The Useless Critic 2.0

Kind of forcing myself to post a little more due to a long absence! Life and work were/are busy, but not writing for long periods of time makes me feel incredibly unwell, so here I am. Do you remember when I did this a lot in like 2009? To be young again lol. First up, The Beatles have a new-ish song out, "Now and Then," which is apparently The Beatles' final song. I did not know The Beatles were releasing new music, but AI is a very interesting (if not quite scary) thing. If you haven't listened to it yet, I recommend checking it out. It does not sound out of place in 2023 while managing to sound straight out of a time capsule.  Other music tidbits to share: I saw the "Eras" movie over this last weekend. Pretty good, considering I did not want to dish out an arm and a leg for the concert itself. Taylor Swift has gone very impressively far since I interviewed her in 2011 . "1989" Taylor's version is continuing to shatter records, arguably as it...

Beatles - I want to hold your hand by Salut-les-copains I think this is the version of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" I was looking for. Who doesn't love this song? Or early Beatles? If you don't GET OUT OF HERE. Anyway we all know it's the 50th anniversary of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. I don't really have a TV so I will watch Internet videos to celebrate.  My Mom said this was a big deal when she watched it. She said my Grandpa ran out and got her the LPs afterwards. Years later, when Johnny Cash died, my Grandpa gave me this lecture on how he was better than the Beatles and Elvis. And I was like, "Grandpa that's nice but I think you are several decades off..." *listens to Garbage in 2003 mobile CD player* - Britt "Don't Say 'Girl We Couldn't Get Much Higher on Ed's, Jim Morrison!" K

Song of the Day I am pretty skeptical when it comes to aging rock stars, and Paul was never my favorite Beatle, but this is a pretty good song. I wasn't aware he had a new album out- it's called "New" (hmm) and you can listen to it on Spotify. See below: "My favorite Beatle is Yoko." - Anonymous

Song(s) of the Day Rufus Wainwright Fiona Apple The Beatles This is one of my favorite songs of all time. "Nothing's gonna change my world..."

Today I received a "Happy Three Year Anniversary," card...  from my tanning salo n. Her e's to you  artificial sunlight , the longest relationship I've ever had . 

I've pegged this week (in my mind at least) as the week of a thousand (or at least three) interviews. The first up is a girl I met not too long ago through a mutual friend, Katie Uva . Katie Uva is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter with a lot more on her plate than just music alone. She has some fast approaching shows in New York and was able to do a question and answer session with me (via Facebook messaging, hey, the wonders of technology) yesterday. How did you get started in music? Where do you take your influence from? Katie:   I took several kinds of music lessons as a kid. I played piano from the age of 7-17, although I never got very good at it. I also took bass in middle school. I think I started the way most people do. I listened to music a lot and I liked to sing along, and eventually I wanted to imitate what I was hearing. When I was younger, I listened to the Beatles pretty much nonstop. In high school, I discovered the Indigo Girls. They became my favorite ...

(for the record, I was beyond delighted when Ursula agreed to write this, because she's one of the best writers I've ever stumbled upon. for reals . the Useless Critic is not worthy of this girl. here she is though, writing about the former Beatle who helped open Pittsburgh's newest concert venue/hockey home, the Consol Energy Center, on August 18 th ) The day after I saw Paul McCartney live in Pittsburgh, at the brand new Consol Energy Center (A.K.A. brand new hockey arena), I spent many hours on the couch in a semi-vegetative state, flipping channels, eating whatever I could find in the freezer. Seeing Paul in concert is hard work. If you’re a one-generation-late Beatles fanatic like me, there’s a lot of screaming and shrieking and dancing and singing that occurs when you witness the majesty of SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY IN THE FLESH. Paul is a bit droopier in the face than in past years, but he did just turn 68, and for all that, he’s still just as energetic, quick-witted, an...

John Hughes, that director of all those teen movies we loved in the 80s (you know it!) died the other day while taking a walk in New York City. dead of a heart attack while visiting family. life sucks sometimes. so, there's the retrospective of his whole career to be had: "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club," "Pretty In Pink," "Say Anything" (!!!!!!!!), etc. basically, this man was the reason Molly Ringwald exists. I got to thinking about it and decided "Ferris Bueller" is probably my favorite. what a classic. so many great scenes. Jennifer Grey as the sister, Matthew Broderick at his best and cockiest (except "Election," which was also awesome, he just looks so creepy and old now) CHARLIE SHEEN IN THE POPO STATION. god, I don't even know. this movie had no effect on me for years. but now, everytime I take a shower, I feel compelled to reenact that scene. true, true. YOUR FAVORITES? (because Al is still in Nova Sco...

You Need to Hear This Stuart Newman "Music has always been around in my life," Stuart Newman, an acoustic folk-y singer-songwriter from Brighton (UK) reflected in a recent email interview. He is the sole moving force behind his operation: he is responsible for not only the writing and composing of his music, but the artwork as well. Not to mention the music itself, which is a hefty job indeed. Growing up, he heard 60s-influenced music, a lot. "The Beatles featured heavily in that," he said. He taught himself the piano growing up ("I really didn't like the 'lessons' part") and the guitar was conquered at the age of 17. From then on, Newman's life began to drift more in a musical direction. "I started thinking seriously about songwriting later on in my university life, and since then I’ve been doing the best I can to get my music out there." Thus leading to the internet. Stuart Newman's music- and his debut EP, "Single but ...