About The Daily Music Break

Les Blank, Nov. 27, 1935-April 7, 2013

The Daily Music Break is a website that offers information on three music-related topics.

The first is music and musicians. The Daily Music Break provides insights on music and musicians regardless of era or genre. We are about Louis Armstrong and Billie Eilish. We are about Johnny Cash and A Tribe Called Quest. We are about Aaron Copland and The Grateful Dead. We are all over the map because that’s where the good music is.

The second (and more recent) focus of the site is vinyl records and analog HiFi equipment. That world was supposed to be squarely in the discount bin of history. Gone. Over. Fun while it lasted.

The exact opposite has happened, however. It’s not just surviving—it’s thriving. Records are hot. Indeed, sales records are set every year. There are a few reasons for this, which we discuss. We also dig deep into the gear, providing advice to non-audiophiles on turntables, record players, cartridges, amplifiers, preamps and accessories such as record cleaning equipment.

Finally, we look at music on the Web. The Internet Music Mapping Project is a parallel project that we’ve folded into The Daily Music Break. The guide, which continues to grow, consists of descriptions and links to hundreds of sites in multiple categories. Indeed, it’s surprising how many types of music-related sites exist. These range from giants such as AllMusic and YouTube that cover entire waterfront to small and sometimes eccentric (and interesting) sites.

The Daily Music Break has about 1,200 posts. These include audio-only and audio/video interviews and other video features, playlists and hundreds of embedded YouTube videos.

Thanks, Carl

3 Comments

Click here to post a comment

  • Hey Carl,

    Found your website today on The Daily Kos. Great start!
    It’s great that your scope of material is so broad in both time & genres.

    Here’s a couple of links to the first jazz band that I encountered as a high school student.
    Jazz was foreign to me at the time, but Downbeat magazine helped lead me down a different musical stream…

    The band is Weather Report. There’s plenty of jazz that I like, but these guys are my favorites.
    For me, the period from ‘Mysterious Traveller’ through the ‘Heavy Weather’ albums is my favorite
    time of their career. ‘Heavy Weather’ kicked off with “Birdland”, probably their most well known track. & the lineup in these videos is also what I’d consider their peak…
    Both links are from July 8, 1976 @ the Montreux Jazz Festival.

    The first link is to “Cannon Ball”
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=2FzPE0WNG5w

    The second link is to “Gibraltar”
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A150rvoTrKc

    “Gibraltar” is longer, but the ending is just spectacular!

    ——————-

    I’d seen that Leningrad Cowboys link some years ago. Too funny!
    If he could have seen it, I’d bet even Ronnie Van Zant would have gotten a kick out of it.

    here’s a link to the full version of “Sweet Home Alabama” (if you ever decide to edit the link on your site…)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKD7g56DNN0

    ——————-

    I’ve passed your website along to my musically inclined friends.
    Thanks for putting your site out there! Keep up the good work.

    Perhaps I can pass along some other links down the road…

    in the meantime, keep on truckin’!

    Sammy

    Reply

  • Very cool and eclectic Carl. Please put me on your list and I’ll add all the other music-loving Arrisians. How about including the clip of the Yardbirds playing ‘Stroll On’ (also recorded3. as Train Kept a-Rollin) from the nightclub scene in Michelangelo Antonioni’s ‘Blow Up’?

    Reply

Our New Things: Links to Music Sites and Info on Analog Tech and Vinyl

TDMB has focused on music and musicians. We will continue to do that, of course. We're also expanding our coverage to include vinyl and analog equipment.

More specifically, we'll look at this huge and interesting world from the perspective of music lovers who want a better experience, not committed non-audiophiles.

Check out is some of what we've written so far:

-- Assessing the Value of Vinyl Records: An Overview

-- 7 Quick Tips on Optimizing Your Turntable Cartridge

-- Why Vinyl Records Continue to Thrive

-- Finding the Best Amplifier

-- Finding the Best Phono Preamp

-- What Speakers Do I Need for My Turntable?

Check out more articles on analog equipment and vinyl.

The site also is home to The Internet Music Mapping Project, an effort to list and describe as many music-related sites as possible.

Our Music

--A Tribe Called Quest to The Dick Hyman Trio (In other words, A to H)

--Indigo Girls to Queen Ida (I to Q)

--Radiohead to ZZ Top (R to Z)

Reading Music

The stories of the great bands and musicians are fascinating. Musicians as a group are brilliant, but often troubled. The combination of creativity and drama makes for great reading.

Here are some books to check out.

Duke Ellington brought class, sophistication and style to jazz which, until that point, was proudly unpolished and raucous. His story is profound. The author, Terry Teachout, also wrote "Pops," the acclaimed bio of Louis Armstrong. Click here or on the image.

🎼🎺🎻🎹🎷🎶🎵


What else is there to say? Here is the story behind every song written by The Beatles. Click here or on the image.

🎼🎺🎻🎹🎷🎶🎵

The Grateful Dead don't get enough credit for the profound nature of its lyrics. Many of the band's songs are driven by a deep and literate Americana ("I'm Uncle Sam/That's who I am/Been hidin' out/In a rock and roll band" and "Majordomo Billy Bojangles/Sit down and have a drink with me/What's this about Alabama/Keeps comin' back to me?").

David Dodd's exhaustive study tells the story, song by song. Click here or on the image.

Full Disclosure

As an Amazon affiliate, this site earns a commission on every purchase made. All prices remain the same to you.