Here is the beginning of Claude Debussy’s profile at Encyclopedia Britannica: Claude Debussy, in full Achille-Claude Debussy (born August 22...
Tag - daily music break
From Wikipedia: Talking Heads was an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City[1] and active until 1991. The band comprised David...
Yesterday was the first full day of autumn. Great photos behind Billie Holiday.
At Huffington Post, Alan Elsner gives positive reviews to two books. The Secret Piano, a memoir from pianist Zhu Xiao-Mei, describes her suffering under Mao...
Many folks reading this post know more about Miles Davis than I do. So it makes little sense for me to write anything about the second most important trumpet...
Illegally downloading music is a crime that should be punished. However, it seems a bit harsh to ruin somebody for doing so. Reuters reports that the 8th...
Breaking Bad is one of the best shows on television. The director uses a lot of montages, many of which show the characters cooking meth. Last week, the great...
Today, Mitt Romney made a lame birther joke about President Obama. The Obama campaign quickly responded that Born in the U.S.A. is the song of the day. One...
I believe, but am not certain, that I first heard this great Blaze Foley song at the site Crooks and Liars. In any case, it made a deep impression. I Googled...
The Journal of Neuroscience concludes that people gain benefits from even limited musical training: The people who had studied music, even if only for a few...
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.
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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.