The World in a Drum
By Richard Gehr, eMusic Contributor
Drums are the alpha and the omega of music. "In the beginning there was rhythm!" wailed Ari Up of the Slits with theological conviction. Beats figure as prominently in contemporary music - at least since the invention of disco - as they did to our cave-dwelling ancestors. But is anything in the world more boring than a drum solo? Generally acknowledged as having originated with Gene Krupa on Benny Goodman's 1936 recording of "Sing, Sing,… more »