literature
Beat's music literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase musicians.
My Passion
Music has been my passion as long as I can remember. Music is everywhere, it's in our cars, our home, our work, the mall, at church, at parties, etc. Music inspires and comforts people in ways that people can't. I love everything about music. I love learning the theory of it, hearing the blend of harmonies and melodies. I especially love acapella! Acapella makes every note, melody, and harmony come together and make the most beautiful sound known to man, produced by the most beautiful instrument - the human voice!
By Rebekah Lott6 years ago in Beat
Infidels
Prologue I am writing this testimonial to simply put straight all the rumors, lies, and fantasies that have been written, spoken, and sung about me. I have been the fodder for the creative poverty population who are stricken with the disease of self importance and are self appointed experts and rank strangers who claim to have known me, loved me, and befriended me. I keep a very tight circle so all who have claimed ownership of the knowledge are simply owners of either exaggerated falsehoods or the deluded companion bankrupt searching for some land or parcel to call their own.
By Freddy Zalta6 years ago in Beat
Against All Risk
The following is a preview of the beginning of my book, End of the Hall. Track 1: Forget Your Fear A distant roar is heard through the tunnel. Various crew members are running along the passage as the steel tips of stilettos confidently stride. With each step, a pulse of indigo shows through the eyes of a young woman when she looks to her heels. She arrives at the platform to hear the roars grow louder. A roadie runs over for her to retrieve her signature guitar, nicknamed “The Hammer.” She plucks each string with it unplugged to check the strength then joins her bandmates on the stage. “Jesus, Cyd, take long enough?” a woman asks as she shoulders a violet and silver striped bass.
By Harper Wade6 years ago in Beat
For the Love of Passion
The sound of their voices echoed off the red painted walls and golden carved ceiling of the theater. I watched Laurie and Jim finish their scene; I always loved watching the way her 1940s style red skirt would move as she floated across the stage. It was opening night of my first ever stage performance. I was ten years old playing Susan Waverly in Miracle on 34th Street, my stomach erupting in butterflies as I waited in the wings.
By Ophelia Hamilton6 years ago in Beat
A Waltz for the Final Fragmenting Symphony
Fading, I watch you skip to the dressing table. No longer having to stand on your toes, you turn on the radio. I’ve watched you every day, yet you seem so different. Yes, you’re taller and older; but you also seem to be someone I’ve never known before.
By Jamie Wills7 years ago in Beat
Akala, Illa State, Hip-Hop Shakespeare and the Rise of Conscious Grime
As a white, working class British man in his 20's from the rolling hills of Surrey, Grime Music is not something I claim to own any rights to. At an early age I became a huge fan of Eminem and always held him in such high esteem compared to other rappers just due to the fact he always seemed to challenge himself lyrically - This was really my only understanding of Rap Music until my teenage years where I started to branch out into other areas of the genre, particularly liking the sound of artists including Nas and Kid Cudi.
By Jordan Catto7 years ago in Beat
Review of Rob Sheffield's Dreaming The Beatles: 7 of X
Been a bit since I posted a review of Rob Sheffield's Dreaming the Beatles, mostly because this is not a book to be rush-read or even normally read (whatever pace that might be), but savored, and also because I've been writing some science fiction, and there's also the lure of the cool water and soft beach of Cape Cod Bay. But I wanted to record a few words about Sheffield's chapter on "Ticket to Ride", about as rich and satisfying an extended analysis you can find of a Beatles or any worthy song.
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in Beat
Oh God Ma! I'm On the Cover of 'Rolling Stone?'
In the year 1967, during the height of the ‘Summer of Love,’ a young man living in San Francisco realized that Pop-Music was changing. Like many who attended the Monterey Festival in June of that year, he got the vibe that the whole movement had shifted. From a joyous escape from the mundane realities of life, the joys of a youthful had turned into a free love, alternative society with the music at its heart.
By Bob Robertson7 years ago in Beat
Review of Rob Sheffield's Dreaming The Beatles: 6 of X
Rob Sheffield makes the case for Ringo in the next chapter of his stellar Dreaming the Beatles, putting the question regarding Ringo as whether he was an all-time genius drummer who made the Beatles possible, or "a clod who got lucky, the biggest fool who ever hit the big time". Sheffield puts his chips on the genius.
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in Beat