Bloggerhythms

Fall Out Boy , the indie, power pop, punk band who crashed onto the the rock music scene in 2005 just released a cover version of Billy Joel's classic, "We Didn't Start The Fire," but instead of using Joel's historic references - which would have been a waste of time - the Chicago band updated the song for the children of the baby boomers. Many people have wondered - including me - if the Piano Man would ever update the song's lyrics but since he no longer writes or records music I knew that was never going to happen. Here is what he had to say about Fall Out Boy's new release, "Everybody’s been wanting to know when there’s going to be an updated version of it, because my song started in '49 and ended in '89 — it was a 40-year span," Joel told Zoe Ball of BBC Radio 2. "Everybody said, 'Well, aren’t you going to do a part two?' I said, 'Nah, I’ve already done part one....

The passing of the legendary Tony Bennett at age 96 was announced this morning. Most websites will post a traditional tribute to him with a detailed biography. Instead - in order to contribute something a little different - I'm simply re-posting a concert review that first ran here on my wife's birthday, December 2, 2013. It was a very big one for her and going to this concert at the Borgata in Atlantic City was how we celebrated. I believe Bennett was the last of the great jazz and pop vocalists that began their careers in the pre-rock era. I'm unable to think of another one who is still living. ________________________________ You should always think twice if someone asks you to spend your hard earned cash to see an 87 year old singer in concert – unless, of course, that singer is Tony Bennett. The famous jazz legend performed a very good set Saturday evening, entertaining an Atlantic City casino crowd of over 3,000 for an hour and fifteen minutes. It's true that B...

This is an unedited rerun of an old post originally published here on February 27, 2007. It's a very good album by one of the best soft-rock bands of the 70s. If you're not acquainted with it yet here is another chance to to become familiar with this really fine set of tunes. America , one of the most successful and famous soft rock bands of the 70s, is back with their sixteenth studio album, Here & Now . Original members Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell (who are two thirds of the original trio) stay true to their trademark sound while injecting new life into the music by working with some prominent names of the current alt-rock and modern rock communities. America was one of the many bands who forgot their roots and fell prey to the synthesizer craze of the 80s, but older fans will easily and happily embrace Here & Now. The new CD has more in common with their mid-70s middle-of-the-road music than it does with their first two albums, the 1971 self-titled debut and ...

Normally, bands strike while the iron is hot, but it took Dire Straits six years to follow up their blockbuster  Brothers in Arms  CD that sent "Money for Nothing" screaming up the charts and turned the band into a household name. On Every Street - the last album by Mark Knopfler's British quartet that by this time was really nothing more than the leader's backup band with a very fluid lineup - went to #1 in much of the world and #12 in America.  Knopfler said that one of the reasons he shut Dire Straits down the first time in 1987 is that while he wanted to be successful he wasn't fond of the superstardom that went along with it.  In 1988 he  told Rolling Stone   "A lot of press reports were saying we were the biggest band in the world.  There's not an accent then on the music, there's an accent on popularity. I needed a rest," but he eventually reorganized the group with original bassist, John Ills...

In 1973, the Native-American rock band, Redbone - a two-hit wonder - reached #5 on the Hot 100 with the quite popish "Come and Get Your Love." The record was the first one by a Native-American band to climb that high on the Billboard chart that tracks the popularity of the latest single releases every week. Redbone's bigger hit is the one most oldies fans will remember, but two years earlier they also scored with "The Witch Queen of New Orleans" a single that climbed to #21. It charted much higher in the UK, making it all the way to #2. It was taken from their third LP, Message From a Drum . Formed in Los Angeles in 1969, Redbone was led by brothers Lolly and Pat Vegas (real name, Vazquez) who named the group after a Cajun term often used in the American South for a mixed race person. Redbone's family tree included blood from two Western Native American tribes - Yaqui and Shoshone. They were also part Mexican. The brother...