Tag: Music
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Bowie, Bublé and Bieber: The Legends of Music in 2016 – A Review of the Year
In any review of 2016 it is going to be a challenge to avoid mention of the mounting number of musicians who decided to shuffle off this mortal coil and, as Shakespeare or someone of that ilk put it, took a Stairway to Heaven, or indeed a Highway to Hell. At times the year rather…
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Christmas Shopping For The Music Fan in Your Life. Sorted.
It’s always difficult to know what gifts to buy for the music lover in your life. Sometimes just buying a CD seems a little…lazy. On the other hand, you know they’ll probably enjoy that more than a Christmas jumper or pair of novelty socks. But some people feel awkward or even a bit silly going…
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Why Listening To Music In 1984 Was Worse Than 2014 (One Direction Notwithstanding…)
Even in 2014 life has its minor irritations: “Unexpected item in the bagging area”. “Incorrect username or password”. “Nick Grimshaw”. But it isn’t all bad news. A few days ago I wrote down a few examples of how our lives have been made easier through the years, in particular relating to finding and listening to…
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Sound of 2014 – Your New Favourite Bands
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Welcome To Classic Rock Readers!
Welcome to Classic Rock Magazine readers! The exciting news this month (well, for me anyway. I don’t know about you. It’s probably not that exciting for you…) is that I was contacted by Classic Rock Magazine who wanted to run a piece I wrote recently – about sexism in rock. After some deep and heavy…
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Rock star “Faithful To Wife” Shock Claim
The music world was left in shock today when a prominent musician, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was described as having a “monogamous relationship” with his well known wife. The revelations may leave the indie star’s reputation in tatters as close friends rallied round. “I can’t believe it’s true” said one band mate.…
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Beelzebub Had A Devil For A Sideboard and Other Misheard Lyrics
With the possible exception of deciphering the lyrics to 2Unlimited’s “No Limits” (it really loses its sparkle when listening to the 12″ extended remix. By Pete Waterman) it’s quite fun to decipher lyrics, mainly because there’s quite a lot of scope to get it wrong. You have probably seen that there’s an entire website devoted…
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New Song of The Day: Pixie Carnation: Keep It Coming
For those of us who feel there’s just not enough Swedish-tinged-Arcade-Fire-meets-indie-folk-pop in the world, the day just got better. Pixie Carnation are from Malmo, Sweden and are releasing their debut album in May. If you can’t wait that long, there’s a chance to catch them live as they are playing Shoreditch‘s Xoyo venue on 22nd…
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The History Of Apple Pie – Live At Rough Trade East
The History of Apple Pie made an in-store appearance at Rough Trade East last night to celebrate the release of their debut album Out Of View. The History of Apple Pie have a quirky name, but a fantastic sound that combines a wall of sound guitar with lush (or should that be Lush?) vocals with…
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Sound of 2013: Your New Favourite Bands
New Music Acts for 2013: The Sound of 2013 There’s no doubt that 2012 was a fantastic year for music. From Gentle Whale’s sophomore effort to the amazing debut by Ginster Pye, both of which appeared on almost every end-of-year list, there has been much to admire. Could 2013 possibly get close? It would appear…
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Things You Don’t See Anymore #2: The Bootleg Tape Market Trader
Bootleg recordings of live shows can now be found on-line – but this wasn’t always the case. Bootlegs used to be under the counter – or more often, on market stalls in cassette form or (if you were really keen / wealthy) on vinyl at bootleg record fairs. After Queen’s triumph at Wembley, I began…
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Gered Mankowitz Photo Exhibition at Snap Galleries
There’s a great photo exhibition on in London with images of The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix. If NME photographer Dean Chalkley has the best job in the world, then running him a close second is a man I met yesterday. Guy White is the owner of Snap Galleries, a specialist rock n roll photo…
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Are you a music snob?
Are you a music snob? Do you know a music snob? On Last week’s episode of Room 101 Lauren Laverne made a bid to banish Music Snobs. “You wouldn’t want to prevent other people from eating pistachio ice cream just because you don’t like the taste, do why should music be any different?” she said.…
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Are these the worst dressed men in rock?
The cover of Status Quo’s On The Level album has record-breaking flared trousers. Were Quo the worst dressed rock band? With my first record under my belt – ZZ Top’s “Eliminator” – I bought Status Quo’s “Back to Back” album, and quickly started a pattern I have continued ever since: truffling out the rest of…
Every record tells a story 