Female singers have been popular since ancient times. Earlier this year a tomb was discovered in Egypt housing the earthly remains of Nehmes Bastet, a singer who lived and died some 2,900 years ago -- around the time of Carthage's founding and that the Iron Age was making big waves in Central Europe. To date, she's … Continue reading All-Female Bands of the Early 20th Century
Category: Music
3Ball Pursuit – An LA Weddo in King Kumbia’s Kourt
STUMBLING ONTO A SCENE Three years ago I went to a party in Echo Park at a friend's home near the New Hope Mission Methodist Church. I don't remember what my friends were playing but outside the downstairs neighbors were bumping some amazing dance music. It was a variety of Cumbia, which I've always loved … Continue reading 3Ball Pursuit – An LA Weddo in King Kumbia’s Kourt
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Shangri-La Sundays Presents Tim & Eric’s Awesome Set
Time: Sunday, March 6 at 7:00pm - March 7 at 12:30am. Make sure to mark that on your calendar and in your mobile phones and tricorders. Location: R Bar LA 3331 8th St - WILSHIRE CENTER / KOREATOWN. CLICK HERE to see the Facebook event page and confirm that you're attending... then invite all of … Continue reading Shangri-La Sundays Presents Tim & Eric’s Awesome Set
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Famous Grey Raincoat — or — Silly Goth, Vampires Are for Kids!
In honor of this lovely weather we're having here in Los Angeles, I'm going to blog about the so-called Raincoat scene. Before Goth -- for that matter, before New Grave, Dark Wave, Cold Wave or any of those other overly specific scenes (that I will dutifully write about in time), the British music press took to … Continue reading Famous Grey Raincoat — or — Silly Goth, Vampires Are for Kids!
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The Vietnamese New Wave Revival
Last November, Keep on Music threw a New Wave + ‘80s Reunion at Bleu in Westminster. This isn’t new wave in the sense that a lot of people use the term, but rather a mix of Italo, Euro disco and other ‘80s dance music that notably found considerable popularity with Asian-Americans in the 1980s but is pretty much unknown by … Continue reading The Vietnamese New Wave Revival
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The Roots of Jazz: Ragtime
Although for most people the strains of "The Entertainer" and other rags now primarily evoke quaint, scratchy images of silent films projected at the wrong speed, when ragtime first appeared around the 1870s, it was the soundtrack of Missouri's whorehouses, parlors and gambling clubs. St. Louis in the 1870s Ragtime was also one of the first … Continue reading The Roots of Jazz: Ragtime
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The Roots of Jazz: Cakewalk
A performative, competitive dance known as the chalk line walk first appeared around the 1850s on the plantations along the Gulf Coast. Its origins lay in the African-derived dance known as the bamboula -- also the name of a drum -- and it was performed in New Orleans, where on Sundays slaves were allowed to … Continue reading The Roots of Jazz: Cakewalk
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The Evolution of the Music Video
Video and the Radio Star I think it's safe to say that many, if not most, people seem to assume that music videos began with the initial broadcast of MTV on 1 August 1981. That first video, the Buggles' excruciating "Video Killed the Radio Star," came out in 1979, so what were they singing about? Were the Buggles prophets or … Continue reading The Evolution of the Music Video
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Moon Missions and the Children of Major Tom — The End of the Space Age and the Music Which Followed
It's the 40th anniversary of the first manned moon landing, and looking back at that achievement it's obvious that one of the many repercussions was evinced in the music of the era. In addition to the space rock of bands like Pink Floyd and Hawkwind and sci-fi minded funk acts like Funkadelic, the glam rock … Continue reading Moon Missions and the Children of Major Tom — The End of the Space Age and the Music Which Followed
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Vietnamese New Wave Revisited
Due to popular response, here's a follow-up to my initial blog on Vietnamese New Wave. For those of you who may not have read it, Vietnamese New Wave (less often called Asian New Wave) is not Vietnamese music. Think Northern Soul, a British genre of music that didn't come from British artists, but were beloved … Continue reading Vietnamese New Wave Revisited
Eric Brightwell 