Neil Young made headlines last week when he appeared at the Wall Street Journal’s “D: Dive Into Media” conference and voiced his disapproval of the way music is being heard these days. “We live in a digital age,” Young said, “and unfortunately it’s degrading our music, not improving it.”

Young is deeply dissatisfied with the sound quality of compressed MP3 digital files, which he said carry only five percent of the data from the original vinyl or master recordings. “It’s not that digital is bad or inferior,” he told the Journal‘s Walt Mossberg and Peter Kafka. “It’s that the way it’s being used is not sufficient to transfer the depth of the art.”

The full 32-minute interview is now available online, and can be seen above. Throughout the discussion, Young’s commitment to his cause is clear. “My goal,” he said, “is to try and rescue the art form that I’ve been practicing for the past 50 years.”

Neil Young on the Travesty of MP3s is a post from: Open Culture

Last night, Philip Glass celebrated his 75th birthday at Carnegie Hall, attending the US premiere of his Ninth Symphony. His long and illustrious career continues. But today we’re bringing you back to 1979, when Glass wrote a composition to accompany “Geometry of Circles,” a four-part series of animations that aired on the beloved children’s show Sesame Street. A strange detour for an influential composer? Not really. Not when you consider that Glass came out of a 1960s tradition that made modern music more playful and approachable.

And speaking of approachable, don’t miss Philip Glass getting interviewed by his friendly cousin Ira Glass. You know Ira as the host of This American Life. The interview took place in 1999, and NPR finally brought it back yesterday, at least for a limited time. You can listen here.

Related Content:

Ira Glass on the Art of Storytelling

A Minimal Glimpse of Philip Glass

Philip Glass & Lou Reed at Occupy Lincoln Center: An Artful View

Philip Glass Composes for Sesame Street (1979) is a post from: Open Culture

Kisses On The Bottom — it’s Paul McCartney’s 35th post-Beatles album, his most provocatively-titled album to be sure, and a great stroll down memory lane. The album features covers of jazz standards, mostly written during the 1920s and 1930s. It’s the music that McCartney’s father loved to play on the family piano, giving the younger McCartney his first introduction to music. Diana Krall, Stevie Wonder and Eric Clapton make guest appearances. The new album goes on sale next week (pre-order it here), but you can stream it for free (in its entirety) on NPR or via The Guardian. Listen quickly, because the free stream will only last for a limited time.

P.S. Leonard Cohen’s latest album, his first in seven years, is still streaming online too. More here.

Related Content:

Here Comes The Sun: The Lost Guitar Solo by George Harrison

Guitarist Randy Bachman Demystifies the Opening Chord of ‘A Hard Day’s Night’

The Beatles’ Rooftop Concert: The Last Gig

Paul McCartney’s New Album, Kisses On The Bottom, Streaming for Free is a post from: Open Culture

Here Comes the Sun — it’s one of George Harrison’s contributions to Abbey Road (1969). And, among the many great Beatles’ songs, it’s my sentimental favorite. While we’re feeling sentimental, let me bring you this — Dhani Harrison, the son of the late guitarist, returns to the recording studio (presumably at Abbey Road) with George Martin, the Beatles’ legendary producer, and Martin’s son Giles. Together, they play with the mix of “Here Comes the Sun,” and then the wondrous little moment of discovery happens. They stumble upon the long lost guitar solo that never made the final cut. Enjoy….

H/T @WFMU

Related Content

Guitarist Randy Bachman Demystifies the Opening Chord of ‘A Hard Day’s Night’

The Beatles’ Rooftop Concert: The Last Gig

The Beatles Complete on Ukulele

Here Comes The Sun: The Lost Guitar Solo by George Harrison is a post from: Open Culture

In December, the alternative rock band Wilco played a special series of hometown shows called the “Incredible Shrinking Tour of Chicago.”

The tour kicked off on December 12 at the majestic Civic Opera House and continued over the next four nights, moving to successively smaller and more intimate venues: the Riviera, the Vic, the Metro, and finally Lincoln Hall, with a capacity of only 500 people.

At the opera house on opening night, Wilco played a 24-song retrospective of the band’s 18-year history, followed by an extended series of encores featuring Mavis Staples and Nick Lowe. The grand finale was a stirring rendition of The Band’s classic “The Weight.”

Photographer Zoran Orlic caught a special moment before the show (above), when the musicians gathered in the dressing room to rehearse “The Weight.” You can see amateur footage of the on-stage performance of the song here, and learn more about the concert (plus see a clip of the band performing “One Sunday Morning”) on the WXRT website.

And for an interesting comparison, watch The Band’s performance of “The Weight” (below) from Martin Scorsese’s film The Last Waltz, which also features a guest appearance by Mavis Staples, along with her father and sisters in The Staple Singers. Although the film consisted mostly of footage from The Band’s farewell concert on November 25, 1976, Scorsese filmed “The Weight” afterward, on an MGM soundstage.

Wilco Rehearses ‘The Weight’ Backstage in Chicago with Mavis Staples and Nick Lowe is a post from: Open Culture

The poetic lines of the first track, “Going Home,” have been published in The New Yorker. You can pre-order the album here. H/T @opedr

More Leonard Cohen Videos & Movies:

Ladies and Gentlemen… Mr. Leonard Cohen (1971 Documentary)

Leonard Cohen Recounts “How I Got My Song,” or When His Love Affair with Music Began

Leonard Cohen Reads “The Future” (Not Safe for Work)

Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man. Watch the Film

Leonard Cohen’s New Album, Old Ideas: Stream It for Free Online is a post from: Open Culture

“When I’m singing blues,” Etta James once said, “I’m singing life.”

Hers was a difficult life. The legendary singer, who died this morning at the age of 73 after a long struggle with leukemia, was born Jamesetta Hawkins on January 25, 1938, to an unwed 14-year-old girl, and her life was marked by drug addiction and emotional volatility. Through it all, James rose to become one of the most influential and admired singers of the second half of the 20th century.

“There’s a lot going on in Etta James’ voice,” Bonnie Raitt told Rolling Stone in 2008. “A lot of pain, a lot of life but, most of all, a lot of strength. She can be so raucous and down one song, and then break your heart with her subtlety and finesse the next.”

Her greatest hit came in 1961, with the soulful ballad “At Last.” For another side of James’s versatile style, listen and watch above, as she performs the gospel-influenced “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” in 1962. To learn more about James, and to watch video highlights from her career, see today’s article by Ben Greenman on The New Yorker’s ”Culture Desk” blog. And over at the Guardian, see Richard Williams selection of 10 Classic Etta James Performances.

In 1997, James summed things up in an interview with Rolling Stone: “Life’s been rough,” she said, ”but life’s been good. If I had to go back and do it all over again, I would live it the exact same way.”

Remembering the Soulful Etta James is a post from: Open Culture

One of the catchiest grooves from the rhythm and blues of the late 1950s is “Willie and the Hand Jive,” by Johnny Otis. In this lively scene from his early TV show, Otis performs the song as Marie Adams and the Three Tons of Joy demonstrate the hand jive. Lionel Hampton joins in on the vibraphone.

Otis, known as “the godfather of rhythm and blues,” died Tuesday at the age of 90. The son of Greek immigrants, he grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood of Berkeley, California, and developed an early affinity for African American culture. “Genetically, I’m pure Greek,” Otis said in 1994. “Psychologically, environmentally, culturally, by choice, I’m a member of the black community.”

As a bandleader in the 1950s, Otis helped bring rhythm and blues to a mainstream audience. He discovered a number of important artists, including Big Mama Thornton (Otis produced her original 1952 recording of “Hound Dog”) and the great Etta James, who died this morning.

“Willie and the Hand Jive,” with its infectious Bo Diddley beat, was a top 10 pop hit for Otis in 1958, and was covered by a variety of well-known artists, including Eric Clapton. Otis continued to perform into his 80s, and worked at various times as a disc jockey, an ordained minister and an organic farmer. You can read more about his remarkable life in the New York Times obituary.

You can also watch the complete half-hour episode of The Johnny Otis Show (below) from which the clip above was taken. The Johnny Otis Show was broadcast on KTLA in Los Angeles from 1954 to 1961. This episode features great performances by Lionel Hampton (with the multi-instrumentalist Otis joining in on drums) and other artists, including more from Marie Adams and the Three Tons of Joy.

Willie and the Hand Jive, by the Late Great Johnny Otis is a post from: Open Culture

Music and comic book art are the two passions of Robert Crumb’s creative life. In this video from W.W. Norton, Crumb talks about his obsessive interest in the old-time blues, folk and country music of the 1920s and 1930s. “I think it’s neurological,” he says. “Some quirky types of nervous systems are just attracted to that old music.”

As one of the pioneers of the underground comix movement in the late 1960s, Crumb’s work often related in some way to his love of music. His famous “Keep on Truckin’” comic of 1968 was inspired by the lyrics of Blind Boy Fuller’s song, “Truckin’ My Blues Away.” That same year Janis Joplin, who was singing with Big Brother & the Holding Company, asked Crumb to design the cover of the band’s album Cheap Thrills.

Since then, Crumb has designed hundreds of album covers and music posters. His new book, R. Crumb: The Complete Record Cover Collection, brings together all the covers and many related works. The book contains portraits of famous artists like Robert Johnson and Woody Guthrie, along with works featuring obscure artists with names like “Ukelele Ike” and “Big John Wrencher and his Maxwell Street Blues Boys.” There are also covers and posters made for Crumb’s own band, the Cheap Suit Serenaders.

Crumb is a banjo and mandolin player. One group he has sat in with in recent years is Eden & John’s East River String Band. This video was directed by the group’s co-leader, John Heneghan, and includes appearances by himself and his partner Eden Brower. The video features the following songs:

1. “Sing Song Girl” by Leroy Sheild (1930)
2. “Some of these Days” by Cab Calloway (1930)
3. “Lindberg Hop” by the Memphis Jug Band (1928)
4. “Down On Me” by Eddie Head and His Family (1930)
5. “Chasin’ Rainbows” by R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders (1976)
6. “Singing in the Bathtub” by R. Crumb and his Cheap Suit Serenaders (1978)
7. “So Sorry Dear” by Eden & John’s East River String Band, featuring R. Crumb

Record Cover Art by Underground Cartoonist Robert Crumb is a post from: Open Culture

December 2, 1997. Exactly ten years after his first visit to Moscow, jazz legend Dave Brubeck returned to perform before the faculty and students of the Moscow Conservatory. During his concert, an audience member asked him to improvise on the old Russian sea shanty “Ej, Uhnem.” About two minutes into the improvisation, a young violinist rose from his seat and started to play along. You just have to love Dave’s surprised look at 2:09.

This young man turned out to be a student at the conservatory. His name is Denis Kolobov and he is now a violinist of international renown. Denis must have mustered up all of his courage to cut into the performance of one of the great jazz pianists. But the day before, French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli had died in Paris and Denis decided to honor Grappelli’s memory in this way. What a great idea!

By profession, Matthias Rascher teaches English and History at a High School in northern Bavaria, Germany. In his free time he scours the web for good links and posts the best finds on Twitter.

An Uplifting Musical Surprise for Dave Brubeck in Moscow (1997) is a post from: Open Culture