Today’s Google Doodle is a fully interactive synthesizer to celebrate the life of synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog. The sound of so many classic recordings from the 70s owes almost entirely to Moog and his crew from the small Trumansburg, New York manufacturing facility hand-wiring these innovative musical instruments. The ‘Moog Sound’ is not just due [...]
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Mary Halvorson Tops Her Critically Acclaimed Last Album with ‘Bending Bridges’
Mary Halvorson Quintet – ‘Bending Bridges’ Mary Halvorson Quintet – ‘Bending Bridges’ In late 2010 Mary Halvorson released Saturn Sings, her second recording as a leader and first with her quintet. Building on the acclaimed trio debut ‘Dragon’s Head’, Saturn Sings was immediately acclaimed and landed on Top 10 lists across the world of jazz [...]
RIP Donna Summer, Queen of Disco and More!
I remember way back at the beginning of High School the dances always seemed to conclude with one song – Last Dance by Donna Summer. It was just one of the iconic songs by the 5-time Grammy Award winning singer, who died yesterday at age 63 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Unlike some celebrities, [...]
The Brave New World of Music DRM
We all know the law of conservation of matter, in which it only changes forms. Well, apparently that rule applies to music DRM – just when we thought it was going away someone reminds us that it is still there … just in different form. As the graphic above shows, some of the biggest sources [...]
Google Music’s Top Pop and World $3.99 Album Deals
Another week, another attempt for Google Music to gain some traction by dumping albums at $3.99, as they flounder their way towards sales that wouldn’t amount to spare change in iTunes sock drawer (and less than 5% of Google’s own estimates for Music sales in 2012!). But the question it – who really cares if [...]
IK Multimedia Announces That the iRig MIX is Now Shipping!
There were so many great music products introduced between CES and NAMM early this year that if something stands out … you know it is special. IK Multimedia introduced a number of cool things, some – like the excellent DJ Rig app and iKlip Studio for iPad – have already shipped, others are still waiting [...]
RIP Legendary Bassist Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn
This weekend we learned of the passing of one of the most influential bassists of the electric era – Donald “Duck” Dunn. He was 70 years old and ‘died in his sleep’ according to long-time collaborator guitarist Steve Cropper. The pair were touring and had just played two sets at the Blue Note in Tokyo [...]
Google Music Has 20 ‘Classic’ Cover Songs for Free!
The rock era brought with it the misguided notion that everyone of merit was writing their own songs. Not only wasn’t that true, but some of the biggest songs of the last several decades were covers or songs written by others. Google Music is celebrating this with a set of 20 covers for free. Here [...]
Mary Halvorson and Jessica Pavone Deliver a Collection of Excellent Duets
Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone – ‘Departure of Reason’ Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone – ‘Departure of Reason’ I reviewed Mary Halvorson’s ‘Saturn Sings’ last year, concluding : Halvorson has been called the most talented and creative guitarist in a generation, and I don’t attribute that to either hyperbole or to her gender – she [...]
RIP Adam Yauch, the Beastie Boys MCA
Sad news today as we have just heard of the passing of the Beastie Boys MCA, Adam Yauch. He was 47 and had been battling cancer, which we learned about back in 2009. Here is more from USAToday: The music world is mourning again. Adam Yauch, known as Beastie Boys rapper MCA, has died. GlobalGrind.com, [...]
Spotify (Finally) Launches iPad App!
Spotify today announced and released their app for the iPad. And it is pretty much what you would expect – the same core functionality, but optimized for the larger screen. But based on my limited playing around I find that – as is true with many apps – the user experience provided by the larger [...]
Stream Marilyn Manson’s New Release for Free!
After getting dropped by Interscope Records due to poor sales of his last album, Marilyn Manson is self-releasing his new album ‘Born Villain’. As part of the promotion for his new record ‘Born Villian’, he is streaming the entire thing for free at AOL Music! Here is a video for the song “No Reflection”, which [...]
Music Diary Semi-Quavers on Some Early 2012 Releases in Pop & Rock
As I have mentioned before, I love listening to loads of new music across a variety of genres, and have very much appreciated how many folks have shared new music with me since I have started writing music reviews for Gear Diary. I started off with full, large song-by-song reviews (whole notes), and then started [...]
Marco Machera Serves up a Stunning Debut Album with ‘One Time, Somewhere’
Marco Machera – ‘One Time, Somewhere’ Marco Machera – ‘One Time, Somewhere’ I had intended to include this as a feature selection in a round-up of new releases, but then something happened – that turned into a set of ‘semi-quavers’ set apart by a full review on this album. It simply earned and deserved the [...]
Gary Husband Delivers State of the Art Fusion on ‘Dirty & Beautiful Volume 2′
Gary Husband – ‘Dirty & Beautiful Volume 2′ Gary Husband – ‘Dirty & Beautiful Volume 2′ I reviewed Dirty & Beautiful Volume 1 early last year, concluding : There is no fluff here – perhaps that is why this is ‘volume 1′, as the next volume is due in 2011 sometime. And while I might [...]
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