A reader took in my series on how technologies that will allow the metaverse are already leading to cyberpunk culture that workplaces must address. She then sent me this NPR podcast on Radiohead’s groundbreaking albums Kid A and Amnesiac. She observed that Radiohead really deserves a place in the cyberpunk series. Like U2 in the early ’90s, Radiohead issued a …
Horn Sections Make Rock Better: Beginnings
Let’s end 2021 with “Beginnings.”
Horn Sections Make Rock Better: Tears of a Clown
It’s just a lovely song.
Horn Sections Make Rock Better: Blue Christmas
That Stray Cat, Brian Setzer.
Horn Sections Make Rock Better: Glad Tidings
How about some Van Morrison, just in time for the holidays?
Horn Sections Make Rock Better: Royal Morning Blue
I have a memory of 13-year-old me watching a college student on my local campus play Xybots, an early 3D game. Blur’s first hit, “There’s No Other Way,” played on the stereo. I got seriously in to Blur in college, thanks to a trip to England, they are still in my top 5. I’ve featured them here twice before. They’ve …
Horn Sections Make Rock Better: Big Chief
I promise this is my last Dr. John-related post (for a while). Professor Longhair was an early influence on Dr. John. He covered this song on his Gumbo album. But this version is just great. I understand that the songwriter (also the whistler) had to convince the good Professor to include the horn section. The song is a nod to …
Horn Sections Make Rock Better: Se A vida é (That’s the way life is)
You can trace all of post-disco dance music through the music of Pet Shop Boys. Bilingual is the group’s phenomenal 1990s album combining dance music with its old friend, Latin music. There is a sample, for instance, of the classic Getz/Gilberto album in there. They’ve covered this ground in the 1980s, with “Domino Dancing,” for instance. But they’ve never done …
Horn Sections Make Rock Better: Spy
You may have noticed I play a lot of They Might Be Giants here. This is my kids’ most requested song.
Horn Sections Make Rock Better: Dead Man’s Party
Dr. John last week was sufficiently spooky–maybe not quite as much as his early Night Tripper phase. But what the heck, it’s Halloween season: Here’s Danny Elfman and company before he was scoring the Simpsons and tons of films. (Although: I think he must have been scoring the first Pee-wee Herman film during this album’s release.)