Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Yes, I admit it, I like to play Rock Band on the Xbox 360. Some people seem to think that’s not a cool thing for a “real” music fan and musician to do, but as the latest versions of Rock Band (Rock Band: Beatles) and Guitar Hero (Guitar Hero 5) hit stores over the next couple of weeks, let’s stop to ask ourselves if and why these games matter. I’m going to argue that they do. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Reasons Why Music Games Are Important”
So, Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit is October 24th-25th. For those that aren’t already aware, Neil and Pegi Young have a school for the developmentally disabled. Every year, they put together an acoustic show with a few friends in the business. In the past, these friends have included Tom Waits, Paul McCartney, Green Day, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Ministry, and, well, the list can go on for miles. Today, I am going to try to predict six of the bands playing. They usually announce the bill about six weeks in advance, so we have a bit more time, and as some acts get confirmed, I will revise the bill. Well, on with the show: Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: An Early Educated Guess At Bridge School”
The tweet came a little while ago.
Breaking: John Hughes Has Died
Next thing I knew, I was on Youtube watching a video that was a compilation of great John Hughes movie moments. In that spirit, this is my tribute to the great musical moments (and a couple of others) from John Hughes movies. I don’t have a lot to say here; just watching the clips is enough. Pretty much everyone in my generation got a lot of personality shaping from his movies, so this is just my way of paying tribute.
John Hughes 1950-2009
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Classic Moments from John Hughes Movies”
Lets be clear up front – this is a personal list. I came across the Associates the other day and it got me thinking about bands that I was REALLY into in the 80’s that I had forgotten about. I dug into some old records and websites and came up with this six. Some bands from the 80’s that you may have forgotten and loved will not make the list because I have not forgotten them. This is not a best bands from the 80’s. Purely a personal list of bands that touched me in some way that I had forgotten about.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Bands I Forgot From The 80’s”
I’m the sad case of a middle aged man who only likes to listen to new music and refuses to buy in to “it was all better when I was younger.” So this gives me a problem – How do I find new music? Well I have come across some excellent methods that work well for me. They allow me to discover new bands, listen to them and decide what I want to buy.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Ways To Discover New Music”
(Update: Another Planet announced today that Tenacious D are going to be replacing The Beastie Boys… Odd choice, and one that I never would have expected…)
So, it seems that the good people at Another Planet are taking their time with revealing who will take over the headlining slot for the Beastie Boys. I’d like to take the time tell you which six acts are likely to take it over. This isn’t a wish list, this is a well researched list of acts that are popular enough to headline a large outdoor festival, that are currently active, are available August 30th, and do not have any other shows in the Bay Area within 3 months before and after the show. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Bands That Seem Likely To Headline Outside Lands”
Many an hour in my life has been spent hunting down classic music moments on Youtube. From live performances that have never been released on home video–only a moment from being removed by a copyright holder–to modern-day music videos, Youtube is a treasure trove of musical moments. So although I’m picking only six today, you can be sure that I’ll be picking six again. Here are six Youtube music videos I can watch over and over again, and do. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Hidden Music Gems on Youtube”
If you come to my apartment, you’d see walls coated with rock posters, boxes full of poster tubes, and a giant flat file under the bed with even more posters. So to kick off this feature, where Spinning Platters writers will pick six of something in music that they really like, I’m going to share a quick list of some of my favorite poster artists.
I’m not trying to make a “Best Of” list here, just sharing some of my personal favorites. I’d love to see comments about your favorites, so leave them in the comment section. That way I’ll know of more artists on which to spend my money! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Rock Poster Artists”