musicbriefs
Topic

Punishment

What is done to the guilty, and what it is meant to achieve.

1
in music
10:38
average
11 min
in total
7
across the network
Punishment across the network →
All briefs1
video still
10:38

At San Quentin

Johnny Cash · 1969

A live album recorded at San Quentin State Prison on February 24, 1969. Cash’s first without Luther Perkins. It documents two debut performances — 'San Quentin' and 'A Boy Named Sue' — and includes the hit single 'A Boy Named Sue', which reached number one on the Billboard country chart and number two on the U.S. pop top 10.

More from music

All briefs →
video still
9:24

A Rainbow in Curved Air

Terry Riley · 1969

A Rainbow in Curved Air is a solo studio construction: keyboard and percussion overdubs on the A-side, saxophone drone and tape manipulation on the B-side. Made in 1968 on one of CBS’s first eight-track recorders. It established repetition, delay, and modal layering as core tools for electronic composition — not as texture, but as architecture.

video still
9:11

Aida

Giuseppe Verdi · 1989

A studio recording of Verdi’s Aida, made in 1989. Contains all vocal and orchestral numbers across four acts. Omits Verdi’s rejected overture. No source material describes performers, conductor, recording venue, or engineering choices.

video still
9:33

Akhnaten

Philip Glass · 1987

A low, dark opera built by deleting violins — and a Western fantasy dressed as ancient ritual.

video still
9:41

Aladdin

Alan Menken · 1992

A technically assured, narratively precise soundtrack built for mass appeal and cinematic utility. It delivers exactly what it promises: songs that advance plot, underscore emotion, and vanish from memory once the credits roll.