This week Hotline TNT go power pop, Springsteen goes country, and Stereolab keep on sounding like Stereolab. Read on for details. Bruce Springsteen Somewhere North of Nashville 2025, 4/10Disc four on Springsteen’s Tracks II set was recorded in 1995, at…
The success of Rhino’s 1998 Nuggets boxset justified a follow-up. The sequel covers the rest of the world since the first volume only chronicled the USA. Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969 emerged in 2001.…
I featured the first quiz in this series back in 2018 – here’s part 2. Your challenge is to complete a band name with a picture. Watch out for Mad-Eye Moody. I scored 20 Can you beat my score?…
The role of a music producer can be difficult to define as it can vary widely. Some are limited to the technical aspects of production – recording. mixing, and mastering. Other producers take on broader roles, including writing material, arranging…
This week we have missives from New Jersey, the Isle of Man, and the Scottish highlands. Read on for details… Bruce Springsteen Faithless 2025, 7/10If you’re keeping track at home, we’re up to the third disc in Springsteen’s Tracks II…
Every New Zealand #1 single… 4 Easy on Me by Adele Topped the NZ chart for 6 (non-consecutive) weeks from 25 October 2021 ‘Easy On Me’ is the lead single from Adele’s fourth album, 30. A gentle piano ballad, it…
It’s another speed test this week. You have just 30 seconds to complete 10 hybrid song titles with a link word. Can you pick the correct word that ends one song title and begins another song title to complete the…
Unless you’re Leonard Cohen or Gil-Scott Heron, lyrics in popular music are a secondary concern. Normally I’m happy to bop along to the music and don’t mind if the lyrics aren’t profound. But sometimes the words are too jarring to…
A couple of bands are in tough spots in this week’s column. Black Country, New Road lost their lead singer four days before they released their previous album. Arcade Fire dealt with allegations against leader Win Butler. Both albums struggle,…
CBS released Folkways: A Vision Shared—A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly in 1988. It accompanied a documentary of the same name, with famous musicians paying tribute to the two pioneers. The two artists are integral to the American musical…
