Without fail, every year there are bits of Led Zeppelin news to share. In December, they finally released their catalog to Spotify. In January, Jimmy Page claimed he would start releasing remastered albums this year. This week, you can listen to sample practice recordings made during Physical Graffiti sessions.
Read more Zeppelin update: Spotify, reissues, and session samples
My second annual list. This is mostly personal preference, but with an ear to recommend both popular and obscure (mostly rock and jazz) albums to other music lovers.
Most of these are artists I had never heard of or given a second listen before 2013. Good music is alive and well. Read more Best Albums of 2013
I was invited to play my favorite music of 2013 on The AP Hour, ARTxFM.com radio, 12/26/13. Here are the 13 tracks that I picked, with an additional 74 minutes that I could not fit into the 1-hour show. YouTube, Spotify, and Rdio playlists embedded below.
The official Beyoncé YouTube page has posted these 30-second preview tracks (released Friday, December 13, 2013). Here they are in the order they appear on the DVD; the director(s) are listed after each song title. It’s also worth checking out the “Self-Titled” mini art features that followed the release of the album.
Read more BEYONCÉ 2013 video album, YouTube previews (in order)
********** 10
James Brown – Love Power Peace, Live at the Olympia, Paris 1971 (June 1992, soul)
********* 9
Motor City Drum Ensemble – DJ-Kicks (July 2011, house, soul)
********* 9
Young Galaxy – Ultramarine (April 2013, dream pop)
********* 9
Stars of the Lid – And Their Refinement of the Decline (April 2007, ambient)
********* 9
Guns n’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction (July 1987, hard rock)
********* 9
Lil Hardin Armstrong – Chicago: The Living Legends (1961, jazz vocal)
******** 8
Haim – Days Are Gone (September 2013, indie pop)
******** 8
Mazzy Star – Seasons of Your Day (September 2013, neo-psychedelia)
******** 8
Mayer Hawthorne – Where Does This Door Go (July 2013, blue eyed soul)
******** 8
Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa – Seesaw (May 2013, blues rock)
******** 8
Bombino – Nomad (April 2013, Tishoumaren, blues rock)
******** 8
Jim James – Regions of Light and Sound of God (February 2013, neo-psychedelia)
******** 8
J.D. McPherson – Signs & Signifiers (October 2010, rockabilly)
******** 8
Balmorhea – All Is Wild, All Is Silent (March 2009, post-rock, modern classical)
******** 8
Tracy Thorn – Out of the Woods (March 2007, synthpop)
******** 8
Mazzy Star – So Tonight That I May See (September 1993, neo-psychedelia)
******* 7
Gary Clark Jr. – Blak and Blu (October 2012, blues rock)
******* 7
Sun Glitters – Cosmic Oceans (April 2011, chillwave)
Read more A few album ratings – Part 7
Per Kirkeby has created unforgettable works of art, some of which were commissioned for three of Lars von Trier’s films. After watching all of von Trier’s theatrical releases over the last three months, I kept returning to Kirkeby’s digitally-altered landscapes in Breaking the Waves (1996) for inspiration.
To avoid spoilers, I’m including screenshots only of the latter half of each episode/chapter intro. Watch the movie for the full effect! NOTE: Von Trier films are not for the faint of heart.
Read more Kirkeby’s panoramas in von Trier’s *Breaking the Waves*
