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Now that LPs are once again the biggest selling form of physical media, industry players large and small are getting into the LP game. Waiting times of nine months or more are now common at LP pressings plants. New artists who are smart about managing their careers routinely produce many limited-edition LPs in various colors.…
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Born in Barnwell, South Carolina, James Brown had to hustle his way up and out from extreme poverty. Partly raised by a mostly-absent mother and abusive father-husband, young Brown bore the brunt of a rough, tough childhood, shining shoes for less than a dime, and living with one of his aunts in a brothel; his…
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Richard Reed Parry talks to PMA Magazine’s Mark Lepage about family, punk, and Arcade Fire. “I realized early on ‘I’m not like these other kids’,” Richard Reed Parry says. No. “They were not getting up at 5 a.m. on May Day morning to dance around the maypole and sing as the sun rises.” Yep, that’s…
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To fans of the Pat Metheny Group, he was the quiet, long-haired dude behind racks of keyboards. And while Metheny in his striped shirts and unruly mane was always the frontman, fans often added a crucial “and” to the PMG equation: Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays. Mays was a huge part of the PMG sound.…
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I was born in the ‘60s, a decade when records and radio waves were in perfect sync. You could hear every kind of music, at any time of day or night; all you had to do was cruise up and down the AM dial. We had a station in Chicago—WVON—that played great urban music. My…
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One of the leading music business stories of the 21st century is the continued discovery, sonic restoration, and release of previously unknown recordings—either from the studio or the stage. As the constant advance in digital technology has reclaimed live tapes once thought to be sonically inferior, and refreshed forgotten or leftover studio recordings, record labels,…
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It all started with… the Beat. That rhythm inside us that keeps us alive, that reminds us… We Are Alive! It races when we’re excited to meet someone new. Its pounding pulse is primal.
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First impressions All prices listed in USD My wife is not an audiophile. But as a classically trained pianist and a professional musician, she has ears for sound quality. It’s why I sometimes seek her opinion after changing something in my audio system. This year’s T.H.E. Show, held in Long Beach, was her first audio…
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The shifting of the Earth’s tectonic plates often causes disturbances or, in worse case scenarios, natural disasters like tsunamis or volcanic eruptions. In my first column, I mentioned that the digital world is changing rapidly, well, until now I didn’t know to what extent. Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon recently announced their commitment to gradually…
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I have a friend who listened only to classical music. One day I had him listen to the music of John Coltrane, a jazz giant. And in honor of the saxophonist’s Giant status, the track I had my friend listen to was “Giant Steps”. As he was listening, I was trying to decide what I…
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More than 30 years ago, the tabling of the Brundtland report introduced the concept of sustainable development, of which there are three pillars: economic, social, and environmental. This begat fair trade, at the time considered avant-garde, which instituted a set of policies that spanned the world and forever altered the standards we use to buy…
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“ I just saw Bob Dylan’s show and it was the worst $@#% I’ve ever heard in my life.” — Jay Jay French “I just saw Bob Dylan’s show and it was the worst $@#% I’ve ever heard in my life. I’m saying this from a loving perspective.” Thus began my interview with Jay Jay…