iPod, Therefore I Am

iPod, Therefore I Am.
Without question, the way that I listen to music has been dramatically affected  by Apple’s iPod and iTunes. It was over 35 years ago when I first went mobile with my music with a Panasonic personal stereo followed by a number of Sony Walkmans until I went to the Mp3 route back [...]

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iPod, therefore I am

Picked up the new iPod Nano yesterday in Daejeon. Don’t ask me which generation; I’ve already lost count. Talk about a sweet little music machine though with its video camera, pedometer, and 8GB of space.
 
You’ve got to hand it to the folks at Apple. They make some cool gadgets that make life easier, albeit when [...]

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Let’s Boogie on down to the Boogie Café

It was a cold, rainy November Friday evening when my Japanese friend, rock and roll and tattoo brother Kenny Shangrila took me to the Boogie Café in Yokohama. On my way from Bangkok to Chicago via Japan, I had a three-day layover in Japan where I would be hanging out with Kenny. After he had [...]

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The Band’s “The Weight” from The Last Waltz

The first time I heard The Band’s “The Weight,” at least the first time I can remember hearing it was in 1983’s The Big Chill. I might have heard it before, but it didn’t, if you can excuse the pun, touch a chord as much until that movie. It just wasn’t [...]

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New Wave One Hit Wonders

If you are a big fan of New Wave music, then you will enjoy these classic videos and one hit wonders
I really think so!

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New Wave Class of 1979: “Local Girls” — Graham Parker & The Rumour

There are some songs that just emanate or ooze “new wave” whether it’s the songs catchy lyrics or hard rocking sound that was attuned to the energy of the post punk and early new wave period. If you are much of a musicologist, and you’ve listened to music of the 70s [...]

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New Wave Class of 1979: “A Message to you Rudy” — The Specials

One of the defining moments of the ska music revival, at least in the UK, was the release of the album Specials by the group The Specials. Formed in 1977, the band was first called The Automatics and then The Coventry Automatics and finally, after calling themselves The Special AKA The [...]

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New Wave Class of 1979: “Life During Wartime” – Talking Heads

If you are one of those music aficionados who prefers their lyrics to be on the cerebral side of things without compromising too much foot-stomping danceability, you could also count on the Talking Heads to deliver both.
And you never had to worry about them not making sense.
Take their 1979 hit, “Life [...]

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New Wave Class of 1979: “Oliver’s Army” — Elvis Costello

New Wave music had it’s share of high energy, danceable rock and roll with snappy, fun lyrics, but not all songs were about turning Japanese, whipping it good, or getting back to Echo Beach. On the contrary, there were some songs that were political in nature—like Elvis Costello’s “Oliver’s Army” [...]

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New Wave Class of 1979: “Video Killed the Radio Star” — The Buggles

“We hear the playback and it seems so long ago. And you remember the jingles used to go…”
I suppose the playback does seem so long ago when you think about some of the music that characterized the New Wave scene back in 1979. When you listen to some of the music [...]

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