Music Archive

Songs with a Cool “Night” Vibe

October 4, 2007 · Category: Music

I've begun a new playlist in Windows Media Player: Genesis - Tonight Tonight Tonight Phil Collins - In the Air Tonight Eric Clapton - After Midnight (Crossroads version) Steve Winwood - Don't You Know What the Night Can Do Steve Winwood - Talking Back to the Night John Mayer - Neon John Mayer - City Love What other songs belong on this list?

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Vienna Teng – Dreaming Through the Noise

September 6, 2007 · Category: Music, Reviews

Vienna Teng's new album Dreaming Through the Noise is a thing of beauty. I had half-listened to it a couple times after first buying it. Earlier today, though, I lay down let the full album reveal itself to me -- and was impressed by every song (except the ponderous and dissonant-sounding "Pontchartrain"). This is a more laid-back collection of songs than her previous albums have been, as though she couldn't be troubled to rush. She is a self-assured musician now, and lets the music flow of its own accord, rather than pushing it. I don't hear a forced note on the ...

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Creativity Coaching for Musicians, by Andrew Schwartz

August 3, 2007 · Category: Integral, Music, Reviews

Regular readers of Mudita Journal and Mudita Forum are already familiar with Andrew Schwartz. I've enjoyed his contributions here for many years now, because he's one of those rare souls who lives and breathes the stuff of psychology, creativity, and personal growth. To my delight and hearty encouragement, he has begun offering his services widely as a therapist -- both as a personal coach and by providing creativity coaching for musicians. To be clear, Andrew has been working as a therapist and personal coach for a long while now. But now he's decided to offer his services to clients around ...

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David Gray and the Return to Simplicity

August 3, 2007 · Category: Music, Reviews

I've recently become enchanted with David Gray's albums White Ladder and Life in Slow Motion. Something in his voice ... demolishes mere form. While doing a little reading about him on the internet, I came across this interesting anecdote: In 1996, he found himself running out of patience and, as is unfortunately common for emerging artists, a disastrous run of luck with major record labels. He had released three albums in as many years, first with Caroline, then Virgin and finally EMI. Each received critical acclaim, but Gray still had no more than a devoted cult following, despite opening for ...

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Prince is determined to revolutionize the music industry

July 15, 2007 · Category: Music

I really enjoyed today's profile of the Purple One in the Daily Mail. Now how do I get my hands on a copy of this new album? Hmmmm. UPDATE: Ah, cool. They have it at Amazon.

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Travels and Travails of the “We the Living” Band

January 17, 2007 · Category: Music, Reviews

In November I finally bought a copy of the album Far from You and Your Everyday Noise by a new Wisconsin band called "The Profits" -- since re-christened "We the Living" and scheduled to release their first national album under the We the Living name in March or so. Their original album reveals an incredible musicality in their performances -- mostly acoustic stuff in the vein of John Mayer or some U2 songs -- and they happen to be Ayn Rand fans, too. In fact, lead singer and songwriter John Paul Roney is Sarah Saturday's younger brother. Since buying their Far from ...

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Interview with Weezer’s River Cuomo about Vipassana Meditation

August 19, 2006 · Category: Buddhism, Meditation, Music

Robert Cuomo -- lead singer for the rock band Weezer, whom I've never heard -- has taken up Vipassana meditation in a serious way. This probably makes him the most high-profile proponent of Vipassana meditation in America. BeliefNet.com interviewed him recently, and the interview contains some interesting bits. For example, I thought he handled this question well: Is Vipassana in some way a turning away from experience? That's a common misconception about meditation. That it's turning away from experience or turning away from really feeling what's going on. And it's really like the opposite of what you're doing. With Vipassana you're taking the time to ...

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Eric Barnhill’s Classical Piano Improvisations

March 29, 2006 · Category: Music, Reviews

Diana Hsieh points us to Eric Barnhill's new music improvisation blog. Diana's right -- Eric's playing is just terrific. His improvisational pieces sound more interesting and varied and melodic than many songwriters' carefully composed pieces (which, if you've read Blink, won't come as a total surprise). Stop by for a listen. A good one to start with is the very Rachmaninoff-sounding Exuberant. (Andrew: If you read this, I'd be particularly interested to hear your comments, as you have a much more refined musical ear than I do.)

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My Girl (Full Tab for Guitar)

April 15, 2004 · Category: Music

Just spent the past hour writing a note-for-note transcription of "My Girl". This is the Temptations' version (which went to #1 in 1964) of the classic Smokey Robinson tune. Check it out if you're into guitar tab.

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Ayn Rand Inspired Pop-Punk Band

November 19, 2003 · Category: Music, Objectivism, Reviews

One of the things that moves me most about the sub-culture surrounding The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged is the number of young, creative artists who have been inspired by Ayn Rand's novels. Take, for example, a young woman who just joined the Atlasphere: Sarah Saturday ï¿½ singer, songwriter, bass player and manager for the punk-pop band Saving Face. And also, an ardent fan of Atlas Shrugged, as she blogs from the road in Ohio. I never really plunged into punk, but I listened to plenty of rock in high school and college, and it's not that different. In her Atlasphere ...

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