For the fifth year in a row, I’ve helped assemble the Suburban Sprawl Music Holiday Sampler. We got more submissions this year than ever before (34!), and while they’re all available on the website, they wouldn’t all fit on the …
'MP3' Archive
I first heard Kevin Gilbert’s name in a random digression on a music-related mailing list. Here’s the quote that piqued my interest:
”I’m no expert on Kevin Gilbert, or Sheryl Crow, but do know some things… KG pretty much made
…
We’ve put the annual Suburban Sprawl Music Holiday Comp up for download over at suburbansprawlmusic.com. This is the fourth year we’ve put the comp together, and all four year’s worth of MP3′s are available for free download. Some highlights …
At the beginning of 2005, I resolved to spend much of my free time figuring out how to run a tiny indie label by actually doing it. In the past eight months or so, I’ve learned:
- …the nuts and bolts …
Lessons of the internet: If you’re looking for something, put up a webpage asking for it. Eventually someone who can help you will stumble across it and get in touch. That’s what happened with this particular song. I posted …
I lied. Here are a few (emphatic) christmas music recommendations. My friend Jason sent me a link to Pledge Drive’s “X-Mas Rhapsody” (Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ reimagined as a christmas carol). Totally good. Here’s a link to Pledge Drive’s site. …
For the past three years I’ve been involved in an annual effort to get local members of a growing Michigan(ish) music community to record Christmas songs. Getting 20 plus part-time music-makers to agree to contribute a Christmas song is one …
Wow… Just – WOW. People got paid to record this in an expensive studio. I’m amazed there hasn’t been a flash video for this in a b3ta newsletter yet.
RIYL: People sticking their heads in your room and saying …
Speaking as a person who has done some programming, the following bits of information are troubling:
- Instances of computer errors in Bush’s favor (In Ohio) have been confirmed (Link, Similar story in NC).
- “One thing that is …
Back before I started ‘updating regularly’ again, I wrote a big piece on obscure Canadian 70′s rockers Klaatu (There was a persistent rumor that they were the Beatles re-formed). You can read it here. Jamie Vernon, the man responsible …
I know almost nothing about this song, besides the fact that it is a lyrical palindrome (Not a musical palindrome, as I initially typed. I’m sure that some composer must have explored palindromic music, and if you are better informed …
Busy week. Job interviews, recording, programming. Here’s a recently finished MP3 of a song featuring me on drums. WATCH OUT FOR THE TRIPLETS. Recorded by the eloquent John Krohn at Deep Deep Pink studios.
Andy Thompson is an insanely talented pop mastermind who used to live in Ann Arbor and recorded the last Pop Project album for a pittance. He now lives in Minneapolis, where he writes songs, symphonies, and plays live. This …
For people who are obsessed with music and the process by which it is recorded, filesharing is the greatest thing ever, as it offers easy access to session tapes. Session tapes, for the uninitiated, are generally recordings of a band …
A Beatle, a Monkee, and Harry Nilsson.
My friend Zach Curd recently unearthed this bit of trivia on one of his frequent excursions into internetland – Beatles drummer Ringo Starr was hired as a spokesman for Japanese …
I’m in the process of moving this week, hence the silence. In the meantime, please enjoy this recording of Canadian harmony group The Sands of Time The Tokens and Steve Sawyer paying tribute to the Beach Boys (by lyrically name-checking …
Hot on the heels of Entertainment Weekly’s assertion in 100 pt. type that the lyrical aspect of songwriting is without merit (“DUMBER! Must make the public DUMBER!”), I’ve become obsessed with a specific lyrical technique: pop songs that artfully employ …
Todd Rundgren – ‘Cool Jerk’ From: A Wizard, A True Star (1973)
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]After having Todd Rundgren’s ‘A Wizard, A True Star’ recommended to me twice for wildly differing reasons, I finally bought it …
A Perfect Circle – ‘Diary of a Lovesong’ From: Live MP3 (2000)
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]I’d forgotten this combination of Ozzy’s ‘Diary of a Madman’ (verses) and The Cure’s ‘Lovesong’ (chorus) even existed until I found …
Have you ever stumbled upon references to someone or something so frequently that you feel like you’re unable to avoid it / them? I don’t mean in the ‘hype’ sort of way, where you’re bombarded by advertising – I mean …
Another half-baked idea that I may or may not follow through on is to put up a new MP3 every week and write a little bit about it. Here’s the first installment.
- There’s an archive of live Elliott Smith shows available in mp3 format at the Elliott Smith Mini-Repository. A long time ago (Sometime in 2000) I downloaded a solo Elliott show recorded somewhere in France that was really great. I’ve …
In a post last week, I mentioned that I sometimes remove entire sections from song when putting a mix together. A few people emailed asking for examples of songs I removed parts from. I usually do this because I …
In the Winter of 1997 I got into the habit of bringing a cassette recorder and a little microphone with me to shows. Only once did I have any problem with security – at the release show for the Enclave …
This month’s Wired Magazine has a profile on internet superstars the Minibosses, who cover only music from classic Nintendo Entertainment System games. The thing with them is – they refuse to do Mario music. Now if you ask me, …
Last year I discovered Emitt Rhodes’ self-titled first album, thanks to an article in Tape Op. It’s a masterpiece of fuzzy early 70′s pop songs – all instruments played by Mr. Rhodes in his home studio. A friend of …
MP3: From the Monkees ‘Headquarters’ session tapes: Mickey Dolenz (drums) emphatically scolding Peter Tork (Guitar) for screwing up a live take. GOLDEN MOMENTS.…