Hands Up anyone who thought Boards of Canada were from Canada?Ah......only me it seems!?Two smart-arsed Scottish brothers....no not Black Scottish, they were actually proper brothers,as in genetically brothers from the same mother.Well that's as Funky as it gets i'm afraid, as we are gently lulled to sleep by a myriad of rejected downtempo leftfield LP fillers recorded from 1991 to 1995. If you made it through this without going into a coma, then I shall hold back on the Bored of Canada…

Andy Emler pianoClaude Tchamitchian double bassEric Echampard drumsRecorded July 17-18 and mixed July 21-22, 2026, by Gérard de Haro at Studios La BuissonneMastering by Nicolas Baillard at La Buissonne Mastering StudiosSteinway grand piano prepared and tuned by Sylvain CharlesProduced by La Compagnie aime l’air, license to La Buissonne LabelArtistic director Gérard de Haro for La Buissonne LabelRelease date: March 20, 2026 The second release on the La Buissonne label for 2026 returns to the…

I recently started listening to Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (read by Meryl Streep, no less) and quickly decided to pause. I don’t know how much of the novel is about putting on a production of Our Town (1938) by Thornton Wilder, but even if it is only the opening chapters, I was feeling very at sea. Patchett obviously assumes knowledge of this play which I absolutely didn’t have. Am I right in saying that Our Town is a staple of American high school productions? I’ve heard it referenced plenty of…

"Dentist!" by Steve Martin, Michelle Weeks, Tichina Arnold & Tisha Campbell Listen on Apple Music Your browser does not support the audio element. Post one of your favorite Broadway songs. I think it's very fitting as it is Mother's Day at the time of this writing. She said "My boy, I think someday You'll find a way to make your natural tendencies pay" you'll be a dentist I feel bad for other people who take this role as I always envision Steve Martin doing it and yelling Oh, Mama!. View…

My maths is not very good at the best of times, but if Alien Ant Farm formed in 1996, then this year is their thirtieth anniversary as a band. That’s a long time to hold down the same job, but as this song – and the gloriously macabre Creeptoons animation that goes with it – shows, the band can still pump out a banger after three decades. The end of that sentence sounds a little bit rude, reading it back, but no innuendo was intended, promise. Some people are calling Reason a return to form (or…

Three versions of the song made famous by Billie Holiday - all three covers released within three years of each otherLydia Lunch was firstThen Billy Mackenzie (personally I always found it a rather lumpy obtrusion in Sulk)Then Marc AlmondActually there was a fourth cover within that timespan: Elvis Costello recorded a version in 1981 (but twas only released much later as part of a Trust reissue)The original was composed by Rezső Seress in 1933 as "Vége a Világnak" which translates as "The World…

Photo of Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph from their Facebook account. Twenty One Pilots remain at #1 for a second week with “Drag Path”, while MISSIO hold at #2 again after spending a week at #1. Chicago-based Brigitte Calls Me Baby moves up two to #3 with their exhilarating “Slumber Party”, and Northern Virginia singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Talk in Waves also advances two spots to #4 with his heartfelt “Waiting for Me”. Entering the top 10 are “Different Kind Of Love” by Young the…

Best Record of 2001: Day 35 Good morning! Today we’re taking a look at De La Soul’s AOI: Bionix. Note: As many of you saw, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 2001 challenge and noted that I’d be writing some of these up. The plan is to do quick hits on each first-round matchup and post them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably be a few typos. We’ll also have a few guest posts along the way, so make sure to…

Today, the singer-songwriter Donovan, a man not given to understating his contribution to popular music, celebrates his 80th birthday. A while back, on the occasion of another Donovan birthday, I wrote this: 'Today is the 67th birthday of that titan of troubadours, Donovan. Singer-songwriter, poet, mystic, visionary, man of letters, musical and psychedelic pioneer, Donovan was the most influential figure of his time, entirely changing the course of music history. Without him, the Beatles would…

Hey people! Today I’d like to share with you a set of three harp tunes performed by Welsh triple harp player Robin Huw Bowen, and the thing all these three pieces have in common is a connection to Meirionnydd, or Merionethshire, a region in North Wales. Two of them, as you can tell from the title of this post, have been inspired by cuckoos, which seems fitting, as today earlier in the morning was the first time this year that my Dad and I heard a cuckoo around here. The first of these pieces,…

"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" by The 5th Dimension Listen on Apple Music Your browser does not support the audio element. Post one of your favorite Broadway songs. - Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In by The 5th Dimension I'm sticking with the mainstream on this one. This was the most successful Broadway hit of the rock era. View Lou Plummer's Crucial Tracks profile

My mum mentioned to me recently that she went to a jazz club in Luton at the TUC Hall in Church Street around 1960, which got me searching the archive. Its seems that the town, like many other parts of the country, experienced a jazz boom in the late 1950s with several weekly clubs running.In 1958 the New Orleans Jazz Club was running a Sunday night 'Jazz at the Dome' at the Cresta Dome Ballroom in Alma Street, while the New Luton Jazz Club was happening every Thursday at the TUC Hall. Over the…

Goodness, but it's been glorious out there in the parish lately.The combination of all those months of heavy rain earlier in the year - and the spell of cloudless skies and midsummer heat in late April - resulted in a virulent verdancy I've never seen before.What did the poet say? The world is charged with the grandeur of God. It will flame out, like shining from shook

A favorite Booker Ervin. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize In the words of Marty McFly; this is heavy. Have some great albums by Booker Ervin, but still some left to try and find. This was one of the ones I was looking for, until just yesterday when I bought it from a local shop. Top condition 1st pressing with the Prestige trident at 3 o’clock, which was only released in stereo and…

Damn you Mixtape. This site was dead. June 1st I was going to hang it up, take it down and move on with my life. Then IGN decided to give “shitape” a 10/10. I had to play it now. So I did. For exactly 5 minutes, before my brain was bleeding out of my ears with how bad it is. I couldn’t take it anymore. Thankfully, I didn’t have to pay for it, directly. It came with Xbox Gamepass Ultimate. I will now regale you with how absolutely terrible Mixtape is. Mixtape’s First Five Minutes. No! Mixtape…

Hedwig And The Angry Inch (2001)

here are some highlights from things i've read on my kindle recently! Guilherme Alves on Shadow Labyrinth in SUPERJUMP: The object's essence is elusive, which leaves the player in an impossible position: the engagement with the original Pac-Man, whatever Pac-Man it was, was already intervention. It already creates the instability that Shadow Labyrinth brings to the forefront. The fantasy of untouched play is false. Everyone already recontextualized Pac-Man whenever they played it. phire -…

In the Constellation of Pisces by Adolf Hoffmeister. • “Comb through many of the numerous ‘greatest post-punk albums of all time’ lists that you’ll find dotted around the internet and one fairly continual omission is Thirst, which is something of a travesty. It’s difficult to think of many albums that embody the more pioneering and progressive elements of the post-punk spirit than Thirst.” Daniel Dylan Wray on the early, anarchic performances of Clock DVA. • Warner Brothers have decided at long…

Blondie Parallel Lines (Expanded Edition)Get It At DiscogsBlondie turned to Britain-based pop producer Mike Chapman for their third album, on which they abandoned any pretensions to new wave legitimacy (just in time, given the decline of the style) and emerged as a mainstream, contemporary pop/rock band. But it wasn't just Chapman's influence that made Parallel Lines Blondie's best album; it was also the band's own songwriting, including Deborah Harry, Chris Stein, and Jimmy Destri's "Picture…

In 2025, people bought over 45 million vinyl records, spending over $1 billion in the process. What’s more surprising: a stat from 2022 suggests that 50% of vinyl buyers in the US don’t own a record player. To a vinyl collector, this is absurd, and perhaps even heresy. What would a person do with a vinyl record if they don’t plan on playing it? Participating in music isn’t just about listening to the songs. It’s about connection. When an artist releases music or performs, they make a statement,…

Hey people! For today I chose to feature an instrumental piece, from a Breton harpist who’s already had her airtime in “Bibiel Hears Things”, and several times. In fact, the last time I featured Cécile Corbel was just a few months ago, with her arrangement of the traditional Irish song “Blackbird”. Aside from that, earlier in this blog’s history, I’ve featured her interesting arrangement of “The Great Selkie” (alongside Aine Minogue’s rendition of the same song). This is the first piece of hers…

🎵 Listening to the Bird Songs playlist by Anthony Ciccarello. I’m all set for my birdathon fundraiser tomorrow. I’ve even got my bird playlist lined up!

"Corn Puddin'" by Cecily Strong & The Cast of Schmigadoon! Listen on Apple Music Your browser does not support the audio element. Post one of your favorite musical performances from a movie. The Schmigadoon Broadway show is doing really great and there's talk about bringing the show back for a third season. This beat Shrek the musical because of recency bias. View Mandaris's Crucial Tracks profile Listen to my Apple Music playlist

(1978) Directed by Eric Idle and Gary Weis; Written by Eric Idle; Starring: Eric Idle, Neil Innes, John Halsey, Ricky Fataar, Michael Palin, George Harrison, and Mick Jagger; Available on DVD Rating: ****½ Side Note: The “cinematic” in Cinematic Catharsis implies that the films I discuss are predominately theatrical releases. With that in mind, I hope you’ll indulge me with this made-for-TV movie (Hey folks, rules are meant to be broken). “Paul's never been one who enjoys criticism – which is…

Nuage & BAILE – “Tracing” (Extended) Nuage & BAILE – “Placid” Maelstrom & Fasme – “Res 06” Logic 1000 – “under the sun, beneath the rainfall” The post New Hots Hots 20 first appeared on Palms Out Sounds.

Judith BerksonThee They Thy Judith Berkson voice, pianoTrevor Dunn double bassGerald Cleaver drumsRecorded July 2021Oktaven Audio StudioMount Vernon, NYEngineer: Ryan StreberCover: Fidel SclavoMastering: Christoph StickelAlbum produced by Manfred EicherRelease date: April 24, 2026 Mezzo-soprano, pianist, composer, and improviser Judith Berkson returns to ECM with a compelling new trio project. Conceptual art, liturgical inquiry, chamber abstraction, and jazz formalism: each arrives carrying its…

RIP Mr Kershaw... I didn't much care for his taste (and the underlying ideology) - as least as evidenced by his influential radio show - but here he reveals a solid talent for record reviewing.

May 7, 2026 Jacobin published a piece titled “Liberal Poptimists Tried to Kill Rock. They Failed” and one of the 2020’s “pop girlies” Charli XCX announced a new album and single titled “Rock Music.” Charli’s song takes the mocumentary tone...