Hey people! Today I thought I’d share with you a very interesting piece, from a project which I’ve become familiar with quite recently. In January 2020, Welsh harpist Rhodri Davies, who works in the field of free improvisation/reductionism, released “Telyn Rawn”, an album of improvisations played on an instrument of the same name – a mediaeval Welsh harp strung with plaited horsehair, as opposed to the now more normie gut or wire. The earliest known reference to the horsehair harp appears in…

Every great band has shit songs. It's mystifying - you would think greatness would be like a tap, you could just turn it on and out it comes. You would think also that being in such proximity to greatness - having produced it - the group or artist would have the ability to distinguish achieved genius from slack shite. But no, apparently not! It's not even like they sheepishly poop it out hoping we won't notice or will forgive them. They often seem genuinely deceived as to what their own great…

Dolly Parton, pictured in 1988 Country Music isn’t really my thing, but I was very sad when I heard the news a couple of days ago about the death of Dolly Parton. So sad, in fact, that I felt I had to wait a while before posting anything. I have little to add to the obituaries about her now, but I’ll just mention some things that I liked about her. O ne was that she was totally accepting of the LGBTQ+ people, which is why she was adopted so enthusiastically even by people like me who aren’t…

Record store shelves once told stories long before anyone dropped a needle on vinyl. A cover was an artist’s first impression, a single image meant to stop browsers mid-flip and pull them toward the turntable. Between the 1970s and the 1990s, that impulse produced some genuinely brilliant design work, alongside a wave of album art […]

Some weeks back, in midsummer, I sat at my worktable as night drew to an end, when sunrise broke out magnificently in my window wall (see photo #1 in my 8/25 posting “Where I live”) and filled me with joy at the gift of a new day. Also triggering an avalanche of musical associations — conveying fresh beginnings (as here), or rebirth (both of them in Schubert lieder, to come below), or (as in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, also to come below), resurrection. (There’s more, lots more; I’ll list only a…

Dolly Parton, pop culture titan of the 20th and early 21st Century, has sadly passed away at the age of 80.Parton was born in 1946 in Tennessee and became one of the United States's best-known country singers. She was known for her musical giga-hits, including "Nine to Five," "Jolene," and "I Will Always Love You," as well as her acting career and her philanthropy, including an international literary programme for children that positively impacted millions of lives.I usually cover the passing…

Busta's back and he brings Dilla beats with him. The post Busta Rhymes & J Dilla – Spazzz appeared first on Sampleface.

The best little cash register of all time. The post Bad Gear on the MPC Sample appeared first on Sampleface.

"Something More Than Free" by Jason Isbell Listen on Apple Music Your browser does not support the audio element. Share a song that captures the feeling of being proud - Something More Than Free by Jason Isbell It's a working-man's song about quiet pride in honest labor: "I don't think about you, I think about who's gonna do this work / When my back gives out." View Lou Plummer's Crucial Tracks profile

Amidst the worldwide sadness of the passing of the legendary Dolly Parton this week, I got to reminiscing. Many people have great stories about their awesome connection to Dolly Parton. These are not those stories. the banjo lessons I took banjo lessons, briefly, when I was about 21, every Tuesday night in the basement of the Chapman and Hewett Music store. I always admired Steve Martin’s skills and I wanted to be a good banjo player. Didn’t particularly want to practice, though. My teacher…

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Million Tongues Festival 2004As I mentioned, Prairiewolf is playing with one of my all time faves this week — tomorrow as a matter of fact — Six Organs of Admittance. A total thrill. The bill is part of the Ghost Canyon Festival in Denver, which is guaranteed to be a weekend full of amazing sounds. Another festival full of amazing sounds? The Million Tongues Festival in 2004, which Six Organs also played. Hidden in plain sight on TheArk420 YouTube channel are a bunch of videos (most of which…

The daughter of a Philadelphian bandleader and a Cuban dancer, Carmen Taylor was born in Cuba ca. 1928. She came to the United States of America at age two, began singing at age three. She sang with musicians like Tito Puente and Duke Ellington. As Elen Madera, she had an international hit with the song "Pepito," She was also a prolific songwriter, and her repertoire included Clyde McPhatter's "Seven Days," as well as the Clovers' "Little Mama." There was never, as far as I know, any Carmen…

All set up for an early start! Vocals first, or so I thought.Next door has the builders in. The hammer is thumping a counter-rhythm to the metronome, occasionally punctured by a musical drill that vibrates the floor. So it's guitar: headphones on, concentrating on the click and not the thump. I think I got a first take that I won't have to Flextime: it drifts, but in an appropriate way. Doo-dee-doo, dum-dee dum.The page of notes (blue for what needs to be done, red for when it's done or who…

It’s an instant-classic Thursday Pressing Concerns! We have new albums from Upper Wilds, Graham Hunt, and John Vanderslice, plus an archival compilation from Velocity Girl. They’re all coming out tomorrow (August 28th)! Check them out below, and if you missed Monday’s blog post, check that out too. If you’re looking for more new music, you can visit the site directory to see what else we’ve written about lately. If you’d like to support Rosy Overdrive, you can share this (or another) post, or…

ddi do ri https://youtu.be/aHM2RKeMaeM?si=y2Tfwt8htMP-6UfR blackpink go https://youtu.be/2GJfWMYCWY0?si=pTmrVR7HoKXp4WBL aespa wda https://youtu.be/iTJSbJtS8MU?si=0M0jV8pjas7RPVML aespa whiplash https://youtu.be/jWQx2f-CErU?si=jdJna6JFP3ko2v5g aespa supernova https://youtu.be/phuiiNCxRMg?si=erZx5GFttwyNKR7n aespa lemonade https://youtu.be/83C3TZ4Zm_o?si=KDmh-KeL9R6y3uB3 ILLIT it's me https://youtu.be/bMhDJ0S0OBA?si=4M2z-_NYtZGe5oED NEWJEANS cool with you…

"When you boil it all down it's only album art", so said the critic who knows better. Pleasant packaging and mostly meaningless. But perhaps there's more of this sort of thing growing wild and free out there - however I've lost the will to pursue the subject matter any further. There's a thread running through every piece, if you can find it. For tonal enthusiasts and colour freaks only, so I suppose.In other news I had a long conversation with short cortado the other day.

Each Thursday in the Disquiet Junto music community, a new compositional challenge is set before the group’s members, who then have five days to record and upload a track in response to the project instructions. Membership in the Junto is open: just join and participate. (A SoundCloud account is helpful but not required.) There’s no pressure to do every project. The Junto is weekly so that you know it’s there, every Thursday through Monday, when your time and interest align. Tracks are added to…

Making gold out of the good girls 2026-08-27T06:41:00+00:00, by Emma Humphries, from Infinite Wishes 🏳️‍⚧️🚀 In the late 1990’s reading salon.com, when it was still at salon1999.com, was a daily ritual for me, including the music reviews. And Joyce Millman’s review of Amy Rigby’s solo debut, “Diary of a Mod Housewife (1996)”, the title a play on the title of a 1970 film, got me to run by Tower Records on the Mountain View/Palo Alto border and pick it up. I loved it. Rigby works, unafraid, at the…

Inspired by noisydeadlines, here are 5 albums that shaped me. Trying not to over think it. Absolution - Muse (2003) A Fever You Can't Sweat Out - Panic! At The Disco (2005) Infinity on High - Fall Out Boy (2007) High Violet - The National (2010) Kinetik - Phutureprimitive (2011) reply by email

Share a song that captures the feeling of being proud. I have a hard time being proud of myself. I tend to let achievements pass without acknowledging them. But sometimes just getting through is reason to be proud, just making it to the next day. It’s something many take for granted, but I think is a good enough reason to have pride in. Life can be so hard, so take the time to celebrate it each day, and have pride in yourself. You are still standing! “I'm Still Standing” by Elton John Listen on…

After Louise “Crybaby” I don’t love directly comparing new artists to artists who’ve been around a while. It always feels a bit lazy or unfair, but bear with me: You know how Molly Rankin sings on Alvvays’ 2022 masterpiece Blue Rev? (I hope you do because I’m not kidding, it’s a masterpiece.) That sensitive but sorta defensive tone, attached to melodies that seem wispy at first but reveal themselves to be omega class earworms? “Crybaby” sounds so much like it could fit in on Blue Rev that I had…

Sound Metaphors’ Yuzo Iwata has curated this cool compilation for the store / distributor’s Miss You label. The selection serves as a sampler, mapping out how reggae and dub influenced Japan’s punk and then new wave scenes. Collecting tracks from between 1980 and 1985, the album documents not only how this cross-pollination took hold, but also how popular music and technology evolved. Given the time frame, and music , refusing to stand still, moving at a clip, a variety of sounds and genres are…

Not every formula movie can be counted a failure. Consider The Marching Band, an amiable French offering that tells the story of two men who learn they are brothers when it becomes necessary for one of them to locate the other for medical reasons involving a bone marrow transplant. Both were adopted by different parents as young children. Neither knew of the other until the medical crisis that brought them together. A successful conductor, Thibaut (Benjamin Lavernhe) benefited from a privileged…

Dolly and family singing “In the Pines.” Fantastic! Her vast artistry was rooted in family, and place, and time, and time vimeopro.com/dollypart… Matthew Battles https://mbattles.micro.blog/2026/08/26/her-vast-artistry-was-rooted.html

SEALED RECORDS HAVE ‘restocked’ the re-released version of Omega Tribe’s 1983 debut album No Love Lost, originally issued on the Corpus Christi label. The original re-issue was the label’s first vinyl release. This new re-release is available in vinyl and digital download formats. Remastered vinyl reissue of the debut and only Omega Tribe album, originally released in late 1983 on Corpus Christi Records. The album was recorded by Guitarist Pete Fender deep in the Poison Girl’s basement studio…

It’s a companion piece to this post about AI in education. AI slop and musical creativity by Dr. Ethan Hein are not the same thing Read on Substack

Ralph AlessiA Sun That Never Sets Ralph Alessi trumpetJoseph Alessi tromboneMatt Mitchell pianoJohn Hébert double bassChes Smith drums, vibraphoneRecorded February 2025Oktaven Audio Studio, Mount Vernon, NYEngineer: Ryan StreberMixed by Manfred Eicher, Ralph Alessi, and Michael Hinreiner (engineer)Bavaria Musikstudios, MünchenCover design: Sascha KleisProduced by Ralph Alessi and Manfred EicherRelease date: July 3, 2026 On A Sun That Never Sets, Ralph Alessi expands the architecture of his…

What is Dave wearing today? In spirit, Dave is wearing a coat of many colors. In reality, he is wearing an off-white polo shirt and red shorts. How does Dave feel today? Dave is reflective. What are the factors affecting Dave's mood? Dave is mourning Dolly Parton while celebrating her life and accomplishments. Has Dave ever entered a Dave lookalike contest for drag queens and come in last? No, Dave has not done that. Dolly Parton did.

By RCA Records - https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54429601 Decide who you are, and do it on purpose— Dolly Parton