MS MR (a guy, a girl, and electronica)

It's been just over a year since MS MR (pronounced Mis Mister) released their debut album, Secondhand Rapture. Just think: a full year I could have been listening to this wonderful electronic album! I first came across MS MR on a flyer for the Rialto Theatre back in April. The group opened for Grouplove in a show that I probably should have attended (alas, 20/20 hindsight and all that...)

A few days later, I was browsing Freegal and noticed MS MR as one of the featured artists. Not wanting to ignore the signs of the universe, I decided to give this group a listen...and now here I am writing a blog post inviting you to do the same.

Donna's Crayons

I've been hopelessly in love with the Queen of Disco since I first discovered Donna Summer's music back in the '70s.  Her disco-era releases remain fundamental to the genre, from the 16 minute "Love To Love You Baby" (which helped popularize the extended mix), the synthesizer-driven "I Feel Love" (which birthed Eurodisco--and still sounds cutting-edge today), to the best of her dance music "concept" albums (Once Upon A Time, a modern retelling of the Cinderella tale, and Bad Girls, which tackles prostitution from the perspective of a streetwalker).  While her releases following the "death of disco" became infrequent and disappointing, her last album, Crayons, made a good case for the immortality of the Queen.  Thanks to PCPL's partnership with Freegal, one can get free and legal downloads of not only the entire album, but also remixed versions and a "bonus" track originally released only on iTunes and the European edition of Crayons.

Browsing the Wealth of Freegal Offerings

Hello music blog readers!  Just a short dispatch this week to let y'all know about the Freegal browse feature if you are not already aware.  I was poking around Freegal, and as opposed to searching directly for an artist as I normally do, I hit the "Browse A-Z" button so as I could peruse the catalog.  Lo and behold, it was a wealth of information!  Please read on to learn about the browse feature.

The Day the Music Died

                   A blog about Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, and the Big Bopper

I love Netflix- I've been catching up on all kinds of movies I haven't seen in, well, ever. Or in some cases seeing ones I watched during childhood. Recently two music biopics I watched got me thinking about "The Day the Music Died" which was February 3, 1959- when a plane crash claimed the lives of musicians Buddy Holly, Richard Valenzuela "Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson.

The first of two movies I saw is "La Bamba" (click the link to order the movie) which is about the very short life of high schooler Ritchie Valens, who grew up in California. The film stars Lou Diamond Phillips and portrays the young musician's influence on the Chicano rock movement. When Ritchie died at the mere age of 17...  (17!) he already had songs like 'Donna' and 'Come on Let's Go' and 'La Bamba' as huge hits on the radio.