Any time you have the gumption to pose a list of the ten definitive anything, you’re going to get some pushback. But because Flavorwire has the greatest readers in the world (/blatant sucking up), our post last week of The Most Definitive Music Cues in Film History prompted very little venom, and several excellent additions (including a few that had been on our first, wildly overambitious draft). The concept, once again, is that certain films use pop music cues so well that the movie and the song get inextricably bound together in your head; when you think of the movie, you hear the song, and when you hear the song, your see the film in your mind’s eye. We’ve picked our ten faves from the addendums offered by you, the reader, after the jump; feel free to add more of your favorites in the comments. Read More »
While we admit that our DVRs haven’t been set to record FX’s motorcycle-gang drama, Sons Of Anarchy, we’re reconsidering skipping the series now that we’ve learned about the amazing crop of cover songs that have premiered on the show. In the past, they’ve revisited the beloved music of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Leonard Cohen, and now TwentyFourBit has brought us the latest song to premiere on the series: The Kills and Dead Weather frontwoman Alison Mosshart’s lovely, raspy-voiced take on Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World.” Listen to a slew of fantastic Sons of Anarchy covers we’ve missed, many of which feature music supervisor Bob Thiele’s band the Forest Rangers, after the jump.
Andrew Bird, Tom Waits, Jim James, Paolo Nutini, and Ani DiFranco are among the diverse artists who joined the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans for this album benefiting the group’s time-honored home.
Proceeds from the project — which finds its cast of legendary and contemporary musicians tackling New Orleans classics — go toward Preservation Hall’s music-outreach program and upkeep. Also among the contributors are such established forces as Richie Havens, Dr. John, Pete Seeger, and the Blind Boys of Alabama.
Terry Teachout’s Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong sheds new light on the great Satchmo’s already well-documented life.
Taking a critical look at Armstrong’s dual roles as both artist and entertainer, Teachout, an arts critic for the Wall Street Journal, parses out the variously competing and complementary sides of the music icon’s legacy.
Along the way, he addresses the issues of race and identity that affected Armstrong’s persona, from his early days in New Orleans to his later years in the public eye. The result is a stunning new portrait of one of America’s most familiar yet enigmatic figures.
