Music
"Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid."
~ Frank Zappa
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- That's his picture up there, not Frank Zappa, in case you didn't know. The greatest composer who ever lived, as far as I'm concerned. Learn more about him here.
- The Symphony: An Interactive Guide
- Don't know one composer from another? Can't tell a French horn from a double bass? Always getting your allegros mixed up with your andantes? This site can help.
- The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society
- Next time you're in Philadelphia, check out the world-class performers presented by the PCMS.
- John Williams
- No, not the film composer--this is the brilliant classical guitarist.
- Glenn Gould
- Yes, maybe he was rather...eccentric. He made up for it by being a musical genius.
- Fiddle Chicks
- For some reason, I've always had a thing about women who play bowed instruments...
- Hypnos Recordings
- If you think "space music" is either a lot of weird noise for bad SF films or cheesy "new age" pablum, you obviously haven't heard the real thing. Space and ambient is a rich and diverse musical genre, and Hypnos is one of its leading purveyors.
- Ambientrance
- An online ambient music magazine with reviews, interviews, and more.
- Space For Music
- Another leading label and distributor of space/ambient. You won't find this stuff at your local record store, so go here.
- Echoes
- The syndicated radio program of ambient, space, world and contemporary instrumental music, originating right here in Philadelphia.
- Star's End
- Every Saturday night/Sunday morning from 1 to 6 AM, host Chuck Van Zyl spins a tapestry of deep, contemplative ambient and electronic music for listening, sleeping, and dreaming. On the air for over 25 years, Star's End is just about the longest-running radio program of electronic music in the world. Streaming Internet audio available.
- Steve Roach
- A pioneering innovator of ambient, electronic, tribal and world music.
- The Gatherings
- This ambient music concert series at the University of Pennsylvania brings in genre artists from all over the world to play in Philadelphia.
- Quinlan Road: The Official Loreena McKennitt Website
- Loreena McKennitt is one class act, a marvelously eclectic composer/performer/artist who wanders the world for inspiration from all cultures and times, and uses it to create exquisite music.
- R.E.M. Headquarters
- The boys from Athens are still together, still true to their original ideals, and still making beautiful and adventurous music.
- Cowboy Junkies
- Hypnotic mellowness from Canada.
- The Mermen
- Post-modern surf guitar music for the 21st Century.
- Radiohead
- The critics were right: OK Computer is one of the best rock albums of at least the past two decades. Now these guys are moving beyond it, still way ahead of their time and ahead of any other group in the rock genre.
- Peter Gabriel
- Rock music for adults--sophisticated, deep, profound, and you can still dance to it.
- Social Distortion
- These guys rock. That's all you need to know.
- The Cranes
- Yes, the Cranes are something of an acquired taste, and singer Ali Shaw's childlike voice may make you think she's mainlining helium at first. Then their sound filters into your soul, and you're swept up in its spell. Truly original.
- Lisa Gerrard
- You've probably heard her on the soundtracks of films such as Gladiator, Heat and The Insider without realizing it. An otherworldly voice and an incredible composer.
- Caryn Lin
- A local Philly fiddle chick who does amazing things with an electric violin.
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