Knuckle Down
''Knuckle Down'' is the 14th studio album by singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco. It is the first album where DiFranco has collaborated with a producer; Joe Henry. The record is also her first studio album to feature a string section. It is considered among her most accessible records, and compared to the stark '' Educated Guess'', it is more abundantly produced. Reception The album so far has a score of 73 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "generally favorable reviews". ''Billboard'' gave the album a favorable review and stated: "The results are a selection of high quality that veers between brightly spirited ("Manhole," "Lag Time") and somber ("Callous")." ''The New York Times'' gave it a positive review and said that DiFranco "is still self-sufficient, but an extra pair of producer's ears gives her some new dimensions." Other reviews are very average or mixed: ''Mojo'' gave the album three stars out of five and said it was "More honed and richly-textured than former offerings." ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ani DiFranco
Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influences from punk rock, punk, funk, hip hop music, hip hop and jazz. She has released all her albums on her own record label, Righteous Babe. DiFranco supports many social and political movements by performing benefit concerts, appearing on benefit albums and speaking at rallies. Through the Righteous Babe Foundation, DiFranco has backed grassroots cultural and political organizations supporting causes including abortion rights and LGBT visibility. She counts American folk singer and songwriter Pete Seeger among her mentors. DiFranco released a memoir, ''No Walls and the Recurring Dream'', on May 7, 2019, via Viking Books and made The New York Times Best Seller list, ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. On February 9, 2024, DiFranco made ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc Doyle, and Julie Doyle Roberts in 1999, and was acquired by Fandom, Inc. in 2022. Metacritic turns each critic and user review into respective percentage score. This can be done either by calculating the score from the rating given or by making a subjective decision based on the review's quality. Before averaging the scores, they are adjusted based on the critic's popularity, reputation, and the number of reviews they have written. The site also includes a summary from each review and links to the original source, using colors like green, yellow, or red to indicate the overall sentiment of the critics. Metacritic won two Webby Awards for excellence as an aggregation website. It is regarded as the foremost online rev ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Whistling
Whistling, without the use of an artificial whistle, is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. The air is moderated by the lips, curled tongue, teeth or fingers (placed over the mouth or in various areas between pursed lips) to create turbulence, and the curled tongue acts as a resonance, resonant chamber to enhance the resulting sound by acting as a type of Helmholtz resonance, Helmholtz resonator. By moving the various parts of the lips, fingers, tongue, and epiglottis, one can then manipulate the types of whistles produced. Techniques Pucker whistling is the most common form in much Western music. Typically, the tongue tip is lowered, often placed behind the lower teeth, and the pitch altered by varying the position of the tongue. Although varying the degree of pucker will change the pitch of a pucker whistle, expert pucker whi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Glockenspiel
The glockenspiel ( ; or , : bells and : play) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a Musical keyboard, keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glockenspiel is played by striking the bars with Percussion mallet, mallets, often made of a hard material such as metal or plastic. Its clear, high-pitched tone is often heard in Orchestra, orchestras, Concert band, wind ensembles, Marching band, marching bands, and in popular music. Terminology In German, a carillon is also called a , and in French, the glockenspiel is sometimes called a . It may also be called a () in French, although this term may sometimes be specifically reserved for the keyboard glockenspiel. In Italian, the term () is used. The glockenspiel is sometimes erroneously referred to as a xylophone. (The xylophone has wooden bars, unlike the glockenspiel which has metal bars.) The Pixiphone, a type of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Andrew Bird
Andrew Wegman Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing music, indie rock, and folk music. He is primarily known for his unique style of violin playing, accompanied by loop and effect pedals, whistling, and voice. In the 1990s, he sang and played violin in several jazz ensembles, including Squirrel Nut Zippers and Kevin O'Donnell's Quality Six. He went on to start his own swing ensemble, Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire, which released three albums between 1998 and 2001. '' Weather Systems'' (2003) was his first solo album after Bowl of Fire disbandment, and it marked a departure from jazz music into indie music. Bird's 2019 album '' My Finest Work Yet'' was nominated for "Best Folk Album" at the 2020 Grammy Awards. Beyond his own record releases, he has collaborated with various artists, including Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Jay Bellerose
Jay Bellerose is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session and live performance work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists. Biography Bellerose was born in Maine. A jazz enthusiast, he attended the Berklee College of Music where he worked with Paula Cole, Torsten de Winkel and others, and eventually went Los Angeles where he was part of Joe Henry's band. Bellerose has been influenced by blues and jazz, and his sound is in part derived from his vintage 1940s Slingerland Rolling Bomber kit. He often performs with shakers strapped to his ankles. He often uses a shallow 32-inch bass drum. Bellerose is a member of the Band of Sweethearts, which includes Brad Meinerding (guitar), Eric Heywood (pedal steel guitar) and Bellerose's long-time partner, Jennifer Condos (bass guitar). They frequently accompany Over the Rhine and other artists. Bellerose performed on the 2007 '' Raising Sand'' album by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments from Germany for resale in the United States. Wurlitzer enjoyed initial success, largely due to defense contracts to provide musical instruments to the U.S. military. In 1880, the company began manufacturing pianos and eventually relocated to North Tonawanda, New York. It quickly expanded to make fairground organ, band organs, orchestrions, player pianos and pipe organs, pipe or theatre organs popular in theatres during the days of silent movies. Wurlitzer also operated a chain of retail stores where the company's products were sold. As technology evolved, Wurlitzer began producing Wurlitzer electric piano, electric pianos, electronic organs and jukeboxes, and it eventually became known more for jukeboxes and vending machines, which are s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
String Bass
The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions such as the octobass). It has four or five strings, and its construction is in between that of the gamba and the violin family. The bass is a standard member of the orchestra's string section, along with violins, violas, and cellos,''The Orchestra: A User's Manual'' , Andrew Hugill with the Philharmonia Orchestra as well as the concert band, and is featured in Double bass concerto, concertos, solo, and chamber music in European classical music, Western classical music.Alfred Planyavsky [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Todd Sickafoose
Todd Sickafoose is an American jazz and rock musician, composer, and producer/engineer from San Francisco, California. He is best known for playing acoustic bass and keyboards with Ani DiFranco but has also led his own group, Todd Sickafoose's Tiny Resistors.Biography ''''''allmusic.com'', Retrieved February 22, 2009 Sickafoose has been a member of the bands of Jenny Scheinman, [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Chamberlin
The Chamberlin is an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument that was a precursor to the Mellotron. It was developed and patented by the American inventor Harry Chamberlin from 1949 to 1956, when the first model was introduced. There are several models and versions of the Chamberlin. While most are keyboard-based, there were also early drum machines produced and sold. Some of these drum patterns feature the work of Chamberlin's son Richard. Development Harry Chamberlin's idea for the instrument came from recording himself playing an organ and conceiving its playback as entertainment. He designed the first Chamberlin instrument as early as 1949, intended as a home entertainment device for family sing-alongs and playing the big band standards of the day. The Chamberlin's use as a commercial instrument in rock (or rock and roll) music was not considered, as Harry Chamberlin disliked rock music and rock musicians. The Chamberlin has a piano-style keyboard. Underneath each key is a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Music Sampling
In sound and music, sampling is the reuse of a portion (or sample) of a sound recording in another recording. Samples may comprise elements such as rhythm, melody, speech, or sound effects. A sample might comprise only a fragment of sound, or a longer portion of music, such as a drum beat or melody. Samples are often layered, equalized, sped up or slowed down, repitched, looped, or otherwise manipulated. They are usually integrated using electronic music instruments ( samplers) or software such as digital audio workstations. A process similar to sampling originated in the 1940s with ''musique concrète'', experimental music created by splicing and looping tape. The mid-20th century saw the introduction of keyboard instruments that played sounds recorded on tape, such as the Mellotron. The term ''sampling'' was coined in the late 1970s by the creators of the Fairlight CMI, a synthesizer with the ability to record and playback short sounds. As technology improved, cheaper stand ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Q (magazine)
''Q'' was a British popular music magazine. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series ''The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ''Q'' was published in print in the UK from 1986 until its final issue was published in July 2020. In 2023, ''Q'' was revived as an Webzine, online publication, but this closed in May 2024. History ''Q'' was originally published by the EMAP media group and set itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing. In the early years, the magazine was sub-titled "The modern guide to music and more". Originally it was to be called ''Cue'' (as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play), but the name was changed so that it would not be mistaken for a snooker magazine. Another reason, cited in ''Q''s 200th edition, is that a single-letter title would be more prominent on newsstands. In January 2008, EMAP so ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |