Mar 13th, 2008 · Best known for his sly, sexy party anthems, 72-year-old Andre Williams toiled in the music industry trenches for decades, battling homelessness and addiction along the way. Now he's been rediscovered by young white rockers.
Sep 4th, 2008 · The Gaslight Anthem's new album, The '59 Sound, is filled with narratives that recall and refer directly to Bruce Springsteen's early works. Music reviewer Tom Moon says that it's one of the year's great surprises.
Aug 22nd, 2008 · The source of the American national anthem being played at the Beijing Olympics during medal ceremonies is in question. Peter Breiner wasn't watching the Games until his friends starting calling to say, "That sounds like your arrangement." It does. Especially the "Rockets Red Glare" section — an unusually soft string rendition that brought some controversy when it was used in Athens in 2004.He got paid for that rendition in 2004. Now Mr. Breiner says he's "100-percent positive" that the Chinese borrowed it from his work. In an email to The Washington Post, the Chinese insist they came up with the arrangement themselves.
Aug 12th, 2008 · Singer-songwriter Jeff Hanson has one of the most incredible and unique voices you will ever hear. That is, from a guy. Upon hearing Hanson's third full-length record, Madam Owl, the first thing anyone will notice is the singer's impossibly high voice that sounds more like that of a highly skilled female vocalist (or maybe a eunuch) than a 30 year old man. But if you listen closer, there is far more to Hanson's music than his beautiful singing. The warm strings and acoustic guitars that back his sparkling falsetto are equally as dramatic, and the sound he has created is huge and anthemic in spite of his modest solo artist ouevre.
Aug 7th, 2008 · As medal-winners step up to the podium in this year's Summer Olympics, commentator Miles Hoffman says, we're bound to hear quite a few national anthems, some of which come equipped with bad poetry and stilted music.
Aug 3rd, 2008 · At 24, Willy Mason already sounds like a withered man. Accompanied by a musical saw player and members of his family on stage, his anti-anthems began Sunday's Newport Folk Festival in a somber mood. But a sweet moment came when Mason invited his parents — local to the area — on stage and lightened up the set just before noon.
Jul 25th, 2008 · The debut, self-titled album from Oklahoma City-based band The Uglysuit is refreshingly bright and cheery, replete with huge spirit-raising piano and guitar anthems. With a blend of spacey dream pop and a few alt-country flavors (lead singer Israel Hindman's voice mimicks Jeff Tweedy one minute, Conor Oberst the next), the group's sound draws comparisons to the Flaming Lips and the Shins, but the grandiosity of the music is that of space rock proportions.
Jul 23rd, 2008 · Chicago is widely considered "the birthplace of the blues." Legendary blues guitarist Lonnie Brooks has carried on the windy city tradition. Hear a moment from Brooks' 1980 performance of his popular blues anthem, "Sweet Home Chicago."