Mini-Feature – AC/DC’s Power Up Album

When I that heard that AC/DC had released their first new album in 6 years I was sceptical as to whether they could possibly ever capture the sound and energy that they had always been known for. Also, was the question of who would be in the line-up? After all, founder member Malcolm Young had passed away from dementia in 2017, Brian Johnson’s hearing had deteriorated to a point where struggled to hear, let alone tour, and Phil Rudd was facing major legal issues in New Zealand. The future of AC/DC hadn’t looked very bright for quite a few years.

Mini-Feature – Founders Sing

I am taking a bit of a chance today with this mini-feature, but I want to express up front that this is a post about the art of good parody and NOT a political statement. Having said that, I wish I had come across these clips a few months ago.
Parody and satire differ in that parody uses a known song, whereas satire is normally an original work. My recent mini-feature on Tim Minchin is a perfect example of satire. Last night, after a long day of concentrating at the computer, I checked my YouTube notifications and this popped up in the sidebar.

Loving the Music – the Sound of December: 1st – 31st Dec 2019

We’re into the final rundown to 2020 and have some fun and unusual artists lined up for your listening pleasure. Who remembers the avant-garde artists of the ’80s like Klaus Nomi and Lena Lovich? We do! This and so much more for you in this edition…

Loving the Music – the Sound of January: 15th – 31st Jan 2020

There were just a couple of posts in the second half of what’s turning into a busy month. Along with founding mothers of rock and roll, we met a remarkable bass player and spent time honouring the ‘yold’ members of Yes. A worthwhile, if skimpy, couple of weeks

Loving the Music – the Sound of January: 1st – 14th Jan 2020

It’s a brand new year, so what better way to celebrate than to start with a new album from Robbie Robertson, another beautiful song from Wren Hinds, a bit of wonderment from The Waterboys and whole lot more brilliant tracks. This is also the month we meet Orange Blossom with some mesmerising live performances from the World Music stage. It’s a great start to 2020.

Loving the Music – the Sound of February: 15th – 28th Feb 2020

The second half of February was a rollercoaster of musical styles that saw features of an AGT contestant, an Art Band from the ’60s, and an actor and actress show their vocal skills, and that’s just scratching the surface. Enjoy revisiting this mixed-bag session of great music.

Loving the Music – the Sound of February: 1st – 14th Feb 2020

It seemed to be a month for new releases from well-seasoned rockers Ozzy Osbourne, The Boomtown Rats, Steve Harley and The Pet Shop Boys all came through with releases bound for the charts. We looked at some of the strange origins behind some well-known songs, a few interesting covers, and finished off with a selection of songs for Valentine’s Day. Some would call it busy, I’ll call it fun.

Loving the Music – the Sound of March: 15th – 31st March 2020

South African Music, Chilean Afrobeat and some beats from the Balkan’s were just some of the gems we unearthed this fortnight. We continued with some bouncy fun from Seeed and a look at 2019’s release from Van Morrison started the final countdown to the month-end. We promoted unity during this pandemic with Ben Harper and Playing for Change, and topped it all off with a brand new album from James Taylor. What a way to end March.

Loving the Music – The Sound of March: 1st – 14th March 2020

The best bit of trivia I have come across started the week when found out about the very odd origins of the James Bond theme. We went ambient with George Winston, spent quality time with my favourite husband and wife team, the Tedeschi Trucks Band. said hello to some local talent and paid homage to John Renbourne. With a finishing touch of some pretty funky cover versions, it was quite a fortnight

Loving the Music – the Sound of April: 15th – 30th April 2020

The second half of April was a bit upside-sown, but we managed to squeeze in some good music amongst the chaos. Chrissie Hynde & The Pretenders graced us with a new album, we met a musical child savant, Taj Farrant, visited our friends at Shoreline Songs and Rootspring Music in Cape Town and spent some time at the #togetherathome concerts. Yep, it was a busy one!

Loving the Music – the Sound of April: 1st – 14th April 2020

It was a two-week run that saw a return to a 2018 album from Mark Knopfler and a quick hello to some of the hit-makers of the ’70s, a new albums from the Indigo Girls and Deacon Blue, and some time with Taj Mahal. In general, a pretty good month so far!

Loving the Music – the Sound of May: 15th – 31st May 2020

From my favourite sisters in rock, Larkin Poe, and their new album, to the cleverness of Jacob Collier and Pomplamoose (and quite a bit of listening in between), it’s been a great second half of the month. Where else can you revisit old favourites like Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Thievery Corporation, The Hollies and The Yardbirds while listening to some French Kiwi Juice? Only here!

Loving the Music – the Sound of May: 1st – 14th May 2020

It was a fortnight where we met some Texas Gentlemen, visited the strange world of Laurie Anderson and graced the dance floors of the ’90s. We took a break and played the ukulele, got Mainly Squeezed, said hi to Kaiser Chiefs, hunted the elusive Goteye, and were amused to death with Roger Waters. It’s been busy, but it’s been fun!

Mini-Feature – Tim Minchin

I featured a new song from Tim Minchin about a month ago not realizing it was a teaser track for a studio album of non-theatre songs that was released yesterday. I’m a huge Tim Minchin fan and within hours of the launch I had notifications from Tim’s YouTube channel giving me the heads-up on the new uploads. I knew it was going to be a good listen. I wasn’t wrong, but what surprised me most was the amount of serious songs included in the 11 tracks of Apart Together. I know so many of the songs from his shows already, the idea that this is basically a debut studio album from someone who has been around for 15+ years is quite strange.

Loving the Music – the Sound of June: 22nd- 30th June 2020

You couldn’t ask for a wider mix of songs and genres in one place than on the Loving the Music pages during the last part of the month. A host (hostess?) of strong ladies and different styles of Jazz, offset by Dylan’s nasal tones and some surprising narrated hits

Loving the Music – the Sound of June: 8th – 21st June 2020

It was a week with some posts cut short for various reasons, but no lack of great music. From the gravel pit voice of Tom Waits to a Brubeck take on a Stranglers classic, it was a week of extremes.

Loving the Music – the Sound of June: 1st – 7th June 2020

Starting with field recordings of some rather special music thanks to our friends at Rootspring Music in Cape Town, to the Psy-Trance of Younger Brother and the once-taboo subject of cross-dressing, Loving the Music covered a lot of territory during the first week of June.

Loving the Music – the Sound of July: 22nd – 31st July

The run up to the end of July produced such a mixed bag of songs that covered a range of sounds from Bardcore to Acid Jazz includng some great local tracks along the way. In other words, it was an average week in Loving the Music land…