This month in previous years

Posts

PostDateExcerpt
1984 is 40 years ago: 40 singles that gave the year its color07/21/20241984 is already 40 years old. A great occasion for compiling a list of 40 singles that helped shape that year!
Disco Demolition Night07/12/2024On July 12, 1979. Disco Demolition Night took place. A promotional stunt or a racist, homophobic expression of white resentment?
Music For The Jilted Generation, the masterpiece by The Prodigy07/04/2024In 1994 The Prodigy released their second and highly influential album Music For The Jilted Generation. The story of a true masterpiece!
Nothing Compares 2 U: Prince and Sinéad O’Connor07/30/2023In 1990 the Prince song Nothing Compares 2 U reached out and touched millions because of the emotional interpretation by Sinéad O'Connor. A look back.
Wham! – The documentary07/28/2023The documentary Wham! is the story of 'only' 4 years of world dominance and a true and sincere friendship.
The story of a rare flop, the movie Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band07/17/2023How in the world is it possible to treat the body of work by The Beatles like this? The incredible story of a rare monstrosity.
In 1978 Steel Pulse debuts with the impressive Handsworth Revolution07/11/2023In 1978 Steel Pulse released their debut album Handsworth Revolution. A classic in the (English) reggae. A look back at a flawless album.
Sylvian & Sakamoto release the beautiful Bamboo Houses & Bamboo Music!07/23/2022In 1982 David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto released their first joint single. Exciting and subtle: Bamboo Houses / Bamboo Music!
FM op 5, Prince & A Pop Life07/19/2022On July 9th, 2022, I was interviewed by Dutch radio giant Felix Meurders. Topic of the day: the best show I ever witnessed!
Prince – Planet Earth07/16/2022In 2007 Prince released Planet Earth. Was the album just as good as the preceding 3121, or was it Musicology part 2?
Frank Ocean – channel ORANGE07/10/2022In 2012 Frank Ocean released his album debut with the beautiful, intimate and original channel ORANGE. The world was able to enjoy pure musical talent again.
Sinatra At The Sands07/31/2021In 1966 Frank Sinatra released his first live album. A definite highlight, the story about Sinatra At the Sands.
Roxy Music and the superb Viva!07/24/2021Following five studio albums in three years, Roxy Music needed a short break, but not without almost thoughtlessly releasing one of the best live albums of all time: Viva! Roxy Music.
Disco – The 20 best singles07/17/2021In 1976 disco really made an impact in The Netherlands. Although it was quickly hated with a vengeance, it was responsible for a huge amount of classics. My best 20!
Prince and North Sea Jazz in 2011: three unforgettable nights in Rotterdam07/11/2021In 2011 Prince performed three nights in a row at the Dutch North Sea Jazz festival. The story of an unforgettable experience!
Prince fulfills his contract on Chaos And Disorder?07/09/2021In 1996 Warner Bros. released the TAFKAPrince album Chaos And Disorder. Was it just filler to fulfill contractual obligations?
The musical inspiration from my father (by guest author Timur)07/01/2021My son wrote an article: today the A Pop Life blog has its 5th anniversary. Thank you Timur for your wonderful story!
Thank you all!07/01/20215 years A Pop Life! Thanks to everyone involved in making it a huge success. On to the next 5 years A Pop Life!
Zapp, revolutionary electro funk pioneers07/28/2020On July 28th, 1980, the influential electro funk band Zapp released their debut album. More Bounce To The Ounce was the start of an interesting and tragic career.
Lianne La Havas (by guest author Timur)07/22/2020My 11 year old son is crazy about Lianne La Havas' music. So much so that he wrote a story about her on his blog. He luckily agreed to publsih it here as well. Have fun!
Joy And Pain, the story of Maze07/18/2020In 1980 Maze release their fourth album, the exquisite Joy And Pain. A look back at the album and the career of Maze featuring Frankie Beverly!
Live Aid, the day the world cared (and wanted to see music)07/13/2020On July 13th, 1985, the most important and impressive concert of the 1980s took place in London and Philadephia: the benefit concert Live Aid. A look back.
Sufjan Stevens releases his beautiful and moving Illinois07/04/2020In 2005 Sufjan Stevens impresses music lovers around the world with the stunningly beautiful and impressive Illinois. A true masterpiece that will never lose its magic.
My 10 favorite soundtracks07/26/2019Which soundtracks have I listened to the most and are among my favorites? From Saturday Night Fever to Twin Peaks: the world of the soundtrack!
Sade seduces the world with Diamond Life07/16/2019Thirty-five years ago the band Sade release their debut album Diamond Life to universal acclaim. A timeless classic that still sounds fresh today. A look back.
The Fatal Flowers were back, for a short while. The story of the best band coming from Holland!07/06/2019'Who says the Dutch can't rock?' asked Rolling Stone magazine in a rave review for the debut album by Dutch band The Fatal Flowers. Good question. It was the start of a promising career for the best band Holland has ever had.
Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream07/27/2018Smashing Pumpkins delivered on its promise with the release of Siamese Dream. A rich, heavy and at times moving album. The first of three masterpieces in a row.
Anthony Hamilton – Comin’ From Where I’m From07/15/2018Anthony Hamilton's second official album Comin'From Where I'm From is very successful in the US. In Europe he and his album go by unnoticed, A tribute to a great soul album.
Singles from my elementary school days07/07/2018When I was a boy, singles were the indicator for success and a cheap alternative to the (mega) expensive LP. All singles I received as a present or bought myself during my elementary school days.
The musical answer to 9/11: Bruce Springsteen’s The Rising07/30/2017September 11th 2001: a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center would change the world forever. Bruce Springsteen offered comfort one year later with the release of his phenomenal album The Rising.
Arcade Fire – Everything Now07/28/2017Today the fifth Arcade Fire was finally released. How does it hold up when compared to the albums that preceeded Everything Now? A review.
Guns N’ Roses – Appetite For Destruction07/21/2017The debut by Guns N' Roses from 1987 had some startup issues. After that Appetite For Destruction conquered the rock audience and the world. The story of a breath of fresh air, that was badly needed.
Lost and found: my Prince necklace07/18/2017In 1992 I bought a male/female pin at a Prince show and decided to turn it into a necklace and hand-made pendant. From pin to necklace!
Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D’Arby07/13/2017When Terence Trent D'Arby's debut was released in 1987, it was a sensation. He was very sure of his own self and thought his debut was pure genius. How does it hold up in 2017?
Eric B. & Rakim – Paid In Full07/07/2017Eric B. & Rakim's Paid In Full has been a hip-hop classic for 30 years. An essential link in sampling and intelligent rap. A tribute!
RIP, John Blackwell07/04/2017John Blackwell, the best drummer I ever witnessed, is no more. Today he passed away. He was just 43 years old. A tribute.
I Feel Love: the future is here and now!07/02/2017Donna Summer's I Feel Love is 40 years old. It sounded futuristic then and it still sounds otherworldly. A great dance record, influencing the music of that era and the music of today!
A Pop Life: one year old; the best and most read stories!07/01/2017My blog A Pop Life (My life with music) is one year old already. The best and most read stories of the past year!
Best albums, 1966 – 2017: A Pop Life, 1 year anniversary07/01/2017In honor of the 1-year anniversary of my blog A Pop Life (My life with music), the list of best albums per year from 1966.
Frank Zappa’s Joe’s Garage still up to date07/29/2016How an album from 1979 unfortunately sadly gains actuality. Via the Iranian revolution to the current day and time.
The greatest albumcovers07/08/2016The greatest albumcovers, plus covers selected by visitors. Nice viewing!
My favorite music (by guest author Timur)07/01/2016On July 1st my blog A Pop Life is launched. My son Timur has written a beautiful story about what music means to him and on his first concert: Doe Maar!

Concerts

ConcertDateExcerpt
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/14/202407/29/20244½/5: Day 3 of the greatest festival in The Netherlands: North Sea Jazz. The day of Cory Henry, Sampha and Enji.
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/13/202407/13/20244/5: Day 2 of the greatest festival in The Netherlands: North Sea Jazz. The day of André 3000, Cisco Swank and Joshua Redman.
Gruppo Sportivo, 07/15/202307/15/20233½/5: A fun night at the Paradiso at The Spotify Tour Refreshed by Gruppo Sportivo. The Dutch group has a lot of great songs to its name. Success guaranteed!
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/09/202307/09/20233½/5: Day 3 of the greatest festival in The Netherlands: North Sea Jazz. The day of Gabriels and Fuensanta & Ensamble Grande.
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/08/202307/08/20234/5: Day 2 of the greatest festival in The Netherlands: North Sea Jazz. The day of Naft, Róisín Murphy and Tom Jones.
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/07/202307/07/20234/5: Day 1 of the greatest festival in The Netherlands: North Sea Jazz. The day of Van Morrison, Buddy Guy and Little Simz.
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/09/202207/09/20224/5: Day 2 of the greatest festival in The Netherlands: North Sea Jazz. The day of Trombone Shorty, Cory Henry and Kristo.
Queen, 07/01/202207/01/20224/5: Childhood memories abound at the Ziggo Dome. Finally witnessed Brian May and Roger Taylor live. Adam Lambert is a great singer. Great night!
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/14/201907/14/20194/5: Day 3 of the greatest festival in The Netherlands: North Sea Jazz. The day of Jungle By Night, Poppy Ajudha, and Robbert Glasper (incl. Ledisi).
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/13/201907/13/20194/5: Day 2 of the greatest festival in The Netherlands: North Sea Jazz. The day of My Baby, Mammal Hands, Macy Gray and Masego.
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/12/201907/12/20194/5: Day 1 of the greatest festival in The Netherlands: North Sea Jazz. The day of Blood Orange, Joe Jackson and The Internet.
Cat Power, 07/10/201907/10/20194½/5: Cat Power at the top of her game at Paradiso. Beautiful music in a revered venue performed by a relaxed Cat Power, who sang impeccably.
Neil Young, 07/09/201907/09/20194/5: Neil Young had a real great time in Antwerp, Belgium and so did I. The phenomenal On The Beach was a definite highlight!
Dweezil Zappa, 07/25/201807/25/20184/5: Dweezil Zappa and his Choice Cuts tour. Obscure and complex Zappa work in a beautiful impressive concert!
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/15/201807/15/20184/5: The third day of the North Sea Jazz Festival 2018, the greatest festival of The Netherlands. The day of Nathaniel Rateliff, Moses Sumney and Sevdaliza.
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/14/201807/14/20184/5: The second day of the North Sea Jazz Festival 2018, the greatest festival of The Netherlands. The day of the 'new British jazz invasion' and Anderson .Paak.
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/13/201807/13/20183½/5: The first day of the North Sea Jazz Festival 2018, the greatest festival of The Netherlands. The day of Altın Gün and The Roots.
U2, 07/29/201707/29/20173½/5: The end could have been different/better, but The Joshua Tree performance was great. One Tree Hill was impressive!
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/09/201707/09/20174/5: Day 3 of North Sea Jazz 2017: New Power Generation and karaoke-Prince. And the great Jacob Collier and 77 (!) year old Mavis Staples.
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/08/201707/08/20174/5: Day 2 of North Sea Jazz 2017: Noname, Gladys Knight and Pink Oculus. But the leader of the pack was Solange. What a great show!
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/07/201707/07/20174/5: Day 1 of North Sea Jazz 2017: Grace Jones immediately sets the tone for the rest of the festival!
George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic, 07/22/201607/22/20163½/5: George Clinton's 75th birthday at Paradiso. One big party!
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, 07/13/201607/13/20165/5: Iceman and the entire (double) album The River... Unforgettable!
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/10/201607/10/20164/5: Dag 3 of North Sea Jazz Festival 2016 with more highlights, and the stunning Jill Scott!
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/09/201607/09/20164/5: North Sea Jazz Festival day 2. Lots of great stuff. Two names of the day: Jacob Collier and Anderson .Paak.
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/08/201607/08/20163/5: Day 1 of North Sea Jazz Festival 2016: the family day; great day for fun, but musical wise it was not.
Cat Power, 07/06/201607/06/20164½/5: A phenomenally good concert. Cat Power at the heights of her powers. Moving, sincere and beautiful. Unforgettable evening.
Bunny Wailer, 07/21/201507/21/20153½/5: Highly entertaining show by the very sympathetic Wailer. Good atmosphere as well at Paradiso.
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/11/201507/11/20153½/5: Jett Rebel ok, Michael Kiwanuka good, Paolo Nutini fantastic and Candi Staton moving.
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/10/201507/10/20154/5: Typhoon good. Mary J Blige started weak, but midway through she suddenly shined, and how! Highlight! D'Angelo impressive.
Kraftwerk, 07/03/201507/03/20152/5: Very disappointing Kraftwerk show, particularly with the stunning Paradiso shows in January in the back of my mind.
North Sea Jazz Festival, 07/13/201407/13/20144/5: Went to the North Sea Jazz to see Outkast and was immediately smitten by the festival. Since then I haven't missed a year. Outkast was phenomenal. Really thankful I had the chance to see them.
Smashing Pumpkins, 07/26/201307/26/20134½/5: Favorite Smashing Pumpkins in a scorching Paradiso: extremely good!
The Who, 07/05/201307/05/20133½/5: Nostaliga: The Who. Both Tommy and Quadrophenia were played innumerable times during my childhood years. Still great.
Cat Power, 07/02/201307/02/20131½/5: Unfortunately Cat Power had a bad day. She truly is one of a kind, but not too reliable, which is a pity.
Paul Simon, 07/18/201207/18/20123½/5: The Simon & Garfunkel songs were particularly beautiful, The Sound Of Silence being the definite highlight.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, 07/05/201207/05/20125/5: The ultimate Bruce concert: I have never seen him this good. He played a lot of songs off Darkness On The Edge Of Town, so that meant Racing In The Street, at last. Great evening!
Prince, 07/26/201107/26/20114½/5: Great show, with some very nice and one-time surprises: Gold and Chocolate.
Prince, 07/11/201107/11/20115/5: A very special evening indeed (Girl!). Top concert by Prince.
Prince, 07/10/201107/10/20115/5: The day after the disappointing opening show Prince had to make things right and he delivered: opening with Joy In Repetition followed by The Love We Make. A marvellous experience!
Prince, 07/09/201107/09/20113/5: This concert was the first of three NSJ shows and was marred by real awful, even ugly, sound and an uninspired setlist.
Prince, 07/10/201007/10/20104/5: Nice show, that took some time to get into full swing. The last encore in particular was great.
U2, 07/20/200907/20/20094/5: U2 in great form. Definite highlight I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight was stunning!
The Joe Jackson Band, 07/02/200307/02/20034/5: Joe Jackson and original band at the top of their game.
U2, 07/31/200107/31/20012½/5: Not a real memorable concert, except the piece of When I Get Home Bono sang as a tribute to Herman Brood, who had died three weeks earlier.
U2, 07/19/199707/19/19974/5: The tour accompanying my favorite U2 album Pop. I thought the mix of rock and dance was bold and it had turned out perfectly.
Prince & The New Power Generation, 07/08/199207/08/19924½/5: Best show of the Diamonds And Pearls tour.
Prince & The New Power Generation, 07/07/199207/07/19924/5: Decent show of the Diamonds And Pearls tour.
Prince & The New Power Generation, 07/06/199207/06/19924/5: Decent show of the Diamonds And Pearls tour.
Prince & The New Power Generation, 07/04/199207/04/19924/5: Decent show of the Diamonds And Pearls tour.
George Clinton, 07/01/199107/01/19913½/5: Good extremely funky show by George Clinton and the P-Funk circus.