| flashback: Nik Kershaw, some kinda pop genius |
posted by david
on Tue 29 Jul 2003 @ 08:37 PM
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One problem with the music of the 80s was the way it saddled some talented musicians with the burden of being 80s pop stars. Nik Kershaw had it all, with synthesisers in his music and a mullet haircut. Some will remember the title of his best known hit "Wouldn't It Be Good?" while everyone else will probably remember the tune if they heard it again. But what happened to Nik? Did he go off, get a proper haircut and get a real job or did he go and sit in a cupboard to wait for the 80s revival? The truth is that Nik went away and honed his pop songwriting skills and in 1998 returned with the album "15 Minutes" to show people just how badly they underestimated his abilities.
see the rest...
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| upcoming gigs: Chris Whitley, Joe Jackson |
posted by david
on Mon 28 Jul 2003 @ 09:52 PM
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When I was living in London a couple of years ago, I was lucky to catch Chris Whitley on two occasions when he hit town. The first time, I took a friend along who'd never heard of Chris and his reaction consisted mostly of "wow", "wow" and "wow". Chris has a new album out (Hotel Vast Horizon) and while I'm not quite sure about it yet), the news that Chris will be hitting Australia is something I'm most happy. Chris live is... well, you've just got to see it to understand. And in unrelated news, tickets go on sale tomorrow for Joe Jackson who has re-united the ingeniously named "Joe Jackson Band", recorded a new album "Volume 4" and hit the road. Apparently the tour will wind up in Brisbane where the band will be dis-banded again.
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| random: The life of a A&R |
posted by david
on Sun 6 Jul 2003 @ 12:30 PM
| read or post comments (1)
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A&R people often get a mention in the liner notes of an album but it's never very clear on what exactly they do. Even knowing that A&R means "Artist and Repertoire" doesn't really clear it up. This article has a go at explaining the job, discussing the responsibilities of an A&R with Festival/Mushroom Records. I found her thoughts on acts requiring charisma in addition to talent interesting.
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