Music

Album Review: Coldplay’s “Ghost Stories” — Going Through a Rough Patch

May 25, 2014
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Coldplay’s “Ghost Stories” is not a fun or a happy listen, but it is a worthwhile one.

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Concert Review: “The Monkees” — Pop Heavyweights Still Guaranteed to Raise a Smile

May 24, 2014
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Michael Nesmith’s proto-Americana songs had aged the least—listen to the jangly guitar and stream-of-conscious lyric on “Tapioca Tundra” and you’d swear that was where R.E.M. got the idea.

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Coming Attractions in Jazz: Festival Preview 2014

May 22, 2014
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The big “destination” jazz festivals are major events, but aficionados making vacation plans will be missing out if they don’t at least take a look at the musical offerings of the smaller festivals.

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Album Review: Joey Pizza Slice’s “Deli Days/Sontava Nights” — Depressive Lo-Fi Pop Done Right

May 22, 2014
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The tunes on Joey Pizza Slice’s new LP are personal enough to leave many listeners scratching their heads, asking “Is this guy for real?”

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Classical CD Reviews: John Adams’ “City Noir” and Saxophone Concerto (Nonesuch) and Howard Hersh’s “Angels and Watermarks”

May 21, 2014
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Howard Hersh hails from northern California, and, as in John Adams’ “City Noir,” the music on Hersh’s album, “Angels and Watermarks,” embraces polyglot West Coast culture in various ways.

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Concert Review: BMOP Presents “A Fine Centennial” at Jordan Hall

May 18, 2014
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While 1962’s Symphony owes a clear debt to Stravinsky and Britten (especially its last movement), it sounds like nobody but Irving Fine. This is a score that orchestras ought to be lining up to play.

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Theater Review: “Rain Dogs” — A Humdinger of a Tribute to the Music of Tom Waits

May 17, 2014
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Having glittery, Bettie Page-y young women clad in leather and thongs undulate to music by Tom Waits is pretty much guaranteed to work.

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Concert Review: Barry Gibb on Tour — The Bee Gees Redux

May 16, 2014
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Though Barry Gibb performed most of his life with the Bee Gees, he was surprisingly un-slick as a showman.

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Concert Review: Jazz Giant Sun Ra at 100 — Space Conquers Time

May 16, 2014
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Ken Schaphorst and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts made the case for Sun Ra as an egyptologist (who claimed to be from Saturn).

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Music Commentary: Looking for the Real at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

May 15, 2014
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Mostly, I’m looking for that most elusive and hard-to-define quality — authenticity.

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