Archive

Brazilian singer-songwriter Rogê’s nostalgic journey The 40-something artist is performing his music with a look of satisfaction. Brazilian musician Rogê sits cross-legged on a stool, wearing a white suit jacket, sneakers, and a pork-pie hat, strumming and finger-picking an acoustic guitar. To his right is multi-instrumentalist Stéphane San Juan, tapping or brushing a drum kit, […]

The songwriter’s tragic death closed the door on his band and the quest for the next chapter in his life Bands don’t always end this way. The group’s singer and songwriter dies of an overdose at age 34 and band members scrape together enough money to self-release their last songs as a tribute album. Glide, […]

The group had the makings of a perfect album trilogy if the last one hadn’t fallen short In 1997, R.E.M.’s drummer Bill Berry announced he was leaving the band to retire to his farm in Watkinsville, Georgia. He had been one of the founding members and had been instrumental in R.E.M.’s growth from college radio […]

The Short But Influential Career of a Funk Pioneer  Did Arlester “Dyke” Christian invent funk? He certainly didn’t invent the sound. That has to be credited to James Brown and explosive songs like “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag.” Dyke gave the genre its name, and with his Phoenix-based band the Blazers, he recorded several […]

A L.A. band with a larger following in the UK than their home country One ongoing feature in music literature is the “greatest albums” lists. Most are found online, but the Brits still publish several trades like Uncut and Mojo, and they issue their own version of these “lists” every few years or so. Rolling […]

The passing of a French icon Françoise Hardy died on June 11, 2024, age eighty. Hardy was an actress and a singer-songwriter, releasing over thirty albums since her debut in 1962. She was more a recording artist than a performance artist, struggling most of her life with stage fright, anxiety and shyness. Her albums run […]

From skateboarding legend to modern day troubadour In the skateboarding world, Danny Garcia is famous. He grew up in Orange County, California, and he began skating at age 14, eventually turning pro. There were sponsorships, appearances in skateboarding films, and his skills took him all over the world. Habitat even marketed his shoe. Garcia was […]

A one-off project rejuvenates the music for two British musicians One of my favorite musical periods is the post-punk/New Wave records of the early eighties. When it was happening, I found it to be incredibly exciting. Partly, it was my age—I turned eighteen in 1980—but it was the spark, and especially the attitude in the […]

A musical family’s love and determination produces a powerful record In 1987, Karin met Robert in Heidelberg, Germany. She was a psychology student and he played in the Australian band The Go-Betweens. Karin had seen The Go-Betweens at a show a year earlier, and while attending another performance, Karin and her friend Erhard stumbled on […]

The film composer’s return to Korea completes the storyboard for a gorgeous recording Hometown to Come is the second solo project by Minhwi Lee, not including soundtracks and music for theater productions. The album came together over a seven-year period and her return home to Korea after studying abroad for five years. Apple Music categorizes […]