Allmusic.com - Release Dates, Reviews, Track Listings and Discographies. Billboard Online - Trade magazine of the music industry featuring several internationally recognized record charts. Fact Magazine - UK based independent music review site with lots of great interviews and features. NPR Music - A staff favorite, with a plethora of well-written reviews, interviews, podcasts, and more. Tunefind - An index of music and songs appearing in popular TV shows and movies. Not comprehensive, but certainly accurate.
Discover New Music
Every Noise at Once - A one-page map of playable audio samples for more than 1500 music genres, from dance pop to bossa nova to black metal to Turkish new wave to swamp blues to deep opera. Prepare to kill an hour or more with this exhaustive and comprehensive interactive site. Gnoosic- A search engine for music, featuring a mapping system to locate music that is closely (or remotely) related to the artists you love. Music Ninja - A unique music review website, that has dozens of playlists covering all genres and moods. Noon Pacific - A playlist of music from hundreds of music blogs, hand-picked and delivered to your e-mail inbox every week.
Music in Film
Music makes a pretty compelling subject for a film, and our streaming movie database Kanopy has hundreds of music-related features for you to enjoy. Whether it’s a cradle-to-grave story biopic about a famous musician, or an enlightening documentary about a specific music scene, or simply a film with a killer soundtrack, Kanopy has you covered. You can access Kanopy through a variety of devices and platforms, and you get 10 play credits per month. Click here to peruse the music films available and stream (and listen to) a great movie today!
Listen to Music Online
Pandora - Free, personalized music that plays music according to what you love. Bandcamp - Discover amazing new music and directly support the artists who make it. Spotify - Free music, for tablets, smart phones, or computers. Slacker Radio - Hundreds of stations, adapted to your personal taste.
Freegal Pick of the Month
Are you using Freegal? How can you call yourself a music fan and not be using this excellent service that gives you five songs per week – absolutely free that you can keep forever. There are thousands of songs from popular artists and tons of new & upcoming bands and musicians to enjoy. You can also get a brief preview of each song before you use one of your weekly downloads – just log in with your library card and PIN numbers, then click the song's icon. Whatever your taste, Freegal is perfect for any music fan.
This month's pick:
Smokin' by Las Siete Potencias It’s hard to know just how many Latin bands formed in the wake of 1972 cinéma vérité documentary Our Latin Thing. It could be stated that this gritty, yet celebratory film had a similar catalyzing effect that A Hard Day’s Night had on the kids out in the Anglo neighborhoods. It’s quite possible that Las Siete Potencias (The Seven Powers) were set in motion by Our Latin Thing. This Bronx band was led by the versatile Louis Sanchez on vibraphone, who composed and arranged the majority of these songs that are not merely Smokin’, but are a sizzling wildfire of polyrhythmic proficiency. Sanchez clearly demonstrates that he was the prime mover and creative force behind this vibraphone-driven Latin Jazz, which incorporates salsa and pachanga with shades of exotica.
The opener “Los Seneros” may seem like standard-issue salsa upon initial listening, but additional listen reveals the subtleties and a summoning to dance. “Free Wind” sweeps in like “Flute Thing” by the Blues Project, which the Beastie Boys would sample on their “Flute Loop.” Ricardo Marrero, the co-producer of this album and who is still going strong, plays the stately piano melody on "Speak Like a Child." Vocals and instrumentation converge into a seamless whole on “La Juventude De Chango'' and are reinforced by the band’s strength of not sacrificing melody for the sake of rhythm. This 1976 album, released by Tito Rodríguez's TR Records, ends on an extremely strong note with two cosmopolitan instrumentals. “The Continental” features snap and crack percussion with dashing vibes that joyfully kick into gear to reach a panoramic crescendo. “Las Siete Potencias Theme/Green Dolphin Street” sounds like a theme for an ‘60s international espionage flick, but with a tropical twist of the sun breaking through.
Smokin’ not only stands up as a stellar seventies salsa album, but the skillful arrangements allow the songs to stretch out and radiate some vibrant edged exotica in the realms of Afro Blossom Westby the Andre Tanker Five and Percussionata by Monte Moya & The Surfers. In addition, the top-quality recording captures the percolating propulsive elements along with shifting layers of subtle touches. Overall, the incendiary Smokin’ continues to excite and endure as it's tuned to Bronx ‘76, while emanating a lasting glow. - Ted (Downtown)
