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Remembering Steve Jobs Through Music And The iPod

Posted 10/6/11 9:24 am EST by in iphone, RIP

This morning, the world continues to mourn the loss of Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder and former CEO that pioneered computers with the Mac and iPad and revolutionized how we listen to music with iTunes and the iPod, who passed away yesterday at the age of 56 after a years-long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Jobs' impact on the worlds of music, movies and computers was profound. He didn't just create new and better techie toys for us to enjoy, he fundamentally altered the way we communicate, how we work and the way we access and consume entertainment.

He was a private man, but one thing we do know for certain about Steve Jobs is that he loved music. So in his honor, let's take a look back at the invention that changed sound – the iPod. The iPod has become so engrained in our culture that I'm sure many people reading this can't even remember a time when they couldn't take their entire music library with them everywhere they went.

In the spirit of celebrating Jobs' genius and his contributions to music, here are some of our favorite iPod commercials. Read More...

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Bruce Springsteen Posts Clarence Clemons Eulogy On His Website

Posted 6/30/11 9:00 am EST by in Bruce Springsteen, RIP

At the June 21 memorial service for legendary E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen delivered a moving tribute to his longtime friend and bandmate. Springsteen has posted the eulogy in its (slightly revised) entirety on his website, and his words are marked with great esteem but also honesty, revealing Clemons to be a great if imperfect man. “As you boys [Clemons’ sons] know your pop was a not a day at the beach. ‘C’ lived a life where he did what he wanted to do and he let the chips, human and otherwise, fall where they may,” Springsteen said during the eulogy. “Like a lot of us your pop was capable of great magic and also of making quite an amazing mess.”

That said, The Boss also spoke to the familial relationship he and Clemons shared. “From the first time I saw my pal striding out of the shadows of a half empty bar in Asbury Park, a path opening up before him; here comes my brother, here comes my sax man, my inspiration, my partner, my lifelong friend,” he said. “Standing next to Clarence was like standing next to the baddest ass on the planet. You were proud, you were strong, you were excited and laughing with what might happen, with what together, you might be able to do.”

Read Springsteen’s eulogy in full for Clemons below. Read More...

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Pouring One Out For Someone You've Most Likely Never Heard Of: Klaus Dinger, RIP

Posted 4/2/08 7:54 pm EST by in RIP

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Ok, ok, ok. 99.9% of you have never heard of Klaus Dinger, but I'm at the office late and have the keys to the blog still and so I'm gonna see if I can sneak this through, because what's the use of doing a blog if you can't get the occasional sure-to-be-ignored item in the blotter?

Klaus Dinger died on March 21 of heart failure at the age of 61, but wasn't publicized until today. Dinger was a member of German "krautrock" band Kraftwerk for a brief time in the early 1970s (before the band delved into electronics), but is more known for -- along with another erstwhile Kraftwerk member, guitarist Michael Rother -- forming the band Neu!, who released three influential (and totally genius) albums between 1972 and 1975, that influenced bands like Stereolab and Sonic Youth.

We are pouring one out for Dinger and Neu! and all the crazy things those nutty Germans inspired, and listening to this mesmerizing bootleg of the Dinger/Rother-era Kraftwerk lineup, "Live at Gondel Kino, Bremen, Germany," from June 1971, a heavy, hynotic classic-rock masterpiece. It's floating out there in the ether, if you want to have a look.

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The Game Is The Game: The Wire, R.I.P.

Posted 3/10/08 10:22 am EST by in RIP

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A lot can be said about the disabilities of this fifth season of "The Wire": a season that was oddly plot-driven versus previous seasons' character-driven narratives; Creator David Simon's caricature's of the newsroom brass (which always reminded us of some of Spike Lee's worst); that totally disproportionate homeless serial killer plot-line; Editor Gus' walk-on-water persona that was so unlike the rest of the great, textured characters Simon had invented before. Oh Season 5, you might have been the weakest link in the chain.

But let it be said that even at its most fallible, "The Wire" was the best dramatic show on television. It was skillfully, artfully pursued, season after season, with tremendous actors and an unparalleled defiance of most television conventions. It also was the most real thing you'll ever see. The grit and hopelessness of the inner city, the chess moves that come with "the game," Simon's ability to show sympathy for the bad guys -- it all resonated with a loyal audience weened on graphic street rhymes and larger-than-life personas (um, that means you).

There's a range of stuff on the internets about the show and the final episode, for the hard-core fanatics. Later today, on mtvnews.com, we'll have an update on all the projects "The Wire" cast are currently working on, plus an interview with Wendell Pierce, who plays the sublime detective, Bunk.

In the meantime, pour one out for your favorite show. Bmore all day.

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R.I.P. Static

Posted 2/27/08 5:00 pm EST by in RIP

 

Static

We're a touch late with this but it's certainly worth recognizing. Singer and songwriter Stephen “Static” Garrett died Monday, according to his record label Blackground. Static passed away in his hometown Louisville, KY, and no cause of death was revealed. He was 33.

Static was well known in music circles, one of the talents behind Blackground's come-up with Aaliyah and Timbaland. He wrote such classics as “Pony” for Ginuwine and “Are You That Somebody” for Aaliyah. Most recently Garrett produced and co-wrote an upcoming Lil’ Wayne single called “Lollipop."

Back in the day, Static was part of the group Playa, though he was finally slated drop his own album, Suppertime, this year. The first single, already on the net, is called, “I Got My” and features, Weezy.

More here via Concrete Loop.

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