Commentary Archive
Is Roadies Better Without Cameron Crowe?
August 10, 2016
I’ve been super excited about the concept of Roadies for almost a decade. When I first heard Cameron Crowe was doing a show centered around the music industry, and Zooey Deschanel was attached to the project, I was beyond excited. Now this was pre-New Girl Zooey Deschanel when she still oozed indie cool from every
Top 10 Jobs for Music Addicts
July 31, 2016
So, if you’re on this site, it’s a pretty safe bet that you like the whole music fiasco, right? I’d venture to guess that you’re A bit of A fan at this stage. And, whether you like to relax with a few records at the end of the day or hit the clubs in fluorescent
If It Ain’t Broke, Remix It? Does Remixing Songs Ruin or Enhance Them?
July 22, 2016
It is inevitable that we find ourselves nostalgically yearning for the music of our adolescence— those songs take us back to our formative years, bringing up good (and sometimes bad) memories with them. Many current movements in art, fashion, society, and music often reflect throwing it back to a time everyone insists was inherently “better.”
What Makes Music Pretentious?
July 15, 2016
What exactly makes music “pretentious”? It’s “something full of pretense; an attempt to make something that is not the case appear true”. It’s an insult that’s levied against any number of bands often with little back-up or explanation. Is it the lyrics? The music? Just the very attitude of the band? Or is it a
Concert Tickets: Service Fees, Face Value and Where Your Money Really Goes
May 7, 2016
As the summer concert season is well underway, perhaps you’ve had to forgo a few other concerts you wanted to attend in order to afford a bigger show. The problem of high ticket costs has been a heated topic for a while now, but is it getting any better? With 53% of fans hearing about
9 Uber Successful Bands Who Hated Each Other
May 1, 2016
When bands don’t get along, you can usually tell. There’s a distinct difference between friendly joshing around in interviews and the overt glaring across the stage that’s oh-so-evident in concert DVDs (no names named). But some bands manage to power through that kind of animosity — perhaps with some kind of monetary symbol pulsing in
How to Start Your Own Record Label
February 20, 2016
So, you want to start your own record label. Like opening a bar or buying a sports team, this is always something that crosses your mind at some point in your life (and is possibly voiced after a couple of drinks). But what if you actually want to go ahead and start a musical revolution?
The Lasting Significance of Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet
February 13, 2016
Bruce Springsteen will always take the cake as New Jersey’s poster boy for music, and deservedly so. But Bon Jovi are also one of New Jersey’s finest, and one of the most important artists of the ‘80s. When the era was riddled with cheesy, hair-heavy bands relying too much on falsetto and image to ascend
If Young Musicians Didn’t Become Rebels, We Wouldn’t Buy Their Records
October 29, 2015
The well-trodden path to stardom that begins in the depths of Disney and Nickelodeon-style kid culture and meanders its way to a fully-fledged adult career is one that has been traveled many times. But not everyone makes it. Plenty of child stars that were once household names have in later years failed to retain the
How Movie Soundtracks Changed the Face of the Music industry
October 9, 2015
When you think of movie music, what immediately springs to mind? As far as I’m concerned, those two little words conjure up a world of orchestras, of big emotional numbers, of songs you make people listen to when you’re drunk (just me? But the theme from Terry Gilliam’s Brazil is so good!). Movie music is
