The Avalanches No Bad Memories packs 31 tracks into 52 minutes and almost nothing on it is a new sound. Why that is the point, and what permission cost.
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Heavy Is the Crown Meaning: The King Who Couldn’t Sleep
Heavy is the crown meaning: Shakespeare’s real line is “uneasy lies the head,” about a king who could not sleep. Why, and the other king who slept anyway.
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Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah Meaning: The Holy or the Broken
Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen meaning: not a worship song, not a love song. The song starts with King David and ends with the singer standing where David stood.
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John Prine’s Found Dogs: The Songs That Kept Arriving
John Prine Found Dogs arrives 9 October, a day before his 80th birthday, with songs nobody has heard. What is on it, and why a lost voice can keep arriving.
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Lena Martell Dies at 86: The Prayer That Hit Number One
Lena Martell has died at 86. Her 1979 number one, One Day at a Time, was a prayer written by a songwriter who had almost given up. Here is the story behind it.
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What Is the Oldest Song in the World? Nobody Agrees How It Sounds
What is the oldest song in the world? A 3,400-year-old clay tablet from Syria holds the oldest written tune, but scholars still cannot agree how it sounds.
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Lieutenant Stitchie Dies at 60: The Typo, the Crash, the Turn
Lieutenant Stitchie, the dancehall star who left fame for gospel after a 1997 car crash, has died at 60. The teacher, the typo and the turn behind his life.
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Liu Huan Dies at 63: The Olympic Voice Who Stayed a Teacher
Liu Huan, voice of the Beijing Olympics song You and Me, has died at 63. Billions heard him sing, yet for 32 years he kept his day job: teaching music students.
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What Is Frisson? Why Music Gives You Chills
What is frisson? The chills a song gives you start before the big moment: your brain releases dopamine while it waits. Here is why, and why some never feel it.
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Angry Anderson Dies at 79: The Name Wasn’t the Whole Story
Angry Anderson, the Rose Tattoo frontman, has died at 79. His nickname came from a hard childhood. What he did with the rest of his life is the real story.