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MUSIC

Much ado is being made about the fact that the movie musical version of Les Miserables, out December 25, did not use pre-recorded vocals. Instead, the actors sang live to a piano track played through earpieces; the full orchestra was added in post-product

Erin McCarthy


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1. Daniel Auber, La Muette de Portici Auber’s five-act opera (the title translates as The Mute Girl of Portici), regarded as the earliest French grand opera, was a revolutionary work in the most literal sense. It debuted in Paris in 1828, but it was its

Bill DeMain


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“Enola Gay” Written by Andy McCluskey (1980) Performed by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (better known as OMD) The

Bill DeMain




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“The Ballad of Ira Hayes” Written by Pete La Farge (1963) Performed by Johnny Cash The Music Folk singer and songwriter Peter La Farge packed a lot into his thirty-four years on Earth. The son of a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist was a Korean War vet, a

Bill DeMain




Turbo B and Penny Ford, featured performers on "The Power" On July 5, 2011, the 39-story "Techno-Mart" mall in Seoul, South Korea shook for ten minutes, causing a two-day evacuation and an investigation. The cause of the tremors? Seismic experts conclu

Chris Higgins




1. "Romeo and Juliet" – Dire Straits Dolly Parton, Steve Forbert, Elvis Costello, Michael Penn... These are just a few of many artists who've referenced the name Romeo in their songs. But this beautiful tune from Mark Knopfler stands out for its streetwis

Bill DeMain

Image credit: Daniel R. Tobias/Wikimedia CommonsI was working at Tower Records back in the late 1980s, when the compact disc started replacing the vinyl LP. Beyond the arguments over the analog vs. digital sound (which continue to this day) and the higher

Bill DeMain
REUTERS/PETR JOSEK/LANDOV

Music can cheer you up when you're sad, make you dance like a fool, and allow you to drown out the world when you need to. But music has its scientific uses, too.

Jessica Hullinger






Headshot of Johnny Cash Singing

© Chris Hoffmann/dpa/Corbis / © Jeff Albertson/CORBIS In February 1969, Johnny Cash had a party at his house in Hendersonville, TN. As the evening went on, the party turned into a guitar pull, with some of Johnny's friends trying out their latest songs.

Bill DeMain


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Van Halen is back! Featuring David Lee Roth and three Van Halens, the band has reunited for a North American tour, and their new record was released just three days ago. So I thought I'd take a look back at the band's infamous early-1980s tour rider*, t

Chris Higgins