John Cale: Underdog in de underground

Not counting the AI-generated total rubbish biographies there haven't been many books about John Cale. Belgian author (and musician) Wouter Bulckaert's effort Underdog in de underground is a worthy addition to Cale's autobiography What's Welsh For Zen (co-written with Victor Bockris) and Tim Mitchell's Sedition and Alchemy. Part retelling of his all over the place career, part critical review of the extensive discography, Bulckaert is obviously a fan, but he doesn't turn a blind eye to the weaker spots and odd decisions made by a perennial outsider, restless musical seeker, collaborator, and producer.

Gabriel Vicéns: scores available on Stradivarius & Wandelweiser

Composer and guitarist Gabriel Vicéns has made some of his music available on sheet music seller's sites Stradivarius and Wandelweiser. This will helpful for students who wrecked their brains to get a handle on his modus operandi, creating modern jazz with a classical twist.

» gabrielvicens.com

HCTF review of Niebla

The Velvet Underground Myth: their story told through press clippings

Grant McPhee has launched a website with contemporary press clippings about The Velvet Underground, organised by year. If anything, the bulk of the articles make it abudantly clear that the band was misunderstood by most writers during their short tenure.

Included are also links to a few in-depth essays he wrote on the most popular stories that have been making the rounds for decades. Did Beatles manager Brian Epstein wanted to manage them? How well did their debut album sell?

» thevelvetundergroundmyth.com

Berklee online: free Music Production Handbook

Berklee online is offering a free Music Production Handbook, so for those who are looking for some pointers to get the sound right, get cracking and pick it up before it disappears in yet another Stateside clusterfuck.

» .berklee.edu

Thurston Moore: My Guitars & Me

Watch Thurston Moore discuss playing his 12-string Jazzmaster for My Guitars & Me with guitar.com. You can make beautiful noise pens, sticks, car antennas.

» thurstonmoore.com

25 years ago today: launch of "Fear Is A Man's Best Friend - John Cale"

The Fear Is A Man's Best Friend website was launched on April 10, 1999. Six pages in all, with upcoming live shows, a meagre discography, and a few photos.

25 years later things have gotten a bit out of hand: thousands of pages right now, chronicling John Cale's career in detail, with tidbits added fairly regularly.

New book "Loaded: The Life (and Afterlife) of The Velvet Underground"

Yet another book about The Velvet Underground sees the light of day on August 31. Written by English journalist Dylan Jones, this one also covers the band members' career after the band folded:

Dylan Jones' definitive oral history of The Velvet Underground draws on contributions from remaining members, contemporaneous musicians, critics, film-makers, and the generation of artists who emerged in their wake, to celebrate not only their impact but their legacy, which burns brighter than ever into the 21st century.

Loaded: The Life (and Afterlife) of The Velvet Underground is published by White Rabbit.

Roger Waters introduces "The Dark Side of the Moon Redux"

Roger Waters sheds some light on his reimagination of The Dark Side of the Moon: "People will have to lsiten to it, before they can form a view of what it is. I am very proud of it. I hope it will be a rallying point for people". The Dark Side of the Moon Redux will be released on October 6th. It is available for pre-order here.

» rogerwaters.com

Shred With Shifty Episode 1: Alex Lifeson

Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett has launched a new podcast, Shred With Shifty. In Episode 1 he talks with Rush maestro Alex Lifeson. The main focus lies on the Limelight solo.

» chrisshiflettmusic.com

BBC6: The Rise and Fall of Britpop podcast

BBC6 has shared the first four episodes of 8-part podcast about The Rise and Fall of Britpop to commemorate the 30th anniversary. Listeners have to confirm that they are over 16, because of swearing and such. And get past a PG lock screen. Auntie is turning into a prude again. On the upside: it is a rather good revaluation of Cool Britannia and its soundtrack. Here is the blurb for Episode 1 - Oh Well Whatever, Nevermind: The Birth of Britpop:

What was life like before Britpop? Join Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley as they rewind the tape to hear how the UK sounded at the start of the 90’s.

Britpop emerged at a very specific time in British History, recession and war had dominated the headlines, the Iron Lady left Downing Street for the final time and the UK’s music scene was fractured. Rave was still in relatively rude health, terrifying the tabloids and the parents of teenagers, Morrissey had felt the wrath of music fans after appearing on stage in a Union Jack, and the Manic Street Preachers were bringing their own unique blend of rock n roll to the world. But there was one genre that dominated the airwaves and co-opted the ears of the UKs Youth... Grunge.

» bbc.co.uk

Robert Fripp has launched his Guitar Craft website

Robert Fripp has launched his Guitar Craft website, to tie in with The Guitar Circle book and all things guitar. Visitors won't be able to play like him, but they might understand how he does things and why.

Mark Ronson: "Black to Black" song breakdown for BBC Maestro

Watch Mark Ronson going back on his work on the demo of Amy Winehouse's Back to Black for BBC Maestro.

» amywinehouse.com
» markronson.co.uk

Steve Hoffman on cutting the Creedence 180+ vinyl reissues for Analogue Productions

Engineer Steve Hoffman explains the cutting process for the 2014 reissues of the Creedence Clearwater Revival albums for Analogue Productions on his forum The basics are pretty straightforward:

Simple really, well not simple but by the book.

1. We get the Creedence Master tapes and give a listen.
2. We get an original Allen Zentz RCA pressing and give a listen.
3. We prepare the master tape for all analog cutting, running down each song for tone/volume.
4. Kevin Gray does the cutting part, I concentrate on the tonality and dynamics part.
5. We cut side 1.
6. We cut side 2.
7. Lunch

And so on.. Any questions?

» stevehoffman.tv

John Peel: a visit to his record collection

BBC journalist Kevin Core paid a visit to the house in Suffolk where fabled DJ John Peel lived and breathed music. They talked to his son Tom Ravenscroft, who is now a DJ at 6 Music.

Spread across the house, the earliest LPs from the '60s are held in a long corridor of vinyl next to the DJ's studio, where he broadcast not only his Radio 1 shows, but hand-cut shows for British Forces in Germany using tape and a razor blade.

Because these records were placed in chronological order as Peel bought or was given them, a walk along the shelves sees the bright-eyed pop of his pirate radio days morph into British psychedelia and the glam and soul of the 70s.

Trey Anastasio: Phish Summer 2021 Guitar Rig Tour

Guitarist Trey Anastasio explains the effects, amps and what-not he used during the Phish Summer tour. He did one in 2012, shown during intermission at Madison Square Garden in New York.

He will be on the road with the Trey Anastastio Band, kicking off in Portland on September 17.

• 09/17 Portland, ME @ Thompson’s Point
• 09/18 Boston, MA @ Leader Bank Pavilion
• 09/19 New Haven, CT @ Westville Music Bowl
• 09/21 Philadelphia, PA @ The Met
• 09/22 Charlottesville, VA @ Ting Pavilion
• 09/24 Wilmington, NC @ Riverfront Park Amphitheater
• 09/25 Charlotte, NC @ Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre
• 09/26 Asheville, NC @ Rabbit Rabbit
• 09/28 Columbus, OH @ Express Live Outdoors
• 09/29 Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE Outdoors
• 10/01 Washington, DC @ Anthem
• 10/02 New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
• 10/03 New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall

» trey.com

Carol Kaye: Session Legend

Watch Carol Kaye, member of the legendary Wrecking Crew, discuss the art of bass.

» carolkaye.com

Larnell Lewis dissects and plays "Enter Sandman"

Canadian drummer, composer, producer, and educator Larnell Lewis listens to Enter Sandman, analyses what is going on, and nails it on the first pass playing it himself.

» larnelllewismusic.com

Tanya Pearson: Women of Rock Oral History Project

Please Kill Me has a lengthy interview with Tanya Pearson, director of the Women of Rock Oral History Project @ Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She i s working on a book and a documentary:

I think it’s still really hard for women to achieve any kind of historical longevity because their stories don’t fall into that stupid ‘sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll’ narrative, which to me is really tired and boring and it’s not accurate.

I’ve learned a lot about myself. As someone who was a really depressed, drug addict with no self-esteem, I just didn’t think I could really do anything. But I feel very capable. People ask me all the time, “How do I start a project, what do I need to do?” It sounds really dumb, but anyone can do it. If there are other women who want to start a project like this, I’ll help you. It just takes a while to work, but the more the merrier. I wish we could saturate the internet, saturate Netflix with stories of women, stories of female-fronted bands, stories of queer women in music. That’s my dream.

Brian May & Simon Bradley: Brian May's Red Special

Brian May's Red Special, the book documenting the origins and history of Queen guitar maestro's main axe, has been updated with two new chapters. Originally published in 2014 it is filled "with original diagrams, sketches and notes from the building of the guitar". Essential reading for gear heads.

» brianmay.com

The Origin of Tape Op Magazine

Larry Crane looks back on the humble beginnings of Tape Op Magazine:

The first issue of Tape Op came out in April of 1996. I already had a PO Box that didn’t see much use, and an HP computer that seemed pretty useless. I went downtown and signed up for a dialup email account, set up a desk in an unused bedroom, and was in business. For issue #1 I called Greg Freeman, who had produced the first two Vomit Launch records at his studio in San Francisco, and picked his brain. I also called Fred Cornog, of Merge Records’ East River Pipe, and talked about home recording. Throw in a few chats with other musician pals, and some sloppy paper layout, and I was ready. I snuck into my wife’s workplace on the weekend, bringing my own paper and knocking out photocopies. I had to buy a giant stapler, and I would rope in friends to help collate and “bind” the mags. For this inaugural issue I even spray painted the covers, using a 1/2-inch reel flange as a stencil.

Download the first issue here.

» tapeop.com