There’s a new series on HBO. It’s called VINYL and takes place in New York City.
The year is 1973 and it was an important time in music history.
Plenty of sex drugs and rock & roll and lots of cocaine!
The blues, birth of hip-hop, punk rises and disco started to emerge as well.
American Century Records vs German Polygram
Led Zeppelin cheated out of a contract and there are money deals to be made.
Its about discovering new artists, making promises and telling lies to your clients within the music industry.
It’s about NOT making friends with your clients. Just crack out those hits and make us money because its a business.
Fashion and graffiti sprays the streets of NYC while buildings collapse and people rushing through dirty areas to check out bands like the New York Dolls playing at small clubs.
Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger produce this series…and they do it well!!!
Wild parties, orgies, loaded on cocaine, loaded with guns, murder, cover ups and drinking your problems away because deals gone wrong.
It’s a greedy business with butterfly collars, bell bottoms, platform shoes, trendy sunglasses, a desk drawer full of various uppers, downers, screamers, laughers, joints.
The spirit of the hippie 60’s still exist during a new wave of punk, but in order to keep a record company from “tanking,” you need to make deals and sell, discover new talent, bring them in and get them to record with you to get noticed because otherwise you’re gonna bomband you don’t want to sell your soul for rock and roll……
I cannot decide what my favorite record of the year is!
Not an easy choice.
There is so much music that I listen to.
From Jazz to Rock to Classical Orchestra to Heavy Metal.
My tastes are quite eclectic!
So how do I figure this out?
Well some of the criteria is the following:
1) Number of times played? Am I obsessed?
2) Did I see this artist/band live in concert?
3) Does it stir up a lot of emotions each time?
Ultimately, I have broken it down to 7 specific albums and 1 favorite song!!!
Number 7 is BECK – MORNING PHASE
He’s moved beyond his slacker-hipster days of Loser. I have embraced the soft side of Beck with this soft, mellow and acoustic vibe. These songs SOUND like the morning in the winter while drinking a cup of hot coffee. Way to step out of your comfort zone!
Number 6 is THE WAR ON DRUGS – LOST IN A DREAM
I hear the Dylan, Petty, Pink Floyd and Dire Straights influences here. Really dreamy music for sure. I am transported to another time and place every time I pop this record into my ears.
Number 5 is A SUNNY DAY IN GLASGOW – SEA WHEN ABSENT
This became a more recent obsession of mine. It has a real addictive sound. Shoe gaze, trippy, mellow, synth pop is some magical stuff for the brain! It reminds me of the band My Bloody Valentine with that Cocteau Twins vibe from the 80’s. Amazing vocals and mind blowing digital effects mixed with grungy guitars.
But the truth is….this really was my favorite album of the year because of how rich, potent, spine tingling it is!!! Until……
THIS ALBUM CAME OUT!!!
Number 1 is PINK FLOYD – THE ENDLESS RIVER
Holy Cow!!! This was the surprise release of the year! Only my favorite band of all time suddenly came to life after 20 years in absence!!!! Here’s a long spiel:
Firstly if you’re a hard core fan of the Roger Waters era then this probably isn’t for you. Their aren’t many bands who have lost their main writer and reinvent themselves. But David, Rick and Nick did just that. Roger thought he was bigger than the FLOYD! That was a big mistake and firing Rick Wright was also a bad idea.
I’ve always been a fan of Rick and I recommend you take a listen to his solo project Broken China, for me it was sheer brilliance from Rick. For me it’s about paying respect to a Great musician and the quiet man of the Floyd. Yes you could say this is a collection of pieces that where put aside from The Division Bell but does it matter??…. Nope!
This album is a fitting tribute to Rick. David and Nick have given a lot of thought producing a highly pleasurable listening experience, listen hard enough and it will transform you back to your youth. To the band: it’s been a great journey. You will in years to come be regarded as one of the Greatest Rock bands of all time.
Richard Wright RIP
But now I wish to make mention of my favorite song this year…….
FAVORITE SONG…….Jenny Lewis – Just One of the Guys
Once in a band called Rilo Kiley as their singer, she walks away from the all night parties with the boys. Now in this deep, layered, tonic rock tune things get real! Lewis’ addictive melodies and smart, heartbreaking lyrics about aging, loneliness and being without a child certainly make a huge mark in her career! This is a welcome back moment for this indie Rock queen!!!
2014 has been an awesome year! Believe me, I had so many favorites but these were calculated precisely and are logically my biggest ones! See you next year!!!!!
Her music has an incredibly cinematic sound and refers a lot to pop culture. Primarily of the 1950s and 1960s. Total Americana. Lana has described herself as a “self-styled gangsta Nancy Sinatra”. Musically, she was influenced by what she believes to be the masters of major genres. These include but are not limited to Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin and Nirvana. But also much poetry and film noir.
Her real name is Elizabeth Woolridge Grant. She was born on June 21, 1985. A New York girl. But I love her stage name Lana Del Rey. Very cool sounding. Simply put, she is an American singer-songwriter. But she loves the world of crime, love, romance, drugs and loneliness.
Currently her number one selling record, ULTRAVIOLENCE, is probably my favorite one of this year. In fact I know it is. It was love at first “sound.” Now I must admit It took me awhile to climb aboard the Lana Del Ray express, but I am glad that I caught a ride only about a week ago. What a fascinating artist! She is so deep and mesmerizing! Could this be my favorite artist of 2014? Hmmmm….better than Katy Perry? Better than St Vincent? Who knows……
So…..fascinating….angelic voice….dreamy….grainy…..addictive (for me)
It’s slow and feels good with the windows rolled down in a pink Cadillac ( if I owned one).
The title ULTRAVIOLENCE was clearly borrowed from Stanley Kubrick’s dark film, A Clockwork Orange. That happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time! Futuristic, creepy, weird, cool and deep!
Her trip-hop, noir and almost operatic vocals sound sends me off into psychedelic dreams of shivers lying by the ocean and recalling all of the highlights of my life. The carefree days of childhood but also the smoke filled world of sex drugs and rock n roll. I mean she’s not “kid friendly.”
She also pays much tribute to David Lynch (master of bizarre art films) and could even provide theme songs to James Bond flicks, if she wanted to. Although, I do know one of her songs were featured in a recent adaptation of the Great Gatsby . In addition, she was asked to do a sultry waltz remake of the classic song, “Once Upon A Dream,” in the film Malificent.
Take the sex appeal of Marilyn Monroe and mix it with the songwriting skills of Leonard Cohen. That is the feeling I get from Miss Lana. I won’t lie either. She is a stunning and gorgeous young lady at 29.
Of course I have heard negative feedback for Ultraviolence. This makes me confused but I guess it all boils down to individual taste. I love this album – it’s a refreshingly “old” style. Listening to her music and voice makes me feel like I’m somewhere in that darkly-romantic time, whenever that was. Taking a stroll along a boardwalk of California’s beaches and looking over my shoulders. Love mixed with danger.
I think of Mulholland Drive (the film and the actual place) when I listen to this record. It’s creepy world and it’s sexy world and it’s dreamy world. In her videos she smokes and makes it look cool….just like the old-fashioned days.
So I have decided that as of now….August 17th 2014…..my favorite album of the year is Lana Del Rey’s Ultraviolence!!! OMG what a masterpiece!!
The Music Bard 