List Of The Day
  • Ten Horror-Full Tracks

    I tried to put a list together that wouldn't be your usual "Halloween" favorites. I've compiled those lists in the past and faithful readers know how much I hate to repeat myself. (But just to keep people happy, I've made a few lists that violate my own principles!) I always focus on having new ideas. For example, I'm planning on eventually writing about music that hasn't happened yet.  This way I can be ahead of everyone. I'm filling out my Top Ten List for 2014 this weekend. It's so good.

    For now, how about 10 tracks that will cause nightmares? The only rule is no rule. Let's go to hell! Now! While it's still half-price admission and kids get in free!

    10) Soundtracks to Psycho, Vertigo, North By Northwest--Bernard Herrmann: This is kind of obvious, but I've never given Bernard Hermann much space in my column and I really should. He didn't exactly fit that list of Best Heavy Metal Bands or even Songs About Delaware, but his soundtracks to such fine movies as Psycho, Vertigo and North

    Read More »from Ten Horror-Full Tracks
  • Faithful readers of this blog know I'm all for letting everyone into the Hall of Fame. I can't see the silliness of having to decide these things. Sure, folks like Elvis Presley and John Lennon are pretty obvious, but then there's a question of what to do once the music gets away from itself. Besides, isn't it a bit presumptuous to fall for the idea that Elvis Presley invented rock n' roll? Try reading Nick Tosches' Unsung Heroes of Rock n' Roll, for starters, and then figure out what Billy Joel is doing here.

    But, as I said, I'm all for letting everyone in. That includes garage-bands who made one great single and synth-pop bands who made five terrible albums. You can't institutionalize a music that's supposed to be about rejecting institutions. As far as I'm concerned, if a guy who was in The Frost wants to fill out the forms to get into the Hall of Fame, then his band should be in.

    I sympathize with KISS fans. For every rock critic and journo who calls them silly and stupid, there's

    Read More »from A Look At The 15 Nominees For the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame
  • I love it when people give me suggestions for music. Who cares if it's stuff I'll never listen to? It's fun just to read about it. So much music can't possibly live up to the hype. The music that is good makes you wish there was more of it.

    These days everyone uses technology to make themselves happier. Never am I more satisfied than when I'm trying to figure out why my computer isn't working. What better waste of three days than the chance to learn more about your capacity for anger and frustration?

    What I really love is when the computer takes your information and makes decisions for you based on that information. Listed below are twenty-five suggestions of music you would like if you are a fan of the first artist listed.

    This should be easy!

    25) Ice Cube--Ice-T: This makes complete sense. If you like one act with "Ice" in the title, you'll like another. I assume if you press your luck, it will also tell you, you will like Vanilla Ice. Sounds good from here.

    24) Marillion--Phil

    Read More »from Bait And Switch: 25 Acts A Computer Says You Will Like
  • I swear to you I wasn't drunk when I compiled this third list from 1970. To think after three installments I've still left off anything by Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Van Morrison and Randy Newman just goes to show how much better things were before we had this little Internet thing to discuss this crap on.  I liked you all better back when I didn't know how many cups of coffee you drank.

    Chances are, you'd rather own a Toe Fat album anyway.

    25) Merle Haggard--The Fightin' Side Of Me: Okie From Muskogee turned out to be such a great hit that Merle decided to write another song slamming hippies (squirrelly guys) and put it on another live album. This album isn't nearly as good, but the title track is awesome. I can't blame someone for hating pacifists. What fun is it if they won't fight back?

    24) Joni Mitchell--Ladies Of The Canyon: The first nine Joni Mitchell albums are all pretty great. This is the one where she settles into Southern California and realizes she's been

    Read More »from Do You Remember 1970?: Albums Celebrating Their 40th Anniversary, Part Three
  • Part Two is mostly things that didn't make Part One. I'm actually saving some real cool ones for Part Three. By all this, it's clearly provable that 1970 was a great year for album rock. If 1965-66 was the beginning of the thing, then 1970 is right when bands start hitting their stride their stride with the LP format. Besides, rock music is highly dependent on the drugs that were around at the time. LSD was losing its shine and barbiturates were taking over. So, pardon me, if the music is a little slower. Karen Ann Quinlan would kill this movement and punks would suddenly speed things up. But for awhile, you could overdose and die in relative peace. What more can you ask for?

    25) The Partridge Family--The Partridge Family Album: Yes, I'm sure every hipster on earth--or at least in Brooklyn--likes this album because it's so gosh-darned essential. And, sure, I was four years old and rocking out to "Can't You Feel My Heart Beat," "Umbrella Man" and "I Woke Up In Love This Morning" but I'm

    Read More »from Do You Remember 1970?: Albums Celebrating Their 40th Anniversary, Part Two
  • After much research, I came up with 134 potential albums for this list of 25. Surely, you see the mathematical problem here. Anyone who reads the much older and less great Y! Music blog New This Week will see that 2010 is easily the same year as 1970, but noticeably worse. For some reason, not immediately revealed to me, several artists released multiple albums that year. (Visits to a fertility doctor?)

    This list is once again in a precisely random order with some importance given to certain things. I stand firmly behind these choices except when I don't.

    Don't forget, we have at least a Part Two!

    25) Charles Manson--Lie: The Love And Terror Cult: The only known killer on this list, Manson recorded this album of folk-rock back in 1967. It took three years for it to be released. Did stupid voyeuristic reality TV get its start with the "morbid curiosity" that surrounded this album? Probably not. But it didn't help. Songs later covered by Guns N' Roses and the Lemonheads among many

    Read More »from Do You Remember 1970?: Albums Celebrating Their 40th Anniversary
  • VH-1 may count down the most sexiest rockers--and that's a hard job, considering the fact that most rockers were about the sex--but List Of The Day considers it far more important to remember the Unsexy Rockers.

    This doesn't mean that the rockers in question aren't sexy to someone. It also isn't an insult, sometimes. Some music is deliberately based on something other than the libidinous howl of someone like Jim Morrison or Madonna. See? In this paragraph, some things add up to more than their somes!

    Anyhow.

    Here they are!

    25) Jam Bands: I've been told by several women I quizzed--after all, women are a much better judge of sexiness than me--that jam bands, for the most part, feature the most amount of lame looking dudes. They look like they'd rather be living up in the mountains making love to moose. Or writing this blog. For the record, the only men I'm sure are good looking are: George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp.

    24) They Might Be Giants: Dorky cleverness is appealing to

    Read More »from Twenty-Five Unsexy Rockers
  • Jimi Hendrix's studio is celebrating its 40th Anniversary, so you KNOW what that means around here!

    When I first started this list, I figured I'd settle on 10. Then 15. Eventually 25. Yes, I've still got a few more. Never mind the idea that many big studios had studios on both coasts. The major label studios are the trickiest, since often the credits go to something generic like "Recorded at Columbia Studios in New York City."

    In the end, I've settled for letting Memphis stand in for many of the smaller markets where great music has been recorded--and I STILL had to cut Stax. After all, I've got to attempt some version of balance. I didn't include any recording studios in the rest of the world, except England, since they once owned us and I can't pronounce French or German.

    Feel my pain as I try to make sense of who recorded in these places. Sometimes the studios lay claim to artists who only had their records mixed there. Therefore, any room "magic" is done for.

    You could even make

    Read More »from Twenty-Five Legendary Recording Studios
  • Playing The Blame Game

    Like many of you, I spend most of my time watching the Game Show Network and pretending it's 1985. After all, back then my bones didn't ache and you could get the old man up the street to buy you a case of Old German beer for about six bucks. I didn't even have to come close to getting drunk before throwing up!

    But now as a mature adult, I occasionally watch the news, or what passes for it (while The $25,000 Pyramid is at commercial), and I don't like what I see. No way, dog-gummit! It seems like not a night passes when I don't hear politicians blaming each other for what is clearly their fault. I just heard something about the Governor of my former state, New Jersey, blaming the President for not catching the Gov's mistakes on some fancy forms for education funding. You would think if it's something important, the Governor would have some mighty smart people on his team to double-check his and his staff's work!

    I always have my mom check over my columns and that's really tricky

    Read More »from Playing The Blame Game
  • My job isn't just to report on the obvious trends in music, but to seek out those that have been hiding underneath, behind or on top of the radar. Haven't heard of the "Knock Rock" movement? That's because, well, I'm not allowed to tell you why. Let's leave it at that. Let's just say Bob Hope didn't do all those Texaco "Anti-Knock" commercials for nothing!

    The point is, it's real, it exists and if it isn't addressed: VERY BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN. (Can you tell it's an ELECTION YEAR?) Then again, you could go for: ignore something unpleasant and it will go away. But I'm still here, so we see that doesn't work.

    Here's a brief history of "Knock Rock." Truth is, there's even more lurking! Including those benign looking Monkees who had that Neil Sedaka song "When Love Comes Knockin' (at Your Door)." Further proof that the "Knock" has infiltrated everything! I can't even drink the water around here anymore!

    25) "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'"--The Rolling Stones: You should never trust anything

    Read More »from The Secret History Of “KNOCK ROCK”

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    By Jethro Nededog LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - NBC's "The Voice" will crown another winner on Tuesday night's finale. Season 4's three finalists - Daniellle Bradbury, Michelle Shamuel and The Swon Brothers - battled it out for the title on Monday's performance finale episode. Before the performances, coaches Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Shakira and Usher performed The Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends." The Top 16 then got together for the second group performance of the night on Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros' "Home. ...

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    NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — A woman says she and her 5-year-old developmentally disabled daughter were thrown out of a theater during a "Beauty and the Beast" performance because the girl was making giggling and humming noises she makes when she's happy.

  • Family tweets indicate Kim Kardashian gives birth

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — It looks to be a baby girl for Kim Kardashian and her rapper boyfriend Kanye West. Or does it?

  • Jenner: Kim Kardashian 'thrilled for the new baby'

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kris Jenner says her daughter Kim Kardashian is thrilled to have a new baby girl.

  • Miss Utah latest beauty queen to botch answer

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