Saturday, February 11th, 2012


I always knew that for me to absorb the full impact of Pink Floyd’s music required a live stage with instruments, singers, and visual effects; so when the opportunity to see The Australian Pink Floyd Show (TAPFS) in New York City came to fruition I just had to be there.

She may be a grandma, but she can still rock.
Since the early ’70s, Bebe Buell has worn a lot of hats: Model, Playboy Playmate, muse—she served as part inspiration for the character Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe’s Academy Award-winning film Almost Famous)—author (the New York Times bestseller Rebel Heart), and celebrity mom of Liv Tyler. [...]

Devil’s Playground was produced by NOTAR, Grammy winner, Ken Lewis (Kayne West, Beastie Boys, Usher), hip-hop producer MGeezy (Wyclef Jean, T-Pain), and Kevin Augsburg, an up and comer out of Brooklyn, New York.

In Live from Tokyo, American director Lewis Rapkin takes us on a kaleidoscopic journey through Tokyo’s bustling underground music scene. Set within the backdrop of the modern Japanese megalopolis, the film explores Tokyo’s eccentric music culture, and how a combination of global information, media-saturated urban areas, and cutting edge innovation has impacted it.

As part of the Blue Note Jazz festival, Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson performed at New York City’s Highline Ballroom before a sea of gray-haired fans enthusiastic about doing the hippy hippy shake to classic hits like “California Girls,” “Help Me Rhonda,” and “Heroes and Villains.”

“We’re gonna party like it’s my last show!” said a blonde Chris Brown as Busta Rhymes joined him on stage at the “New” Meadowlands stadium for the 2011 edition of Hot 97′s Summer Jam Hip Hop showcase. Artists on the bill this year included Wiz Khalifa, Waka Flaka, Fabolous, Swizz Beatz, Rick Ross, DJ Khaled, Lloyd Banks, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Prodigy of Mobb Deep, Diddy and Ryan Leslie.

Every once in a while an album comes along that gives you the confidence to withstand any adversity the world throws your way. Whether its being unemployed, ending a relationship, or losing a loved one The Hours’ It’s Not How You Start It’s How You Finish has the power to make you feel better.

Love is hard to find in the concrete jungle, but if you look the right places it might just creep up and bite you in the ass. HAPPYTHANKYOUMROEPLEASE is Josh Radnor’s (How I Met Your Mother), feature writing and directorial debut about a struggling writer named Sam (played by Josh Radnor) who takes in a boy he finds on the subway.

By the end of Soul Mining: A Musical Life it felt like Daniel Lanois and I were friends. As if Lanois himself had read me these stories. I began listening to albums I’d never heard before as well as reinterpreting albums I was very familiar with. Now his captivating signature sound is as recognizable to me as a guitar solo by U2′s The Edge or Bob Dylan vocals.

Talib Kweli is on a roll. Just six months after the release of his much anticipated Reflection Eternal sequel Kweli is back banging on your eardrum with a new solo record titled Gutter Rainbows. It’s a breath of fresh air hearing Kweli rap in an age where mediocre pop rappers saturate the market with average sounding albums.

The only thing that separates predator from prey is skills, and New York based lyrical alchemist, NOTAR, has a surplus big enough to fill an aircraft hangar.

Fans who were alive during The Doors’ reign on music get to witness previously unseen footage of their idols clowning around backstage, being interviewed by various news outlets from around the world, and living the rock lifestyle in home videos made by the band members themselves. For today’s social networking addicted youth this film is like a history lesson into the trials and tribulations of an iconic band that always hovered over the edge of chaos.

When I was first asked to write an article on the Led Zeppelin group, to be based on attending a concert and talking with Jimmy Page, I was not sure I could do it, not being sufficiently knowledgeable about music to attempt anything in the way of musical criticism or even evaluation. I decided simply [...]

As a founding member and primary singer/songwriter of The Jayhawks, Mark Olson often sang behind the beat, letting the music dictate which direction his voice would travel, but on his newest album to date, Many Colored Kite his voice leads the inspiring sounds that create this beautiful collection of songs.

Playing birthday shows for kids may be a great way to meet hot moms and start a new prepubescent fan base, but get a record deal? Seems a bit far fetched if you ask me, but Z02 members Joey Cassata and brothers Paulie and David Zablidowsky (otherwise known as Joey, Paulie Z, and David Z) have been doing pretty well by this formula.