December 2020
An Ode to My Spotify Top 5
by Kelly Kling (Based in Austin, Kelly is a writer by trade and a hip-hop dancer by preference.) Every December, Spotify users get to reflect on the past year with their personal Spotify “Wrapped” stories. Spotify compiles interesting (and sometimes embarrassing) information for each user, including favorite artists, most-jammed songs and genre trends for the […]
Threefer: Wishbone Ash
My friend Brian and I walked into our local record shop recently and some unfamiliar jam-rock caught our ears. The kid working the register sensed our interest and nodded to the “now playing” stand, where leaned the cover of Wishbone Ash. We were hooked. Hailing from Torquay, Devon in southwest England, Wishbone Ash’s progressive blues […]
Threefer: Bowie on Sax
Like many of us saxed-up hornies, Bowie learned to work the saxophone in his early youth. His older half-brother reportedly turned him on to modern jazz in the ’50s, and his parents gifted him a saxophone in 1961. He was soon taking lessons from noted baritone saxophonist Ronnie Ross. Bowie incorporated sax into much of […]
The Audiophile Man on Why the CD “Ain’t Dead Yet”
British hi-fi journalist Paul Rigby, aka “The Audiophile Man,” recently posted an insightful video on his YouTube channel about CD players. The video includes recommendations of CD players at various price points. You may be wondering, “Why should I bother with a CD player when disc sales have been declining for years and streaming and […]
Greatest One-Hit Wonders: 2000
Cue LaBamba voice from Late Night with Conan O’Brien: “In the year two thousand, in the year two thousaaaaaaaaand!” In the year 2000, amid the Napster lawsuits, release of The Beatles’ 1 comp, and Santana’s nine-Grammy haul for Supernatural, there was no shortage of one-hit wonders. Over 30 artists notched their one and only hit […]
Author Talk: 1984 – Pop Music’s Greatest Year
360°Sound spoke with author Michelangelo Matos about his new book Can’t Slow Down: How 1984 Became Pop’s Blockbuster Year (out now on Hachette Books). Matos has written about music for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, GQ and Vice. Can’t Slow Down is his third book. He also wrote The Underground Is Massive: How Electronic Dance Music […]
Singer/Trombonist Aubrey Logan’s having a “Blue Christmas”
Tis the season to release new holiday recordings. Thankfully, singer/songwriter/trombonist Aubrey Logan found time to share her version of the Elvis Presley Christmas classic “Blue Christmas” this year. Her arrangement is a pop/gospel take that emphasizes the “blue,” but finishes with cathartic full-band swing. She’s also released a companion instrumental version that features her on […]
Hayley Sales on new tune “It Can’t Be Christmas Without You Here”
Singer/songwriter/actor Hayley Sales, who spoke with 360°Sound about her music in October, has returned to talk about her new Christmas recordings. Last month, she released her first original holiday composition, “It Can’t Be Christmas Without You Here,” as well as her take on the classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Beginning in mid-December, Sales will […]
Linkin Park Lives! Hybrid Theory 20 Years On
by Ari Karnezis (Ari is a great photographer. She will shoot your band – not just the piano player.) Throughout 2020, Linkin Park and their worldwide legion of fans have been celebrating the 20th anniversary of their groundbreaking debut album, Hybrid Theory, released on October 24th, 2000. There’s a new anniversary super-deluxe edition that gathers […]
Greatest One-Hit Wonders: 1990
If you’re just joining us, it’s 1990. This is not a bad thing because, as Vanilla Ice reminded us last summer, there was no coronavirus in the ’90s. (At this point, you may want to go back and get caught up on the one-hitters from 1960, 1970, and 1980.) As with the one-hitters of 1970 […]