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Discovering Japan
"Discovering Japan" is a song by British rock musician Graham Parker, recorded with his backing band the Rumour. The song was released on his 1979 album, ''Squeezing Out Sparks''. Lyrically inspired by a tour of Japan, "Discovering Japan" was a departure from the simplicity of some of Parker's earlier work. The song was released as a single in the UK in 1979, but did not chart. The song has since become one of Parker's most famous songs. Background "Discovering Japan" was inspired by a tour that Parker and the Rumour went on that included stops in Japan and Australia. As a new wave artist, Parker received much more attention in Japan as opposed to his native UK; Parker explained, "I’d been on tour, and I remember being on an airplane flying back from Japan, which was, and probably still is, like an alien planet. It’s really different. I’d toured there, and we’d had quite a tremendous amount of success—there and Australia. ... In Japan, we were the mainstay of new wave, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graham Parker
Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour. Life and career Early career (1960s–1976) Parker was born in Hackney, East London, in 1950. He was a pupil at Chobham Secondary Modern School in Surrey. After the arrival of the Beatles, Parker and some other 12/13-year-olds formed the Deepcut Three, soon renamed the Black Rockers. None of the members actually learned to play their instruments, however, and were merely dress-up bands, adopting Beatle haircuts, black jeans and polo neck sweaters. By the time Parker was 15 he was a fan of soul music, especially Otis Redding, and would go to dance clubs in the nearby towns of Woking and Camberley where there was a thriving appreciation of soul music, Motown and ska. Parker left school at 16 and went to work at the Animal Virus Research Institute in Pirbright, Surrey, where he bred animals for foot-and-mouth disease r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squeezing Out Sparks
''Squeezing Out Sparks'' is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter Graham Parker and his band the Rumour. The album was released in March 1979. Although the Rumour were not credited on the cover, their name was included on the album label. Critically acclaimed, ''Squeezing Out Sparks'' was voted album of the year in ''The Village Voice''s year-end Pazz & Jop critics' poll and later ranked number 334 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Background Whereas Parker's previous albums were notable for their strong soul influences, with many prominent tracks and singles including a horn section, on ''Squeezing Out Sparks'' producer Jack Nitzsche favoured a rawer sound. Coincidentally, popular punk band the Clash were undergoing a reverse process, trying to expand their musical arrangements. Therefore, the Rumour's rhythm and blues session players went on to record all the horn parts in the Clash's third and praised record ''London ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Local Girls
"Local Girls" is a song by British rock musician Graham Parker, recorded with his backing band the Rumour. The song was released on his 1979 album, ''Squeezing Out Sparks''. Lyrically inspired by the girls in Parker's hometown, "Local Girls" was meant to capture life in English suburbia. The song was released as a single in the US in 1979, but did not chart. The song has since become one of Parker's most famous songs. Background "Local Girls" was written by Graham Parker as a commentary on the girls from his youth that were attracted to soldiers at an army camp near his town; Parker recalled in an interview, "You might fancy some local girls, but you know there's no chance. She thinks you're just a local kid that everybody knows". He later said in an interview on his website, The song was originally written as a part of a larger concept on the ''Squeezing Out Sparks'' album to capture suburban life in England. He commented on this, "In [''Squeezing Out Sparks''] I was kind of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock Music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and United Kingdom.W. E. Studwell and D. F. Lonergan, ''The Classic Rock and Roll Reader: Rock Music from its Beginnings to the mid-1970s'' (Abingdon: Routledge, 1999), p.xi It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, a style that drew directly from the blues and rhythm and blues genres of African-American music and from country music. Rock also drew strongly from a number of other genres such as electric blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz, classical, and other musical styles. For instrumentation, rock has centered on the electric guitar, usually as part of a rock group with electric bass guitar, drums, and one or more singers. Usually, rock is song-based music with a time signature using a verse–chorus form, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Wave Music
New wave is a loosely defined music genre that encompasses pop-oriented styles from the late 1970s and the 1980s. It was originally used as a catch-all for the various styles of music that emerged after punk rock, including punk itself. Later, critical consensus favored "new wave" as an umbrella term involving many popular music styles of the era, including power pop, synth-pop, ska revival, and more specific forms of punk rock that were less abrasive. It may also be viewed as a more accessible counterpart of post-punk. Common characteristics of new wave music include a humorous or quirky pop approach, the use of electronic sounds, and a distinctive visual style in music videos and fashion. In the early 1980s, virtually every new pop/rock act – and particularly those that employed synthesizers – were tagged as "new wave". Although new wave shares punk's do-it-yourself philosophy, the artists were more influenced by the styles of the 1950s along with the lighter s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its coverage of rock music and political reporting by Hunter S. Thompson. In the 1990s, the magazine broadened and shifted its focus to a younger readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors, and popular music. It has since returned to its traditional mix of content, including music, entertainment, and politics. The first magazine was released in 1967 and featured John Lennon on the cover and was published every two weeks. It is known for provocative photography and its cover photos, featuring musicians, politicians, athletes, and actors. In addition to its print version in the United States, it publishes content through Rollingstone.com and numerous international editions. Penske Media Corporation is the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vertigo Records
Vertigo Records is a record company with United Kingdom origins. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it is operated by Universal Music Germany, and the UK catalogue was folded into Mercury Records, which was absorbed in 2013 by Virgin EMI Records, which returned to the EMI Records name in June 2020. History Vertigo was the brainchild of Olav Wyper when he was Creative Director at Phonogram. It was launched as a competitor to labels such as Harvest (a prog subsidiary of EMI) and Deram (Decca). It was the home to bands such as Colosseum, Jade Warrior, Affinity, Ben and other bands from 'the "cutting edge" of the early-'70s British prog-folk-post-psych circuit'. The first Vertigo releases came with a black and white spiral label, which was replaced with Roger Dean's spaceship design in 1973. Vertigo later became the European home to various hard rock band ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Nitzsche
Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spector and went on to work with the Rolling Stones and Neil Young, among others. He also worked extensively in film scores, notably for films such as ''Performance'', ''The Exorcist'' and '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest''. In 1983, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for co-writing "Up Where We Belong" with Buffy Sainte-Marie. Life and career Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and raised on a farm in Newaygo, Michigan, Nitzsche, the son of German immigrants, moved to Los Angeles in 1955 with ambitions of becoming a jazz saxophonist. He was hired by Sonny Bono, who was at the time an A&R executive at Specialty Records, as a music copyist. While there, Nitzsche wrote a novelty hit titled "Bongo Bongo Bongo". Nitzsche wr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protection (Graham Parker Song)
"Protection" is a song by British rock musician Graham Parker, recorded with his backing band the Rumour. The song was released on his 1979 album, ''Squeezing Out Sparks''. "Protection" was lyrically inspired by a Winston Churchill line and featured a stripped-down arrangement. The song was released as a single in the UK in 1979, but did not chart there. The song has since become one of Parker's most famous songs. Background Graham Parker wrote the opening lines to "Protection" after hearing a Winston Churchill quote. He later explained in an interview, "As far as mentioning Churchill goes, I recall seeing a clip of him saying 'So all of you be damned, we can’t have heaven crammed' and found it quite offensive so I used it verbatim as the opening salvo on 'Protection. Parker recalled sending producer Jack Nitzsche an early version of "Protection" in an interview; he explained, "When itzscheheard that line in 'Protection', 'It ain't the knife through the heart that tears you ap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Rumour
The Rumour was an English rock band in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known as the backup band for Graham Parker, whose early records (from 1976 to 1980) were credited to Graham Parker & The Rumour. However, The Rumour also recorded on their own, releasing three albums: ''Max'' (1977), ''Frogs, Sprouts, Clogs and Krauts'' (1979), and ''Purity of Essence'' (1980). The group broke up at the end of 1980, but reunited as Parker's backing band in 2011, and have performed and recorded with Parker ever since. The band undertook a short final UK tour in October 2015, finishing with a final concert at the London Forum on 17 October 2015. At this show, the surviving members of the horn section also reunited, for the first time in 33 years. History Members of The Rumour came from the veteran UK pub rock bands Brinsley Schwarz, Ducks Deluxe and Bontemps Roulez. Throughout most of their existence (1975–1980), The Rumour consisted of founding members Bob Andrews ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Belmont
Martin Belmont (born 21 December 1948) is an English rock and country-blues guitarist, best known for being a founding member of Graham Parker & The Rumour. Life and career Belmont was born in Bromley, Kent, England. After working as a roadie for Brinsley Schwarz, in 1972 he formed Ducks Deluxe, issuing two albums on RCA. In 1975 he was a founding member of Graham Parker and the Rumour, who released six albums, and of The Rumour who recorded another three on their own. Then he spent two years from 1980 as guitarist for Carlene Carter, succeeded by five years with Nick Lowe & His Cowboy Outfit, in both line-ups playing alongside Paul Carrack. Belmont continued as an in-demand sideman across a wide spectrum of music, with sessions for Elvis Costello, Billy Bragg, Carl Perkins, Jona Lewie, John Hiatt, Desmond Decker, Johnny Cash, Eddie Grundy and others. In 1995, Demon Records issued his first solo album, ''Big Guitar''. His first manager and old friend Dave Robinson t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paste (magazine)
''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication from 2002 to 2010 before converting to online-only. History The magazine was founded as a quarterly in July 2002 and was owned by Josh Jackson, Nick Purdy, and Tim Regan-Porter. In October 2007, the magazine tried the " Radiohead" experiment, offering new and current subscribers the ability to pay what they wanted for a one-year subscription to ''Paste''. The subscriber base increased by 28,000, but ''Paste'' president Tim Regan-Porter noted the model was not sustainable; he hoped the new subscribers would renew the following year at the current rates and the increase in web traffic would attract additional subscribers and advertisers. Amidst an economic downturn, ''Paste'' began to suffer from lagging ad revenue, as did other magazine pub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
