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Who’s Destroying the Music Industry? IRS Documents Reveal RIAA Executives Are Rewarded for Failure

By Tom Hawking on

Next time you hear the Recording Industry Association of America cry poor or make dire proclamations about the death of the music industry, keep this news article in mind. TorrentFreak has obtained copies of the RIAA’s IRS filing for 2011 — the most recent filing that has been released, as far as we… Read More

Music

Flavorwire’s 50 Records You Need to Own, 1963-2013: A Spotify Playlist

By Tom Hawking on

Earlier this week Flavorwire nominated one album a year for the last five decades, compiling an epic list of 50 records that might constitute the ultimate record collection if you really only did buy one album a year. The post stirred some healthy (and, for the large part, pleasingly good-natured) discussion from readers, and also a couple of requests to put the whole thing together as a Spotify playlist. We’re only too happy to oblige, so after the jump you’ll find a track from every one of the records we chose (except, annoyingly, Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love — we subbed in a different Kate Bush track — and Joanna Newsom, who’s not on Spotify at all). … Read More

Celebrity

A Virtual Tour of the Now-Closed Liberace Museum in Las Vegas

By Tyler Coates on

Almost a decade before his death in 1987, world-famous entertainer Liberace opened a museum dedicated to himself. Housing all of his flamboyant outfits, pianos, cars, and jewelry, the Liberace Museum became a prominent attraction for Las Vegas tourists willing to venture away from the strip of casinos, nightclubs, and performance spaces. While the museum closed in October 2010, the non-profit Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts hopes to open a new museum space dedicated to the performer. With Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra set to premiere on HBO this Saturday, let’s hope there’s enough renewed interest in Liberace’s life and luxuries to open the museum’s doors once again. After the jump, check out a few photos of the museum’s collection to get an idea of what we’re all missing.  … Read More

Music

Great Musicians on the Concerts That Inspired Them to Make Music

By Tom Hawking on

If you aren’t already, it’s time to follow The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle on Tumblr — his blog is as witty and entertaining as one might expect, and he updates it fairly frequently. In particular, it was interesting to see him recently post a photo of a very young version of himself at a Nick Cave show. It turns out he’s quite the Cave fan, and that seeing The Bad Seeds play on the tour in question was quite the formative experience on both Darnielle himself and on his nascent musical project. He’s not the first musician to be inspired to form a band after seeing a hero play live, of course — so here are some other recollections of great musical… Read More

Music

Why Do Americans Need Our Electronic Musicians to Look Like Cartoon Characters?

By Tom Hawking on

As plenty of commentators (including Flavorwire) have pointed out, Daft Punk’s sudden rise into the commercial stratosphere coincided with the adoption of their now-iconic robot personas. Their journey from being middle-ranking producers with a flair for the crossover market to globe-conquering fauxbotic superstars started the minute they decided to grab a pair of converted motorcycle helmets and pretend to be androids. Why is it, though, that the US market seems to need its electronic music to be made by people with such strong visual identities? Why do we need our producers to have gimmicks and wear masks? … Read More

Music

An Introduction to Ray Manzarek’s Post-Doors Music Career

By Tom Hawking on

Like pretty much everyone else in the music world, Flavorwire was saddened to hear of the death of Doors keyboard player and co-founder Ray Manzarek yesterday. Manzarek was one of music’s great versatile talents — his keyboard work on The Doors’ recordings is rightly lauded, especially as the band’s lack of a bassist meant he was often covering bass parts and melody lines simultaneously, but it’s hardly the sum of his career. In the four decades since Jim Morrison’s death, Manzarek was involved with a fascinating variety of projects; in tribute to him, here is some of his most notable post-Doors work. … Read More

Music

The 50 Albums Everyone Needs to Own, 1963-2013

By Tom Hawking on

No one buys albums anymore, goes the music industry truism. And yet, for all that the format’s commercial viability may or may not be on the wane, sitting and listening to a great album from start to finish is one of the greatest pleasures that music can bring. Flavorwire recently got to thinking about how one might build a record collection if you really only did buy one record a year. So here’s the result of our thought exercise: 50 albums you really should own, one a year from 1963 until the present… Read More

Music

The 10 Best Songs We Heard This Week: The National, Solange

By Tom Hawking on

It’s Friday, which means we’re preparing for the inaugural Flavorwire staff trivia contest (really), and also that we are, as ever, rounding up the best songs we’ve heard this week. This week we adored new tracks from Liars, Julianna Barwick, and Scott & Charlene’s Wedding, marveled at the fact that Giorgio Moroder is soundtracking a Google Chrome racing game, enjoyed atmospheric goodness from oOoOO and When Saints Go Machine, got all morose with another new track from The National, and plenty more. All this goodness is streaming now, and it all awaits you after the jump. … Read More

Music

The 10 Most Gloriously Ridiculous Eurovision Entries of Our Time

By Tom Hawking on

Tomorrow is the final of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest, that quintessentially European event wherein a curious selection of pop stars, comedians, and oddballs from around the continent compete to submit the most absurd pop song of the year for the glory of King/Queen/Secular President and country. The contest is generally surreal, hilarious, and as camp as a tent city, and this year isn’t any different. In honor of the perennially amusing event — and because you could surely use some silliness to help you through Friday afternoon — here are some of the most gloriously ridiculous Eurovision entrants of our time. … Read More

Music

How Does Google Play Music All Access Compare to Spotify and Rdio?

By Tom Hawking on

Another week, another new streaming music service. Yesterday Google launched the not-so-catchily-titled Google Play Music All Access, a subscription service that basically extends Google’s existing music service to create a Spotify/Rdio-style magic jukebox, and also includes a Pandora-style, algorithm-based radio station. Like Spotify and Rdio (but unlike most of Google’s other services), it costs money — it’s $9.99 a month, or $7.99 if you start a trial before the end of June, and there’s no free option. So, is it worth it? … Read More