What would the coffeehouse be without great music?
Well it wouldn’t be Starbucks, for one thing. We’re just as passionate about music as we are about coffee. That’s why we handpick all the tunes you hear in our stores. We take pride in creating unique compilations you can’t find anywhere else. Because helping people discover their next favorite artist or recording is one of our favorite things to do.
Bob Dylan has been famous for so long that it’s easy to forget how he first became famous. It wasn’t as a recording artist or performer, but as a songwriter.
His self-titled debut album appeared 50 years ago this spring and failed to generate much attention, except among some industry insiders, some of whom dubbed it “Hammond’s folly,” a jab at John Hammond, the legendary producer/label exec/talent scout who brought the barely-out-of-his-teens Dylan to Columbia Records.
Preparing material for his second album, Dylan penned an anti-war tune that came to the attention of th
Music by Bacharach features 16 prime recordings associated with a man whose name is synonymous with a certain kind of complex yet assessable pop music.
Burt Bacharach transcends the role as a behind-the-scenes songsmith. Despite the fact that he didn’t sing much and mostly worked in the service of others, Bacharach was a ‘60s star. He hosted prime-time television specials, was pictured on magazine covers and, with his wife at the time—screen star Angie Dickinson—appeared in a series of commercials (“Say yes!”).
At last, it’s time to log off. You do the 21st century equivalent of punching the clock and face what remains of the day. It’s time to uncoil a bit and music is a vital part of the process.
Our Timothy J. has put together the brand new Wind Down, a selection of a dozen songs that say “day is done.” Bearing a striking nightscape cover, the CD offers up choice gems by Thievery Corporation, Moby,Groove Armada and other modern music innovators. It’s a forum for music with an electronic undercurrent that’s suited for taking things down a notch. Dating from the late 1990s to 2011, these warmly buzzing tracks capture the heyday of international electronica, whether you call it nu jazz, ambient or whatever.
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