The Tomicks play 60s styled rock and roll with an infectious confidence and swagger. The band, most of them decked out in suits, looked to be having a good time. Their energy transferred to a very enthusiastic audience many of whom were up on their feet dancing by the end of the set. The band later added a tenor saxophonist and a trumpet player to their ranks, further filling out the sound in the room. I found it to be fitting that a band so indebted to the 60s would play at a venue like The Troubadour, with a strong…
Author: neonmusic
With St. Patrick’s Day fast approaching on March 17th, there’s no time like the present to get party preparations underway. For many people, that means planning out your snacks, finding your local parade, and getting the party started. However, what’s a St. Paddy’s Day celebration without the perfect music? Before searching in vain for the ideal playlist, add these songs to your rotation and you’re sure to get the party started in no time. https://youtu.be/x-64CaD8GXw Dropkick Murphys, “I’m Shipping Up to Boston”: One of the most iconic Celtic-inspired songs of all time, “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” has been…
In his book How Music Works, David Byrne says that “something about music urges us to engage with its larger context, beyond the piece of plastic it came on”. This reflects a wider attitude – we don’t see music as an object, but rather as something that exists outside of the physical world. However, since the dawn of recording technology music has indeed existed as a number of different objects. Whether it be a piece of wax, a piece of plastic, a phone or a laptop we for the most part access music by proxy, and these proxies shape the music…
Today marks what would have been the birthday of the late, great Nina Simone who was born in 1933 and sadly died on her birthday in 2003. Everybody knows and loves the likes of iconic tracks such as ‘My Baby Just Cares For Me’, ‘Feeling Good’ and ‘Sinnerman’, and rightly so, but many of Nina Simone’s lesser-known songs are equally fantastic. Here are ten of the best deep cuts from the high priestess of soul herself. ‘Tomorrow Is My Turn’ ‘Tomorrow Is My Turn’ was originally a song by French singer Charles Aznavour called ‘L’Amour, C’est Comme Un Jour’. The lyrics were rewritten…
Setting the right tone for Valentine’s Day takes more than just lighting a few candles in your home and picking up a gift. To hit exactly the right mood, you need some romantic music to serve as the soundtrack for your evening. While you can take a chance on Valentine’s Day playlist from a streaming service, there are a handful of romantic hits sure to make anyone melt. If you want to make this your most romantic Valentine’s Day celebration yet, make sure to add these love songs to your list: Unchained Melody: While it’s been covered by countless artists,…
While many awards shows trot out the same staid material year after year, filling their airtime with corny jokes and lacklustre performances, the 2018 Grammys may have just set a new standard for what these ceremonies should look like. This year’s Grammy Awards in New York City were a revelation, highlighting the tragedies and triumphs of 2017 in countless heart-wrenching and humorous tributes. Didn’t catch the show? Don’t worry. We’ve rounded up the must-see moment’s everyone will be talking about for months to come: Kesha’s “Praying” Performance: After a long, drawn-out battle with her producer, Dr Luke, whom she accused…
The saying goes that “music tames the wildest beasts”. This is a maxim that appeals to the powerful effect that a melody can have on us. To people who have never experienced this “powerful effect” of music, imagine that you walk down a street, immersed in your day-to-day problems and suddenly, you hear a song. A couple of chords are enough to start a journey in time and bring to the present a memory that you thought was already forgotten. A simple melody has the power to awaken your emotions, to get a smile and to keep the daily headaches…
Latin music is one of the fastest-growing genres in the world, with artists from Medellin to Miami blowing up the charts and introducing countless new fans to the genre each year. In fact, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, Latin music is becoming more and more popular by the day, with sales of Latin music growing by 44 percent in the United States alone between 2016 and 2017. For fans of the genre, this likely comes as no surprise: new Latin artists are hitting the mainstream airwaves every single day, making a huge impact on the entire music industry with…
Since 2017 is over now I thought I might as well take a second to look back at my favourite album of the year, Tyler, The Creator’s ‘Flower Boy’. This album is an exploration of loneliness, longing and depression. It’s telling that physical editions of the album refer to Tyler, The Creator by his real name, Tyler Okonma, as it is a deeply personal record. It plays almost like a reading of a diary; the songs explore different aspects of the same underlying themes, building a complete picture of Tyler as a person and of how he feels about the…
Being a musician today requires a very different way of working compared to 20, or even 10 years ago. The digital world is constantly developing and diversifying, making it initially easier to gain exposure, but more difficult to succeed as a musician. A major difference today is the increase in artists ‘going it alone’ without the support of a record label. When the statistic frequently thrown around is that “99% of artists signed to a label fail”, it’s no wonder artists are finding labels less appealing nowadays. Going it alone does mean you have to work harder, and not just…