BuzzSugar

What Musical Act - Dead or Alive - Would You Want to See Live?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:30:42 -0700

Over the weekend, I was hanging out with friends when David Bowie's "Young Americans" hit the jukebox and, of course, everyone started singing along. It suddenly struck me that that song would probably be awesome to hear live, and that I bet Bowie gives a fantastic live performance. I started thinking of other musicians I'd love to check out in concert - including those whom I'll never get the chance to see.

Of the musicians from days gone by, of course, it would have been a thrill to see the Beatles live. I would have truly loved to have seen Johnny Cash in person, and would have given pretty much anything to have seen Louis Armstrong live (actually, there's some great footage of these two performing together, check it out after the jump). In the land of the living, I hope to someday get to an Estelle concert, and though this might seem lame to some of you, I'd jump at the chance to see The Police in concert.

I'll stop there so you can weigh in. Who do you hope to see someday? Who do you wish you could have seen, once upon a time? To check out the Louis Armstrong/Johnny Cash video and add your thoughts, read more.

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4th of July Quiz: How Well Do You Know Your Country (Music)?

BuzzSugar — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:00:55 -0700

When reflecting on all things American this 4th of July, I think of apple pie, representative democracy, Elvis, reality television, stuff like that. Of all the things I associate with this land of ours, few things strike me as uniquely American as country music, and whether you love it or loathe it, I bet you know a thing or two about it.

Some of the best musical artists we Americans get to claim came out of this genre, including Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, and Dolly Parton. So in honor of this grand country and some of music's greats, I challenge you to test your knowledge about country music!

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What's Buzzworthy? Your Favorite Holiday Albums

BuzzSugar — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 09:00:00 -0800

We can debate the best and worst songs of this season until we all turn blue (or our fingers fall off for that matter) because everyone has strong opinions about which holiday music is appropriately cheerful and which is gratingly annoying. I try my best to bring in new holiday albums every year so my collection doesn't grow too stale, but I must admit that I have my time-tested favorites!

I love Nat King Cole's Christmas Song so much I suggested it in one of my holiday gift guides. Cole's voice is just so warm and comforting - like the holiday season itself. For an even more down-home Christmastime atmosphere, I turn to Christmas With Johnny Cash. And in more recent years I've loved the smooth jazzy seasonal tunes on Diana Krall's album Christmas Songs.

What are your most beloved holiday albums? Just use BuzzSugar's cool bookmarking tool to find your favorite albums around the Web, tag them with the phrase holiday albums, and write a little blurb about why they're the best. I'll feature a few picks here next week - just in time to beef up your music collection before the holidays.

Buzz News Roundup, 4/11

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 15:00:14 -0700

Reuters reveals some truly gory details about the upcoming season of "The Simple Life."
The Now 24 compilation debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
"Taxi" co-creator and Emmy winner Stan Daniels has died at age 72, reports Variety.
A fire destroys Johnny Cash's longtime lakeside home, according to the AP.
Tom Selleck is in talks to join the cast of "Las Vegas", Zap2it reports.
Variety reports on a film project called The Great Debaters, starring Forest Whitaker and Denzel Washington, who will direct.
"Law & Order" star and politician Fred Thompson has lymphoma, reports People.
Rita Moreno is one of many guest stars appearing on "Ugly Betty" in May, says the Futon Critic.
Variety has details on the Jackson family's "American Idol"-like show for CBS.
Willa Ford will play Anna Nicole Smith in new biopic, according to the Associated Press. Randomly, Ford is also blogging about hockey during the NHL playoffs.

BuzzSugar's Top 20 Albums of 2006: Part I

BuzzSugar — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 14:45:29 -0800

Not every year can be a great year for music, and 2006 was just okay. It didn't help that this year was sandwiched between 2005-which gave us great albums by Kanye West, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Sufjan Stevens-and 2007, which promises new releases from Wilco, Arcade Fire, and Timbaland. While choosing my Top 10 for the year was a cinch, coming up with the bottom 10 was tough.

Thankfully, I managed to scour enough fo the year's music to bring you this four-part series, BuzzSugar's Top 20 Albums of 2006. Now for Part I: albums 16 to 20.

20. The Clipse, Hell Hath No Fury

In recent musical memory, every year ushers in at least one critically acclaimed and commercially successful hip-hop album that helps redefine its genre. This year, the closest thing to an album of that ilk is Hell Hath No Fury, the sophomore album from hip-hop duo The Clipse. Comprised of brothers Malice and Pusha T, The Clipse, alongside production duo the Neptunes, relies on dark lyrics and eerie beats that explore the fallout from champagne, cocaine, and "dirty money." Namely, "Pyrex stirrers turned into Cavalli furs," as Pharrell raps on the album's swaying highlight, "Mr. Me Too."

19. Band of Horses, Everything All the Time

It is somewhat reluctantly that I put Band of Horses on this list because, to me, the band's album breaks very little new ground with its lush, sweeping rock songs that sound alternately like My Morning Jacket, REM, and a handful of other bands. But for the first month or so that I owned Everything All the Time, I was hooked on its lethargically lovely arrangements, and after revisiting it this week, it holds up as a highly entertaining and remarkably consistent album. There's a lot to be said for that.

To see the rest, read more

18. Howe Gelb, 'Sno Angel Like You

On first listen, it's easy to size up ‘Sno Angel like You as standard alt-country fare. But after some quality time, I'm beginning to think that this solo album from the Giant Sand frontman is actually forging a new kind of song-call it the hipster spiritual. Much the way Paul Simon incorporated African singers into his pop music, Gelb leans heavily on the Voices Of Praise gospel choir to create songs that aren’t gospel songs at all but have a surplus of spirituality tumbling alongside the slide guitars and Gelb's gravely vocals. It's enough to move even the most secular fan.

17. Magnolia Electric Co., Fading Trails

Though not quite as bowl-you-over beautiful as last year’s What Comes After the Blues, this third album from Jason Molina's Magnolia outfit is admirable for the way it alternates between quiet simplicity and bold outbursts of melodrama. Introspective reveries are interrupted by explosions of brass, and Molina's grasping vocals can throw a woeful ballad like "Don't Fade On Me" into a pleading panic. Recommended for fans who want dusty country with plenty of rock and quiet moments of clarity.

16. Johnny Cash, American V: A Hundred Highways

Johnny Cash essentially recorded this album-the last of his collaborations with Rick Rubin-on the way out. The tracks were laid down between 2002 and 2003, and Cash passed away in September of '03. American V isn’t necessarily one of Cash’s best, but thanks to the pure talent and raw emotion contained within, it manages to blow many greener acts out of the water. It hooks you with startlingly sparse, traditional arrangements, like Cash's aching cover of Gordon Lightfoot’s “If You Could Read My Mind.”