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Most recently published stories in Beat.
Great Bands That Only Made One Album
There are a handful of great bands that only made one album, with various reasons for their lack of a second. Some of the bands met unfortunate fates, while others split up because they were only side projects to their members from the get go. Whatever the reason, there are a surprising number of great bands that you might not realize only made one album.
By Will Vasquez9 years ago in Beat
How Playlists Are Influencing the Future of Music
We rarely experience music as a single song. Popular music has always been shared in lists of some kind, whether it be in memorized performances, concerts, albums, radio selections, or sets selected by DJs. With the advent of new music technologies, more people have instant access to music and want to find more all the time. Playlists have become central to the way these users listen to and discover new music, and the element of curation remains, just in a different form. As technologies like Spotify become the norm, this curation has moved to playlists. While many playlists are still selected and promoted by celebrities and music experts, the beautiful thing is that the curation is now often in the hands of the listeners themselves. These lists have taken the form of albums, concerts, radio selections, and sets selected by DJs. Songs have always been arranged into playlists of sorts. Whether it be albums, performances, or radio selections, curation has always been an important part of making music popular, and popular music culture. But with the advent of new technologies like Spotify and Google Play Music, listening to full albums and performances seems to be taking a backseat to listening to playlists. The major difference is that now these playlists are often in the hands of users or the technology-owners themselves.
By Adam Quinn9 years ago in Beat
Most Iconic Women in Rock
Rock music is full of icons, from individual artists who changed the way that we experience music to looks that shaped the fashion of a decade, but who are the most iconic women in rock? As in most things, the contributions of women to rock are often overlooked or underplayed. As a result many people may not be able to think of very many female artists, even if they love the songs that those women have produced. In order to help fight back against this unfortunate system, we have established this list, in no particular order, of the most iconic women in rock.
By Will Vasquez9 years ago in Beat
Who is Harry Partch?
The Adapted Viola. Chromelodeon I. The Ptolemy. Kithara I. Surrogate Kithara. Harmonic Canon III. Bloboy. Koto. Crychord. Diamond Marimba. Quadrangularis Reversum. Marimba Eroica. Boo I. Boo II. Mbira Bass Dyad. Eucal Blossom. Gourd Tree. Cone Gongs. Cloud-chamber Bowls. Spoils of War. Zymo-Xyl. Mazda Marimba. Ugumbo. Waving Drum. Mbira. Ektara. Eucalyptus Claves. Fiji Rhythm Boat.
By Rhonda Taylor9 years ago in Beat
Coolest Music Themed Funko Pop!
With so many great musicians included in the series, it can be tough to definitively decide on the coolest music themed Funko Pop! figures. Since introducing the Pop! Rocks series in 2012 the line has expanded rapidly, and there are also limited edition versions of some figures with special features like glow-in-the-dark or metallic portions. While many of the Best Funko Pop! Collectibles are based around fictional characters, there are a number of real-life figures as well. Not surprisingly, many of these collectibles are miniature versions of world-famous and legendary classic-rock musicians; however, the series has also incorporated some more modern individuals and a few characters that are quite obscure to most North American buyers. Each of the musicians is worth having for the serious collector, but there are some in the series that stand out from the rest as the coolest music themed Funko Pop! figures.
By Adam Quinn9 years ago in Beat
#HowEyeSeeIt with Casey Harris of the X Ambassadors
Casey Harris, the piano player for the X Ambassadors, has been legally blind his entire life. As part of the Foundation Fighting Blindness' recent digital campaign, #HowEyeSeeIt, we traveled to Seattle to meet with Casey and the rest of the X Ambassadors to hear his story. In his own words Casey describes his ability to see as 15% vision in good light and closer to 5-10% in bad light. Technically speaking Casey has 2200 vision with a 10% field in the middle.
By David Karp9 years ago in Beat
Struggles of Being a 20-Something Who Loves Classic Rock
Twenty-somethings who love classic rock face a great number of struggles today. We don’t just feel on the outside of modern music, we literally don’t understand it. It lacks power, force, and the very beats that make rocks roll. In classic rock, songs are intricately structured. Lyrics are deep. The players play guitars and drums, not women and games. Often, our friends may find our music strange. It may be equated to, “That stuff my grandpa listens to” or, worst of all, labeled “Oldies.” Our families may not understand our passion for the music of the 60s and 70s and call us weird. Too often, we are misunderstood, but it’s OK. If Robert Plant and Keith Richards weren’t different, we wouldn’t have the killer licks of the Stones or Led Zeppelin. These are the top 10 struggles of a 20-something who loves classic rock.
By Will Vasquez9 years ago in Beat
Best Songs About Masturbation
Sex, drugs, and rock and roll is a motif that’s almost as old as rock and roll music itself. It’s a perceived lifestyle that is so prevalent in the industry that it’s almost a prerequisite to making a timeless song and charting a hit record. And so we’ve entered a sexy era of bands making rhythmic odes to the human condition and all that messy horniness that comes with it. And with all that horniness comes masturbation—and with all that masturbation eventually comes awesome music about masturbation. Just because they have all that backstage action doesn’t mean they don’t indulge too! It’s a vicious cycle really. But what can we do? We’re only human. We’re only horny wankers. While you’re pondering the deepness in that revelation, check out this list of bands that did indulge and wrote songs about masturbation to pass the time between sex, drugs, and rock and roll:
By Adam Quinn9 years ago in Beat
