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Whether you love it or hate it, Christmas music is unavoidable during the holiday season. But what makes a Christmas number one, and why is the music of yule so meaningful?
Bob Marley & The Wailers in concert in the 1970s.
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By looking back at my dad’s music collection I understand more clearly that the music I listened to as a child shaped my personality, destiny and view of the world.
One page fragment was found in West Germany in a shop adjacent to stalls selling spiced wine and cuckoo clocks in a busy Christmas market.
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Piecing together the mystery of medieval chant books means studying hand-made objects from centuries ago.
Lord Byron was the original breakup artist.
National Portrait Gallery, London
From Jaques Brel to Adele, those who sing of lost love owe a lot to the lyrics of the Romantics.
30, going on 33 1/3.
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Clicking ‘random’ on album tracks does the artist a disservice. It can also mean the listener is missing out, too.
Follies at The National Theatre in London, 2019.
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Over numerous letters, Dr Phoebe Rumsey found a great man who understood the pain and joy of “Being Alive”.
Did Paul McCartney, right, and Ringo Starr hire Peter Jackson for a rescue operation?
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In their press rounds, director Peter Jackson and Paul McCartney have been eager to recast the legacy of the band’s final years.
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Get Back shines a light on the love that still existed between the Fab Four.
Adele performs in Los Angeles at ‘One Night Only’ in October.
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Everyone is raving about Adele’s new album ‘30.’ A mathematician muses about the “Adele sequence”: the patterns of numbers in her album name.
Musical theatre great Stephen Sondheim died at the age of 91.
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A fierce lyricist and sophisticated composer, Sondheim is responsible for some of musical theatre’s most iconic productions.
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One of Sondheim’s greatest achievements was his ability to write women that actors want to play. His works have singularly elevated the Broadway diva – of all ages.
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Adele’s voice is soulful, rich and powerful – but it is in her vulnerability we can really see what an incredible artist she is.
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Beyond just his music, Freddie Mercury’s performances, style, and fluidity influenced both his generation and those that followed.
Headphone designers have to balance scientific limitations with human preferences.
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There is a lot to consider when buying a new pair of headphones. A professional musician and acoustics researcher explains how the science of sound and quirks of human hearing make for a great listening experience.
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He fearlessly pushed at artistic boundaries, and believed in the spontaneity of live performance; Freddie Mercury’s legend continues.
Music has a powerful effect on the brain.
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Neurologic music therapy aims to help patients manage symptoms and function better in daily life.
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It may seem odd that we get pleasure from sad songs.
Paul McCartney photographed backstage at the television show ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’, Birmingham, England, 1963.
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Through 154 songs, Paul McCartney gives us an insight into his life. There is an elegaic feel to this book, which showcases the many sides to McCartney’s songwriting.
David Vincent of death metal band Morbid Angel in Washington, D.C., in September 2012.
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Not unlike gospel music, death metal seems heavily preoccupied with spiritual matters. Does this mean Death Metal is a form of spiritual music?
For Paul McCartney, songwriting involved a convergence of memory, experience and happenstance.
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The ‘Eureka!’ moment is a myth – an altogether naïve and fanciful account of innovation.