Anyone can (attempt to) sing Dancing Queen in a karaoke bar. But what about singing Dancing Queen along with a holographic rendering of ABBA and then fielding a real live phone call from one of the original band members? That’s possible only if you are exceedingly wealthy, eccentric and well-connected — or if you visit The ABBA Museum. It’s part of a new complex in Stockholm that celebrates Sweden’s second most famous export after Ikea furniture: The Swedish Music Hall of Fame.
Still have your ticket stub from seeing The Rolling Stones in Wembley Arena? Of from the 11-inning Game 7 between the Florida Marlins and the Cleveland Indians in the 1997 World Series? Or maybe from a concert, performance, game, museum opening or other event that isn’t historically significant but is especially important to you. Tickets of all sorts can be preserved, organized and collected in The Ticket Stub Diary.
And that’s not the only strange thing about the pairing of Swedish high school friends Daniel Larsson and Tomas Redigh.
Under either name, Larsson and Redgh produce Bitpop, an obscure but growing sub-genre of electronic music that is characterized by the primary melody played by an 8-bit electrical device, like an old Commodore 64 computer or Atari gaming console.
Those who read our review of the Sonos wireless music system know what cool technology it is. From a single controller, Sonos let’s one control audio on multiple rooms, sans wires. The system is easy to set up. And it’s modular, making expansion easy too.
Though only tangentially related to their music system, Sonos decided to put together the below infographic on how your father’s musical taste may influence your own. It takes into account other factors too, such as whether you grew up on a farm or studied piano.
Looking for the next hit international music performer? The nominees for the Mercury Prize is an excellent place to look. That award goes the best new album from a British or Irish artist.
Looking for the next hit international music performer? There’s no certain way to know, of course, but as good a place to look as any is the Mercury Prize. That award goes the best new album from a British or Irish artist.
Here’s the first half of our look at the 12 albums nominated for the Mercury Prize. Click on the corresponding album cover to listen to song samples.
Time was that it was difficult to hear music that didn’t make it onto your local radio stations. Which is to say, it was difficult to hear the vast majority of music available.
Not so today. The internet is the great music equalizer. If you are looking to expand your musical horizons, or simply hear a cool tune you’ve never heard before, here are eight of our favorite sites. Though some have pay options, each site can be enjoyed free of charge:
If you are a yoga regular, or are drawn to new age music, then be prepared for Krishna Das to shoot towards the top of your list of favorite artists.
If you are the sort who can’t stand Enya and wouldn’t be caught dead in a yoga studio you still might be memorized by the more raucous tunes on Pilgrim Heart.
The songs on this album are all based on traditional Hindu devotionals, heavy on chanting and classical Indian instruments. To those are added some western pop music influences, though not so many that you would guess that Krishna Das is actually Long Island, New York native Jeffrey Kagel.
In his early adulthood Kagel, now Das, was a rock ‘n’ roll loving suburban school bus driver (picture Otto from The Simpsons). Then he had a chance New York City encounter with Indian guru Ram Das. That was the moment that changed Kagel’s life (and his name). He travel to India, studied Hindu philosophy and became enchanted with the songs of the mystics. The result of that spiritual transformation are for all to hear on Pilgrim Heart. For more upbeat tracks give a listen to Devi ‘Rave’ and Namah Shivaya.
Best tracks:Namah Shivaya (#1), Jaya Jagatambe (#9), Devi ‘Rave’ (#11)
