Blog: ChordStrike

Looking for the perfect soundtrack to your Dharma party? Need something to spin for your final-season soirée? Now you can have all the songs featured in *Seasons 1-5 of Lost with just one click. The producers of Lost have some pretty diverse tastes, and the 71 songs included here include cuts by Patsy Cline, Perry Como, Petula Clark, the Pixies, and Puccini , just to name a few. So check it out. Sample tracks 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42, or download the [...]

I'm totally addicted to OK Go 's brilliant video for " This Too Shall Pass ." Every time I watch it, I discover a handful of new reasons to love it. Perhaps the most satisfying part of this video is the sheer number of times that the on-screen action coincides with the rhythms of the song, but let me not color your experience too much. Just watch it: -- Jason Kirk

Leave it to Rhymesayers to lead the charge in putting off the obsolescence of physical music. Last year, we made a bit of adoring noise about the very cool packaging of P.O.S.'s Never Better (in additional to naming it one of the Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2009, So Far and the 49th Best Album of the Year.. So Far ), but this year, whoever's running design over at Rhymesayers has absolutely outdone her- or himself. Freeway & Jake One's The Stimulus Package [...]

In a few days, the wait is over for fans of Stile Antico, the phenomenal vocal ensemble who specialize in Tudor and Renaissance choral music (and high-profile side projects with Sting .) They release " Media Vita ," a selection of works by the sixteenth century composer John Sheppard. Less well-known than Thomas Tallis , Sheppard's fame has spread slowly, because his compositions only made it to the twentieth century in manuscript form and many of them are incomplete. What survives bears all the hallmarks of greatness. This recording [...]

Lou Reed has always gone against the grain. During 1967's so-called summer of love, his band The Velvet Underground released a debut album about prostitution and heroin addiction. Then, when the hippy revolution turned sour, the VU released their happy, trippy pop album, Loaded , starting with the decidedly hippyish "Who Loves The Sun." But most contrary of all was Reed's 1975 solo album, Metal Machine Music (1975), four sides of unlistenable noise [...]

Criticizing an album before anyone's ever heard it would be a bizarre thing to do. Bizarrely, I think I'm going do just that. Y'see, I'm just a little concerned about one of my favorite artists. Joanna Newsom's Ys was one of my favorite albums of the last ten years, but she's announced her follow up, Have One On Me , is going to be a triple. There's no track listing yet, but whatever it is will be released on 3xCDs, or 3xLPs. [...]

There was a time when you kept your enjoyment of ABBA 's bouncy pop melodies to yourself, but those times are gone. In these enlightened days of the early 21st century, pretty much everyone has come to accept that during the eleven years of their existence, ABBA was responsible for creating a portfolio of perfectly crafted pop. The resurgence of interest in the band, most recently witnessed in the phenomenal success of the Mamma Mia stage show and movie, has now culminated in the opening of ABBA World, a museum/theme park in London. [...]

I recently had the mixed pleasure of reading the newest biography of the great Satchmo, entitled Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong , by Terry Teachout. Having previously read Teachout's The Skeptic: A Life of H.L. Mencken , I'd expected a reasonably satisfying read, fueled by extensive research and delivered in rather pedestrian prose . As it turns out, that's exactly what the book offers. My fellow blogger Dave Callanan named it one of the " Best Books of December " and had the following [...]

By the time the European avant garde had advanced to breaking china and blowing train whistles, Swiss composer Othmar Schoeck was deemed "too accessible." Their loss, as " Notturno ," op. 47, (1931-1933) is a post-romantic chamber gem. Poems by Nikolaus Lenau, scored for string quartet and baritone are given a new reading on an ECM recording featuring the rock-solid, Rosamunde Quartet, with Christian Gerhaher. This is attractive, meaty, but agile musicianship, showing a wonderful dynamic range. Extra props go to Herr Gerhaher for his beautiful tone, and impeccable diction. – Hugo Munday [...]

Download the Hope for Haiti Now benefit album featuring live performances from last night's star-studded Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief telethon. All proceeds from the album sales will go to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF, the United Nations World Food Programme, and Yele Haiti Foundation. In addition, all proceeds from the special studio version of " Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour) " by Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge, and Rihanna will go to Partners in Health.

Hi there! SoundUnwound is the new music website from IMDb and Amazon. We are primarily a music database, which is editable by all users, but moderated to help keep data quality high. Recently we've been adding a few extra features for a bit more fun. We know some of the Chordstrike team have been enjoying them, so we thought we'd let you know too. We've made use of Amazon's vast library of 30-second song samples to put together five genre quizzes which test your musical knowledge, and [...]

The world needs more music critics like Charles Shaar Murray. Looking forward to the release of Jimi Hendrix's Valleys of Neptune (yes, a new Hendrix album!), I've been reading Murray's Crosstown Traffic . It's brilliant writing. Hendrix is the book's centerpiece, but there's a load to learn here for anyone who likes books about music. The subtitle of its best chapter yet asks, "So was Jimi Hendrix a sexist pig or what?" Murray argues that " the sexuality expressed through the blues gradually mutated into the [...]

Thanks for the first-hand accountp of the unfolding tragedy, Jason.p It's good to have you back. p I've spent the weekend in Nashville for the 2010 Stellar Awards , as gospel celebrates their big night. Lots of inspirational, empathetic speeches and prayers as the show began and throughout the evening for the victims of the tragedy unfolding in Haiti.p Underpinning the words, one of [...]

Sosúa, Dominican Republic ( Tuesday, January 12, 2010) -- I was on the balcony, three floors up, when suddenly I felt a powerful urge to throw up. Then my chair began to sway. When I looked across the alley and saw the laundry lines in full swing, I knew we were in trouble. As we all fled out into the street, the air of general panic was palpable. Over the next few hours, via spotty cell phone connections, those of us huddled together in the street, half a mile from the [...]

Start saving your pennies now, kids. In just a little over a year, what will no doubt be the loudest and scariest boat ride since the Sex Pistols took over the Thames will be happening from Miami, Florida to Cozumel, Mexico with 7000 Tons of Metal . January 24th the cruise embarks with room for 2000 metal fans for 4 days on the high seas with 40 bands playing over the duration. Only six bands have been confirmed so far, but they are pretty impressive: Amon Amarth , Sodom , Sonata Arctica , [...]

This week brought the sad news that Montreal-based singer-songwriter Lhasa De Sela passed away on New Year's Day, after a 21-month battle with breast cancer. The American-born artist had a one-of-a-kind upbringing with her Mexican father and American mother, spending most of her childhood traveling between the two countries, developing her unique and decidedly pan-cultural artistic skills that led her to sing in English, Spanish, and French. From her official site: "Lhasa's unusual childhood was marked by long periods of nomadic wandering through Mexico and the U.S., with her parents and sisters in [...]

Enter to win a trip to the spring 2010 Idol Finale in Los Angeles.. (Ends December 31.) Enter to win all the items in Lady Gaga 's Amazon.com shopping cart. The lucky winner will also receive a signed copy of The Fame Monster super deluxe edition. (Ends January 4.) Enter to win a $500 shopping spree Amazon.com from Paul McCartney . (Ends January 4.) [...]

Enter to win all the items in Lady Gaga 's Amazon.com shopping cart. The lucky winner will also receive a signed copy of The Fame Monster super deluxe edition. (Ends January 4.) Enter to win a trip for two to meet John Mayer and attend his New Orleans concert as part of his 2010 tour. (Ends December 17.) Enter to win a trip for two to the first concert of Carrie Underwood 's 2010 tour. (Ends December [...]

Metal music fanatics are not only die-hard in their love of the music, but stone-hard in their opinions about what makes great metal. I certainly have mine, and they tend to lean towards bands that push the boundaries of the metal. I am welcoming a debate about my choices. Please critique, harangue, and question my list. And most of all, add your favorites in the comments. I'm always looking for recommendations. Cheers! 1. Wolves in the Throne Room - Black Cascade This Washington-based, environmentally-minded band [...]

Peep the cover of the most recent issue of Rolling Stone . It's nothing if not an object lesson in the powerful simplicity of graphic design done right. No surprise, I suppose, since the cover was conceptualized by Chip Kidd . For those who don't know of Kidd, he's most highly renowned for his book-jacket designs, in which medium he reigns (among the living) absolutely unchallenged. His Work: 1986-2006 is a superlative greatest-hits collection culled from two decades' eye-popping book jackets and worth every penny. Then again, maybe this issue's [...]