Tag Archives: Popular Music

Jonah Raskin :
BOOKS | Cultural historian McNally takes readers on a long strange trip

For those who lived through the era and still care about issues of class, race, and gender, ‘Highway 61’ is the book to read about American music. By Jonah Raskin | The Rag Blog | September 16, 2014 [On Highway … Continue reading

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BOOKS / Ron Jacobs : Marc Myers Tells Us ‘Why Jazz Happened’

  ‘Jazz, man, that’s where I’m at’: Chronicling the history of America’s music Myers provides the reader with a deep, rich, and broad perspective on the confluence of jazz and U.S. history in the decades following World War Two. By … Continue reading

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BOOKS / Ron Jacobs : ‘Love Goes to Buildings on Fire’

Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: New York City, just like I pictured it From the steamy streets of the South Bronx and the future that would become hip-hop to the steamier bathhouses and clubs in lower Manhattan that became … Continue reading

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Ivan Koop Kuper :
Stacy and Bunni: A Montrose Love Story

If Stacy Sutherland of the 13th Floor Elevators were alive he’d be celebrating his 65th birthday this May. By Ivan Koop Kuper | The Rag Blog | March 31, 2011 HOUSTON — On the corner of Pacific and Hopkins streets … Continue reading

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Bob Feldman : A People’s Folk Music History

Folksinger/activist Phil Ochs. Image from Child of the Sixties.A people’s folk musicHistory of the United States By Bob Feldman / The Rag Blog / July 27, 2010 If you’re a Rag Blog reader who’s into either urban protest folk music … Continue reading

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MUSIC / Dynamic Compression : Yes, It Really is Too Loud!

Christopher Clark graphed the peak levels of and RMS levels of three hit songs a year over the past three decades. Here is a link to a PDF of his full poster, “A Visual History Of Loudness.”The loudness wars:Why music … Continue reading

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Hall of Fame Concerts : Rocking the Garden!

Hall of Fame rock ‘n rollers: Bono and Mick Jagger. Photo from Mirror, U.K.Hall of Fame benefit: Taking rock and roll to a new level By Harvey Wasserman / The Rag Blog / November 3, 2009[With Gary Baumgarten and Abbie … Continue reading

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Carl R. Hultberg : Jazz Cigarettes

Lester Young was left a shattered man. Photo by Herb Snitzer.The Beatles called them ‘jazz cigarettes’ Race mixing was the fear and marijuana perceived to be the social lubricant making it happen. By Carl R. Hultberg / The Rag Blog … Continue reading

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Juan Cole : Michael Jackson, Islam and the Middle East

Michael Jackson. Photo from Getty Images. Michael Jackson was deeply hurt and humiliated by the experience [of his 2005 trial], and his withdrawal to Bahrain and search for a different tradition of spirituality may well have come out of that … Continue reading

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Academic Study : Hot Sounds, Cool Stock Market

Dan Burrows: ‘Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” beat variance is as smooth as, well, a baby’s bottom. Maybe that’s why there was mad volatility on the market’s dance floor.’ ‘When the stock market endures periods of high volatility — such … Continue reading

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