God And Mr. Mozart

The Salzburg and other venerable festivals are programming more religious music.

Riff Notes

Surveying the classics
Hat tip to Gary Baker

Low Blow

Tuba thefts in Bell, California

Now, "Voyageur"

You can and should listen to Canadian folkie Kathleen Edwards' upcoming album, Voyageur, for free at NPR. It doesn't rock quite as steady as her earlier records; it's more spacious, atmospheric, and, frankly, commercial. Here's hoping it breaks big, as she deserves.

I Am Stardust, I Am Golden, But You Suck

New York Times:

[A]fter a computer analysis of three decades of hit songs...psychologists report finding what they were looking for: a statistically significant trend toward narcissism and hostility in popular music. As they hypothesized, the words “I” and “me” appear more frequently along with anger-related words, while there’s been a corresponding decline in “we” and “us” and the expression of positive emotions.

Clapton Is Y-----

This is sweet: Via NPR Music (the world's coolest iPhone app) I learned about a recurring series where obsessed, nostalgia-tripping geezers pressure malleable, desperate-to-please interns veteran NPR staffers invite their young colleagues to review classic rock albums they've never heard before. Here Beca Grimm gently patronizes "Disraeli Gears." Reminds me of the time I slow-danced to "Sunshine Of Your Love" in 19--... Oh, never mind!

The Book Of The Blues

At the New York Public Library, Keith Richards revealed that he'd considered becoming a librarian and then demonstrated his skills as a musical archivist:

With a rueful shake of the head, he recalled explaining to John Lennon why the Beatles "could rock but not roll.” On blues, he said that "the power of American music has been one of the most underrated forces to come out of this country," offering Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan as favourites. He recalled meeting Mr Jagger for the first time and their mutual shock at the intensity of their shared interest in the blues. The two swapped records and developed obsessions with Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker and Elmore James. Mr Richards also remembered later encountering some of the bluesmen he'd idolised as a child. "Meeting heroes can be a tricky business," he said. "But their humility struck me. They had a way of taking a person into their heart."

The Sixties Are Over Again

Matthew Yglesias argues that if rock and roll shows sell out quickly, it means ticket prices should be higher.

Artifacts From B. I. (Before iPod)

Remember mix tapes?

Anaheim Kids On "Today"

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry