Amy Rigby was one of those performers whose name I regularly heard and read attached to eager praise of her songwriting, yet for ages, I never heard a not of her music. As the varied streaming options make mere memories … Continue reading One for Friday — Amy Rigby, “I Don’t Wanna Talk About Love No More”
Over seven years ago, I shared the first College Countdown post, taking advantage of an online find — an old CMJ Top Cuts chart, which are devilishly difficult to track down in the otherwise information-packed superhighway — to offer a … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — An Introduction
Thirty years ago this month, the Pogues released their third full-length album, If I Should Fall from Grace with God. A personal favorite, that’s probably something I should have casually been aware of, but instead I was alerted to that … Continue reading One for Friday — The Pogues, “The Broad Majestic Shannon”
Keeping with tradition, the final words I offer on a just-closed year of music come in the assembled as a celebration of a quintet of tracks that stood out for me. I’m not proclaiming these to be the best five … Continue reading Five Songs from 2017
I’ve rarely felt so detached from the prevailing music culture as I did in 2017. I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. It’s not only that my resounding obliviousness of the songs that stormed the pop charts (I wouldn’t … Continue reading Top Ten Albums of 2017
I think New Year’s Eve is a dandy night to be on the radio. Perhaps influenced by one of my cohorts at the college radio, a seasoned drinker, who referred to the last night of the calendar year as “amateur … Continue reading One for Friday — Jesus Jones, “Right Here, Right Now”
4. Sinead O’Connor, “Nothing Compares 2 U” The tip-off about the identity of the songwriter in there in title. When Sinead O’Connor released “Nothing Compares 2 U” as the lead single from her sophomore album, I Do Not Want What … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 40 Cuts, March 16, 1990 — 4 – 1
When the Canadian band Stars recorded their cover of “Fairytale in New York,” just in time for Christmas 2005, I don’t think the Pogues song was yet considered an unavoidable holiday classic. It certainly wasn’t prominent enough in the cultural … Continue reading One for Friday — Stars, “Fairytale of New York”
8. Eleventh Dream Day, “Testify” Eleventh Dream Day was a band that seemed to come out of nowhere to storm the college charts, beginning with the release of their major label debut, Beet, in late 1989. Raved about in the … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 40 Cuts, March 16, 1990 — 8 – 5
I landed in college radio in the fall of 1988. By that point in time, there were already loads of artist who were cemented as the signature acts of the left side of the dial: the Cure, the Smiths, R.E.M., … Continue reading One for Friday — The Smithereens, “Crazy Mixed Up Kid”
Coffee for Two 