Ljubinko Zivkovic
Bio
A former, well, a lot of things: journalist, diplomat, translator and then journalist and writer again...
Stories (19/0)
Music of The Sixties - More Than Just Personal Memories
It is the music that enters your ears when you are a teenager that usually sticks in your mind the longest. Being a teenager during a certain decade, or just a part of it and listening to the music of the day just seems to stick with you forever. No exception here, spending a part of teenage years in the sixties, has made the music of that decade a personal favorite that simply doesn't go away.
By Ljubinko Zivkovic4 years ago in Beat
Finding Good Music Under The Radar - Part Three
Social distancing, lockdown quarantine, all are words we knew were there, just didn’t have much chance to experience them directly. Now we do. But another term remains the same - new music that should not be missed. It seems that now, in these hard times is the additional chance to experience it. After all, we have more time to experience it and, of course, those piles of music we are not so familiar with have been getting bigger and bigger. Time to try and slim them down and pick some more good music that otherwise might go completely unnoticed.
By Ljubinko Zivkovic4 years ago in Beat
Finding Good Music Under The Radar - Part Two
As any holiday season approaches, the piles of music to listen to grow exponentially and so do the chances of some great music just slipping by for no other reason than there is too much of it. The first reaction of any music fan is to go for the music they are somehow familiar with, something they know they will love, like a lavish reissue of one of their favourites.
By Ljubinko Zivkovic5 years ago in Beat
Finding Quality Music Under the Radar
These days, with streaming, downloads, and all the available formats, new and old, it is quite easy for good music to fall under the radar. In that respect, it is an almost an even field, whether music is something you seriously follow or you are just a casual fan. It often happens that your pile of vinyl or CDs just grows, or those downloads and possible streaming links are overcrowding your computer.
By Ljubinko Zivkovic5 years ago in Beat
Den of Ashes—'California'
If you’ve seen videos for Beck’s “Devil’s Haircut,” Madonna’s “Bedtime Stories,” and quite a few others, you’ve encountered the work of Ash. It is no easy feat establishing yourself in the highly competitive field of music videos, but Ash has done it.
By Ljubinko Zivkovic5 years ago in Beat
Ben LaMar Gay - 'Benjamin e Edinho'
Ben LaMar Gay has been a continuous presence on the Chicago music scene for years now, he is a member of the prominent AACM (The Association of the Advancement of Creative Musicians) and he has been collaborating with the likes of George Lewis, Theo Parrish, and Makaya McCraven. Still, until 2018 his solo recordings were barely to be heard.
By Ljubinko Zivkovic6 years ago in Beat
Raoul Vignal - 'Oak Leaf'
Often, when an artist is coming up with music that is subtle, often gentle, and is not a widely established name, somehow he keeps slipping under the radar of the wider audience. Some do make it, others fall into the shadows, and those that do have an enduring quality eventually reach the ears of more than just a cult fan base, even after they stop playing or are sadly gone. Such was the case with the late, great British singer/songwriter Nick Drake, who has only in the last few decades gotten the wider recognition he should have garnered way back in the 70s when he was still among us.
By Ljubinko Zivkovic6 years ago in Beat
Adam Hopkins - Crickets
Adam Hopkins is yet another creative composer/bassist who steps out on his own, not only with a debut of his sextet but also with a new label that is not only to focus on creative music but also limited runs of visual art. Of course, Hopkins opens the doors of Brooklyn’s OOYH Records (Out of Your Head Records) with the self-titled release of his Crickets.
By Ljubinko Zivkovic6 years ago in Beat
Tom Abbs & Frequency Response - Hawthorne
As someone who has played on over 50 recordings so far, jazz composer, filmmaker, and multi-instrumentalist Tom Abbs still remains a name that is mostly known to connoisseurs of modern jazz and new composition. Hopefully, Hawthorne, his most recent album under the moniker Frequency Response with a shifting cast of musicians and released in September 2018 will widen that circle.
By Ljubinko Zivkovic6 years ago in Beat
Captain Beefheart - Safe As Milk
Never ventured into the magical world of Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band? Where do you look for the entry point? With many artists and bands, it could be anywhere, with others it is in the middle, with some it is actually at the end. While quite a few listeners are mystified and a bit hesitant with all the stories of his truly avant-garde masterpiece Trout Mask Replica and a few other albums, as well as his idiosyncratic character and studio/live/private life stories, the entry point into his music is quite simple. You start at the beginning. And the beginning, the ‘official’ one, as if the word official can be stuck in front of the good captain’s name (his real name is either Don Vliet or Don Van Vliet - he stuck to the latter) is with his album Safe As Milk.
By Ljubinko Zivkovic7 years ago in Beat
Circle—Making Rounds Around The Square
Screaming is a national art in Finland. They even have a men's choir (30 members strong) that shouts everything from pop hits to national anthems. But then Finland is also the country with the strongest Tango musical line after Argentina. You also have everything in between. So it might be no wonder that the newest Circle album, Terminal (one of the 52 they made, although some accounts say it is over 60!) includes almost any modern rock style imaginable (screams included, of course). No tango though, a shame, I think they could have fitted it in!
By Ljubinko Zivkovic7 years ago in Beat
