One of the most successful songwriters in the history of rock 'n' roll -- back when there really was a "roll" component -- has died at the age of 78.
His name in Jerry Leiber and his name was often seen in tandem with his frequent songwriting partner Mike Stoller. The two met in Los Angeles in 1950, with Stoller primarily handling the music and Leiber writing the words.
Here are 25 songs that will outlast us all.
Read More »from Jerry Leiber – Profiles In Rock
With everyone issuing a "deluxe edition" of a record they once made, it almost makes you nostalgic for the days when everyone rushed to pay tribute to anyone who ever made a record. (Recently, I've noticed them coming back into vogue, too, with Buddy Holly topping the list.
But as the list of expanded, deluxe and anniversary editions of albums grows ridiculously long, let me suppose a few Deluxe Editions that people would actually want.
Read More »from Twenty-Five “Deluxe Albums” That Need To Exist 
With Jay-Z and Kanye West releasing their much anticipated collaboration album, Watch The Throne, where they battle one another in an effort to not be the Garfunkel or Sonny Bono in the equation, I thought it would be, well, neat to tip the scales in Jay-Z's favor by giving him his very own List of the Day list!
Such is the power vested in me!
But rather than write about all the My-T-Fine work Jay-Z has done over the years, I decided it would be more interesting to look at his many business ventures. It turns out, Jay-Z owns much of the earth and rents it back to us.
Read More »from Jay-Z: Profiles in Business Excellence
1966 was such a year that even here at Part Three, there is still great quality to be had. I haven't even attempted to break down the singles of the era, though I have tried to add a few more singles artists to the list. Don't ever discount the value of a great single or the junk that pads the albums of singles artists.
In many ways I prefer this list to Part One. While I would never give up listening to anything on the first list, I still feel like there's something new to discover with stuff that isn't as obvious. One of the joys of music is finding out it loves you in different ways as you change.
Classic rock radio may have tried to dump everyone into a one-size-fits-all box, but not everyone wants to listen to Led Zeppelin at lunchtime for the rest of their lives.
Read More »from Do You Remember 1966? Albums Celebrating Their 45th Anniversary! Part Two
1966 was such a fruitful year that it will take several parts just to deal with the good stuff. To think that the LP was only beginning to be seen as a viable medium worth more than a couple of singles and then covers to fill out the album. Heck, even album filler was often fun.
This list gets a lot of the obvious out of the way and throws in a few oddballs to keep things interesting. These albums aren't being rated. They're being listed. An important distinction, since I don't want anybody getting the idea that I'm some kind of style nazi. I like to let all things coexist. An album with a couple great songs is often better than an album of consistent indifference.
Read More »from Do You Remember 1966? Albums Celebrating Their 45th Anniversary! Part One!
Amy Winehouse is dead. Sadly, everyone saw it coming and could do nothing to stop it. Addiction's a cruel mistress, as the poets say, but the reality is far harsher than sad, tragic, romantic words. If it doesn't kill you, it will at very least torture you.
I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that many young people believe they'll never make it to 30. In their teens and early 20s, their 30s sound like a ridiculously long way off. But they aren't. And I can assure you there isn't a person over the age of 30 who thinks they should have already checked out. We now scoff at the notion that we would have done all the necessary living by 29. Living well is still the best revenge.
Read More »from Twenty-Seven Members of the “27″ Club
Was it only five years ago when I couldn't stream a damn thing onto my TV? Was it only five years ago when I had my gall bladder? Was it only five years ago when these records came out? I believe I received most of them as CDs and not as downloadable files. How strange!
Yes, the means of communicating and transmitting things have become more revolutionary than the things being communicated and transmitted. But then I'm not sure what would be considered an innovation in music. People yelling in 11/8 time with the sounds of rainfall forever looped while synthetic horses are whipped? (No actual horses were harmed in the making of this music.)
Read More »from Do You Remember 2006? Albums Celebrating Their 5th Anniversary!
The music industry exists primarily to remind us how old we are getting.
This week R.E.M. release the 25th Anniversary Edition of their punctually-deficient fourth album, Lifes Rich Paegant. The album, produced by Don Gehman and released in 1986, features the hit "Fall On Me," a cover of the Clique's "Superman" and is best known as yet another album where the singing of Michael Stipe becomes disturbingly clearer.
Let's do ten facts everyone needs to know about R.E.M.
Read More »from Profiles in Rock: R.E.M.
Rob Grill has died. The lead singer and bassist for The Grass Roots passed on at age 67 from a head injury. The Grass Roots were a band frequently overlooked in an era of "serious" hard rock, since they were considered a vehicle for the songwriting and publishing of P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri. And everyone knew back then that real bands wrote all their own material.
However, any greatest hits album you can find is likely to have a number of groovy Grass tunes! And I would rather listen to any of these songs than the collected works of CS&N.
Read More »from Profiles In Rock: The Grass RootsNEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft is the last of the three big video game console makers to unveil its latest gaming system. The unveiling comes nearly eight years after the Xbox 360 went on sale. It follows last fall's debut of Nintendo's Wii U and a preview in February of the upcoming PlayStation 4 from Sony.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kellie Pickler came into the final "Dancing With the Stars" episode in second place but finished in first.
CHICAGO (AP) — An 87-year-old woman who alleges Donald Trump cheated her in a skyscraper-condo sale told jurors Monday she had qualms about suing the real estate mogul and TV celebrity. But, she quickly added, "Somebody had to stand up to him."
By Liana B. Baker (Reuters) - ESPN, the sports channel that is Walt Disney Co's most profitable unit, is cutting 300 to 400 jobs across the company and closing a small Denver office, a person with knowledge of the cuts said. The job cuts, comprising 4 to 6 percent of ESPN's staff of 7,000, include open positions that will not be filled, said the source, who asked not to be named because the information is not public. But ESPN will continue hiring for other open positions, the person said. The channel has recently won rights to exclusive coverage of the U.S. ...
HOUSTON (AP) — A man accused of vandalizing a 1929 Pablo Picasso painting in a Houston museum — an act that was caught on cellphone video — agreed Tuesday to a two-year prison term as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's sent a letter to Khloe Kardashian informing the reality star the logo on her T-shirt line may be violating copyright law.