My favorite song off of Laurie Anderson‘s most recent record (Homeland, 2010) also happens to be the most apt song to describe where America is at this moment in history.  It begins “Now only an expert can deal with the problem / Cause half the problem is seeing the problem” – a sentiment quickly ironized as
They were hits. They were available on vinyl. But you can’t buy them now.  They’re unavailable on CD or in digital form.  Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes (Special Mix),” Opus’s “Live Is Life,” the English version of Nena’s “99 Luftballoons” (“99 Red Balloons”), the English version of Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom (Coming Home),” the American
Happy First Day of Summer! Â Here’s a “Summertime” box set. Â I will now take your questions. Q: Are there good “summer” songs omitted from these four mixes? A: Yes, of course there are. Â I came up with an additional 133 songs that I did not use. Q: Will you assemble more mixes including those songs?
If you’re like me, when you heard that the world would be ending this Saturday, your first thought was: but what music would be appropriate for the occasion? Â And, if I were to throw a party, what sort of songs might be on the playlist? Â Well, your musical worries are over. Â (Do feel free keep
The hectic pace of this time of year (grading finals! grading papers! etc!) always makes me think of the music of Raymond Scott (1908-1994), but especially his “Powerhouse” (1937). Â If you’ve ever watched any Warner Bros. cartoons, you’ll recognize this as the machinery-out-of-control theme. Â Carl Stalling (1891-1972), who created the scores for those cartoons, made
They might indeed be geniuses. Â What other band has, in the last quarter century, produced such consistently great music? Â Music for films, TV, adults, children, and mammals of any description? Â I ask you: Who? Commemorating new music by They Might Be Giants (who, dear reader, are this blogger’s favorite band), here are nine TMBG songs
No, Pi cannot be copyrighted, despite what one composer claims. I had wondered why Michael John Blake’s beautiful YouTube video of “What Pi Sounds Like” had been taken down. I’d linked to it in my “Happy π Day from Crockett Johnson” post, and then it… disappeared. Blake explains why below: Vi Hart has a truly
In naïve, or pure, Camp, the essential element is seriousness, a seriousness that fails. Of course, not all seriousness that fails can be redeemed as Camp. Only that which has the proper mixture of the exaggerated, the fantastic, the passionate, and the naïve. – Susan Sontag, “Notes on Camp” (1964) – Rebecca Black, “Friday” (2011)
Celebrity children’s books usually suck. The good news about Al Yankovic’s When I Grow Up (2011, illustrated by Wes Hargis) is that it does not suck. Unlike many celebrity books, it does not star a child version of the author, it does not simply add illustrations to one of his songs, and nor does it
Since Lady Gaga’s new single “Born This Way” made its debut last month, critics have alleged that the song is “derivative” or even a “rip off” of Madonna songs like “Express Yourself.” And, of course it is. But that also doesn’t matter in the least. All pop music is derivative. “Express Yourself” (1989) borrows from
