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Alan Cross' A Journal of Musical Things

Alan Cross' A Journal of Musical Things

Filtering what is happening in music to save you time, money and effort.

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Songwriting

Opinion 

Not happy with the quality of today’s music? Then you might want to watch this.

January 10, 2021January 10, 2021 Alan Cross 0 Comments Guitars, Songwriting

Rick Beato’s YouTube series does a great job of deconstructing music, right down to drum sounds and guitar tones. In

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Music News 

Random music news for Thursday, September 17, 2020

September 17, 2020September 16, 2020 Alan Cross 0 Comments Coronavirus, COVID-19, DJ Khaled, DJs, Elton John, ESPN, Lady A, livestreaming, Madonna, Moog, Noel Gallagher, Notorious B.I.G., Songwriting, Spotify, Stream-Ripping, Synthesizers

Steve? Was that you? I wouldn’t doubt it. Take a read and then come on back for music news for

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Music History 

How weird is this song? Weirder than you can imagine.

July 31, 2020July 31, 2020 Alan Cross 0 Comments Songwriting

Gather ’round, music nerds. Here’s why the old bossa nova track “The Girl from Ipanema” is the weirdest song you’ll

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Music News 

Random music news for Thursday, July 30, 2020

July 30, 2020July 30, 2020 Alan Cross 0 Comments #MeToo, Airpods, Alanis Morissette, Apple, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Indie Charts, Kanye West, Killers, Madonna, Music Lessons, Songwriting, Spotify

If you follow American politics, you’d better read this. Once you’re done, try to calm down by browsing through music

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Music News 

Random music news for Tuesday, June 23, 2020

June 23, 2020June 22, 2020 Alan Cross 0 Comments AC/DC, Apple, Concerts, Darkness, Donald Trump, Justin Bieber, Live Nation, NXNE, Pussy Riot, Rush, Sigur Ros, Songwriting, Video Games

Looking to attract women? Then don’t include your cat in your dating profile. Hey, it’s science! You’re welcome. Now some

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Tech 

It’s happening: AI can now write entire songs with music, lyrics and vocals. And it’s scary good.

May 1, 2020May 1, 2020 Alan Cross 0 Comments AI, Songwriting

Next to looking for a coronavirus vaccine, artificial intelligence is the hottest thing going in science right now. Boffins in

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Music News 

Random music news for Thursday, April 23, 2020

April 23, 2020April 22, 2020 Alan Cross 0 Comments Bee Gees, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Edmonton Folk Festival, Facebook, Google, Loop Production, Songwriting, Star Wars, Streaming

This guy was protesting against the coronavirus lockdown policies. Wow. Just…wow. I have to agree with the #maga hoard and

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Ongoing History of New Music 

The Ongoing History of New Music, episode 884: Big picture stuff, part 1

April 10, 2020April 10, 2020 Alan Cross 1 Comment Big PIcture, Songwriting

When it comes to music, it’s so easy to get lost in the weeds, to become distracted by all the

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Musicians 

Explaining a sort of songwriting called “prosody.” That’s a fancy world for “word painting” (which probably didn’t help you at all, did it?)

December 12, 2019December 11, 2019 Alan Cross 1 Comment Prosody, Songwriting, Word Painting

As I’m totally inept at writing music, I’m fascinated by those who can. Up until today, I’d never heard of

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Controversy 

Post-Labour Day timesuck: A site that creates custom lyrics using AI

September 3, 2019September 3, 2019 Alan Cross 0 Comments AI, Lyrics, Songwriting, TheseLyricsDoNotExist

Ugh. The day after Labour Day is always the worst. Summer’s over. Back to work. Back to school. Shorter days.

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Music Industry 

Q: How many songwriters does it take to write a hit? A: A lot.

May 27, 2019May 27, 2019 Alan Cross 0 Comments Songwriting

If you take a scroll through the Wikipedia pages for any album released by today’s top pop and hip-hop artists,

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Ongoing History of New Music Podcast

Music Tech MeetUp

Each week, the podcast looks at something from the alt-rock universe, from artist profiles to various thematic explorations. Whatever the episode, you’re definitely going to learn something that you might not find anywhere else. Trust us on this.

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Podcast – The Backstage Project

The Backstage Project Podcast

The Backstage Project Podcast with Mark Silver focuses on the stories behind the biggest and best entertainment products, events, and companies. We go behind the scenes with amazing people who have done or are doing extraordinary things to entertain you, the audience. From sporting events to concerts, from cable tv to music apps; if it’s made an impact on the entertainment world, we cover it.

Listen Here

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RSS The Backstage Project – Sports & Entertainment Podcast

  • Making an Impact, Together! – Kate McKenna & Donnovan Bennett in conversation with TBP Podcast EP 022 February 22, 2021
    Personality, intelligence, and work ethic can take you a long way in life. In the media business, however, these traits are simply not enough. Not only will you have to sacrifice to make your dreams come true, but those closest to you will have to share that commitment and all that comes with it. Now […]
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  • Chasing a Dream – Keith Pelley in conversation with TBP Podcast EP 021 February 8, 2021
    From a young hotshot TV producer to one of the world’s top sports executives, Keith Pelley continues to chase his dreams. As Keith puts it, “life is about adventures”, and what an epic one he’s been on, culminating with the European Golf Tour where he’s now CEO and Commissioner. In this episode Keith shares stories […]
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  • Who’s Ready for a Monkey Knife Fight? – Nic Sulsky in conversation with TBP Podcast EP 020 February 1, 2021
    Long before the dawn of the internet, fantasy gaming and betting were already wildly popular pastimes for sports fans and gamblers. Fast forward to today, and the internet has more than caught up, it’s the dawn of a new day! We’re seeing explosive growth in the market cap and revenue of dozens of fantasy and […]
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