We pay tribute to an icon of my childhood, and many others’ too-Fred Rogers.
Blerd Appreciation
Blerd Appreciation: Whitney Houston
The Popblerd staff pays tribute to the incomparable Whitney Houston, who passed away yesterday at the age of 48.
Blerd Appreciation: J. Dilla
Every music producer has their own signature style, especially in hip hop, where a simple scratch, tone or sound can in many cases let you know exactly who is behind the boards. On February 10th 2006 the world lost one of the most prolific and creative artists not just in Hip Hop, but in all of music: James Yancey, a.k.a. Jay Dee, a.k.a. J Dilla. Hailing out of Detroit, Michigan, Dilla is often best known as a member of Slum […]
Blerd Appreciation: Don Cornelius
We’ve gotta stop and give props to one of the most influential men in pop and soul music history-Don Cornelius.
Blerd Appreciation: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Perhaps it’s better that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived in the era he lived in. These days, it’s hard for anyone to galvanize a nation, whether it be an entertainer, a politician, or one of the greatest civil rights leaders of our-or any-time. In the age of social media, when rumors and innuendo are truth until proven otherwise, the unfounded rumors that Dr. King was a serial cheater would’ve ruined his career, or at least resulted in a tearful […]
Killer Sounds from a Killer Band (Hard-Fi come back hard!)
The UK’s Hard-Fi are somewhere in the realm of The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite mixed with The Police. They definitely bring the groove with some horn and synth flourishes but overall, Hard-Fi just rock. Their third album, Killer Sounds, is out this week and it is well worth the 4-year wait. Teaming up with producers Stuart Price (Madonna, Seal, The Killers), Greg Kurstin (Lily Allen), Alan Moulder (NIN) as well as production from frontman Richard Archer, Hard-Fi have managed to […]
Blerd Appreciation: Remembering Aaliyah-10 Years Later
The day was Sunday, August 26th, 2001. Me and the person I was dating at the time were returning from a trip to the Cape. It was my first visit to the state that, in a few years, would become my home. We were fairly near New York, because I remember that we’d switched the radio dial to Z-100, NYC’s Top 40 station. They were playing “Back & Forth” or “One In A Million” or one of those Aaliyah songs […]
Blerd Appreciation: The Sylvers
We take a minute to give props to the hit family soul/disco band The Sylvers, who have received a revival in interest thanks to TVOne’s documentary, “Unsung”.
The Viewfinder: Beastie Boys “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win (feat. Santigold)”
If you didn’t know this already, the Beastie Boys are back in a big way in 2011. If the fantastic Hot Sauce Committee Part Two or the “Make Some Noise” short film didn’t convince you then their latest dub-tinged single featuring Santigold most surely will. Ok, not only is “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win” one of the best songs on the recently released Hot Sauce Committee Part Two but the Spike Jonze-directed short film megamix version that […]
Blerd Appreciation: Toto
A couple of weeks ago, in between listening to “Human Nature” and playing my copy of Boz Scaggs’ Silk Degrees, it came to me. Toto doesn’t get near enough props. People talk about Toto as if they were the representation of everything wrong with the music industry in the early Eighties. Too slick, too processed, no soul. Boring yacht rock. Instead of “slick”, I’d call them “talented”. Boring yacht rock? Yeah, that was their M.O. on occasion (and way more […]
