Bland on Blonde: why the old rock music canon is finished

The 1970s brought about the idea that rock was important – and needed a canon of greatest albums to match. But in a digital age, is definitive musical excellence a ridiculous notion?Rock’s flight into seriousness in the 1970s had many ill effects. There was prog rock, jamming, not releasing singles – and the idea that the couple of decades since Elvis had produced enough music of sufficient worth to produce a canon. In 1974, like a university English department sending out a reading list to undergraduates, NME polled its writers and published its list of the top 100 albums of all time. The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was No 1, Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde was No 2, the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds was No 3 – you could imagine just such a top three being published today.A few period pieces aside – it’s a long time since Spirit, Frank Zappa, Johnny Winter, Joe Cocker or Country Joe and the Fish featured in a generalist greatest albums list – it set a template for the pop canon that has remained largely untouched for more than 40 years, by adhering to certain rules. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2018-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bland on Blonde: why the old rock music canon is finished

The 1970s brought about the idea that rock was important – and needed a canon of greatest albums to match. But in a digital age, is definitive musical excellence a ridiculous notion?Rock’s flight into seriousness in the 1970s had many ill effects. There was prog rock, jamming, not releasing... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bob dylan


Reading at Full Volume: Seven Books That Feature Rock Music

I’ve been working on a theory about novelists lately: most of us wish we were rock stars. I’m basing this on a few things, like, for example, who wouldn’t want to be a rock star? Also, with all our anonymity, social anxiety disorders, and how we tend to be at our best while wearing sweatpants […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-06-07 08:52:59 UTC ]
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Jeremy Denk’s Memoir Features Music, Love and More Music

In “Every Good Boy Does Fine,” the concert pianist recalls his artistic and erotic awakening. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-03-24 15:00:06 UTC ]
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Bob Dylan's entire music catalogue bought by Universal Music

Bob Dylan's entire catalogue of songs, one of the great treasures in music history, has been acquired by Universal Music Publishing Group for an undisclosed sum.  Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2020-12-07 16:53:36 UTC ]
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Peloton told it can't countersue music publishers over high workout music prices

Peloton has failed to convince the court that the National Music Publishers Association violated federal antitrust laws. If you'll recall, the NMPA sued Peloton in early 2019, accusing it of using songs in its workout videos without obtaining the pro... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2020-01-30 13:20:00 UTC ]
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Facebook Harmonized With Global Music Rights, HFA/Rumblefish, Kobalt Music Publishing

Music continued to fill the air in Menlo Park, Calif., as Facebook announced three new partnerships with music publishers, coming on the heels of its deal with Sony/ATV earlier this week and its pact with Universal Music Group, inked in December. Facebook head of music business development and... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2018-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book about politics and pop music wins Penderyn Music Book Prize

Daniel Rachel's book about politics and pop music "coming together for the first time in Britain's musical history" has won the 2017 Penderyn Music Book Prize. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Future of Music: U.S. to Review Rules Covering Streaming Music Fees

Lobbyists for the music industry and streaming music services are gearing up to battle one another after the Justice Department said it will review decades-old agreements that govern songwriter royalties.The review, which follows court battles between rights holders and Pandora internet radio,... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jenny Odell on Reading the Rocks

Emergence Magazine is an online publication with annual print edition exploring the threads connecting ecology, culture, and spirituality. As we experience the desecration of our lands and waters, the extinguishing of species, and a loss of sacred connection to the Earth, we look to emerging... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-03-27 08:36:11 UTC ]
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How to save papers, photos, and analog music digitally

Do you, like me, have paper documents that have long since been scanned and processed, records or music cassettes that you would like to listen to on your mobile phone, and photo prints that are planned for a digital photo book? Then you will appreciate the two-step instructions in... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2024-03-08 14:00:00 UTC ]
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Remembering Stephen Rubin, with an Evening of Words and Music

About 200 friends attended a memorial service on Thursday evening at New York’s Metropolitan Club to celebrate the memory of the influential publisher and noted opera buff, who died last October. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
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What Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer Win Meant For American Music

When Nas described himself as the “most critically acclaimed Pulitzer Prize winner / Best storyteller / Thug narrator / My styles greater” on his song “Hate Me Now” (1999), he was foretelling something monumental on the horizon. The Pulitzer Prize for Music is considered one of the nation’s most... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2024-02-21 09:55:55 UTC ]
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From the Stage to the Page: 10 Years In, Z2 Comics Rocks On

For nearly a decade, Z2 Comics has worked to merge the twin fandoms, collaborating with musicians to produce titles that coexist with their musical work. The result: books that act as bridges between mediums. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-13 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Midwestern Booksellers Report a Strong Finish to the 2023 Holiday Season

Thanks to mild weather and a strong economy, December sales at bookstores across the Midwest were up, with booksellers reporting increases ranging from 13% to 31%. Adult fiction and political nonfiction were popular, as were children's picture books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Who Doesn’t Like Music? Nabokov, For Starters

In his memoir Speak, Memory, Vladimir Nabokov reflected: “Music, I regret to say, affects me merely as an arbitrary succes­sion of more or less irritating sounds.” The furor over Lolita may have died down, but this confes­sion still has the power to shock. Did the man just say he doesn’t like... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-29 09:55:49 UTC ]
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It took 28 years, but this book club finally finished reading Finnegans Wake

After 28 years, a book club in Venice, Calif., has finally finished reading Finnegans Wake by James Joyce — but the club's founder Gerry Fialka would argue you're never really done reading it. Continue reading at CBC

[ CBC | 2023-11-14 22:49:00 UTC ]
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Indigo Books & Music Sales Dropped 12% in Q2

Blaming inflation and customer price sensitivity, Indigo Books & Music, Canada's leading book retailer, saw a 12.4% decline in sales for the second quarter ending September 30. Sales fell both at physical stores and online. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-11-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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