"Because ignorance of your culture is considered uncool"
Marni Nixon – with The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hans Swarowsky – January 6, 1966 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection – With the sad news last night (unconfirmed at the time) of the passing of vocal legend Marni Nixon, it was the passing of an era. During a period in Hollywood,...
Lapsley – Live At Glastonbury 2016 – Introducing Stage – June 26, 2016 – BBC6 Music – Relative newcomer Lapsley tonight, in concert at the Introducing Stage from Glastonbury 2016, and recorded for posterity by the venerable BBC 6 Music. One of the things that’s most enjoyable about festivals like...
The Coral- live at T In The Park – BBC 6 Music – July 8, 2016 – BBC 6 Music – Back to the festivals this week. There’s a lot of catching up to do and a lot has been going on all over Europe (aside from the obvious news)....
Another tribute this week. Word came out last night of the death of co-founder and Punk pioneer Alan Vega, the driving force behind Suicide and a noted visual artist, had died at the age of 78. Together with Martin Rev, Alan Vega established Suicide as one of the seminal projects...
The Lurkers – in session for John Peel – January 24, 1979 – BBC Radio 1 – The Lurkers tonight – one of the first Punk bands to appear on the scene and the very first band to be signed by the then-fledgling Beggars Banquet Records. Formed in 1976 and...
Killing Joke in concert tonight. From the 1986 Reading Festival, a one-hour set by the pioneers of Industrial Rock. Killing Joke were a very influential band in the 80s. Their mix of Electronica, Goth, and Synth Pop paved the way for a number of bands to follow suit – notably,...
Department S – In session for John Peel – November 19, 1980 – BBC Radio 1 – Another short-lived band of the Dawn of New Wave era. Department S were named after a popular 60s TV show. They had evolved from an earlier Punk/Ska band, Guns for Hire and emerged...
Part 1 Part 2 Back to Suntory Hall in Tokyo this week for another concert by the NHK Symphony, guest conducted by Fabio Luisi and featuring the legendary Rudolf Buchbinder in music of Mozart, Schubert and Bruckner. Recorded by the venerable NHK-FM live on January 7, 2016, the concert...
Randy Weston this weekend, recorded by the CBC in Canada at the Bamboo Club in Toronto. This 1985 solo gig spotlights the highly distinctive style that has made Weston such a highly regarded figure in Jazz. Characterized by critics as a “Griot of Jazz and its African roots”, Randy Weston...
When news surfaced, some three years ago, that Kevin Ayers had died, it was one of those shocking and sad occasions that instantly recalled all those contributions he had made over the decades and how much had gone unnoticed. Ayers was a founding member of the iconic Soft Machine, whose...
