It was in October of 2000 that I was spending another day in the hospital room of my dying grandfather. He had recently had a heart attack, another in a series of several of them and the resulting corrective surgeries. Something felt final about this one, as it would turn out to be. He was […]

Elvis Costello was three albums into his career and still desperately trying to conquer America on yet another tour when he nearly derailed his career entirely on March 15, 1979.  After a gig in Columbus, Ohio, he was drinking heavily in the Holiday Inn bar, which is where Stephen Stills and other similar performers from […]

I wonder what is about me that I tend like the middle parts of various trilogies, when so many others seem to like the first or last entry most?  This is true of both movies and albums, even if I am in the apparent majority who thinks The Empire Strikes Back is the best of […]

A couple of decades back, I once asked some co-workers to all compile a list of their ten all-time most favorite songs, and the general reaction was like I had asked them which of their children they would not mourn if they died. What was meant to be a fun and quick exercise turned into […]

I blame the album cover.  Once I saw it as a kid, I knew I had to have a copy of this.  It was cold and clinical, and somehow a tad intimidating.  It definitely wasn’t warm and welcoming.  For possibly the first time, I was seeing something that was obviously put to paper without the […]

This is an odd one. I found myself noticing more and more songs where a torrent of words go by quickly and wondered how many I could think of. The answer: not that many, so I augmented those selections with some spoken-word selections. “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I […]

When I tell people my all-time favorite album is 1969’s self-titled release from The Velvet Underground, they inevitably think I mean The Velvet Underground & Nico, their debut.  Instead, what I mean is their third release. It may seem odd a group with only four albums released during their time together would have two that […]

As I write this, I have no idea how the election will have turned out. For all I know, we will find ourselves in a horrible scenario where it won’t be decided for a long, long time. All I know is, I’m probably going to be exhausted, and I likely will be for a while. […]

There are a few ways one can cleanly divide the catalog of R.E.M.  The easiest is their initial run of albums on I.R.S. records before moving to Warner Brothers.  But that wasn’t as radical of a break as their work immediately preceding, and soon following, the departure of drummer Bill Berry. As for myself, I […]

Much like how October is the month most of us get our colder-weather clothing out storage, I break out the fall music. And for me, a great deal of that music is from the early 90’s. As I was in my teens at the start of the 90’s, I was more attune to contemporary music […]

Some of the music I love is not by the innovators, but by those who were influenced by them long after the fact.  Take a whole bunch of Nuggets-worthy garage bands, add few a measures of Revolver-era Beatles, then a couple of spoonfuls of the White Album, maybe a whiff of Emmit Rhodes’s debut album, […]

A mix for Labor Day, where we paradoxically celebrate work by taking the day off from it. I didn’t feel any additional comments were necessary, as each selection is self-explanatory. “Finest Worksong” by R.E.M. “Job Application” by Meryn Cadell “Burn This Bridge” by The Dambuilders “Earn Enough For Us” by XTC “The Happy Prole” by […]

I have an odd tendency to love many acts’ generally least loved albums.  At one time, I would have simply chalked this up to my contrarian nature.  I like to think I instead am able to consider works without influence from others.  Such is the case with Pink Floyd’s Obscured by Clouds, an entry in […]

In this last month of summer, I am focusing on tracks that have an emphasis on percussion. “The Obvious Child” by Paul Simon It was inevitable whatever Simon would follow Graceland with would be unable to meet the ridiculously high bar set by the legendary album. Rhythm of the Saints was a solid album, seeking […]

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by a guitar amp by grandfather used.  Messing around with it once, I discovered that, if one turned one of the dials up all the way (reverb, I think), picked up the amp and then sat it down roughly, a truly horrific noise would come from it.  […]