Thai

Written by a young and ambitious Chopin as self-promotional vehicle to demonstrate his performance capabilities and, to a lesser degree, his compositional skills, the two piano concertos have remained as an important part of the instrument's repertoire. Often derided for their somewhat trite orchestral parts, these concertos are nevertheless beautiful, thoroughly enjoyable works. While there are countless recordings of the piano works of Beethoven and Mozart on period instruments, this inclination has found its way to Chopin's works with less frequency. This album, produced by The Fryderyk Chopin Institute, makes use of an 1849 Erard fortepiano made in Paris, very similar to the instruments Chopin himself would have used.

Roger Waters, co-founder and principal songwriter of Pink Floyd, fuses the epic and the personal in Roger Waters The Wall, a concert film that goes well beyond the stage. Based on the groundbreaking concept album, Roger Waters The Wall could be called a concept film: it's a state-of-the-art show that dazzles the senses, combined with an intensely personal road trip that deals with the loss Roger has felt throughout his life due to war. On stage and now on film, Waters has channeled his convictions into his art and his music. With Roger Waters The Wall, Waters – together with his fellow musicians and his creative collaborators – brings audiences an exultant ride of a rock and roll concert, and delivers an unforgettable, deeply emotional experience.

A whole sociological study could probably be based around Saigon Rock & Soul, a double-album compilation of killer Vietnamese pop/rock tracks from the late ‘60s to mid-‘70s, but that will be left to more academically minded types in order to focus on the music at hand. The tunes included here were surely the product of Western music's influence, as American soldiers brought the sounds of U.S. rock, pop, and soul along with them over the course of the Vietnam War. By the late ‘60s, a whole subgenre of than nac ("modern music") had emerged, as hordes of young Vietnamese musicians absorbed and emulated the music that arrived from overseas. Besides local clubs, many of the artists featured here performed – and often recorded – at U.S. army bases, where the soldiers made up a major portion of their fan base.

Taking influence from 1960's Thai funk - their name literally translates to "Engine Fly" in Thai - Khruangbin’s debut album ‘The Universe Smiles Upon You’ is steeped in the bass heavy, psychedelic sound of their inspiration, Tarantino soundtracks and surf-rock cool. The Texan trio is formed of Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald “DJ” Johnson on drums.