Category Archives: Music

All things related to music: reviews, concerts, birthdays, etc.

RIP: Al Jarreau

We heard the sad news as we pulled into our driveway yesterday. It made me regret never getting around to seeing Al perform too. He was quite a fixture of Milwaukee pride around Summerfest and the city’s somewhat conservative Jazz cliques. … Continue reading

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RIP: Masaya Nakamura & John Wetton

A sad double whammy against two people who were a staple of my life in 1982, especially how awesome that Summer was. First up is Mr. Nakamura, the person behind Pac Man and its parent company Namco. The sequel Ms. Pac … Continue reading

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Christmas present for a friend

My co-worker/friend Kathy is a DJ and a hoot. So for Christmas I scored some pieces from the Lego Store (namely the records and microphone), looked up some designs/pictures on the Internet of other designs and made a DJ stand for … Continue reading

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RIP Sharon Jones

A darned shame too. I thought she was in better health after the first bout with cancer and there was a new album out. I came across her material with the Dap Kings during my days doing volunteer shows via … Continue reading

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RIP Pete Burns

Pete will always be known as the lead singer/mascot for the band Dead or Alive with their hits “You Spin Me Round (Like A Record),” “Lover Come Back To Me,” “I Wanna Be Your Toy,” “Brand New Lover” and “Something … Continue reading

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Weird Al Yankovic

I’m finally getting off my duff on the Weird One’s birthday (he’s 57 today) after seeing him in concert for the third this July…and having my brief FaceTime with him. This Summer we saw him again on a second take … Continue reading

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Barenaked Ladies machine

The new(er) Pinballz has this machine which is also the name of BNL’s latest album. I do recommend Silverball even if you hated their earlier work, BNL has evolved unlike Coldplay. I don’t think the game actually works. The field is … Continue reading

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Italian #40: Guido d’Arezzo

Guido d’Arezzo is the person given the credit for inventing modern music notation that is widely followed. His two most famous creations are the staff, aka the five bars the notes are written on so you know which notes they are. … Continue reading

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John Carpenter

Now to catch up on concerts and brushes with greatness which in two cases will be combined! First off…John Carpenter! Somara and I got to see him perform his music this June at the Moody Theater. It was a retrospective … Continue reading

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“Weird Al” is my co-pilot!

A recently released action figure who comes with two heads; his pre-1999 look and his current look; one interchangeable hand; to hold a microphone instead. I currently have him sitting on my work server to keep it company while I’m … Continue reading

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RIP Prince

Totally sucks that he passed away at only 57, the guy remained prolific to the end and somehow I doubt this is another publicity stunt like when he legally changed his name to break a record contract. Although Bill Maher … Continue reading

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Anthrax

Update: A story that was overlooked due to my illness (the flu and whatnot) near the beginning of 2016. Before the release of their latest album For All Kings which is being praised as the Metal album of 2016 (is there such … Continue reading

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RIP Keith Emerson

Another Prog Rock founder passes away. Keith was the guy who made the keyboardist the lead musician for the Seventies (I would go with Booker T for the Sixties) but I readily admit to having a blind spot before the … Continue reading

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RIP George Martin

Obviously he was the man who earned the coveted “fifth Beatle” spot because he produced every major record of theirs but one. Although I don’t worship at the feet of the Beatles, I always respected George Martin, his production skill and … Continue reading

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RIP David Bowie

What a crappy way to start the week and just when his latest album came out. Given his nature, I think he may have timed it this way. David’s material was pretty impressive too. Namely with how readily the more … Continue reading

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