Marillion were named after JRR Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, and were formed in 1979. Early Marillion were often compared to the progressive-rock era of Genesis – lead vocalist Fish’s theatricality was similar to Peter Gabriel. The core lineup of guitarist Steve…
For some reason, Wordpress Feed didn’t display this week’s quiz yesterday. If you missed it, it’s at: In other news, one of the joys of music blogging is the occasional interaction with the artists you’re blogging about. I received…
Congratulations to John from , who scored the fastest time in last week’s 1980s Music Video Quiz. This week quiz involves squirrels: The pictures are adorable, and the clues are often funny. I do think it’s pretty easy so…
I’ve been chewing through 2019 releases with three more album reviews. Two of these albums could have come straight from the 1970s – the soul of Michael Kiwanuka and the retro country of Michaela Anne. FKA Twigs’ Magdalene has a…
Here are three reviews of 2019 releases that fit under sub-genres of rock – the progressive rock of Big Big Train, the punk rock of Fontaines, D.C., and the experimental math-rock of Black Midi. All three are from the British…
English art-rock band Roxy Music was formed by vocalist Bryan Ferry and bassist Graham Simpson in 1970. They recruited saxophone and oboe player Andy Mackay and synth player Brian Eno (who “treated” the other players’ instruments through his synth). Drummer…
Nigeria’s Burna Boy was born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu. He’s connected with Nigerian musical royalty – his grandfather once managed Afrobeat star Fela Kuti. After four albums, his star is clearly on the rise; he’s currently at UK number one for…
Congratulations to Sheik Yerbouti, who scored the fastest time of the correct entrants in last week’s Back the Block challenge. This week you need to connect the flags with the male musicians. Everyone will beat my score this week…
This week’s reviews of 2019 albums covers indie releases. Indie is a nebulous word – technically it means releases from an independent label. But it’s come to define a specific approach as well – often music with shades of artiness…
Patti Smith was one of the first punk artists to make a record. 1975’s Horses, produced by John Cale, was a confronting album. Musically it drew from 1960s garage-rock, while lyrically it was provocative. Smith was clearly influential on an…
