Stories

Some songs feel as if they have opened a window in the ceiling. The harmony is bright, but it is not simply cheerful; there is a lift, a glint, a sense that…

A poker HUD, or heads-up display, turns hand histories into readable statistics while you play. It can show how often an opponent enters a pot, raises before…

I keep coming back to the piano ballad because it enforces a kind of honesty that a full band can soften. Guitars, strings and drums can lend a song momentum,…

Highlife music can feel immediately welcoming: a clean guitar figure, a horn hook, and a rhythm section that seems to pull people onto the floor. Yet the…

The underappreciated genius of female singer-songwriters in the 1970s is clearest when the decade is read against its own grain. Women were routinely praised…

For years, music school gave me an excellent map: scales, keys, chord progressions, sight-reading, arranging, history and disciplined practice. I could explain…

Finding enjoyable online slots involves more than chasing a large welcome banner. Australian and New Zealand players also need to consider game variety,…

An aspiring songwriter can collect advice for years and still struggle to recognise a useful song when it appears in the wild. Records solve that problem more…

Roulette has always had a strong sense of theatre. The ball circles the wheel, the croupier announces the result, and a random number suddenly feels like part…

What draws me to early recording technology is its physical honesty. Hiss, clipped peaks, a wavering pitch and a crackling surface each tell you that a…