10 Favourite Guitarists
The guitar was the dominant instrument in popular music from the 1960s to the new millennium. Many acts even had multiple guitarists, so there are a lot of great players to choose from. The spectrum of genres from blues rock…
Aphoristical
Graham Fyfe has been writing this website since his late teens. Now in his forties, he's been obsessively listening to albums for years. He works as a web editor and plays the piano.
Nick Drake’s Best Album: Bryter Layter
Background English folkie Nick Drake barely created a ripple during his lifetime. He recorded three albums of beautiful acoustic folk, but barely sold a copy during his lifetime. His acoustic music was sophisticated, with flourishes of jazz, and his acoustic…
Music Decades Quiz: Week 2, 2010s
Congratulations to Jim S. and Bruce who both scored 49/50 in the first week of the decades quiz, putting them in the lead with an average percentage of 98%. This week’s challenge is from the 2010s. You need to link…
New Music Review: Carly Rae Jepsen – Dedicated
Carly Rae Jepsen’s 2015 album Emotion wasn’t a big seller, but it was critically adored and became a cult favourite, making it a tough act to follow. Alongside Jepsen’s impeccable pop sense, the record featured indie rock textures. Organic instrumentation…
Music Decades Quiz: Week 1, 1960s
For the next 6 weeks, you’re invited to join a decades quiz – as well as having a weekly winner, I’ll tabulate our scores to find a champion across the different decades of pop (from the 1960s to the current…
New Music Review: Weyes Blood – Titanic Rising
Weyes Blood was born Natalie Mering, in California, and grew up in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. She derived the name Weyes Blood from the Flannery O’Connor novel Wise Blood, and released her first album in 2011, following self released albums as Weyes…
Yr City's A Sucker by LCD Soundsystem – Great B-sides
James Murphy always intended to be a drummer or a sound technician, but ended up fronting a dance-rock band New York’s LCD Soundsystem bridge the divide between dance and rock – Murphy’s raw vocals are a great entry point for…
Music Quiz: Will, Won't, Can, Can't
Congratulations to Jim, Rich, Badfinger20, and Tony who all scored perfect marks in last week’s 1970s quiz. This week’s challenge requires you to fill in will, won’t, can, or can’t into song titles. I like how they included both Joy…
Led Zeppelin Albums: Ranked from Worst to Best
Led Zeppelin were the archetypal hard rock band. They streamlined the sound of 1960s rock bands like Cream and The Who; an important innovation was John Bonham’s crisp, groove-based drumming, which contrasted with the busy style of The Who’s Keith…
Child of the Moon by The Rolling Stones: Great B-Sides
In 1967, The Rolling Stones followed The Beatles into baroque psychedelia. While the resulting album, Their Satanic Majesties Request, has its admirers, the band were quick to abandon the summer of love, toughening their sound for the blues-rock of 1968’s…
