Blog: music is free now

Hedwig Illustration by Alex Kittle "It is nonsense to say what a musical should or should not be. It should be anything it wants to be, and if you don't like it you don't have to go to it. There is only one absolutely indispensable element that a musical must have. It must have music. And there is only one thing that it has to be – it has to be good." - Oscar Hammerstein II* Musicals

I listened to all of these cast albums in about a month. Here's a 6-word observation about each one. 1. Sweeney Todd - (Angela Lansbury, Len Cariou) - This musical is a masterpiece. Period. 2. Sweeney Todd - (Michael Cerveris, Patti LuPone) - Stripping it down is often best. 3. Urinetown - Songs should approach narrative more obliquely. 4. Avenue Q - The most obvious things are hilarious.

FUTURITY at HERE by Sam Hough Dear Friends, Family, and Readers, Since 2007 I've been working on a musical called FUTURITY. Some of you have seen it and many of you have heard me yammering on about it. In a few months it will World Premiere and run for 5 weeks at American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA. This is a HUMUNGOUS deal for me, my band, and everyone that's been working on the

Photo Cred This is a podcast by Marcus Schmickler "Is it possible to approach developments in music by its relationships with money? Can we gain insight into societies by means of their relationship to music? Music serves as a mirror, as a prophecy for society because it reflects developments faster than anything that materializes. There is an obvious simultaneity between music and

photo of Via Galactica by John Michael Cox Musicals: Rocky Horror Show by Richard O'Brien (1972) Via Galactica by Christopher Gore, Judith Ross and Galt MacDermot (1972) Time by Dave Clark, David Soames, Jeff Daniels, and David Pomeranz (1986) Starmites by Barry Keating and Stuart Ross (1987) Return to the Forbidden Planet by Bob Carlton (1989) Metropolis by Joe Brooks and Dusty Hughes (

Student group - Fara Enclave (photo by César Alvarez) In 2008 I was asked to teach a single course in the Creative Arts and Technology Department at Bloomfield College called "Digital Audio Engineering 1." I approached the class as a composer, producer and sound artist assuming that most of my students would be primarily interested in figuring out the studio tricks to make their tracks

From friend and mastering engineer in Oakland Myles Boisen: "I first noticed the constant whine of helicopters at about 4 pm today. Checking the news I learned that the Occupy Oakland camp in downtown Oakland had been cleared by police in the middle of the night, and a series of afternoon protests had been called in the nearby area. With plans in place to go downtown later that night, I

Help us make the FUTURITY concept album by pre-ordering:

I am not a reviewer I am a musician. And it was as a musician that I went to see Karen O's new opera "Stop the Virgens" that debuted last night at St. Ann's Warehouse. Anyone who is taking non-mainstream popular music and putting it in a theatrical setting has my attention and I applaud the work for walking that very tricky and unfriendly territory.The biggest critique that I anticipate hearing

I found this song in an old Pete Seeger songbook that belonged to my Dad. I love how the shape of the melody mirrors the topography of a valley. I rewrote some of the words and added a bridge so that it would fit into my musical, which coincidentally is set right near the Cumberland Gap in and around Whythe County, VA. Cumberland Gap (DEMO) by musicisfreenowIMAGE CREDIT: Hunt, S. V. D. (Samuel

• musicisfreenow - Cumberland Gap (DEMO)

I've been collaborating on a piece with Mac Wellman and director Meghan Finn. This has been a wild ride. Part japanese tinged puppet theater, part philosophical absurdist performance art, and then I added the childlike musical theater earnestness. Devil's Butthole (DEMO) by musicisfreenow "His script is a meditation on Heidegger's Dialogue on Language Between a Japanese and an Inquirer. The

• musicisfreenow - Devil's Butthole (DEMO)

Thank you to all the protesters occupying Wall St. right now. We are a country built on shared sacrifice and civic duty. We are a nation of immigrants. We are a nation which, at our best, thinks flexibly about problems as they happen and works through them with the messy and slow process of democracy. These protests are voicing the myriad arguments for equitable economic reform and against the

Here's an improvisation I did on the very clumsy little beast that is Suzuki's Omnichord. This instrument is absurd, but a really fun to play...

Car on the Moon's self-titled debut is Extropian Records' 2nd release. I feel very lucky to have gotten the chance to mix this album and help with some of the production. COTM's music has a surreal quality to the lyrics and orchestrations that I find to be really compelling. Stream the album here. And if you like come to the release show September 3rd at Rock Shop. Car On The Moon by Car

• Car On The Moon - Car On The Moon

Car on the Moon's self-titled debut is Extropian Records' 2nd release. I feel very lucky to have gotten the chance to mix this album and help with some of the production. COTM's music has a surreal quality to the lyrics and orchestrations that I find to be really compelling. Stream the album here. And if you like come to the release show September 3rd at Rock Shop. Car On The Moon by Car

My dad blew my mind last night with what's called a Dual-Bottom-Line Matrix. This is a table that typically helps non-profits evaluate their various activities and develop their sustainability. It works great for artists too though. Because as artists we are mostly pursuing a mission (fulfilling career) rather than a bottom line, and we do a million different things in pursuit of that mission.

Instruments is a series of 20 instrumental cut-ups which explore the finest grains of sound from a variety of sources. (Full Free download HERE) Instruments by musicisfreenow Laura Goldhamer – Banjo Lily Gottlieb-McHale – Cello Jeremy Hoevenaar – Electric Bass Jessica Feldman – Flute Marylea Madiman - Horn Marina Rosenfeld - Piano All other instruments played by César AlvarezThe set "

I recently heard a radio show about Son House on NPR. This song just killed me so I went ahead and did my own updated version. Hope you like.

Try is one of the most ridiculous songs I've ever written. But it is pretty fun to perform if we can remember all the words. Here's a video from our CD Release on May 20, 2011. Lyrics below.Thanks to Paul Snyder (edit) and Ben Chace (camera)Buy the song Here.Studio Recording HereLyrics:Try to tell the truth about how you feelTry to take responsibility for your crappy lifeTry to eat the seedsTry

The Fancy opened for The Lisps last week at Rock Shop. They have killer basson and viola arrangements. Video below: