26
Sep
2007
Among
the 365 songs written, recorded, and released by Paleo over 365
consecutive days, "This Is the Life" is David Strackany's
favorite. "It resonates with me on a personal level more than the
other songs," he said. "That song seems to speak to me as if it
was written for me."
"Pop culture has always been with us, in one form or another," says Grammy-winning musical comedian "Weird Al" Yankovic, "and it always has its ridiculous elements. Especially in the music world."
"Make a left, Rob. This left right here onto 101 south. Left turn, 101 south. Left!"
Excepting a brief hiatus at the tail end of the 1960s, recording artists The Contours have been performing and touring every year since 1960. It's just that, as original group member Sylvester Potts says, "People just didn't hear of us.
With
a voice that sounds a bit like Michael Stipe gone folk, Richard
Shindell's songs feel instantly familiar even if you've never
heard him before. Those vocals are magnetic and dramatic, and the
singer/songwriter pays as much attention to melody and musical
settings as he does his words. But it's his first-person narratives
that have garnered him critical praise and a loyal following.
There
is nobody like Andrew Bird in the world, a songwriter and a performer
who makes his whistling, his glockenspiel, and his violin at home
with guitars, drums, and vocals in detailed, pitch-perfect pop songs
that never seem precious or forced, as eccentric as they are.
In
band-speak, "indefinite hiatus" is the equivalent of filing
divorce papers; it's the formal beginning of the end.
In
retrospect, everything turned out well, but Dewey Bunnell was
skeptical when America was presented with an opportunity to record
its first album for a major label in more than 20 years.
If
you casually watch the Charlie Hunter Trio on stage, something might
nag at you. It sounds like there's a bassist, but ... there's no
bassist. Just Hunter and his guitar, drummer Simon Lott, and
keyboardist Erik Deutsch playing jazz fusion with the direct appeal
of rock music.
