Tag Archives: music reviews

New Orleans and Jazz Fest 2013: A Chronicle

Posted on May 11, 2013 by

It has been 20 years since I cast my shadow on the hallowed fairgrounds where the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is held every year. Back in the early 90s, I went to the festival three times and held … Continue reading →

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Classic Rock Battle: U2′s Achtung Baby vs Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon

Posted on March 26, 2013 by

At first glance, these are two very different albums separated by 18 years from two groups with vastly different sounds. And yet, for each group the album represents the exact middle of their studio recordings and was both a milestone … Continue reading →

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Music Review: Bands I Discovered in 2012 (from Alabama Shakes to Tame Impala)

Posted on February 16, 2013 by

As a final retrospective article about music from 2012, I wanted to write about some bands I discovered during the year that you might also enjoy. The Darkness released their 3rd album, Hot Cakes. It is a mix of Queen-like … Continue reading →

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Music Review: Grunge and Punk Revival Albums in 2012 (oh, and the Beach Boys too!)

Posted on February 15, 2013 by

The dinosaurs of rock were not the only comeback artists last year. Bob Mould, Green Day, Dinosaur Jr, Soundgarden and Smashing Pumkpins all released albums last year and I plan to give you a few notes on each below. But … Continue reading →

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Music Review: Return of 7 Rock-n-Roll Dinosaurs & Legends in 2012

Posted on February 14, 2013 by

2012 was a year for some notable musical comebacks. Neil Young, Donald Fagen, Van Halen (with Diamond Dave!) – from Asia to ZZ Top, there was a lot of nostalgia. I’ll review some of the highlights here. Neil Young’s Psychedelic … Continue reading →

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Expo Review: El Greco and the Moderns in Dusseldorf (ending 18 August 2012)

Posted on July 20, 2012 by

I was working in Germany this week and took advantage of being within striking distance of Dusseldorf to see the current El Greco and the Moderns exhibit. I had previously seen a huge exposition in London in 2004 at the … Continue reading →

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Music: Battle of Thrash – Comparing Anthrax, Metallica, Megadeath, and Slayer

Posted on March 19, 2012 by

I won’t belabor the point tonight because I have episodes of Californication and House of Lies to watch I did want to make a few quick observations about thrash though. A few weeks back, I posted about anger and I … Continue reading →

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Music Review: Metallica’s “Beyond Magnetic” EP

Posted on March 17, 2012 by

I talked about St Anger and touched on Death Magnetic some time back, but never got around to reviewing the follow-up EP to it, Beyond Magnetic. The EP starts off on Hate Train, a straight-forward metal anthem to the darkness within … Continue reading →

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Music: Great anti-war songs

Posted on March 15, 2012 by

Machine Gun from Jimi Hendrix came up on my iPod the other day, and it reminded me of some of my favorite anti-war songs. The guitar stoccato of Machine Gun and the haunting lyrics put Jimi’s anti-war anthem near the … Continue reading →

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Some more drummers I neglected…

Posted on March 14, 2012 by

I posted a few days back about 10 of my favorite drummers, but to be fair, here are a few more that merit mention: Like John Selway of Radiohead. He has a range of styles that is mind-boggling. Besides, anyone … Continue reading →

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