If the world is going to end on Dec. 21, Nightmare Painting—the third full-length album from former Racine bassist William Kopecky and Bulgarian dark master Dimitar Dimitrov—would be the perfect soundtrack. Dwelling in the deep

 Before electrical amplification, the guitar was easily drowned out in orchestras or noisy nightclubs. Once players were able to plug in, guitars overtook pianos and saxophones as the lead instrument in popular music. Charlie

Louis Armstrong was a prominent figure in American culture through his death in 1971, but many have argued that he was never as sharp as on the recordings he made in the late 1920s with the Hot Five and the Hot Seven

 Bessie Smith didn’t make the first blues recordings, but she may have been the first authentic blues singer to record. The Complete Columbia Recordings, a 10-CD set, is the definitive documentary of the artist who awakened the

Waukesha-born Les Paul, a rock and jazz pioneer and inventor who created the electric guitar as we know, died today of pneumonia, the Associated Press is reporting. He was 94. Paul was lucid and active in his final years, playing concerts regularly. He was also well celebrated back home. Last year the Discovery World museum opened an exhibit in his honor, and he christened the exhibit wit...