For whatever reason, I am fascinated by songs about the experience of being a recording artist, especially those addressing frustrations toward the industry. When they are autobiographical, I consider these “state of the band union” songs, the public airing of an artist’s grievances. I’m surprised there aren’t more such songs, as that would seem to […]

Note: “Tainted Love” not included in this mix. For this month, I decided to create a mix of love songs for Valentine’s Day, except these are about it in its unrequited form or when affection curdles into something foul. Everything is fine in my relationship, but I just thought those whose isn’t on such solid […]

It’s fair to say most people’s favorite album by a given artist is usually the first one they heard by them.  I was late to appreciate The Replacements, so the first full album by them I had was All Shook Down, their last. This is an album not generally held in high regard by their […]

January is an odd month. After all the hurried activity leading up to the holidays near the end of the previous year, it feels like somebody slammed the brakes on reality. Heck, the early Roman essentially treated it and February as if they didn’t even exist–they just lumped them together into a dead space outside […]

I’m not big on Christmas music. It seems like my favorites of the genre are tracks I could listen to any time of the year. The rest of it is pure nostalgia, which may be my least favorite kind of sentiment. And, given how omnipresent that music is at this time of year, it is […]

Like most people my age, I used to make a great many mixtapes, back when these were on cassette and so were truly mixtapes.  I welcomed the age of being able to burn compact discs in a computer, enabling easier mix creation and duplication.  I think it’s funny how few people have any equipment to […]

I am a huge fan of Stax records, especially its output up to, and a little past, the death of Otis Redding.  That era was covered in a box set with all of its single A-sides packed onto nine compact discs.  Diminishing returns resulted from a second and third set which covered the Al Bell […]

As I write this, a huge portion of the Canadian wilderness is engulfed in flames and air currents have carried the smoke south of the 49th parallel, resulting in extremely poor air quality across the northeastern United States.  This has resulted in a weird haze that has noticeably changed the strength, and even hue, of […]

There’s a lot of music I listen to almost exclusively in a particular season.  In the same way one could listen to Christmas music year-round, it seems me Big Star’s oeuvre, the Replacements’ albums up through Pleased to Meet Me and R.E.M.’s Document are best appreciated in the autumn.  In that same regard, I listen […]

Most people think of Seasonal Affective Disorder as a depression that strikes in the cold, overcast days of autumn and winter.  I guess I always have to be the rebel, because I like those kinds of days and I swear I experience that disorder when the days start getting warmer and longer.  I start feeling […]

One of the highlights of the 1981 concert film Urgh! A Music War is seeing Gary Numan perform “Down in the Park.”  Fantastic song, but the performance is what is especially notable.  A door opens on the stage and a tiny futuristic one-seater vehicle rolls out with the performer inside.  The entirely of the song, […]

“The Middle Ages sucked”. That line is true, whether it concerns the medieval era or the middle years of an estimated lifetime.  In this case, it means the dark ages as “This Is the Renaissance” puts a bizarre spin on that period, whether you pronounce it “Ren-ah-sance or Ren-eh-sance”. Such is the wit of Sparks, […]

Isn’t it strange that something from decades prior can seem to foretell the sound of some modern music when, in actuality, that contemporary music is a throwback to an earlier sound? As I write this, we are still deep in the throes of 80’s nostalgia.  Having lived through that decade, I now understand why my […]