Through our “Music + Travel” guides and music-related posts here on the blog, we’re used to connecting sound and travel in ways that bring you the best in emerging and longstanding scenes from all around the world. Well, the reissuing of famed conceptual pop composer Bob Thompson’s “The Sound of Speed” wraps all that up for us in a ... Read More »
Education vacations are nothing new. Universities from Padua to Princeton offer short-form courses for youths looking to experience learning abroad as well as lifelong students just looking for a little didactic fun. But a new, tuneful twist comes courtesy of the “Oxford Experience”—a continuing education service at the ancient English university that offers crumpet-sized samplings of their lecture-and-tutorial based ... Read More »
Were you, like us, tuning in and out of the Grammys last night? Yes, we know, you had better things to do. Of the many special (and many more not-so-special) moments you missed was Houston’s own Beyoncé Knowles breaking out of “If I Were a Boy” for a verse and chorus of “You Oughta Know”, the 1995 hit by ... Read More »
It’s a little-known secret that the man who brought us “The Simpsons” and “Life in Hell” has a taste in music to match his facility with humor. For the second time, Matt Groenig (in self caricature above, top right) is curating the English edition of the constantly changing music festival All Tomorrow’s Parties and demonstrating that he may have ... Read More »
It was 1999 the last we saw hide or hair of The Lilith Fair—that estrogen-heavy touring festival created by Canadian balladress and hacky sack champ, Sarah McLaughlin. Back then, a solid day of heartfelt, acoustic, overly literal tunes was still a marketable concept—Ani DiFranco was still huge, “Ally McBeal” was one of the top shows on television, and popular ... Read More »
Even though the area has only recently been populated in the scheme of human history, the sprawling mansions of Southern California have whipped up quite a tradition of hauntings in a relatively short amount of time. There’s the famous Winchester Mystery house (filled with trap doors, false stairways, and Native American spirits) in San Jose, the home of ’50s ... Read More »
Don’t know if you’ve been paying attention, but the global economic recession hit Iceland first and, perhaps, hardest. A nation the size of Manhattan below Duane Street, Iceland reached new economic highs as foreign money flowed into their banks and foreign tourists flowed into their bars and hotels in the mid aughts. But the cash, like many of the ... Read More »
Certainly, he hasn’t been using it lately. Collected when the composer’s composer succumbed to liver failure in 1827 at the age of 57 (let that be a lesson to you drinkers out there), Ludwig van Beethoven’s skull has traveled a long way from his Viennese deathbed to the hands of California businessman Paul Kaufmann, who is now auctioning off the ... Read More »
MUSEYON BOOKS Smart City Guides for Travel, History, Art and Film Lovers