Muzika

Gender: Female
Born: August 8, 1983
Location: Corvallis, USA
Last Sign in: July 4, 2008
Member Since: November 27, 2005
URL: http://www.mystrands.com/Muzika
Watch the Muzika Channel on MyStrands.TV

Profile Views: 33819
Playcounts: 36K
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Progressive Country and Spaghetti Westerns

~ March 9, 2006 at 0:21 (Views: 348 )

I remember “High Plains Drifter” on the late, late movie on Cleveland's WUAB-TV – hosted by “Ghoulardi,” the campy all-night movie host.

I was struck by the score then…and now. Check out the track (and my all-time favorite film score: "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly") on A Fistful Of Film Music: The Ennio Morricone.... "Good,Bad & Ugly" has become the definitive sound of the ‘Old West.’ There’s something about that steele guitar, the grunts, the whistle followed by the nasally, brassy… unidentifiable instrument. And I'm not alone, because I believe this score evolved into what we now call Progressive Country.

How could a European define the flavor of the American West? Last week I described Lonely Joe, a Spaniard reminiscent of American progressive country? Joe’s not alone…

The spectacular scores of these Spaghetti Westerns were the genius of Ennio Morricone. Morricone’s tension-filled music made these movies great – especially in the absence of dialogue, it was the soundtrack that carried the action and built the conflict. (Check out this collection: At The Movies!)

Lonely Joe lists Morricone as an influence on his website. Who else follows in those great footsteps? Well, they may not admit it, but here is my own list of recents from around the globe….

• Australian Nick Cave (born in Warracknabeal – a name only an Aussie could love). Try Foi Na Cruz
• John Zorn (avant garde jazz artist) with tracks like Chinatown - (with John Zorn/Naked City)
• Post-rock duo Labradford on this and other tracks: S
• Club sensation Goldfrapp (Strict Machine is still one of my favorite after-party tracks.)
• Alpha (who are from Bristol, along with Portishead) try this track: As Far As You Can See
• And trip-hop innovators Portishead, and this track that could have been lifted right out of a '60s Western: Cowboys

If you listen to each of these international artists, you can hear Morricone in the cadence and tone. It’s amazing the influence this single artist has had on such a variety of musical styles… from Alpha to Zorn.

And what influence did the spaghetti western soundtracks by Morricone have on progressive country artists? Well, compare and contrast
• Cowboy Junkies: I Don't Get It
• Chris Isaak: Wicked Game
• Big Blue Hearts: What Would You Do
with
• Moricone’s Gun For Ringo, A

BTW: There are a lot of playlists on MusicStrands that feature alternative country music. I compiled several favorites in last week’s post. But for those looking for a few more examples, check these out…

1. Alison Krauss: Gravity
2. Norah Jones: Prettiest Thing, The
3. Neko Case: I Wish I Was The Moon
4. Tift Merritt: I Am Your Tambourine
5. Wilco: Pot Kettle Black
6. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: Maps
7. Lifehouse: Take Me Away
8. Howie Day: Ghost

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Discovering Music is Easy on MusicStrands

~ March 3, 2006 at 11:02 (Views: 22 )

Welcome to MusicStrands! We are all about discovering great music, through our community and through our unique recommender.

To help you discover music, we provide the Web’s best music recommendations.

The Best Recommendations: Our music recommendation technology is based on the collective expertise of our entire music community. We carefully track the music our members listen to, what songs they play together, what songs they add to playlists. The result are recommendations of songs that “fit” not because they are audio clones, but because they just sound right.

Get Recommendations Now »

Instant Recommendations: Anywhere on the site, you can always submit the name of a song or artist, and immediately view music recommendations, similar artists, sample clips, and more. It’s fun and easy!

Search Artists and Tracks Now »

Community Music: But music discovery is also a social activity. So MusicStrands lets you discover music directly from other members. We provide tools to let you find members with similar musical tastes to your own. Then you can see the songs and artists they’re playing. We even highlight the songs our members play that may be of particular interest to you – either because you have not yet played this song, or because you’ve played songs that are very similar.

Find Friends Now »

Personalized Music Recommendations Start with the BEST Media Player accessory.

Our free iTunes accessory automatically builds your personal music profile. In real time it gives you instant recommendations, while it tracks your favorite songs and enables personalized music discovery on the site. MyStrands is the first step to uniquely personalized music recommendations.

But it doesn't stop there.

MyStrands Playlist Builder automatically build the best playlists from your own music library. You can build a playlist from a single song or artist, a collection of songs, or even a tag. Playlist Builder help you discover your own music!

Learn more about MyStrands Now! »

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Featuring Indy Label: Blue Canoe

~ March 2, 2006 at 18:22 (Views: 80 )

For those not familiar, Blue Canoe is an Indy music label specializing in great Jazz talent. Two in particular appeared on MusicStrands, and are well worth checking out: Joseph Patrick Moore ('05) (who started the label) and Buzz Amato.

Moore’s music history dates back to his Tennessee roots, where he studies music and then became entrenched in Memphis’ Historic Beale St. scene, performing with the Charlie Wood Trio. It was in Memphis that he releases his first CD “Never Never Land” which received nationwide airplay and got Moore nominated by the A.R.A.S. for a premier Player award in 1997.

Today Moore is in Atlanta. Formerly with Fiji Mariners featuring Col. Bruce Hampton & The Aq... (something of a cult legend around the South), and later with BlueGround UnderGrass, Moore can be seen traveling nationally with a wide variety of Jazz talents. Blue Canoe was formed in 2003 for the same reason many Indy labels arise – to build an outlet for artists to develop outside the pressured of the Commercial Music Industry.

Listen to some of Moore's best in his collection of Single Tracks - Joseph Patrick Moore ('05).

Like Moore, Amato began his career performing and touring in various bands throughout the Southeast. In the 80’s he joined forces with Curtis Mayfield where he toured and produced along side the legendary artist.

Amato has been fortunate to have worked with some of the legends of the music business including Kirk Whalum, David Sanborn, Gerald Albright, Ben E. King, The Three Degrees, The Chi-Lites to name but a few. Amato has toured and performed at some of the most prestigious venues throughout the world including: Montreux Jazz Festival, The Blue Note, Apollo Theatre, & Beacon Theatre, to name a few.

Listen to some of Moore's tracks on his a collection.

By the way, you can discover more of Blue Canoe's artists at www.BlueCanoeRecords.com.

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jazz blue canoe

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The Progressive Country of "Lonely Joe"

~ February 22, 2006 at 12:16 (Views: 201 )

How does a Madrid crooner connect to U.S. country/rock? Lonely Joe is a Transatlantic talent with a dark and broken-hearted style.

MusicStrands' dual offices in Europe and the U.S. often inspire comparisons of disparate musical styles. This week I was struck with a Madrid artist that seems tightly bound to the American tradition of 90’s alternative country-inspired rock.

Check out these tracks by Lonely Joe...
- Precious Time
- The Astronaut
- The Eskimo´s bed (Album version)

Joe’s hushed, romantic style calls to mind several current Pop favorites, such as:

- Lack Of Color, A by Death Cab For Cutie
- Fade Into You by Mazzy Star
- First Day Of My Life by Bright Eyes
and even
- Fix You by Coldplay

But super-pop aside: there is a distinct reminiscence of progressive, alternative Country in Lonely Joe's tracks. Although he has an unmistakable European flare, Lonely Joe has a deep and rich sentimentality that is characterized by the American genre. As evidence, I offer Chris Isaak, Cowboy Junkies, and even K.D. Lang (although Joe lacks KD's great musical ease).

Which leads to my sermon this week on the progressive alt-country-rock of the early '90s. This is one of my favorite styles, and although it's gone a little out of vogue, I still listen to this playlist when it’s time for bed – especially if I’ve been up very, very late and sleep seems a desperate goal.

The "No Depression" movement of neo-country rock acts in the early '90s rejected the sentimentality of traditional Hank Williams-esque country. But the artists kept country’s musical traditions. The result was a unique style that crossed-over into Rock & Pop. Isaak was one of the first to gain popularity due to David Lynch’s soundtrack for the movie “Wild at Heart.” In the '90s, Isaak was so "hip" that he had his own MTV series.

This style has been carried forward admirably by talented alt-country artists, characterized by these tracks:
- Malibu Love Nest by Luna (Rock)
- Too Bad That You're Gone by Two Dollar Pistols
- No Nashville by Florence Dore
- What Would You Do by Big Blue Hearts

Check out even more tracks on my Progressive Country playlist.

How does all of this reflect back to Lonely Joe?

Well, next week we'll add great European artists like Joan Manuel Serrat and Ennio Morricone to the mix. Even Dean Martin makes a guest appearance.

Next week, part 2...

--Byron

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country progressive country lonely joe

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Indy Artists: Promote Your Music Free!

~ February 16, 2006 at 8:52 (Views: 55 )

We love recommending new music. So now Independent artists can enter their own music into our catalog FREE!

To start, visit Indy.MusicStrands.com.

Here's the skinny on the MusicStrands Indies: The FREE Indy service lets Independent Labels and Artists enter their music into the MusicStrands catalog. Once in the catalog, Indy music will receive the same exposure as any mainstream artist (from Abba to Zappa, as we like to say). Every artist will:

>> receive their own profile page on MusicStrands, including free hosting of MP3 tracks

>> have the ability to be searched, heard, shared, and added to member playlists

>> include a persistent link to the artist's Website, and links to any page where the artist’s music can be purchased.

>> have the possibility to be recommended to the MusicStrands community via MusicStrands.com and the MyStrands desktop recommender.

We try to make this service a real benefit for new artists, and we love to see new quality artists sign up for the service. So we also select the best new artists to promote on the MusicStrands main page. These editorial spots are completely free – and you can submit your music by 1) creating an account at Indy.MusicStrands.com, and then 2) sending us an e-mail as to why your music should be considered (new CD releases or upcoming tours are always a good reason).

Like I said, the basic service is completely free -- the benefit to us being that it improves our recommendations.

--Byron

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Getting Started in the Community

~ February 16, 2006 at 8:43 (Views: 133 )

MusicStrands is the latest way to discover great, new music -- directly from your friends. Here's how to begin.

Our members know great music, and where to find it. Of course MusicStrands still has its famous, patented recommendations -- based on the listening habits of our entire community. But now we've added a new dimension.... the personal dimension.

Start by setting up your personal profile. Use MyStrands to automatically create a music history of the songs and artists you love and listen to.

Then, tell us about yourself and your music. Add links to your favorite artists and tracks. Add some photos to your gallery. Write in your journal. Build some playlists. Explore!

It's easy and fun....

Personal Music Profiles: Because music is personal
Make your music profile personal with your own pictures, music, and more. Make it reflect your taste in music, or your taste in life. We know... It's all about you!Our members continuously search and recommend new artists and songs. Our unique technology recommends tracks personally for you. Our browseable catalog is a treasure trove waiting to be opened.

Build Perfect Playlists: The fun way to share music
There's a playlist for every occasion... playlists for parties, playlists for candelight dinners, even playlists for long drives in the country. It's easy to make playlists for every occasion, share them with the community, listen to other's playlists, even download playlists to your PC.

MusicStrands Influences: Meet your personal music experts
“Influence” is the name MusicStrands gives to members with great taste – musical tastes just like your own. These are the members you enjoy uncovering great music with. The members you have chosen as your personal experts.

Choosing an influence is easy – simply click the “Add To Favorites...” button on any member’s MusicStrands profile, then mark the member as an Influence. When you add an Influence, their Journal posts and Music Discoveries are automatically reported to you -- in your own private “Community Support.”

Music Journals: Let the world know what you think
Journals are your personal platform for speaking to the world. It’s so simple to express yourself in words and pictures.

Visit your Profile page, and click “Post New Journal Entry.” Just type and post. If you’re more adventurous, you can add photos and web links to your pages.

Have you found another member whose journal is consistently great? You can subscribe to their journal by adding the member as an “Influence.” You’ll never miss out on the great music being uncovered by the MusicStrands community.

Music Discoveries: One click let's the world hear what you've found
Music Discoveries are the one-click way to tell the world about the music you’ve found on MusicStrands.com. Every Song's detail page has an “Add To Favorites...” button, which let's you mark the songs as a Discovery. Once added, any member can see and hear the track from your profile. It’s that simple.

Music Groups: Keep your friends close
With Music Groups you can share your thoughts and tastes with friends, family, and like-minded people all over the world. Each group has it’s own forum where members can post their thoughts – in words and pictures.

Have you found a great new Blues artist? Share the music with the entire group by posting a link to the website. Post a photo, or even a link to a streaming audio file. Groups are a great way to share your favorite music with friends and fellow music fans.

There's more to the new site -- and you'll find all sorts of feautres as you click around. If you have comments, send us an e-mail -- or post a comment in the MusicStrands Members' Forum.

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Valentine's Challenge for Rockers in Love

~ February 5, 2006 at 1:50 (Views: 310 )

I fell first fell in love during a February in the American Midwest, and so I have a soft-spot for both efficient steam heat and romantic Rock music. Not the muzak-inspiring soma of Air Supply or Dido – but the gritty romance of the working class, like Foo Fighters or 3 Doors Down.

As an exercise for Valentine's Day, I tried to compile the obligatory Top Love Songs playlist. I started by searching my library for songs I've tagged with "Love." I was immediately overwhelmed.

How can you compare a song like "Sexual Healing" (the sexiest song ever to hit Top 40) with "Unchained Melody" (the most romantic – and thanks to Patrick Swayze, also the most hackneyed).

For my money, the most heart-wrenching song ever on vinyl is Etta James’s version of "At Last." I have a soft spot for women who search for love in smoky martini lounges – including Billie Holiday or Peggy Lee.

I have a sick curiosity about Metal bands that produce the occasional love ballad. I suppose this is their label’s attempt to expand their audiences. Still, Staind has some quality schmaltz, like the lolling "Epiphany." So does Black Sabbath – but for my money, it’s all farce. Can you really expect romance from a group called Fudge Tunnel?

Remember the Hair bands of the 80's? KISS had a brief hit with "Beth." I remember being confused... where were the pyrotechnics? Could Gene Simmons vomit blood to this? For the record: The one thing I respect about David Lee Roth is his complete willingness to wallow in his own hype. The only romantic song he ever performed was “Just A Gigolo / I Ain't Got Nobody” – it was clearly from the heart.

So to help compile the list of romantic rock, I constrained my search to only the songs I had tagged both “Rock” and “Love.” Still hundreds of options showed up – but I managed to select 25 that make me sigh. Here’s a few samples.

1. Long December, A by Counting Crows
2. Crash Into Me by Dave Matthews Band
3. In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel
4. Telephone Line by Electric Light Orchestra
5. Sweet Baby by Prince
6. This Years Love by David Gray (Rock)
7. Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinead O'Connor
8. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You by Led Zeppelin
9. Let Me Be The One by Matthew Sweet
10. Blowers Daughter by Damien Rice

The full playlist can be found HERE.

I invite everyone to create your own playlist, and send me the results. I’m always interested in the rare love song from the unexpected artist. Some live cover of Close To You by Pere Ubu.

Think about these songs this Valentines Day, while you’re snuggling in front of the radiator with your sweetheart in Kalamazoo.

--Byron

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Feature: Afro-Pop Raises Politcal Awareness

~ January 31, 2006 at 16:37 (Views: 72 )

The 1987 album "Graceland " opened minds to African music. Now Indy label Modiba is opening minds to the politcal plight of Africans.

Modiba Productions is an independent label signed up on MusicStrands Indy. As a label, their mission is to “raise global awareness about life and society in today's Africa” as well as to spread the best of African music to a worldwide market. This they have done with excellence with the album "ASAP: The Afrobeat Sudan Aid Project." The album hit #1 on the iTunes world music charts for weeks, and we strongly recommend everyone to check out this week's featured track: Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble - Star Wars (Modiba Darfur Remix).

All the proceeds from sales of this album will benefit the people suffering in the Darfur region of Sudan. And Modiba has teamed up with TrueMajority, a grassroots education and advocacy group committed to social and political justice (founded by Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry's). TrueMajority has already done some incredible work in Darfur, sending camera crews and attempting to bring witnesses into the United States (although the US State Department refused entry).

This is a music which firmly manifests the living strength of funky, upbeat Afropop. It originates from legendary artists like Fela Kuti. And the playlist for this week, will therefore be a short (and woefully incomplete) guide to great Afrobeat music, and beyond:

Viva Nigeria by Fela Kuti
2000 Blacks Got To Be Free by Fela Kuti
Fight To Win - (featuring Jaguar Wright) by Femi Kuti
Dirt & Blood by Antibalas
New Africa by Youssou N'Dour
When The System Has Fallen by Johnny Clegg & Savuka
Jammu Africa by Ismael Lo
Embargo by Khadja Nin
Barrets Bag by Har-You Percussion Group
Yoolelle Maman by Baaba Maal
Everything (...Is Never Quite Enough) by Wasis Diop
Oremi by Angelique Kidjo
River, The by Geoffrey Oryema

A quick Afro-Pop playlist can be found on MusicStrands. Check it out; or build your own playlist.

In the meantime, listen, enjoy, expand your boundaries.... and do some good.

--Byron

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Great Music Discovery Starts Here

~ January 31, 2006 at 15:37 (Views: 25 )

MyStrands recommender is the essential plug-in for iTunes and WMP. With it you can quickly compile your own personal music profile. But it doesn’t stop there...

With MyStrands, you can quickly compile your personal music profile, based on the songs you listen to everyday. Your profile is the key to MusicStrands' uniquely personalized recommendations. But MyStrands does so much more!

Here’s what else MyStrands can do for you...

Discover Music in Real-Time
Get recommendations instantly -- without clicks or browsers. MyStrands sits unobtrusively on your desktop, displaying the best recommendations available.

MyStrands recommends songs based on what's actively playing in your media player, as well as your recently played songs. You can listen to a recommended song, read about the artist, and even find members whoíll tell you all about this track.

Automatically Fill Your iPod
MyStrands can automatically build playlists from your own iTunes library using our unique recommendations technology. Give us the name of a track, artist, genre, tag.... and we'll create playlists instantly. Create enough playlists to automatically fill your iPod. Hey! Itís time to re-discover your own music collection!

Publish Playlists
Publish your favorite playlists to MusicStrands with a single click. The community can listen to the playlist, and even download the playlist in SWF format. You can even add tags to your playlist, so MusicStrands members can easily discover your great taste.

Tag songs and playlists
You can easily add/edit tags to your songs and playlists. When you add a tag, the tag is also added to the MusicStrands community, letting others explore and discover the music you've added.

Share your Playlists
Created that perfect playlist? MyStrands lets you upload your favorite playlists to MusicStrands.com and share it with the rest of the community. Whether created in your media player or on MyStrands, we make it easy for you to send your playlists to friends, publish it to our Website, and even let people hear it.

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Is New Wave Coming Around Again?

~ January 21, 2006 at 9:27 (Views: 307 )

Madrid-based Cycle ('05) is coming around again, reinventing the '80s with a sound that can only be described as "Electronic Wave." Take a look.

In contrast to the soft, jazzy style of Portishead (see my 12-Step Program to Euro Style), Cycle follows a newer European tradition. They show the strict, disciplined sound of electronic music, pioneered by northern-European bands like Kraftwerk.

This popular sound mixes technology and standard instrumentation to create tracks that go from Break to Rock and from Post-Punk to Techno. The new genre mixes these “European” traditions together. I suggest you to hook up to Cycel's hit Apple Tree from their awarded album “Weak on the Rocks.”

Cycle came up during 2005, to shortly became the most hyped band in Spain. The band is founded by producer David Kano, singer and actor Luke Donovan, singer and actress La China Patino y and guitar player Carlos F. Calderón.

Their album has been mastered at Exchange Studios in London with Simon Davey, responsible for mastering the work of artists like Electric Six, Groove Armada, Scissor Sisters, and Armand Van Helden, to name only a few.

Although Cycle is a Spanish band, they lean toward northern European electronic music traditions, like Trip-Hop/Deep House artists: Portishead, PJ Harvey, Tricky, Hooverphonic, Massive Attack, and Felix Da Housecat. On the other hand, Cycle exudes the Punk & Post-Punk influences like The Ramones, Siouxsie & The Banshees or Sisters Of Mercy....

Without getting to experimental, my playlist for this week would take you on a trip through the history of “electronic wave” or "electro-punk" originating in Europe:

Sisters of Mercy - More
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Cities In Dust
The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way
Love & Rockets - Kundalini Express
New Order – This Time Of Night
Ladytron - Teenage Daughter - (with Fat Truckers)
Elastica - Love Like Ours
Dave Clarke - 808 Beats
Daft Punk - Robot Rock
Electric Six - Danger! High Voltage
Howie B. - Short Skirts
Mirwais - Paradise (Not For Me) - (featuring Madonna)
Howie B - Because Of The Weather - (with Howie B./Crspen Hunt/Will O'Donovan)

You can listen to this playlist on on MusicStrands. Check it out; or build your own playlist.

Enjoy,
--Byron