There are two relative recent developments on the live music landscape that I find equally interesting and curious. One is the return of the cult heroes of my college radio years, often playing sizable venues that would have been out of their reach during their heyday. The Pixies had a lot of fans back then, but they weren’t playing big rooms unless they were opening for U2. The other thing is the emergence of single-album concerts as a viable option, with all sorts of artists taking the stage to move track by track through one of the seminal releases. Sometimes … Continue reading One for Friday: Tommy Keene, “Nothing Can Change You”

Last week’s One for Friday post got me thinking about all of the songs about Janes, which rapidly led to me to the song that I often paired with The Icicle Works’ pop gem on the air. Trying to establish indie, college-radio-friendly cred in the late eighties with the last name Astley was as tricky then as it would be now. Even with an terrifically-titled debut album, the association to the unrelated Jon Astley and, by extension, his aggravating earworm of an anthem was going to be strong for some to even drop the needle and sample the music. It … Continue reading One for Friday: Jon Astley, “Put This Love to the Test”