Like many historically significant Japanese things (Zen Buddhism, character writing, the kimono, temple architecture), the shakuhachi originated in China. And while, like the parenthetically aforementioned items on this list, the shakuhachi can claim Chinese origin, over the course of its history, it has diverged and evolved quite differently from its Chinese relative, the xiao. The shakuhachi is an…
Brushy One-String is a Jamaican singer who has become somewhat of a YouTube superstar in the past few years; his songs are inspiring, his energy is magnetic and grand, and he plays a guitar with, you guessed it, only one string. He’s currently touring North America, and in past few years has been able to…
By Mara Rosenbloom Photos by Nick Lerman Musicians throw around the term “the blues” a lot. Often there seems to be an assumption that we all know — and agree on — what that term means. In a jazz context, say, a jam session, if someone says, “let’s play a blues,” typically the only follow-up…
In anticipation of Carnegie Hall’s upcoming production of West Side Story at the Knockdown Center in Queens, New York this weekend, we’ve been binge-watching anything and everything we can find about the well-loved musical and its creators on YouTube. Of course, it helps that we recently made a series of videos about the show for the aptly named course, The West…
“A composer is somebody who changes the sonic situation… I see composition as basically just a change, because we have to admit that sound is going on all the time.” —Michael Pisaro One of the musical pieces that has undisputedly come to define the last year or so of my life is Michael Pisaro’s 3-disc…
We’re going through an orchestral-indie golden age right now. Here are 10 bands blurring the lines between classical, indie, hip-hop and pop to epic effect.
At the same time as computer technology has exploded, we’ve watched the precipitous decline in music as a physical medium. It’s an obvious and understandable trend from both the consumer and manufacturer perspective. Listeners consume music almost exclusively as streamable files on our computers, tablets, and portable devices, so why should we be spending our money on obsolete…
It’s 8pm on a Wednesday evening, and a pixelated June Millington waits patiently on Skype as I pull up a write-up of her massive autobiography, Land of a Thousand Bridges (published by No Depression). As I scroll through the summary of the 500+ page book, I realize with some trepidation I’m about to interview a…
From the hyper-local coffeeshop bard to international stars on intimate stages, it’s always a pleasure for me to waste a handful of lunchtime minutes watching today’s most compelling musicians and songwriters performing in alternative spaces. This is made possible by so many truly passionate music blogs on the web right now, reimagining the live concert as…
Hanukkah occurs over eight nights in December, and sadly, this year’s Festival of Lights has just ended. But do not fret, for you can let the party continue on forever with these eight amazing hip-hop tracks, bound to get your tukhus grooving! So pour some Manischewitz out, light up a fat menorah, and pump these…
