As if the news out of Las Vegas wasn't horrible enough, then there was the news about Tom Petty.
Tom Freaking Petty.
Who just finished three triumphant nights at the Hollywood Bowl.
Who just produced the new Chris Hillman (from the Byrds) album Bidin' My Time.
Who was just 66 years old.
Oddly appropriately, here's the last track from that Chris Hillman album.
Which came out ten freaking days ago.
Ten freaking days.
Fucking Mondays.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Saturday, September 9, 2017
Hurricane Wish
For those in the path of the Hurricanes...
May the worst nightmare you face in the next 24-48 hours be having this song stuck in your head.
Stay safe...
May the worst nightmare you face in the next 24-48 hours be having this song stuck in your head.
Stay safe...
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Monday, July 31, 2017
Thursday, June 15, 2017
This is Everything
I love Jane Siberry's music.
I listened to her first five albums over and over again. Saw her live a half dozen times in the 80s and early 90s.
And then I tried to get into her later stuff.
It was fine, but just never grabbed me.
Maybe she'd just moved on, following her muse to a place that was a little less my cup of tea.
I'd given up on the thought of her issuing new music that would thrill me as much as her old stuff.
And that was fine. She was doing what she wanted and I'm all in favor of that.
I didn't even know about this new album. And I certainly didn't have any expectations about it.
But... then... out of the blue.
Unexpectedly.
Out of nowhere.
This.
This fucking song.
That would have sounded perfect on The Walking.
And suddenly, in under four minutes, I remember everything I love about Jane Siberry's music.
Because.
This.
Is.
Everything.
I listened to her first five albums over and over again. Saw her live a half dozen times in the 80s and early 90s.
And then I tried to get into her later stuff.
It was fine, but just never grabbed me.
Maybe she'd just moved on, following her muse to a place that was a little less my cup of tea.
I'd given up on the thought of her issuing new music that would thrill me as much as her old stuff.
And that was fine. She was doing what she wanted and I'm all in favor of that.
I didn't even know about this new album. And I certainly didn't have any expectations about it.
But... then... out of the blue.
Unexpectedly.
Out of nowhere.
This.
This fucking song.
That would have sounded perfect on The Walking.
And suddenly, in under four minutes, I remember everything I love about Jane Siberry's music.
Because.
This.
Is.
Everything.
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Got to Pay Your Dues if You Wanna Sing the Blues...
Here's something cool I'd never heard before...
Thanks, YouTube Rabbit Holes...
Thanks, YouTube Rabbit Holes...
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Song for America
I guess the good news is it starts with a single step.
What is happening is not who we are as a nation.
What is happening is not who we are as a nation.
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Dodge This
I'm a sucker for all things Badfinger.
So here's a B-side from the debut album by the Dodgers, the band formed by Badfinger's Tom Evans and Bob Jackson (who joined Badfinger for the Head First record, which remained unreleased for decades. Written by Tom Evans and has more than a little of "that" sound. You know the one I mean.
So here's a B-side from the debut album by the Dodgers, the band formed by Badfinger's Tom Evans and Bob Jackson (who joined Badfinger for the Head First record, which remained unreleased for decades. Written by Tom Evans and has more than a little of "that" sound. You know the one I mean.
Sunday, March 5, 2017
New Video for New New Pornographers
High On the Spirit, Hopped Up On Mystic
For the longest time, I would refer to XTC as "my favorite band that still exists." That let me off the hook in terms of deciding if I preferred XTC to bands I loved that were long gone (like Badfinger). Later, it let me not have to decide if I liked XTC better than I liked the Beatles.
And then without fanfare, XTC faded away. And years later, Andy Partridge admitted the band was no more.
Which was really too bad because I'd grown used to the phrase "my favorite band that still exists."
And now. Now.
Now, there are some great bands around. Some amazing bands I like.
But what, in 2017, is "my favorite band that still exists."
Maybe, just maybe, it's the New Pornographers. Although I think of them less as a band than a collective that comes together every few years to drop a new record that feels like it exists outside of time. These albums could exist in 1968 or 1972 or 1984 or 2017.
"My favorite band that still exists"?
Maybe. Possibly. Could be.
"This thing could go two ways, won't be another exit for days."
Maybe I don't need a "favorite band that still exists."
"Pack a small suitcase, anything else could be easily replaced."
Meanwhile, the missive from outside of time has arrived.
Again.
And music seems wonderful again.
Plus, there's a motorcycle on fire, going through the hallways of a High School where all the students look like they're pushing 30. And what's not to like about that?
For the longest time, I would refer to XTC as "my favorite band that still exists." That let me off the hook in terms of deciding if I preferred XTC to bands I loved that were long gone (like Badfinger). Later, it let me not have to decide if I liked XTC better than I liked the Beatles.
And then without fanfare, XTC faded away. And years later, Andy Partridge admitted the band was no more.
Which was really too bad because I'd grown used to the phrase "my favorite band that still exists."
And now. Now.
Now, there are some great bands around. Some amazing bands I like.
But what, in 2017, is "my favorite band that still exists."
Maybe, just maybe, it's the New Pornographers. Although I think of them less as a band than a collective that comes together every few years to drop a new record that feels like it exists outside of time. These albums could exist in 1968 or 1972 or 1984 or 2017.
"My favorite band that still exists"?
Maybe. Possibly. Could be.
"This thing could go two ways, won't be another exit for days."
Maybe I don't need a "favorite band that still exists."
"Pack a small suitcase, anything else could be easily replaced."
Meanwhile, the missive from outside of time has arrived.
Again.
And music seems wonderful again.
Plus, there's a motorcycle on fire, going through the hallways of a High School where all the students look like they're pushing 30. And what's not to like about that?
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Really, Why
Miasma
A dollop of genuine weirdness.
Craig Ferguson. They Might Be Giants. And John Hodgeman.
What more could you want?
A dollop of genuine weirdness.
Craig Ferguson. They Might Be Giants. And John Hodgeman.
What more could you want?
Friday, January 27, 2017
New New Pornographers
As if a clarion call went up in the land.
No more darkness, no more despair.
Yes, times are dangerous.
Yes, we're all at great risk.
Yes, this could all be for nought.
But take up arms because this thing could go two ways...
No more darkness, no more despair.
Yes, times are dangerous.
Yes, we're all at great risk.
Yes, this could all be for nought.
But take up arms because this thing could go two ways...
Friday, January 20, 2017
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Friday, January 6, 2017
Save Your Illusions
Where Angels Hover, I'll Hover Too
May you live long enough that the useful experiments you long ago dismissed become clearer to you not just because of their failures but because of the nugget of quality and truth that shimmers beside the failures.
May you live long enough that the useful experiments you long ago dismissed become clearer to you not just because of their failures but because of the nugget of quality and truth that shimmers beside the failures.
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