• The Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man" at 50: Ranking The Original (Bob Dylan) and Covers (Stevie Wonder, William Shatner, More)

    On this date 50 years ago The Byrds recorded "Mr. Tambourine Man." That band wasn't the first to do it—Bob Dylan wrote the original version of the song and recorded it just five days prior to The Byrds entering the studio with it—but it would end up that the latter ended up more famous than the first. The song reached no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has been cited as the birthplace of "folk rock" (fans of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and everything to follow are thankful). Many acts have gone on to cover the track (aside from The Byrds) so Music Times gathered a few of the more famous versions and ranked them accordingly.
  • Fleet Foxes's Robin Pecknold Writes Music for Off-B'way Play 'Wyoming'

    It has been nearly four years since we have heard a new Fleet Foxes album, but today it was revealed that Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold has composed the music for an upcoming off-Broadway play titled "Wyoming," which was written by Pecknold's cousin Brian Watkins and directed by Danya Taymor. According to "Stereogum," Pecknold co-wrote the music along with percussionist Neal Morgan, who is best known for his work with Bill Callahan and Pecknold's old touring partner Joanna Newsom — perhaps that is where they met? According to "Broadway World," "Wyoming" is a "biting, brilliant family drama about buried memories of a confounding childhood crime" produced by Lesser America. As of right now, Pecknold has no plans to record or release his score, which means you will have to go see the play, which runs from Jan. 15 to 31 at Theater for the New City in New York City. You can purchase tickets for "Wyoming" here. Fleet Foxes's most recent album "Helplessness Blues" was released in 2011. It was the Seattle band's second studio album overall, following their self-titled, debut album from 2008. Most recently, Pecknold embarked on a tour with members of Grizzly Bear, Wye Oak, Beach House and The Walkmen celebrating the music of late Byrds member Gene Clark.
  • 8 Albums Named After Their Cover Songs

    When you put a cover song on an album of otherwise original music, it's typically the sort of thing that's tucked away somewhere deep into the tracklisting and not really highlighted. However, these artists felt that their cover songs were so important to the fabric of their albums that they made them the title tracks. Here are eight albums named after their cover songs.
  • 7 Bands That Spawned Multiple Prominent Solo Careers

    Many bands would be lucky enough to have just one immensely talented artist to carry them to success, but these seven bands had two (or sometimes more) musicians in their ranks who would go on to achieve success on their own.
  • 6 Incredible Songs with Bizarre Song Structures

    If you listen to a lot of pop and rock music like I do, you've probably noticed that most songs are similarly structured. They more or less go verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus, and in three minutes, you're out. A million great songs have been written this way, but some artists like to explore alternative song structures, often with great success. Here are six great songs with bizarre structures.
  • 6 Artists Whose Second Band Was Superior

    When a musician is kicked out of a high-profile band, or if that band breaks up, they can usually be expected to start another band soon afterwards. While these bands are rarely better than the old ones (see: Wings, Big Audio Dynamite), sometimes the new band is actually better. Here are six artists whose second band was better than their first.
Real Time Analytics