"Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it." - Michelangelo The legendary Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Italian sculptor, painter, architect, & poet of the High Renaissance, was born on this day, 1475, in the Republic of Florence.

#MusicHistory On this day, 1970, "Let It Be" by The Beatles was released. It became one of the band’s final major hits. Written by Paul McCartney, its gospel-inspired piano & message of acceptance turned the song into one of the most enduring anthems in rock history. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGj8...

#MusicHistory On this day, 1966, The Rolling Stones recorded their legendary song "Paint It Black" at RCA Studios in LA. The song originated from a series of improvisational melodies played by Brian Jones on the sitar. Jagger and Richards are credited as songwriters. www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4ir...

The legendary Brian James, the seminal English punk rock guitarist and founding member of The Damned and The Lords of the New Church, known for his raw, riff-driven style, commitment to artistic independence, & a pivotal figure in punk history, passed on this day, 2025 at 74.

"You know, once you've had that guitar up so loud on the stage, where you can lean back & volume will stop you from falling backward, that's a hard drug to kick." - David Gilmour The legendary guitarist, singer, songwriter, & member of Pink Floyd, was born on this day, 1946, in Cambridge, England.

@quiksnowboard7.bsky.social Appreciated 🧡 Hope it's not uncouth to mention, but just had a debut photobook released, in case you're interested tinyurl.com/JBPhotobook

#MusicHistory On this day in 1990, Inspiral Carpets released their breakthrough single "This Is How It Feels", one of the defining tracks of the Manchester indie scene that helped propel the late-’80s/early-’90s “Madchester” movement into the mainstream. www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-fX...

#MusicHistory On this day, 1971, Nick Drake released his brilliant 2nd album, Bryter Layter. It would be the last Drake record to feature full backing musicians before his acoustic final album, Pink Moon. The sessions included members of Fairport Convention & John Cale of The Velvet Underground.

"I give so much pleasure to so many people. Why can I not get some pleasure for myself?" - John Belushi The iconic John Belushi, American comedian, actor, musician, and one of the seven original cast members of the NBC's Saturday Night Live, passed on this day, 1982, at 33.

Download 60,000 Works of Art from the National Gallery, Including Masterpieces by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Rembrandt & More www.openculture.com/2026/03/down...

"Going onstage is like going into battle. You're ultimately there to win. It's driven and fueled by passion and a desire to do it." - Keith Flint The wild & talented Keith Flint, English singer, motorcyclist, dancer & a vocalist of the electronic dance act The Prodigy passed on this day 2019 at 49.

As a companion post to my previous, to celebrate Antonio Vivaldi's birthday, take a two & half minute break to watch Russian virtuoso violinist & conductor Dmitry Sinkovsky perform this blistering excerpt from L’estate (Summer), Concerto N°2 in G minor RV 315. Wow! www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oN4...

"The four seasons are the four parts of the year, but they are also the four parts of life." - Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi, Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music, one of the greatest Baroque composers in history, was born on this day, 1678 in Venice, Italy.

#MusicHistory On this day, 1983, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) released their vastly under-appreciated 4th album, Dazzle Ships. Its title and cover art allude to a painting by Vorticist artist Edward Wadsworth based on dazzle camouflage, titled 'Dazzle-ships in Drydock at Liverpool'.

#MusicHistory On this day, 1983, the English new wave band Spandau Ballet released their 3rd album, True. This release saw the band showcase their soul and R&B influences. The title track, written by lead guitarist Gary Kemp, became the band's first #1 hit on the US Billboard 100.

"Love without philosophizing is like having a quick coffee". - Serge Gainsbourg The legendary & influential French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, director, "French Pop" icon and provocateur, passed on this day, 1991 at 62 in Paris, France.

"My God is rock'n'roll. It's an obscure power that can change your life. The most important part of my religion is to play guitar." - Lou Reed The legendary musician, singer, songwriter, poet, and member of The Velvet Underground, was born on this day, 1942, in NYC. He passed in 2013 at 71.

"Basically, I like anything with guts - Lead Belly, Bill Big Broonzy, Johnny Winter, the Stones."- Rory Gallagher The legendary Rory Gallagher, guitar virtuoso, Irish musician, singer, & songwriter, often referred to as "the greatest guitarist you've never heard of", was born on this day, 1948.

#FilmHistory On this day, 1990, The Hunt For Red October, directed by John McTiernan, was released.What a cast: Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, James Earl Jones,& Sam Neill. The film had the biggest non-summer, non-Thanksgiving weekend to date & went on to gross a total of $200,512,643.

#FilmHIstory On this day 1984, Rob Reiner (RIP), in his directorial debut, released the mockumentary classic, This Is Spinal Tap. It stars Christopher Guest (as Nigel Tufnel), Michael McKean (as David St. Hubbins), and Harry Shearer (as Derek Smalls), who are all competent musicians in real life.

Fascinating read about the Neuroscience of the "Reminiscence Bump", "a phenomenon where music from your teenage years creates stronger neural connections than any song you discover as an adult." Why are songs you remember from age 13-17 solidified in your memory? neurosciencenews.com/music-memory...

#MusicHistory On this day, 1994, the beyond talented musician Beck, released his 3rd album, Mellow Gold, his major label debut album. This hybrid of various styles including rock, hip hop, folk, blues, psychedelia, and country, sold 1.2 million copies in the US and peaked at #13 on US charts.

#MusicHistory On this day, 1973, one of the greatest & most commercially successful albums in history was released, The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. The record has nearly 34 continuous years’ worth of weekly chart presence across the two Billboard album charts & has sold over 45M copies.

"You have to keep fit being a singer - that's part of the job. You can't do it unless you have incredible stamina." - Roger Daltrey The legendary Roger Daltrey, English singer, musician, actor, as well as co-founder & frontman of The Who, was born on this day, 1944, in East Acton, London, England.

#MusicHistory On this day, 1994, Nirvana played their final gig at The Terminal Einz in Munich, Germany. The 3,000 capacity venue was a small Airport Hanger. The band played a version of The Cars 'My Best Friend's Girl.' Kurt Cobain passed on April 5th. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikkh...

Explore a Digitized Edition of the Voynich Manuscript, “the World’s Most Mysterious Book” www.openculture.com/2025/01/expl...

#MusicHistory On this day, 1985, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released "Don't Come Around Here No More", the lead single from the band's 6th album, Southern Accents. The song was written by Petty & Dave Stewart of Eurythmics. It hit #13 on the US Billboard 100. www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0Jv...

I had this on cassette and the second side was my favorite.

#MusicHistory On this day 1975, Alice Cooper released his debut solo album, Welcome to My Nightmare. The record acted as a theatrical concept following a child named Steven through his dreams. The tour was incredibly over-the-top, costing over $500K & featured dancing spiders & a 9 ft-tall cyclops.

"We thought that's the way you were supposed to be if you were in a rock 'n' roll band. Flamboyant." - David Johansen The legendary frontman for the proto-punk band New York Dolls, as well as actor, singer, songwriter, aka Buster Poindexter, passed on this day, 2025 at 75.

#MusicHistory On this day, 1983, U2 released their 3rd album War. The album is regarded as U2's 1st overtly political album, because of songs like "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "New Year's Day" & "Seconds". War knocked Michael Jackson's Thriller from the top of the UK charts to become U2's 1st #1 album.

#MusicHistory On this day 1986, Pretty In Pink soundtrack was released. A landmark New Wave collection! OMD's "If You Leave" & Echo & the Bunnymen's "Bring On the Dancing Horses", were specifically recorded for the film. The Psychedelic Furs re-recorded their 1981 song "Pretty In Pink" as well.

“Sometimes I am two people. Johnny is the nice one. Cash causes all the trouble. They fight.” - Johnny Cash The legendary Johnny Cash, aka the "Man In Black", was born on this day, 1932, in Kingsland, Arkansas. Cash is inducted into the Country Music, Rock & Roll and Gospel Music Halls of Fame.

"I believe that there is an equality to all humanity: We all suck." "It's always funny until someone gets hurt. Then it's just hilarious." - Bill Hicks The great Bill Hicks American stand-up comedian and satirist, passed on this day, 1994 at age 32.

#MusicHistory On this day, 1990, the legendary Australian rock band Midnight Oil, released their brilliant 7th album, Blue Sky Mining. (In some countries it was released February 9th). It produced three major international singles: "Blue Sky Mining", “Forgotten Years” & “King of the Mountain.”

"To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable". - John Doe The great John Doe, singer, songwriter, actor, poet, guitarist, bass player & co-founder of the LA punk band X, was born on this day, 1953, in Decatur, IL.

"The reason you're doing it is for the love of music. It's not, to like, try and get some kind of commerciality". - Mark Hollis The talented Mark Hollis, musician, singer-songwriter as well as co-founder & lead singer of Talk Talk, passed on this day, 2019 at 64.

#MusicHistory On this day 1972, Nick Drake released this 3rd and final album, Pink Moon. Running just 28 minutes, it features no backing band—only his acoustic guitar, vocals, & a single piano overdub. It was the only one of Drake's albums to be released in North America during his lifetime.

#MusicHistory On this day 1985, Tears For Fears released their 2nd album Songs From The Big Chair. Roland Orzabal & Curt Smith created some of the greatest 80's classics with this work: "Shout", "Everybody Wants To Rule The World", "Head Over Heels" & "Mother's Talk". It sold over 9M copies.

“People say I’m the Beatle who changed the most, but to me, that’s what life’s about.” - George Harrison The legendary George Harrison, musician, singer-songwriter, lead guitarist for The Beatles, aka "The Quiet One", was born on this day in 1943 in Liverpool, England.

Joy Division/New Order are amongst the newly announced nominees for the 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The fan vote is now open - so make your voice heard… Vote Joy Division/New Order now via vote.rockhall.com - you can vote daily!

I definitely agree. Several really good songs. Red Hot and Blue Love comes immediately to mind. Neil Geraldo played all the leads, but Rick wasn't bad either. When on NBC's Tomorrow Show, Rick played lead with a 3 piece band and nailed (no pun intended) Jessie's Girl. Could act too.

“Let me do it. You tell me when you want it & where you want it to land, & I’ll do it backwards & tell you when to take off.” - Katherine Johnson The pioneering NASA mathematician whose orbital-mechanics calculations enabled the 1st & later US crewed spaceflights, passed on this day, 2020 at 101.

80's guilty pleasure classic incoming! #MusicHistory On this day, 1981, Australian rock musician Rick Springfield released his 5th album, Working Class Dog. The album sold over 3-million US copies. This record also produced his biggest career hit with the #1 million-selling song, "Jessie's Girl".

“One time, this guy handed me a picture of him, he said ‘Here’s a picture of me when I was younger.’ Every picture of you is a picture of you when you were younger.” - Mitch Hedberg The legendary comic & infinitely quotable Mitchell Lee Hedberg was born on this day, 1968. He passed in 2005 at 37.

#MusicHistory On this day 1975, Led Zeppelin released their 6th album, Physical Graffiti, the bands 1st release on their own Swan Song Records label, launched in May 1974. The album cover is a photograph of an NYC tenement block located at 96th & 98th St. Mark's Place, in the East Village, NYC.

#MusicHistory On this day, 1969, Johnny Cash recorded his 31st album & 2nd live album, Johnny Cash at San Quentin. At this gig "Johnny Cash raised his middle finger to the lens of photographer Jim Marshall. The image is rebellious, iconic, and transcendent, much like the Man in Black himself."

Man, February has been brutal taking Hollywood talent. RIP Robert Carradine. We all grew up with Revenge of the Nerds, still one of the all time classics. deadline.com/2026/02/robe...

I got this album for Xmas 1979, I still like it more than Parallel Lines, it has so much variety, but still feels unified, whereas PL great as it is doesn't quite feel that there's something tying it all together.

#FilmHistory On this day 1996, the black comedy drama Trainspotting, directed by Danny Boyle, based on the '93 novel by Irvine Welsh, detonated on screen, becoming one of the most influential films of the decade. It's a story about addiction, friendship, escape & the desperate need to “choose life.”