Category: Music

Unusual Song Choices in Murder Scenes in Movies

There are two songs in particular that I think are superior candidates for exactly this type of twisting of expectations. One is considered among the most romantic standards of all time, as well as the very model of slow-dance doo-wop song. The Flamingos recorded the ultimate version of “I Only Have Eyes For You.” I don’t know if it’s the bass line, those shoo-bop-shoo-bop or the incessantly repetitive tinkling of the same piano keys, but something about this song gives it an unsettling, almost macabre edge to it. There is a feeling to this song of something dark and dangerous beneath its lyrics of undying love.

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There was More to the Athens, Georgia Music Scene Than REM and the B-52’s

Pylon suffered from the fact their music wasn’t quite as accessible as REM’s, nor were they tempted toward going as mainstream as Stipe and the fellas. The music of Pylon had more in common with Gang of Four than the country rock that got REM played on college radio stations across the country. And the lyrical content of Pylon’s songs had to deal a subtle complexity that was even more of a hindrance than Stipe’s inability to speak coherently:

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Has the Digital Music Revolution Killed the Concept Album?

Some of them are achingly obvious while others may not even be known as concept albums. Some become classics that sell millions of records while others remain cult favorites impossible to tear away from the grip of their fans. In fact, there is but one element that is applicable to all—or at least most—concept albums: the songs are intended to be listened to in a particular order so that the full measure of the “concept” can play out in a linear fashion.

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Alternative Playlist for the 4th of July

The 4th of July is about backyard barbecues and while firing up your Vogner Char-King Imperiale you’ll probably also want to fire up the stereo and remember what Independence Day really used to be about. Here are some 4th of July songs for your playlist. Word of warning, my fellow Americans, you won’t find any Lee Greenwood or Trace Adkins or even Bruce Springsteen on this list.

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Tragic Life of The Cars Cover Girl

The politics of her husband were radical, indeed he is still quite the radical figure in Russian politics, and some elements of those politics informed her writing not just in her novels, but in many articles for French publications took equally satiric jibes at the patently phony underbelly of so much bohemian life. After their divorce, that laughing girl from the Cars album cover turned to punk music.

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Deconstructing "Civil Twilight" by the Weakerthans

Civil twilight, you see, is actually a scientific definition used in navigation to define that period of the day when the center of the sun is geometrically positioned so that artificial lighting is not necessary to distinguish terrestrial objects. In other words, civil twilight is when humans are able to see things clearly and naturally.
Now, don’t you want to get to know a band that comes up with a song title like that?

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