There’s more to Irish music than the Chieftains, Gaelic Storm, and Riverdance soundtracks. U2, The Cranberries, Thin Lizzy — these are only a few of the awesome modern rock bands to come out of Ireland.
If you’d rather rock out than folk out this St. Patrick’s Day (or any other time), click here.
Classical guitar, also known as “Spanish guitar,” is a finger-picked style of guitar playing where the instrument has nylon strings, rather than steel. Classical guitarists play more than traditionally understood classical music – all that Beethoven, Bach, Mozart and the like.
To check out the wide range of classical guitar music out there, click here.
When you turn on the radio, you never know what you’re going to get. The following CDs may not be appropriate for all families, but they’ve been handpicked by an MPPL mom to suit most families’ needs – from punk to pop.
Click here for a lively, rock’n’rollin’ list of albums for a car full of grown-ups and kids alike.
Where can you find REM, will.i.am, The Flaming Lips and Tom Waits all in one place? That would be The Future Soundtrack for America, in the library’s Pop/Rock collection. This album was created solely for nonprofit charities, and it rocks the gamut from David Byrne to Death Cab for Cutie.
The invention of the microphone changed the way that people sang. Instead of loudly projecting to the back of a room, a vocalist could softly, intimately croon at their audience. Thus the term “Crooner” was created.
Click here for a starter guide to these classic, sentimental songsters.
Nickel Creek was a band that started as straight bluegrass (or “newgrass,” as band members were wont to say) and developed into a heartfelt, Grammy-winning folk outfit.
For more albums in which mandolin, fiddle and Americana influences are evident, click here.
Vocal dynamo Kristin Chenoweth returns to her Oklahoma roots with Some Lessons Learned. Tap your boots with the spirited tunes (“What Would Dolly Do?”), be touched by the sweeter ones (“Fathers and Daughters” – destined to be a wedding favorite), and replay the showstoppers (“I Was Here”) in this vibrant new release.
The late ‘80s through the mid-‘90s was the Golden Age of Hip-Hop. You had bands like Run DMC, Public Enemy, and De La Soul tripping the charts with N.W.A., Dr. Dre, and Salt-N-Pepa. “The thing that made that era so great is that nothing was contrived. Everything was still being discovered and everything was still innovative and new.”
For a taste of the groundbreaking Golden Age of Hip-Hop, click here.
Willie Dixon learned how to sing harmony from a carpenter, growing up in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Later, he made his way to Illinois, where he became the most important man in Chicago blues, right under Muddy Waters. After a brief stint as a heavyweight boxer, Willie Dixon found his talent for songwriting, upright bass and guitar. Through these skills, he helped shape the sound of Chess Records and the future of the blues. The Chess Box is a two disc set that puts the spotlight on Dixon’s swaggering sexuality and smoky barroom blues. If you want to see where Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones stole their ideas from, have a sit down with Willie Dixon.
The up-tempo, unique sounds of Yoshida Kyōdai are perfect for sparking your imagination. Known internationally as the Yoshida Brothers, Kenichi and Ryoichiro are masters of the Tsugaru shamisen, a traditional banjo-like instrument with three strings. Drums and synthesizers are also incorporated, conjuring a rapid percussive style that blends pop, jazz, and new age to thrilling effect. Best of Yoshida Brothers is a dreamy, playful sampling of their most creative and successful works, reinventing Japanese folk with modern flourish and driving beat. Give a listen, and you’ll count yourself a fan in no time.
