Gotta love this headline, courtesy of humor site Fark.com: Live Nation to acquire Ticketmaster for $2.5 billion, plus $700 million in convenience charges.
Celebrating Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens & the Big Bopper
The rumors were fast and furious. Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones were mentioned. I even heard Ozzy Osbourne, although that may have been a town local toying with me. The occasion? 50 Winters Later, a special concert honoring the legacy of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. The […]
The Day the Music Died
Fifty years ago tonight, the music world lost some shining lights. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper died when their plane crashed into a field on February 2nd, 1959. We’ll never fully know what they would have accomplished had they lived. Yet there is little doubt of the impact that they’ve had on […]
Mayer’s Playlist for January ’09, a Video Companion
What’s a playlist without a video companion? We kick things off with Otis Gibbs and Miranda Lee Richards, our featured artists this month. From there we’ve got live clips from the Gourds, Gary Louris & Mark Olson, Joe Ely and A.C. Newman, plus videos from Frank Turner and Bruce Springsteen. We close out this month […]
Mayer’s Playlist for January ’09, Part 2
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH: Light of X, by Miranda Lee Richards LA-based Richards is a testament to persistence. Eight years have passed since The Herethereafter, her 2001 debut release. Yet in 2009 Richards picks up right where she last left us. Light of X is steeped in the Gram Parsons Laurel Canyon-sound, layered with a […]
Mayer’s Playlist for January ’09, Part 1
ALBUM OF THE MONTH: Grandpa Walked a Picketline, by Otis Gibbs Otis Gibbs is an American original, a gruff musical journeyman who is unafraid to tell it like he see’s it. With a matter of fact lyrical style, he spins tales of the back roads and the folks that wander them. “Caroline,” for example, tells […]
Win Big: Elvis Costello’s Sundance Spectacle
I have to admit that I was a bit suspect when the Sundance Channel’s Spectacle series was first announced. The show features Elvis Costello interviewing a collection of artists ranging from Elton John to the Police to Lou Reed and others. As it turns out, the series is quite entertaining. Costello’s own musical experiences give […]
Ray Charles Says It All
A Few Words from Dion
I’m one of those poor stiffs working today as the United States celebrates the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. That doesn’t mean, however, that I can’t honor the moment with the legendary Dion DiMucci performing his classic “Abraham, Martin and John”.
Listen Up: The Low Anthem
It would be easy to describe the Low Anthem’s Oh My God, Charlie Darwin as ambitious. The term, however, doesn’t do it justice. It is one thing to be ambitious (right Axl Rose?) it is quite another to realize musical ambition and make it seem effortless. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Low Anthem. The mystical […]