I wasn’t going to post anything on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of Katrina, since I didn’t have anything particularly intelligent to say. But I thought of some things to offer today, so here we go. This American Life offered some amazing coverage in the aftermath of Katrina; it’s highly unusual for them to [...]
Mash-ups in the news
For all you mash-up fans (you know who you are), here are two examples of mash-ups in the news. Via Poplicks, here is a report on the ABC Evening News on mash-ups. I must take exception with one point made in the report. As is made clear in this previous post, mash-ups go back to [...]
On air, off script
Two examples of people expressing themselves with full honesty. On August 12, Radio personality Inetta “the Moodsetta” Boykin Hinton of WBLX-FM in Mobile, AL got toward the end of her show. As she did her last break, at 1:50 p.m., she launched into a resignation, ending with the classic line, “I quit this bitch.” You [...]
Tanya Morgan, Queen of Hip-Hop
For years now, I’ve been hearing fans of hip-hop complaining about the state of the art form. It’s dead or badly damaged. There was a brief Golden Age, which is now gone. Whatever. I guess it was the rise of gangsta that triggered it. It was a commercial boon and a creative curse. But it [...]
Book depositories
Have you got a jones for books and libraries? Have you spent hours browsing the stacks? Have you at one time in your life practically lived in the library? If so, than you might be ready for some Red-Hot and Filthy Library Smut. Not what you think, but exactly what you’re looking for. (via WOW [...]
Colbert brings the truth at the Emmys
Honestly, I was very, very upset at the presentation of the award for Outstanding Individual Performance In A Variety Or Music Program during last night’s Emmy telecast. I was hoping that Stephen Colbert would win, but it was his first nomination and I knew his chances were slim. But then he loses to friggin’ Barry [...]
Beach Boys Week: The Sound Lives On
I’ve tried this week to expand the definition of the Beach Boys beyond the image of America’s Band. I find that image trite and, quite frankly, just not all that interesting. I understand if you’re the sort of person who loves “Be True To Your School” and “I Get Around,” and there’s nothing wrong with [...]
Beach Boys Week: No More Words
One of the other interesting things about the classic Beach Boys albums is the way they used to put instrumentals on them. Their first album Surfin’ Safari (1962) contained a cover of The Gamblers’ “Moon Dawg.” Instrumentals were pretty standard in the surf genre, but even as the band moved beyond that, they continued to [...]
Beach Boys Week: Stripped Down
The cliché about the Beach Boys sound is that it’s Four Freshmen melodies matched with Chuck Berry riffs. That’s certainly descriptive of their early hits, but Brian Wilson gradually spent more time in the studio, taking on the characteristics of Phil Spector, and made increasingly complex productions. You think of amazing songs like “God Only [...]
Beach Boys Week: Art v Commerce
There are two aspects to the Beach Boys. One way of positioning this (not necessarily fair, but it is simple) is as Mike Love v. Brian Wilson. Here’s the nickel version of the Beach Boys’ history. Three brothers, a cousin and a school friend start a band. They have sunny hits based on the California [...]