The Production Side

I wanted to throw this album out there because I’m seeing The Police this week and there were not many new releases this week, except for Minnie Driver’s new album Seastories (yes, Minnie Driver the actress from Good Will Hunting and Hard Rain).

The 1978 debut from The Police is one of my favorites. Lyrically it’s very dark, but musically is upbeat. If you didn’t listen to the lyrics, you would probably dance around and not even know that Sting is singing about suicide. Genius. I read that the album didn’t sell much when first released, but eventually caught on …read more

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Remember the lads from Australia named Silverchair? Well, many may have forgotten, but the trio is stronger than ever, even if not here in the States.

They just kicked off a North American tour in California in support of their 5th album, Young Modern, which hits stores on July 24. This is the band’s first full North American tour since 1999, which is hard to believe. Silverchair’s 2002 album, Diorama, was almost a masterpiece, so I can’t wait to get my hands on Young Modern. The band’s current tour will be in small venues and will also include an appearance at …read more

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Unfortunately, May 29 marked the 10th anniversary of Jeff Buckley’s tragic passing. There will a number of tribute events happening throughout the year and back on May 22 a compilation entitled So Real: The Songs from Jeff Buckley was released. So, it seems like a good time to dedicate an FYI in his honor. 

Jeff Buckley was born on 11/17/1966 to Tim Buckley and Mary Guibert.
He was raised by his mother and step-father, and had little contact with Tim Buckley.
Growing up he used his step-father’s last name and was known as Scott Moorhead.
He became known as Jeff Buckley after his biological father’s …read more

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The wonderful people at b5media and  MusicIP are giving folks a chance to win some cool prizes. Read on for details.
To celebrate the launch of our Music Channel, b5media is giving away some cool prizes.
What’s up for grabs?
* 3 iPod Shuffle
* 3 MP3 players with preloaded MusicIP software
* 3 iTunes Certificates (worth US$25 each)
How To Win:
Step One:
1) Check one or more of our new Music blogs and choose one topic that appeals to you. Create a 3-song playlist relating to that topic. For example, if you like the Crooners, pick your Top 3 Crooners songs and share it on your …read more

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This week’s song is “Bittersweet Me” by R.E.M. I heard this song a couple of days ago and it’s been stuck in my head since. It was the second single from the band’s tenth studio album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, released in 1996. It was also the last album that featured drummer Bill Berry. The band has never played it live either.
The song itself is quite beautiful. It opens with simple and quit guitars with great lyrics by Stipe. It then picks up during the chorus and gets stuck in your head rather quickly. Right now, it’s one of my favorite R.E.M. …read more

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It’s been 7 years since the Smashing Pumpkins have released a new album, maybe they should have waited another 7.

The first problem is Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin going White Stripes style and becoming a duo on Zeitgeist. There is no depth in the music without any other musicians and Corgan’s guitar solos get stale real fast, as well as, his back up vocals which generate an unpleasant annoyance. In fact, the album gets boring about half way through.
The second problem is the band is trying to please fans from every era, which creates an album with no originality. While everything from Adore and …read more

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Most 90’s, or rock fans in general, probably own The Foo Fighters 1997 classic The Colour and the Shape. But now you’re probably going to buy a second copy with the release of the 10th anniversary edition.
The Colour and and the Shape is considered the band’s best album and it’s hard to disprove them. The first Foo Fighters album as a band (Dave Grohl did everything on the debut) unleashed the hits “Everlong”,”My Hero”, “Monkey Wrench” and “Walking After You”. “Everlong” has become a classic, and is still a fan favorite as a concert closer, not to mention the …read more

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Counting Crows, Live and Collective Soul are teaming up for a summer tour that will take place in minor league baseball stadiums across the U.S. from July 22 to September 2.
Needless to say, this is a monumental tour for 90’s fans, with 3 of the bigger acts from last decade touring together. Tickets look like they’ll be around $50 a piece, which isn’t shabby for this triple header of a show. I haven’t seen Counting Crows or Collective Soul, but I’ve seen Live and they were awesome. If you have the funds and aren’t busy then definantely check out this …read more

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Seems like a good time to throw some Foo, since Dave Grohl and company are touring a bit this summer, recording a new album and releasing a 10th Anniversary edition of The Colour and the Shape on July 10.

Dave Grohl founded the band 6 months after Nirvana Kurt Cobain had committed suicide, however, Dave had been working on future Foo Fighters material while still in Nirvana.
In fact in 1992, Dave’s demos were released as a tape entitled Pocketwatch under the pseudonym Late!; including the songs “Color Pictures of a Marigold” (which Nirvana would record and rename “Marigold” and use as …read more

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Despite mp3 players and satellite or online radio channels, your good old FM radio may become cool again.

In New York, KROCK has returned from a talk show format back to a modern rock radio station and in Philadelphia Radio 104.5 has emerged, filling a void that Y100 left in 2005. Suddenly New York and Philly became the two largest cities in the States without some sort of alternative radio station, leaving a lot of folks scouring for another source. Some radio stations tried to take advantage of the departure, a station like WMMR in Philly, where many former Y100 staff members fled and more modern rock tracks …read more

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