Horn and Hans Zimmer scored Barry Levinson's 1992 movie Toys, and left us with this beautiful document: Cassette Side A: Winter Reveries (Excerpt From Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 1), The Closing Of The Year (feat. Wendy & Lisa and Seal) [video, long single version], Ebudae (Enya) , The Happy Worker (Tori Amos), Alsatia's Lullabye (Julia Migenes/Hans Zimmer), Workers, Let Joy And Innocence Prevail (Instrumental) (Pat Metheny) [more inside]
Prince, but not Prince... The Time!
The Time is a strange beast. After two albums of being nearly but not quite noticed, they were suddenly blew up on the music scene as the antagonist band up against Prince + The Revolution in the film Purple Rain. Actually being Prince playing most instruments with Morris Day following a Prince vocal track for recording, they were suddenly huge. But they'd already disbanded (for the time being). This third album [38m], Ice Cream Castle, is a minor masterpiece of soft-R-rated funk/rock. Side A: Ice Cream Castles, My Drawers, Chili Sauce [more inside]
Could have made a great section in Fantasia
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor -- African Suite: Danse nègre [6m24s] was composed in 1898, recorded here by Paul Freeman with the Chicago Symphony in 2000. While not African-American (he was English), Coleridge-Taylor toured the US multiple times and is perhaps the "father" of Black American Classical Music. This delightful little diversion serves as a good step into exploring classical music composed by African-Americans. [more inside]
Cairo -- ุงููุงูุฑุฉ (pronounced: al-Qahirah), literally "The Victorious"
This interview with Anne Dudley, from Art Of Noise, is about her 1991 album with Jaz Coleman (Killing Joke), and a bunch of musicians in Cairo -- Songs From The Victorious City. Middle-eastern influenced instrumental music shaped by AON sensibilities but played live. It's brilliant! Side A: The Awakening, Endless Festival, Minarets And Memories [video], Force And Fire, Habebe [more inside]
Close To Home: A Conversation About Beyoncé's 'Lemonade'
We asked Professor Regina Bradley and writer dream hampton to share their dialogue about the visual album with us, to show the many directions Lemonade is sending people, knowing the two of them don't come to the art or the artist from the same place, knowing they require different things if they're to feel represented, knowing that feeling is a major factor in what's happening right now culturally, but it's not the only thing.Close To Home: A Conversation About Beyoncé's 'Lemonade'
Guava Island
Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) and Rihanna (Rihanna) star in the ~1h long film Guava Island [clip], which premiered at Coachella this year. It's available to stream for free on Amazon until 9pm EST TODAY (after that, available on the Amazon Prime video streaming service). It features several new songs, and new takes on old songs. If you appreciated This Is America, this is for you [NPR article].
Bird Box (Abridged)
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross scored the Netflix film Bird Box, and they've done a digital release of an abridged score available now. A full score on physical product will be available later. For now, they've put the track Outside on YouTube for everyone.
Yes, I believe in a better world
The Moody Blues' final studio album in 2003 was, oddly enough a Holiday album [YT playlist ~42m]. December featured the core of the group (Haywood, Lodge, and Edge, still together since the 60s). It feels like it might tip over into kitsch at any moment, but always avoids it and ends up feeling more poignant than anything else. CD: Don't Need A Reindeer, December Snow, In The Quiet Of Christmas Morning (Bach 147), On This Christmas Day, Happy Xmas (War Is Over), A Winter's Tale, The Spirit Of Christmas, Yes I Believe, When A Child Is Born, White Christmas, In The Bleak Midwinter
Candle candle, are the children safe now?
Christmas carols with a twist, but not the twist you might expect. Tori Amos' 2009 release Midwinter Graces is both familiar and new, and is every single bit old-school Tori, symphonic and surprising. Recommended for those who love holiday music but who are sick of holiday music. CD: What Child, Nowell; Star Of Wonder; A Silent Night With You [video]; Candle: Coventry Carol; Holly, Ivy, And Rose; Harps Of Gold; Snow Angel; Jeanette, Isabella; Pink And Glitter; Emmanuel; Winter's Carol; Our New Year
twelve songs for the twelve days of christmas
1995 saw the release of You Sleigh Me, a compilation album of Holiday songs which featured an interesting selection of artists and many really good performances. Cassette Side A: Run Rudolph Run - Mary Kartzen, Blue Christmas - Collective Soul, Little Drummer Boy - Tori Amos, Christmas Lights - Donna Lewis, The First Noel - Billy Pilgrim, Make It Home - Juliana Hatfield [more inside]
A silver bowl of mints and some peanuts
Virginia-based Americana group Carbon Leaf created a holiday-season EP back in 2010. Whether it's winter weather, traditional family holiday parties, childhood holiday longings, or just being an adult at New Year's, Carbon Leaf probably has a song for you here. Christmas Child runs about 30 minutes total. Christmas Child, Red Punch Green Punch, Ice And Snow, Sutton's Reel, Ode To The Snow, Drifting, Christmas At Sea, Christmas Child (Instrumental), Toast To The New Year [more inside]
Giving Voice To Rural Resistance
Amy Ray [one half of Indigo Girls] released her 6th solo album, Holler, a couple of months ago. Musically, I'd call it maybe Sun Studios Country, banjo with a horn section. Definitely Americana. Lyrically, it's entirely Amy Ray. It might be just what you need right now. [YT Playlist] Side A: Gracie's Dawn (Prelude), Sure Feels Good Anyway, Dadgum Down [video], Last Taxi Fare [more inside]
Spirit Of Love Will Always Connect You
Yes' Jon Anderson released his 4th solo album in 1985 -- the holiday-themed album 3 Ships. It's rather 80s, VERY Jon Anderson, and I think it's charming and fun with excellent flow across its runtime [Full Album (recommended), 39m15s]. One of the few holiday albums I might listen to in July. Side One: Save All Your Love, Easier Said Than Done [video], 3 Ships [video (lower quality)], Forest Of Fire, Ding Dong! Merrily On High, Save All Your Love (Reprise) [more inside]
There's a reason why you haven't seen these Prince videos before.
NPR says that we have SEVEN seldom-seen new Prince videos for old songs posted online to watch. They're basically all SLAVE-era videos. Endophorminmachine; Dolphin; Rock And Roll Is Alive! (And It Lives In Minneapolis) [Ed note: !!! (Ed. note to Ed. note: !!!)]; Eye Hate U; Gold [Ed note: !]; Dinner With Delores; The Same December [more inside]
LoveLoud Music Festival
HBO recently released Believer [trailer], a documentary about Imagine Dragons' lead singer's journey of becoming a Mormon straight ally for the LGBTQ community. Yesterday (Sat, July 28) was the second annual LoveLoud music festival in Salt Lake City focussed on creating community and building self-worth in the LGBTQ Mormon (and outside) population. 8+ hours of quality music! [more inside]
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