Listening to the Rain
I grew up in rainy Seattle, and despite its reputation, Seattle is not the rainiest of cities. When it did rain back then, the world we all knew changed a littl...
Category: Music History
Italian Women Singers in the Beat Era
For those accustomed to the lushness of 60s French pop, Italian can take some getting used to. Its screeching string accents, midrange vibratos and operatic bol...
Dub in Effect
Summertime. The portion of the globe, on which we reside, turns its cheek to the sun. The light is bright. Brighter sometimes than the eye can stand; hence, the...
The Importance of Odion Livingstone Records and the Impetus of Decolonizing African Music
African and Asian musicians are often living subserviently working for a white privileged man practicing homogenous postcolonialism. For decades, and to this da...
Noah Fence interviews Vanessa Briscoe Hay of Pylon and Pylon Reenactment Society
N.F.The band, Pylon, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1979. I assume that you moved to Athens, Georgia, to go to college; so can you tell me about how the band, Pyl...
Remembering DJ Anita Sarko: The Only Downtown Club Trendsetter That Mattered
by Taylor Hill Taylor Hill’s tribute episode “Danceteria: Selections from DJ Anita Sarko” will air live on Freeform Portland Wednesday June 26th at 4pm Pacific....
How The Moog Synthesizers Helped Revolutionize the Sound of Hip Hop
by William Vance When Robert Moog sold his first vacuum-tube theremin kit back in the early 1950s, one would scarcely imagine he envisioned the world-changing i...
Roky Erickson
Like you I am sitting here thinking about Roky Erickson. I heard the news that he passed away two days ago. Sad news. Since I was on my computer when I he...
Japanese Kayōkyoku Women, 1960s-70s
Western influences in Japanese pop music can be found starting 100 years ago. Jazz journeyed back over the Pacific on steamers by citizens traveling abroad, fir...
A Music Video Introduction to the Wide, Weird World of Sparks
There will always be a region of the music world for which any concession to visual flair is considered anathema, where Vans and sensible jeans are the rule. Y&...