When artists are typecast as dreamy, head-in-the-clouds free spirits, someone is missing the mark. The work requires clarity of vision, iron-like determination, and laser-beam focus from its creator. Perhaps this is why arranging music can be such an oasis for me. The hardest part has mostly been done.
Heading off to play a series of gigs is a little like coming out of hibernation - it's a different way of life. The van is the mothership and the gigs are like the bits in Star Trek when they beam down to a new planet for a bit - without us losing the bloke who you've never seen before. There's the fun of looking up some record shops and old friends who've moved to the places we're visiting - I used to spend time with Anton Newcombe from The Brian Jonestown Massacre when I was living in LA, he's lived in Berlin for a few years and has offered to be out tour guide while we're there.
Force-feeding causes the birds' livers to balloon to up to 10 times their normal size and become diseased with what is known as hepatic steatosis. In addition to being miserably ill with a painful and debilitating disease, the geese can barely breathe because their grotesquely enlarged livers displace their lungs and other internal organs... geese can be seen panting constantly in a vain attempt to suck oxygen into their squashed lungs. Veterinarian Holly Cheever has compared what force-fed birds endure in their final days to being smothered.
Unlike many rappers in hip-hop who are obvious industry pinheads just trying to cash into the bank, Kanye West knows more. Yet, that is perhaps the very problem: he knows more and yet does nothing to actually fix the problem.
My Name is Val and I'm a rock-star-memoir addict. It all started with Philip Norman's seminal biography of The Beatles, Shout.
A couple weeks ago, I wrote about Glee and Smash and the death of the TV musical. Soon after it was published, I realized I hadn't mentioned Nashville. Then it dawned of me that that's because I don't consider it a musical; it's a drama, in the most dramatic way possible, with some music -- albeit, fantastic -- thrown in.
The litany of complaints about the Copyright Board of Canada has mounted in recent years: The public rarely participates in its activities due to high costs, it moves painfully slowly, and its rules encourage copyright collectives and users to establish extreme positions that make market-driven settlements more difficult.
There are a million reasons why vinyl went out of style and most of them have to do with convenience, not just in how we listen to music, but in everything we do. I'm as spoiled by modernity as the next guy. But maybe not everything should be so convenient.
The first step to overcoming an addiction is admitting that you have one. In order to rid oneself of addiction, one must declare it. My name is Fire Burgess and I am a diehard fan of misogynistic rap music.
Growing up in the hood surrounded by a lot of poverty, music was one of the only things that made people feel good. That's why we need music and arts. We've got to put instruments in young people's hands because that's the kind of thing that really touches the soul.
Much has been made of life on the road. One of the things that keeps the craziness at bay, at least for me, are the fleeting but memorable moments that happen every once in a while on tour; the kind of moments that stay with you for a lifetime. Interviewing Tad Doyle for my podcast was something else.
I was repetitively asked "Are you a boy or a girl?" throughout childhood and adolescence and usually followed by "Fucking dyke!" Very recently, all of these wounds resurfaced when I saw this comment left by a woman on a video I posted on Facebook to raise funding for a tour for my band The Cliks. Don't shame me for speaking up for myself. Shame those who hurt me.
She recently headlined a show at the Phoenix where she blew the audience away with her inspired performance. Though some folks say it's hard to define her style, there's one thing that couldn't be clearer: she was born to sing and she is fulfilling her destiny.
To make something so beautiful out of the chaos of our world is rare. I'm in awe of this album and not afraid to say so. I remember what my life was like before this album and can only dream of what its going to be like after.
Okay, I, admittedly, haven't been a (loyal) American Idol viewer since the adroit Carrie Underwood went all the way during season four.
From "Young at Heart" to "The Way You Look Tonight," "Love and Marriage" to "My Funny Valentine," there was a song for every mood, every time of day, every event. I, like a million girls before me and a million since, fell in love with Sinatra through his voice, and what a voice it is.
Jay Ferguson, 2013.24.05
Laila Biali, 2013.23.05
