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- Page 10 » News » Radio Gets Wild
Jeff Merchant: Window Rolled Down
 Neo Pop Gem Enriches the Musical Landscape by Mark Kirby,  We are seeing the beginnings of a pop music revolution. Musicians from such far-flung musical worlds as James Blunt, Christina Aguilera and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have common elements, ones that underlie most of the great music ever created. These are discernable, memorable melodies and song structures. In response to hip hop, rap music, and those never-seem-to-die punk variations (most indie rock, neopostpunk, blah, blah) listeners and artists are, to quote Christina's new album title, going back to basics. And by going back to those timeless elements, artists are opening up themselves and listeners to fresh new vistas of expression that are so old that they're new.
Six Acoustic Guitar Tips by WorkshopLive
 Here are a few free acoustic guitar tips every beginner will probably learn sooner or later. Some are harder to learn than others; forewarned is forearmed.
Acoustic guitar tip #1: You will never hear anybody say, "Gee, I wish we had more acoustic guitarists." It's not that no one likes us; it's just that half the world tries to learn it at some point, so there are usually a lot of them around in any musical situation. This is the primary reason the folk music boom eventually collapsed of its own weight  too many people who only knew three chords and five songs.
Von Cello: Shredding With a New Kind of Axe on Excalibur
 by Mark Kirby, Upon seeing the cover of Excalibur by Von Cello, with the artist pulling an illuminated string bow from a rock, I thought back in my college days. At Oberlin College there were many talented, classically trained cellists, violinists, bassoonists, and other concert instrument players. Almost none of them would have posed for such a picture for fear of their reputation amongst peers and professors at the Conservatory of Music. Everyone took themselves so seriously that
humour was not an option. And neither was jammin' on the blues, let alone rock. As one viola player once said: "I'd love to be able to play by ear, but I can't." The culprit here was the rigid mind set of the classical music world.
SXSW 2006: Teach Your Children Well
March 15-19, Austin, Texas: 20 Years On And Still Dancing Strong by Linus Gelber, The streets and clubs here in Music City are choked with business, with pleasure, and with high crackling energy. If you're looking for the big time, you're looking in the right place. What's about to unfold is a celebration of two decades of music, music love, and music business: the South by Southwest music conference turns 20 years old this week, and there is much rejoicing. This is the biggest and baddest version of SXSW that Austin has ever seen, and here we are in the thick of it.
Chuck McCabe's Sweet Reunion: The Minstrel Boy Goes (Down) Home
 by Timothy Peters, When a musical artist hits his stride and produces one meaty release after another, attention must be paid. Case in point: Chuck McCabe. Building on the momentum of his fiendishly
listen able 2004 release, Chicken Dinners
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