music therapy

I Wish Hard Rock Stations Had More Class

by Bill Brenner October 22, 2012 Music therapy

It’s not easy being a rock ’n’ roll fanatic some days, especially when it comes to the choices I have on the radio dial. Oh, don’t get me wrong: The Boston area has plenty of great stations, especially RadioBDC and Rock 101 in Southern New Hampshire. But some radio stations, in the Boston market and beyond, that play my kind of music have to ruin it by appealing to the lowest common denominator. Mood music:…  [Read More]

Led Zeppelin Gets Me Through the Rain

by Bill Brenner October 10, 2012 Music therapy

A while back I wrote about how Van Halen’s music helps me through  the winter blues. Too much rain can depress me, too, and for that I’m finding a remedy in Led Zeppelin. Mood music: Like most teenage rock fans, I listened to Led Zeppelin nonstop, studied every lyric and guitar solo and read any book in which they were at least mentioned. I remember reading Hammer of the Gods when I was 15, and…  [Read More]

The White Stripe of Dissapointment

by Bill Brenner October 1, 2012 Music therapy

An old friend from Revere went to NYC to see Jack White perform at Radio City Music Hall this past weekend and walked away crushed. She waited an hour and a half to meet him, but he blew past everyone and hopped into a waiting van. No hellos. No autographs. “What a disappointment. Just waited an hour and a half for him to just dash out and jump in his van,” she said on her…  [Read More]

The Song Remains Not the Same

by Bill Brenner September 6, 2012 Music therapy

My fingertips are sore and black because I’ve practiced my guitar playing every day since pulling it from its box on my birthday 11 days ago. They hurt like hell, but it’s a very satisfying pain. Mood music: [spotify:track:69GD80i2vo9xdHbxFw4USw] My technique is still all wrong because I haven’t had face-to-face lessons yet, though I’ve been using several lessons I found on YouTube. Despite my lack of proper chording so far, I’m finding that I can…  [Read More]

Get Well, Eddie Van Halen

by Bill Brenner August 31, 2012 Music therapy

Funny thing about life: Just when everything is humming along and all is right with the world, something devastating comes along and kicks your ass back to the stone age. So it seems to be with guitarist Edward Van Halen. Mood music: [spotify:track:3xMZrNrfyKUUqQVtoR13ml] Last winter, Van Halen released its “A Different Kind of Truth” album, easily its best effort since “1984,” in my opinion. The band then embarked on a massively successful tour and seemed…  [Read More]

Time to Make Music Again

by Bill Brenner August 21, 2012 Music therapy

When asked what I want for my birthday, I usually say nothing. I don’t want people spending money on me, and I don’t want to be greedy. But this time, with my 42nd birthday only days away, I asked the family for something specific: an acoustic-electric guitar. Mood music: [spotify:track:3t8Id5r985SAZ9o5EGrUtk] I used to play guitar, though I was never very good at it. When I had a band and was writing music, I sang and…  [Read More]

Former FNX DJs Get Second Chance on Boston.com

by Bill Brenner June 25, 2012 Music therapy

In a recent post about WFNX being sold and gutted by Clear Channel, I predicted that this would not be the end of the story. It turns out I was right. Boston.com announced this morning that it’s launching a live streaming radio station featuring alternative music and well-known personalities from WFNX-FM. Mood music: [spotify:track:6x7B9cDXyH4X7lCwH6B40o] In a Facebook exchange this morning, longtime DJ Henry Santoro told me: “All I can say right now is that they came…  [Read More]

When Fakes Go for the Kill

by Bill Brenner May 30, 2012 Communication Skills

We do a lot of stupid things to gain acceptance among others. Many of those things go back to being a fake. Some of you have been guilty at some point. So have I. The question is if anything good can come from our shenanigans. Mood music: [spotify:track:3prDBxwP2kuDQQ94tApMl2] I’ll start with myself. Someone who means the world to me recently suggested that I’m the star-struck type. I love making friends with musicians, especially when I’m…  [Read More]

Why Reports of WFNX’s Death Are Premature

by Bill Brenner May 29, 2012 Music therapy

During this blog’s hiatus a terrible thing happened: Boston’s Phoenix Media/Communications Group sold WFNX 101.7 FM to Clear Channel Communications, essentially killing another bastion of Boston rock. Mood music: [spotify:track:2SUqPdYx8dh1s1yjqeGszW] It saddened me on many levels. Through Facebook I’m connected with some of the DJs, and I’ve enjoyed their posts, but I could see and feel their pain on that social networking site after the sale was announced. I was also reminded of how WFNX was…  [Read More]

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