Music journalist, historian and lecturer Bill Kopp is the author of two books, 'Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon' and 'Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave.' He blogs daily at musoscribe.com.
John Fogerty is responsible for some of the strongest and most durable music of the 1960s. As leader of Creedence Clearwater Revival, he created songs that quickly became the soundtrack of a generation. The music of CCR became a kind of musical shorthand to express the collective psyche of a generation – its aspirations, frustrations, joys and sorrows – delivered…
Nearly two months after Asheville, North Carolina sustained massive damage from Hurricane Helene, wide swaths of the picturesque mountain city remain wrecked and deserted. Lethal remnants of the storm has caked brown mud on now-derelict buildings and vehicles. Massive piles of debris are everywhere, and citizens are still reeling from the losses of property, livelihood and life. "I don't think…
Beloved by fans around the globe, yet increasingly unaffordable for many artists, concert tours are central to the world of entertainment and local economies. After the pandemic-era global shuttering of concert venues large and small, tours are back, and bigger than ever. Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is smashing records, selling more than four million tickets and earning more than $1 billion. But that tour made headlines…
The pandemic wreaked global havoc on many levels. Beyond the human toll, the disruptions brought on by the spread of COVID-19 caused deep and lasting damage to nearly every business sector, including live entertainment. Virtually overnight, workers lost their livelihoods, businesses closed their doors or drastically curtailed operations, and supply chains were hobbled. Within days of lockdown, multiple outlets published…
The following article does not represent the opinions or recommendations of the Recording Academy or its staff. When Kate Bush’s "Running Up That Hill" was featured on a May 2022 episode of the popular Netflix streaming series "Stranger Things," the response was staggering. First released in 1985, "Running Up That Hill" re-entered the UK singles chart, eventually reaching the No.…
When Pink Floyd released Animals in January 1977 amid the burgeoning punk movement. The band's 10th album is often described as the group's response to punk, but — intentionally or not — the atypically dark and aggressive album also lit the fuse for the eventual rise of melodic metal. Musically and lyrically, Animals represented Pink Floyd at its most forceful…
When sales of compact discs overtook records in the late 1980s, it looked as if the era of the vinyl record was coming to an end. By the early 1990s, vinyl production had all but ceased. Plants either closed or made the transition to CD production. But as the rise in digital formats – specifically downloads and streaming – began…
The quest to provide listeners with the highest fidelity and most realistic audio experience has been ongoing for centuries — Venice's Basilica of San Marco underwent structural modifications in the 16th century to ensure that the seat designated for the city’s top elected official received the best possible sound. Hundreds of years later, we are still seeking new auditory experiences,…
