Frank Zappa loved to annoy. I grew up watching him battle the Parent Music Resource Center (PMRC), among whose more famous founding members was Tipper Gore, ex-wife of then Senator (and complete douchebag to this day) Al Gore. Though he was, and is, a sleazy huckster, his wife ended up making friends with Frank’s widow, Gail.
As lyrically inane as it was, Frank was one of the best musicians of his day. I miss him, as I’m sure millions still do.
I love scouring the Internet precisely because I run into treasures like these.
Uzbekistan is not the first name one would think of when discussing progressive rock. The Central Asian republic is far away from any of the traditional power centers like the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy or the United States. It is several time zones away from Moscow and St Petersburg, where Russia’s small prog-rock scene is at its strongest.
Yet chaps from Uzbekistan (and a chap from Norway, apparently!), working out of London, do yeoman’s work in covering progressive rock releases for the website ProgressoR. These folks are passionate about the genre, indeed. Consider this a go-to site for those who love prog and its sub-genres.
Vinyl’s resurgance is a cause for celebration. I’m even considering investing in an audiophile-quality turntable to enjoy choice slabs of plastic on cold nights like this evening’s (okay, by California standards!).
Endgadget reports that Fat Possum Records has decided to invest in their own plant to satisfy demand. From the article:
Jack White and his Third Man Records imprint aren’t the only ones benefiting from the vinyl boom. Oxford, Mississippi-based Fat Possum Records took matters into its own hands, building a pressing plant to meet the demands of its avid collectors. After using other record makers and encountering issues with backorders and the headache of international shipping, founder Matthew Johnson (with a hand from others) bought used equipment and set up shop in Memphis. The plant is modest compared to other more established operations, but with the new setup, the goal is to crank out 13,000 to 14,000 records a day — plus it’ll keep everything in-house. Fat Possum’s vinyl releases include LPs from Modest Mouse and Waylon Jennings. If you’ll recall, White’s Lazaretto is the best-selling vinyl release in two decades, serving as more evidence that the classic format refuses to die.
These are wonderful days to be a vinyl junkie.
Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson sends us off to dreamland with a cut from the album Fordlandia.
The purpose of my blog is to cover a mass of information as orderly as possible, though it’s proving difficult (though pleasurable) to do. One of those bits of information I like to pass on is the existence of other blogs and zines who are more specific in scope. Art Rockin’ was started by Salim Ghazi Saeedi and Lee Henderson to review and promote art rock releases, as not enough mags are concentrating on this rather rich genre of music.
Good luck to them!
The end of the year is here, so expect to read many top lists for 2014. All About Jazz points us to John Kelman’s top live choices.
I’m a fan of the Balkan singing voice, as it is rich in the way Tom Waits and Paolo Conte are. This is a new name for me, presumably out of Serbia. I’m looking forward to hearing more from Block Out.
Zoviet France at the time I first saw them were Mark Spybey, Ben Ponton and an absolutely amazing dancer whose name I never caught. The venue I saw them was called Jabberjaw, located in Los Angeles sometime in the early 1990s, if my memory serves me. The band left an incredible impression on me, and since then, members have been involved in many interesting projects. Here they are at their peak.
Unlike a great deal of my colleagues, I’m not a vinyl snob. Yes, it sounds wonderful for rock and jazz, but as I enjoy listening to classical and experimental music, I like the idea that I can hear such things with clarity.
That being said, the great Neil Young, himself a fan of technology, has started a service dedicated to audiophiles. PonoMusic (not quite ready for launch yet) is the name of his new venture, and it will be launched on Kickstarter this week.
Upstart Business Journal has more on this wonderful development here.
A couple of years ago, I had the absolute joy and pleasure to make the acquaintances of Juan Antonio Vázquez & Araceli Tzigane, two radio hosts who run Spain’s best World Music program, Mundofonías.
You can sample of bit of one of their recent shows, ‘Orientando & Africando’, here.
Zonards des grands Z'espaces
სელექტორის ბლოგი
Cultura, tecnologías de la comunicación e Ideología Moderna.
My Projects and Collaborations
the home of psychedelic sounds and more....
These are the things I do.
Illuminating the Post-Industrial Underground
© P. Robinson 2004-2025
Iberian record label since 2012.
the greatest songs of the 1960's that no one has ever heard
A Tudo o que tiver que vier.
the aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance
Discovering the wonderful world of classic actresses and their beauty...
Creative bands of extreme quality and competence
Writing Lostness
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 