Archive for 2010

5 Cover Songs You Might Not Have Known Were Cover Songs

By KCRW Host and Music Librarian, Eric J. Lawrence

One of the great pleasures of pop music is hearing artists performing songs originally performed by other artists – the so-called “cover song.” The best ones are like getting a two-for-one: the genius of the original songwriters combined with the talents of the performing band. Ever since it became de rigueur for artists to write their own songs, choosing to perform cover songs has been a way for artists to learn their craft (Bob Dylan’s first album is mostly covers), as well as a means to pay tribute to their predecessors (e.g. the innumerable cover versions of Beatles songs). (more…)

5 Funny Movies No One Should Live Without

By Kim Masters, host of The Business

I’m not saying these are the greatest comedies of all time; these are just some of my favorites. Obviously an exhaustive list would include films from the Marx Brothers, not to mention It Happened One Night, Ghostbusters and many more. (Notice that I just sneaked a bunch more comedies on a list that is only supposed to include five things. But why five things? I don’t know.) I wanted to include a few films that seem to be fading into obscurity because they don’t deserve that.

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5 Books Evan Kleiman is Reading Right Now

By KCRW GoodFood Host, Evan Kleiman

I am a pathologically voracious reader. The kindle app on the iphone was made for me. Before I could read books on my iphone I had to content myself with filling moments of down time by reading the fine print on billboards or cereal boxes.

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5 (more) Tips for Indie Musicians to Get Air Play on KCRW

By KCRW Host and Music Librarian, Eric J. Lawrence

A couple of weeks ago, Alex Pham of the Los Angeles Times interviewed me to get some info about how we decide which records get added to the KCRW Music Library. Her piece originally appeared as part of the newspaper’s Pop & Hiss music blog on Monday, August 30, but it drew enough attention that they reprinted it in the print edition that Friday. It even spawned a satirical posting on the uber-snarky website Hipster Runoff. My brief internet pseudo-celebrity notwithstanding, we thought it actually contains some useful info for anyone looking to get their music heard by our DJs and possibly aired on our airwaves. (more…)

5 Reasons Why I am a Bookworm by Michael Silverblatt

By Michael Silverblatt, Host of KCRW’s Bookworm

I love to read. It’s a deep rich physical pleasure for me. I can’t explain exactly why, but I love having a story take place inside my head. When I’m loving reading a book there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing. I’m not a very critical reader (Really, it’s true). I get lost in books, read day and night, miss meals. Books have taught me everything I know about life just about. Here are 5 reasons why I am a bookworm.

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