Tag Archives: Paul McCartney

The Voice Finale and Rave On Buddy Holly

30 Jun

Javier Colon Wins The Voice

“The Voice” blossomed into a constant show for my sister and I. It also worked as an inside joke because we just could not figure out why we taped and watched every episode. We concluded early on that it was for Cee-Lo Green‘s smooth colloquy and gaudy custom-made outfits. If The Voice did one thing, it proved the verdant creativity of Cee-Lo Green to most of the country. But we both know that it could not have been just Cee-Lo Green.

“The Voice” was the ideal 10-week publicity stunt for all four judges. If you are not familiar with the premise, basically the show saw four celebrity judges (Cee-lo, Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton) blindly choose eight singers by voice only for their teams. Then the judges and country narrowed it down to a top four (one from each team) and eventually a winner, Javier Colon, of Team Adam.

The show was awfully predictable, but it’s 10-week format was the correct length and it didn’t give the audience an opportunity to get completely sick of it. The reason we kept watching was the talent. Out of the 32 performers, five had serious, unadulterated talent. Four of those singers made it into the top four. How do you like that? It seems America has finally figured out how to vote in singing competitions. We have had enough practice. The winner, Javier Colon, may not be as quirky and marketable as the runner-up, Dia Frampton (no relation to Peter), but his natural voice is simply better. He was the best singer and he won the money and the recording contract. The show actually worked. I think that is why we kept watching. If the best singers were eliminated early, there would have been no reason to sit through the judge’s specious praise of bad performances. Well, I’ll be honest, we fast-forwarded a lot of the show.

Congrats to Mr. Colon and I wish him well. Unlike the last few years on American Idol, I can actually see myself buying his work and, shockingly, Dia Frampton’s albums as well. Here is Colon’s first performance, a tremendous version of “Time After Time.”

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Modest Mouse Records “That’ll Be The Day”

Buddy Holly is the quintessential example of an artist who was struck down in his prime. The Day The Music Died, the McLean term for the day when Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper were killed in a 1959 Iowa plane crash, took Holly away when he was only 22 years old. I turn 22 in a month and that really gives some perspective. By the time Holly died, he released a good amount of material that would go on to inspire musicians like The Beatles. Holly’s rockabilly music was tinkering with what would become rock n’ roll. Rave On Buddy Holly, sees numerous performers, including Paul McCartney, re-imagine Holly songs. The album makes us ponder what would have happened if Holly did not die.

My favorite song off the album is Modest Mouse’s version of “That’ll Be The Day.” It is low-key and brilliantly original. Take a listen.

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Paul McCartney will play Yankee Stadium – Aerosmith Recording – “Best 2011 Band” Dry The River profile

9 Jun

Busy day for Music News. There are numerous items to discuss. But before I get to any of them, I want to wish a very happy birthday to Les Paul, one of the foremost innovators of rock guitar. To celebrate his birthday, Google’s homepage doodle is a strummable guitar with a recording feature. Yes, I’m not kidding. It is perhaps the coolest doodle Google has ever had. Lets move on to the big news of the day.

Paul McCartney Will Rock The Yankees

Paul McCartney is coming to Yankee Stadium. You can read all about it here. (Yes I just plugged myself and apparently have no shame). McCartney has already rocked Queens twice, once with the Beatles in 1965 at the New York Mets’ old home Shea Stadium and then again with three shows at the Mets’ new home Citi Field in 2009, but he has never graced the Bronx with his talents. Tickets for the one-night July 15 concert will go on sale at 11 a.m. on Monday, June 13 and will most likely sell out in five minutes. Yes, that is my guess. So if you want tickets, it may be a good idea to start refreshing the Livenation.com page (where they are on sale) a good five minutes in advance in hope that you can be one of the first on the server. You can also call Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000.

Ticket prices will range from $34-$280. $34! Those tickets probably allow you to sit on a roof across from Yankee Stadium with hopes of catching some audio from the show. Just kidding. It is still a very low price to see an absolute legend. I went to one of McCartney’s Citi Field concerts and it was epic. I urge you to get tickets if you have never seen him live.

The concert will kick off his 2011 “On The Run” tour. No other dates have been released. There has also been no word from McCartney if he will extend his stay in the Bronx for a few more nights (like he did with his concert at Citi Field in 2009), but the Yankees are on the road from July 11-21. I am going to predict a few more Yankee Stadium shows before he departs on his tour.

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Aerosmith Recording A New Album (All of Them)

You read that right. Joe Perry, Aerosmith guitarist, wrote on his twitter account yesterday that, “Whole band has plans to go into the studio with Jack Douglas second week of July to work on new Aero CD.” I am sure Steven Tyler is thrilled. This band argues more than a couple in an unsuccessful marriage. Perry has been angry at Tyler more times than the Mets have disappointed me. Okay, I’ll stop with these horrendous metaphors.

Aerosmith has not released an album since Just Push Play in 2001. They have toured, though, a lot, up until Tyler’s stage accident in 2009 where he broke his shoulder and then entered rehab and then after patching up problems with Aersomith apparently blindsided the band in 2010 when he announced his plans to become a judge on Fox’s American Idol.

Aerosmith is not stupid. Tyler has propelled his level of fame to new heights with his American Idol appearance. Aerosmith has also seen an increase in record sales. It is a good time to release an album, while the Aerosmith stock is still high.

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Best 2011 Bands – Dry The River

NME released its “50 Best New Bands of 2011” recently and after sifting through its contents I found a band that I rather like.

Dry The River, of East London, have propelled onto the emerging progressive folk scene and their Mumford and Sons style may help them jump into popularity.

Here is a great profile on the band: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/nov/09/new-band-dry-river

Check out “New Ceremony” which melds together a deep folk guitar, delicate harmonies, oddly dark instrumentation and Pete Liddle’s theatrical voice. The chorus has serious pop sentiments and the song is rather advanced.

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Answers to Music Trivia #1

7 Jun

Thank you to everyone who participated in last Friday’s first edition of Music Trivia. We received a good amount of answers. Unfortunately, only one participant posted a comment with his answers. So before I get to the answers, I can officially crown Anthony Zampardi winner of the first edition of Music Trivia. Anthony got one answer correct. Did you do better than Anthony and feel disrespected because you are not being recognized? Well, remember, during each Music Trivia you answer the questions in the poll format and then post your answers (a,b,c,d,a – for example) in a comment with your name. You can discuss the questions in the comment section as well. Comments can be accessed by pressing the quote button with the number next to the post’s title. On to the answers!

1.) “Hey Jude” is arguably the Beatles‘ best and most emotional song. When Paul McCartney first played the track for bandmate John Lennon, Paul stopped after a line and told John he was meaning to change the particular lyric. Lennon said that he wouldn’t and it was the best line in the song. What is that line?
Answer –  C.) “The movement you need is on your shoulder”

Yes, the answer choice that garnered the least attention is the correct answer. I admit, this was a difficult first question. It is a small piece of Beatles’ trivia. This line gathered 10 percent of the vote. The answer choice that gained the most clicks at 40 percent was “For well you know that it’s a fool who plays it cool.” I guess we know what line Music Court readers think is dumb!


In all of their Mugwumps splendor

2.) The Mamas & The Papas is still considered one of the best folk/vocal groups ever. Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty were truly the vocal superstars of the band. Before they joined The Mamas & The Papas they were both members of an unsuccesful New York band called The Mugwumps in the mid-60′s. The other two members of that band went on to form a famous American band after the break-up. What band did they form?

Answer: B.) The Lovin’ Spoonful

Most fared better on this question. The Lovin’ Spoonful gained 40 percent of the votes. Even if you did not know the answer to the question, process of elimination could have helped formulate an educated guess. The Byrds were formed in California in 1964, The Turtles in California in 1965, and Jefferson Airplane in San Francisco in 1965. John B. Sebastian and Zal Yanovksky were both based in Greenwich Village at the time of the Mugwump’s formation. The Mugwumps were not successful, but this was in partly because they were such a short-lived group. If they stuck it out, perhaps they would have even usurped the future popularity of the Lovin’ Spoonful and The Mamas and The Papas. Who knows.

3.) Soul Asylum released “Runaway Train,” a song about runaways, with a corresponding video that featured pictures and names of missing children. Because of the song’s popularity many children featured in the video were actually returned to their homes. The song was pretty good too. It took home the Grammy for Best Rock Song in what year?

Answer: A.) 1994

Who expected a 90’s music question? I told you, no genre/time period discrimination. I actually thought of this question while at the gym. The music video for the song started playing on VH1 and I started talking to a trainer about when the song was released. I swore it was mid-late 90s, but he said it was when he was a teenager (early 90s). I looked it up and he was right. The song was released in 1993 (answer choice D and the choice that received 33.3 percent of the vote – tied with 1991). But if you look carefully the question is what year did the song receive the Grammy for Best Rock Song and that was 1994. Congrats to the 22.2 percent of you that got this trick question correct.

4.) In Canned Heat‘s “On The Road Again” what instrument helps create the buzzing sound that follows the song like a swarm of bees.

Answer: C.) Tambura

For those not fluent in the rich tradition of Indian instrumentation, I cannot blame you for getting this wrong. A tambura is a sitar-like instrument with a long neck. It distinguishes itself from a sitar because it has no frets. Its open strings are plucked in a regular pattern in order to create a resonating sound. You can use the instrument for drone music and this is exactly what Canned Heat does with “On The Road Again.” Alan Wilson added the tambura to give the song a hypnotic feel. He definitely accomplished his goal.

5.) The Dirty Mac was a one-time supergroup formed exclusively for the TV Special “The Rolling Stones Rock n’ Roll Circus” in 1968. The band featured John Lennon on rhythm guitar and vocals, Keith Richards on bass guitar, Mitch Mitchell (drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience) on drums and what famous lead guitarist?

Answer: B.) Eric Clapton

I am often asked who my favorite supergroup is. Okay, maybe it is not a constant question but I have been asked it more than once. Without fail, despite my allegiance to King Crimson, I target the one-time performers The Dirty Mac as my favorite supergroup. Yes, their only performance was at The Rolling Stones Rock n’ Roll Circus, but the group consisted of John Lennon, Mitch Mitchell, Keith Richards and Eric Clapton (the answer to the question). The band didn’t just ooze talent, it flat-out blew it out like an active volcano. Their performance of “Yer Blues” is mind-altering. 57.14 percent of you got this one correct, so great job. Until next time, here is”Yer Blues” by The Dirty Mac.

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Who Wants to Be A Musicaire – Music Trivia

3 Jun

Welcome to the first installment of Music Trivia! Music Trivia, the game where you all get the chance to prove that you are the ultimate Musicaire (a made up term that means absolutely nothing). Seriously, Music Trivia gives you the opportunity to answer music trivia questions, both tough and easy. This is a game for everyone. There are no categories and no genre/time period discrimination. Questions can range from the guitar proficiency of Robert Johnson to Eve 6‘s drummers name. But I’m probably not going to ask about Tony Fagenson. I find that there is a lack of challenging music trivia on the web and I want to change that with this bi-weekly post. Here is how it is going to work. Today I will post five random questions (themed posts are possible in the future). The questions will be multiple choice. After answering all five questions, post your answers in a comment. On Tuesday, I will post up the answers and who did that best. Remember, it is easy to cheat at this game, but why would you do that? No Google and no listening to songs for answers. Answer the questions like you are taking a test in a classroom. Cheating makes this stupid. If Music Trivia garners a good amount of participants (10 or more), I will make the posting more frequent and will start giving out prizes to winners. Yes, that’s right, prizes. But it is your responsibility to play the game, have fun, and tell your friends. How tough is that, right? So good luck and I hope you enjoy the first ever Music Trivia game on The Music Court.

1.) “Hey Jude” is arguably the Beatles‘ best and most emotional song. When Paul McCartney first played the track for bandmate John Lennon, Paul stopped after a line and told John he was meaning to change the particular lyric. Lennon said that he wouldn’t and it was the best line in the song. What is that line?

2.) The Mamas & The Papas is still considered one of the best folk/vocal groups ever. Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty were truly the vocal superstars of the band. Before they joined The Mamas & The Papas they were both members of an unsuccesful New York band called The Mugwumps in the mid-60’s. The other two members of that band went on to form a famous American band after the break-up. What band did they form?

3.) Soul Asylum released “Runaway Train,” a song about runaways, with a corresponding video that featured pictures and names of missing children. Because of the song’s popularity many children featured in the video were actually returned to their homes. The song was pretty good too. It took home the Grammy for Best Rock Song in what year?

4.) In Canned Heat‘s “On The Road Again” what instrument helps create the buzzing sound that follows the song like a swarm of bees. (Video Clue)

5.) The Dirty Mac was a one-time supergroup formed exclusively for the TV Special “The Rolling Stones Rock n’ Roll Circus” in 1968. The band featured John Lennon on rhythm guitar and vocals, Keith Richards on bass guitar, Mitch Mitchell (drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience) on drums and what famous lead guitarist?

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The Judgement of Social Media – More Beatles’ Auctions – Abbey Road

3 Jan

Justin Bieber is Loved by the Internet

Link: http://www.nme.com/news/justin-bieber/54412

According to the social media calculator Klout.com, Justin Bieber rules the web with an iron fist (more like a scrawny fist). Klout measures internet popularity by combining tweets, Google mentions, Facebook likes, and other web indicators. After analyzing the details you are given a score out of 100. 100 marks popularity. Bieber has a perfect score (most likely the only thing he has ever scored 100 on). That is more than President Barack Obama who scores 88 on the service. I have a score of 21! Yeah! I’m moving up in the world.

So, does this matter at all. No, of course not. It is simply a way to judge your internet popularity and if people searching or mentioning you matters for your psyche, then I guess this is important. (Mention me! I want better Klout!) But, in all honesty, most internet users have the attention span of a goldfish and clicking the mouse is the portal to the grand diversity of internet addiction. Seriously, you can probably get from this post to a rousing video of animals jumping on trampolines. That probably would have an awesome Klout score.

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Beatles’ Auction…Again

Link: http://www.billboard.com/#/news/lennon-s-abbey-road-suit-sells-for-46k-in-1004137651.story

Wow. Another item of Beatles’ history was up for auction. Beatles’ items are being auctioned off faster than beanie babies used to sell. It seems that everyday I see another thing being sold. At Braswell Galleries’ annual New Year’s Day auction, John Lennon’s famous white suit which he wore on the Abbey Road, was sold to an anonymous bidder for $46,000. That is one expensive, ugly suit. Soon enough they will be selling grass from Lennon’s grave. Anything auctioneers can take from Lennon they will. Heck, they may even auction off Yoko.

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McCartney talks Abbey Road

Here is a great video of Paul McCartney talking about his experiences recording music at Abbey Road during his Chaos and Creation at Studio 2. Here is some talking and a beautiful performance of “Friends to Go”

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