Quite often, when I'm trolling around the interweb, I usually stumble upon something that I find interesting; either old photographs of a historical nature or a blog post about a forgotten musician or even a song by an artist I like that I've never heard before. Coming across stuff like that usually leads me somewhere else and, along the way, my search for something related to rock & roll turns into a cyber goose chase. Hey, at least it kept me sane while I was recuperating from my surgery! Anyhow, here's the results of some of these late night online searches that I like to refer to as passing trains on the interweb.
POPSPOTS is a nifty website that recaptures the artistry of certain music by tracking down the original location of famous album covers. Here's an example of Nel Young's Gold Rush LP...
The ROCK & ROLL FREAKS website is a self-described Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for the People which does a great job of reflecting the frustration many of us die-hard rock fans have with that spurious Jann Wenner influenced entity located in Cleveland
From time to time, I stop by the FORBES.COM site to read some of their fascinating articles. Here's several that caught my interest::
THE MUSIC ALBUM IS DEAD
DON WAS IS NOT READY TO GIVE UP ON JAZZ
7 MUSIC BUSINESS PREDICtiONS FOR 2018
Another frequent stopover when I'm on the web is a site called OPEN CULTURE . The site posts lots of cool stuff like this:
TOM WAITS MAKES A LIST OF HIS TOP 20 FAVORITE ALBUMS OF ALL TIME
YOU CAN HAVE A VINYL RECORD MADE WITH YOUR ASHES AFTER YOU DIE
A BRAZILIAN MAGNATE IS BUYING UP ALL THE VINYL RECORDS IN THE WORLD
If you like rock music, be sure to check out the ROCKNUTS.NET site whose motto is: "Rock News Without The BS!"
One of my favorite parts of this site is a column by Al Kooper that's called NEW MUSIC FOR OLD PEOPLE
Another lively site that's on my list is Steve Hoffman's site stevehoffman.tv which hosts a wide variety of forums; I often gravitate towards the Music Corner forum where there are various discussions underway such as...
ROLLING STONES SINGLE BY SINGLE THREAD
COOL VINTAGE RECORD SHOPS SIGNS
OBSCURE 60'S BANDS WITH SURVIVING VIDEO FOOTAGE
XTC -- WHERE TO START?
antimusic is a site that features comprehensive rock & roll news items on a daily basis.
One page I check out a lot is RockNews.info
THE ROCK & ROLL REPORT is another good source for catching up with the latest sounds in rock & roll. Their Mission Statement: "The Rock & Roll Report is a place to go when you are tired of the same music played over and over on commercial rock radio"
One site that rocks my socks is 1960's MUSIC MAGAZINES which has a genuine 60's UK music scene vibe about it All of the scans of cool 60's rock articles features a wide variety of artists such as Julie Driscoll, Rolling Stones, The Who, John Peel (DJ), the Hollies, Donovan and more!
The Dangerous Minds site is a culture blog that runs the gamut as far as what they cover but I often find some rock related tidbits that keep me coming back here more often than not. Here's some recent articles that you might enjoy:
THE TAX SCAM RECORD LABEL RUN BY THE NOTORIOUS MORRIS LEVY
LOVE'S FOREVER CHANGES TURNS 50
AMAZING FOOTAGE OF JOHN LEE HOOKER & THE GROUNDHOGS 1964
Lately, my favorite online music magazine is MUSIC AFICIONADO . The site features well written pieces by some several seasoned rock scribes
Here's some recent articles:
REMEMBERING THE BEST OF NINA SIMONE
HAVE YOU HEARD CLARENCE WHITE?
HOW NILS LOFGREN ALMOST BECAME THE NEXT BIG THING
GREAT LIVE ALBUMS FROM THE 60's
MUSIC FILM WEB is an archive that houses a large collection of info on music documentaries. I almost always come across films I never heard of when I'm on this site.
MUSIC THINK TANK is a great blog for all of the professional musicians out there. The site features an array of topics centric to the folks who make a living by playing music.
THE INTERNET ARCHIVE (LIVE MUSIC SECTION) is a place you can download live shows by bands such as the Little Feat, the Radiators, Drive By Truckers and many more.
Another cool site to visit is LITTLE STEVEN'S UNDERGROUND GARAGE . You can stream past shows from the show's ARCHIVES
PLEASE KILL ME is one of the coolest websites that's dedicated to the true spirit of rock & roll. I enjoy their interview pieces quite a bit. Here's their Mission Statement: "This site is updated daily with new articles by Gillian, Legs and other contributors. We cover music, art, culture, fashion, literature and movies --- from the 60's through today. THIS IS WHAT'S COOL!" Here's some recent articles...
ANITA PALLENBERG: A LIFE IN STYLE
BOB GRUEN'S EARLY DAYS IN ROCK PHOTOGRAPHY
JOHN LURIE ON ART, POLITICS & THE BEAUTY & HORROR IN THIS LIFE
WFMU.ORG is the home of my all-time favorite radio station. It's a self-described independent radio station unlike any other I've come across. On the site you can listen to several of WFMU channels. I heartily recommend the ROCK 'N' SOUL ICHIBAN channel which features a lots of retro music; much of which I've never heard before!
I'll see y'all next Tuesday with another Blog Post!
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