Piano music

In the liner notes to 1974 s Blood on the Tracks , widely regarded as Bob Dylan s greatest album, Pete Hamill tells us that, when talking of or thinking about Dylan, we should ignore the clenched young scholars who analyse his rhymes into dust.

As such, it s very hard to find myself feeling like a young scholar, and especially hard to brand myself as clenched.

Nonetheless, Dylan s latest album does need to be commented on, especially as there has been, to my mind, a knee-jerk reaction of critical love over it which is not particularly deserved.

(more…)

It s that time of year again when the British music industry has its most illustrious night of the year. The Brit Awards are only 22 days away and counting. The Awards celebrate the cr me de la cr me of the music industry here in Britain. The Brits seem to catch the headlines every year with dazzling performances and sometimes controversial appearances such as when Jarvis Cocker, lead singer of the band Pulp, ran on stage and mooned Michael Jackson when he was in the middle of a somewhat frivolous musical performance.

(more…)

What makes a great love song? The truth is, a songwriter didn t compose a great love song, a singer didn t sing a great love song, but the ones who listen to it make it great, especially when two twine together as one a romance. We, therefore, are the ones who pick it one in Top 10 love songs or Best love songs ever.

Even my ex-boyfriend and I used to have that as our song - Lover, I don t have to love by Bright Eyes. It seemed foolish because its song title, lyrics, and even melody are bittersweet and melancholy. We didn t understand why we were listening to this

(more…)

The New Year brings with it many benefits, from the initial exhilaration of trying to keep your New Year’s resolutions to the anticipation of what the coming twelve months has in store for you. In the US, however, the first few months of every year take on an altogether new meaning: it witnesses three of the biggest awards events of the season - the Grammys, the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

Music fans in particular will appreciate the excitement created by the Grammy Awards. Originally known as the Gramophone Awards, the Grammy Awards are presented by the Recording Academy for outstanding achievements in the recording industry - and 2007 will see it into its 49th year

Ashley MacKenzie
Manager Simon Cowell
Odds 11/2 (Outright), 7/4 (16-24 Winner)

Ashley MacKenzie is 20, from Croydon and currently unemployed. He is the dark horse of the 16-24 year old group and is second in the betting behind favourite Leona Lewis. He made an immediate impact in the Bristol X Factor auditions when he sang Stevie Wonder’s “Ribbon in the Sky” and Simply Red’s “Holding Back the Years”.

He was proclaimed “brilliant” and with “a great style” by Simon Cowell while Sharon Osbourne stated he was the second person she would remember on the day. Louis Walsh was also enthusiastic and said he had a great voice.

(more…)