DCMusic

Normally when you think of steel guitar, especially pedal steel guitar, the last thing in the world that’s going to come to mind is African American gospel music. A country gospel tune like “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” sure, but you don’t ever expect to hear one playing in one of those earth shaking, hip swinging gospel choirs that inspired today’s funk, soul, and blues musicians. Yet if you were a congregation member of The House Of God, Keith Dominion churches, steel guitar in shape or another is exactly what you’d have been hearing since the 1930’s. Sacred steel music was born out of the popularity of the Hawaiian Steel guitar in the early part of the twentieth century.
(Read the full post Music DVD Review: The Lee Boys – The Lee Boys Live At Bonnaroo…)

Jesse McCartney is looking to take his career from boy-next-door pop singer to edgy R&B crooner, and his new single seems to be paving the way for the transition. Usually known for sugary pop hits like “Beautiful Soul,” McCartney decided that he wanted to work with Ludacris for the remix of his song “How Do You Sleep?” Now the pair promise that the Sean Garrett-produced track is going to be the jam of 2009.

“We’re setting the bar high for 2009 features,” McCartney told MTV News on the set of the track’s video. “It’s gonna be a big year. It’s gonna be a big song. My boy Sean Garrett, who is probably one of the biggest songwriters of our generation, sort of facilitated the whole thing.

(Read the full post Jesse McCartney Lures Ludacris With Cars, Women…)

The issue of domestic violence was pushed into the spotlight this weekend when reports emerged that singer Chris Brown was allegedly involved in a physical confrontation with girlfriend Rihanna. While police are not identifying Rihanna as the woman injured in the incident that occurred on Sunday morning, TMZ has reportedly confirmed that the the 20-year-old singer was the victim in the case and that she identified Brown, 19, as her attacker.

The alleged assault has shed light on a 2007 interview Brown did with Giant magazine, in which he said his mother had been physically abused by his stepfather. “He used to hit my mom,” the singer told the magazine.

(Read the full post What To Do If You’re A Victim Of Domestic Violence…)

Tom Gabel had a busy 2008.  Not only did the front man of Against Me! headline the Van’s Warped Tour with his associates all summer long but he also recorded his own solo EP called Heart Burns and toured solo on the Revival Tour this past fall in support of it.  The seven song EP was released under Sire records and has Tom Gabel taking things under his control, making for a good listen.

Just in case you didn't know, Tom Gabel was Against Me! from the get go.  He started the band at age 16 all by himself and played acoustical shows in support of his first release the Acoustical EP.  In a nutshell, his success with his solo material, which came from years of hard work and dedication, soon turned into the band Against Me!

(Read the full post Music Review: Tom Gabel – Heart Burns EP…)

Former Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren has said he “can’t believe” Sid Vicious killed his girlfriend Nancy Spungen. Vicious died of a heroin overdose 30 years ago on February 2, while on bail over Spungen’s death in October 1978. Writing in a blog on The Daily Beast, McLaren declared that Vicious was incapable of killing Spungen, who was the bassist’s girlfriend at the time. “I was stunned when I first heard this and I still can’t believe it,” he wrote. “Sid was capable of a wide range of self-destructive acts, but I didn’t think that he could kill someone, especially his girlfriend, unless it was a botched double suicide.” McLaren has a theory that Spungen, who was staying with Vicious in New York’s Chelsea Hotel at the time of her murder, was killed after getting in a fight with someone who had stolen money from the couple’s room. “H
(Read the full post Malcolm McLaren: ‘Sid didn’t kill Nancy’…)

I am convinced that artists in the UK are in cahoots with each other to keep the art of the great pop album from their American counterparts. In the US, pop continues to be a four-letter word for the self-respecting audiophile, while bands like The Whip continue to make catchy, progressive, and most importantly, listenable pop albums on the other side of the Atlantic.

Maybe if I lived in the UK, I’d actually listen to the radio again.

(Read the full post Music Review: The Whip – X Marks Destination…)

The Byrds received a publicity form from the Columbia Label asking for the title of their new album. Since the group had not decided upon one producer Terry Melcher simple wrote untitled and there you have it.

(Untitled) was issued September 16, 1970 and was the only double album released during the group’s lifetime. It consisted of one live and one studio disc and proved to be a commercial success.

The live disc consisted of seven tracks with four being reworked from some of their classic hits. The Byrds of the early 1970s may not have been as creative in the studio as the Hillman, Crosby, and Gram Parsons incarnations but live in concert they were probably superior.

Gene Parsons was a very good drummer but it was the guitar brilliance of Clarence White that drove the sound.

(Read the full post Music Review: The Byrds – (Untitled)…)

After the banner year in music that was 2007, I suppose it was inevitable that 2008 would be a let down. And it was. It's not that there wasn't any good music released this year; after all, I was able to come up with a full list of 20 (unlike with 2006, where I wimped out at ten). But there was a lack of greatness this year, with albums that rank very highly this year that would have ranked much lower the year previous. In fact, until I seriously started to think about how this list would shape up, many of the albums on it had failed to grab me throughout the year. In part, this has more to do with the fact that I spent the year listening to older music, but still, if I loved these albums like I loved the ones that topped last year's list, I would've taken notice much earlier.
(Read the full post The Top 20 Albums of 2008…)

"Every Scratch, Every Click, Every Heartbeat": The reference is to Elvis Costello's song "45" which, to oversimplify matters, conflates music and life. All the same, "Bass and treble heal every hurt" and though this series doesn't feature the dreaded soundtrack to my life, it might be said that each entry spotlights "a song to sing to do the measuring."

Here, I explore the sheer exuberance of Van Morrison's "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)."

…I'm so wired-up
Don't need no coffee in my cup…

Ridiculous and sublime.

(Read the full post Every Scratch, Every Click, Every Heartbeat: Van Morrison – “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m in Heaven When You Smile)”…)

Every year the Grammy Awards come around and prove once again that I am listening to the wrong radio stations. The 2009 collection is no different. The 2009 Grammy Nominees CD includes an amazing cross-section of the radio waves, some of which I hadn't heard before listening to the CD.

2008 was a great year for pop, rock, and R&B artists across the board, and on February 8, 2009, we'll know who wins in the usual categories: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Coldplay's album and song "Viva La Vida" is up in multiple categories, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or group with Vocals.

(Read the full post Music Review: 2009 Grammy Nominees CD…)