Stephen Frost

Stephen Frost

About a month ago, when 2013 was a near-blank slate with nothing but a week’s worth of scribbling on it, I posted a song by Richmond-based musician Stephen Frost. It was called “Age Of Gold,” and its release was accompanied by a YouTube video in which Frost pulled back the curtain to reveal how and why the song was created. Being the backstory junkie that I am, I was more than a little intrigued by this formula. Hearing a bright and engaging song and immediately looking under the hood to find out what makes it work so well? That’s about as good as it gets, and it’s precisely the recipe for Frost’s nascent “Paris Métro” project, which recently saw its second installment — the considerably darker “Wimyn Redux” — hit the Internet. I was so excited that I asked Frost if he would answer a few questions via email about the new song, his approach to writing and recording, and his plans for the Paris Métro project going forward.

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Beyoncé

Beyonce

We now know, for real, that Beyoncé lip-synced her way through the national anthem at President Obama’s second inauguration.

This makes me sad.

During the course of last two weeks, we’ve seen/heard a range of reactions to the suggestion that her outstanding performance was pre-taped, from witch-hunty Fox News coverage to the dug-in defense that even if she did fake it, it doesn’t matter, because her recorded rendition was so good that it’s still worth celebrating. While I think there’s some validity to the latter – it’s a damn good rendition, after all – I think the truth does matter in this case.

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The xx

Coexist

One of synth player Christopher DeNitto’s remarks from the Dead Fame interview I posted on Tuesday was bouncing around my brain later that night during The xx’s concert at The National. When talking about his group’s writing process, DeNitto evoked the saying that “A song is never finished.” Tuesday’s show demonstrated that The xx are a group that understands how true that adage really is.

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