‘Life of the Mind’: ‘Ben’ there, done that
By James Cassar | September 27, 2012Ben Folds is a busy guy. He has sat alongside fellow precocious pianist Sara Bareilles as a judge on NBC’s The Sing-Off.
Ben Folds is a busy guy. He has sat alongside fellow precocious pianist Sara Bareilles as a judge on NBC’s The Sing-Off.
Pushing your way through the crowd, you pass people of every sort imaginable, assorted faces of all shapes, colors and temperaments.
It’s been more than 20 years since the Dave Matthews Band was formed right here in Charlottesville.
Bob Dylan sounds downtrodden. And it’s perfect. In his latest release Tempest the 71-year-old Dylan plays the worn, grizzled storyteller, recounting his life and the lives of others in his timeless voice. Dylan’s infamous rasp plods steadily through the album and betrays more raw emotion than most singers could dream of expressing.
You can take the beast out of the jungle, but you can’t take the jungle out of the beast. Until a few years ago, Animal Collective had the peculiar distinction of being the “strangest band alive,” due in no small part to the group’s psychedelic sensibility, radical sonic experimentation and blatant disregard for conventional conceptions of “music.” But in 2009 it looked like the band had ditched its odd routine in favor of the ethereal and accessible pop on Merriweather Post Pavilion, an acclaimed effort that earned the group a broader audience. While writing their next album, all four members of the band moved back to their hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, where as childhood friends they had originally begun playing music.
Matthew Perry is back on the air on NBC’s new series Go On, which follows the life of sportscaster Ryan King, who is forced into group therapy to deal with the recent death of his wife.
Hope Springs has great intentions and a spectacular cast, but unless you’re prematurely looking for some post-mid life crisis marital advice, the movie’s message will fall on deaf ears.
Fans of Parenthood, a comedy-drama that follows the lives of the Braverman family, breathed a collective sigh of relief in May when NBC announced it would be renewing the show for a fourth season.
The Mindy Project, premiering Sept. 25, is Fox’s latest sitcom, following the quirky style of Glee, New Girl, and Raising Hope.
The xx emerged in 2009 with a captivating and clearly defined aesthetic. The band’s hushed, minimal love songs won accolades, including Britain’s Mercury Prize.
The beauty of the Avett Brothers is their approachability. You hit the chorus, and you can’t help but sing along.
Old Cabell auditorium Friday night played host to a concert of the most peculiar sort, titled “TechnoSonics XIII: Music & Politics.” Technosonics, a course started at the University in 2006 by Assoc.
First utilized by musicians of the 1940s and popularized by hip-hop artists of the 1970s and ‘80s, sampling was nothing new when Gregg Gillis became Girl Talk in 2002.
Loyal viewers of Breaking Bad were elated when mid-July rolled around, as it marked the return of the dark AMC drama’s anticipated fifth season.
You can always recognize the bands that were bred on a strict diet of their parents’ vinyl. In 2009, when The Heavy released their breakout record House That Dirt Built, it was apparent that they were one of those bands.
Die-hard fans of certain musical artists are often wary of purchasing (or even perusing) a tribute album.
With no opening act needed, the Mickey Hart Band took the stage at the Jefferson Theater last Thursday to a roaring crowd.
In the age of Internet streaming, digital downloads and miniature attention spans, music as an art form has fallen by the wayside.
In the last few years, gay rights have come to the forefront of politics, and the equality movement has trickled down into television yet again with Ryan Murphy’s The New Normal.
After an emotional season finale and an equally heart-wrenching Christmas special, BBC’s most popular sci-fi series, Doctor Who, kicked off its seventh season on Sept.