It’s been another long year and we here at 360° are just as exhausted by it as you are. So, join us on a little journey highlighting some of the great and/or fun stories we covered this year. We here present a sampling of some of our best bits from 2021. Look for more great stuff from us in the new year, but let’s not move on until we’ve had a chance to look back with pleasure at some cool stuff that happened this past year. (click on the article title to read the piece)
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10 Italian songs from the Disney/Pixar film Luca
Luca was one of the most fun films of the year, and it featured some molto bello vintage Italian pop songs. We walked you through them:
On Stage: Bruno Mars in Las Vegas
Concerts (sort of) got cranked up again. Bruno Mars played a notable gig at the Park MGM on the Las Vegas Strip:
CD Junkies: Collector Jim Farley
Yes Virginia, good folks do still collect CDs. Our man Farley is just one of the many “CD Junkies” that we spotlighted in 2021:
On Stage: Shirley Manson Shaves Her Head
It happened back in the aughts, but we just got round to writing about Garbage’s great gig at The Joint in Vegas. Shirley still rules!
We also featured a list of 10 Great Garbage Singles.
SXSW Artist Spotlight: Kayan
We had the opportunity to cover the (virtual) SXSW in Austin this year. Kayan’s set was one of the most memorable of the festival. Hopefully you’ll be hearing more from her in 2022:
Some great bits you might have missed:
Q&A: Dave Koz and Cory Wong on new LP The Golden Hour
Q&A: Dave Koz and Cory Wong talk new album The Golden Hour – Pt. 2
If there is a more fun and charming duo in the music biz, I don’t know who it would be. This is such a gracious and encouraging interview with smooth sax man Dave Koz and his more angular collaborator, guitarist Corey Wong. Read this for sure!
A Tribute to Lloyd Price
The world lost singer/songwriter/performer Lloyd Price in 2021. “Mr. Personality” was an early rock-n-roll pioneer who was also a thoughtful and fierce commentator on race in America. I didn’t really know much about him until he passed, but he will be missed.
Author Talk: Sven Carlsson on The Spotify Play
Carlsson discusses his compelling, character-driven story that details how Spotify was able to beat Apple and other tech giants at their own game:
On Screen: Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche
Poly Styrene fronted the pioneering London punk-rock band X-Ray Spex back in the 70s. Her daughter, Celeste Bell, crafted a compelling story of her mother far beyond the underground fame:
10 Great Versions of Standard “Autumn in New York”
If it’s autumn, it must be NYC. We presented a lot of lists this year, and this was one of the best and most refined:
10 Great Tracks from the film Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm
Another great list, this culled from the 2021 documentary Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm. Lemmy, Bob Plant, Liam Gallagher and many more appear in this eclectic mix of British popular music produced on the Welsh farm:
Thanks for going on this retrospective journey back through the year that was 2021 around here. We’ll start the year by moving our editorial offices from Royal Oak, Michigan about two miles down the road to Oak Park. We may be leaving Glen Frey’s high school hometown, but we’ll be very close to the birthplace of The Knack’s beloved front man Doug Fieger, and we’ll be neighbors with the drummer of garage-rockers Outrageous Cherry, so expect more great things from 360°Sound in 2022.
Be well and get real.
