I think most music fans want to have songs, albums, artists that they can think of as theirs. We can connect with music so deeply that we almost want to find a pathway to a relationship that feels a little reciprocal. This instinct, this desire leads to favorite artists, well-worn albums, cries of “that’s my song,” when a certain tune starts emanating from the radio or jukebox. We’re all people in the audience, watching Tom Frank sing “I’m Easy,” convinced it’s a personal message. That’s the extreme. There are levels to this, and one of the simplest (and safest) is … Continue reading One for Friday: Fire Town, “Carry the Torch”

My first three decades, I was a Wisconsinite. I was born in Madison, went to college in Stevens Point. On my thirty-first birthday, we climbed in to a big moving van and departed for a completely different part of the country. Since then, I’ve lived in Florida for six years and North Carolina for two. Through it all, America’s Dairyland still feels like home. For a long time–and still now, I suppose–I was especially attuned to any mention of Wisconsin in the pop culture. It’s the natural convergence of state pride and pop culture obsession. This included to a special … Continue reading One for Friday: Dead Milkmen, “Living in Wisconsin”