3. The English Beat, Special Beat Service (1982) “We looked at ourselves and realized we had unconsciously overcompensated for the frenetic rhythms of the first album with the slower pacings of the second album,” Dave Wakeling, guitarist and vocalist with … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #3
We Three Kings: boygenius On Their Breakout Year by Brady Gerber Even those who engage in only casual perusals of my little corner of the digital world are undoubtedly clear that I wholeheartedly hopped on the boygenius bandwagon at the … Continue reading Outside Reading — Past-Life Arsonists edition
“Just a Place,” the new single from Glitterer, opens with an enticing tuneful cascade of the sort that the Ocean Blue used to dispense like candy from their pockets. As the track moves on, it toughens up just a bit, … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Glitterer, “Just a Place”
Midway through the day and into early evening, none of the festival attendees knew if Shane MacGowan was going to show up for his scheduled set. There were all sorts of reasons to surmise that the onetime Pogues frontman would … Continue reading Shane MacGowan, 1957 – 2023
4. The Clash, Combat Rock (1982) “This time we wanted to cut it down a bit,” said guitarist Mick Jones, who shared frontman duties in the Clash with Joe Strummer, of the band’s fifth studio album, Combat Rock. “It was … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #4
It never would have occurred to me that that Sleaford Mods would be an ideal match for one of the most iconic synth-pop singles of the nineteen-eighties, but here we are. That’s clearly my shortcoming of imagination. The opening lyrics … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Sleaford Mods, “West End Girls”
SLOW PULP Yard (Anti-) — Slow Pulp might be the only act that actively tried to preserve some of the limitations they endured during the era of COVID lockdowns. The band that originated in Madison, Wisconsin before setting up shop … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Yard; Bury the Lede
5. Talking Heads, Speaking in Tongues (1983) Nearly three full years passed between the release of Talking Heads’ fourth album, Remain in Light, and its proper studio follow-up, Speaking in Tongues. The span of time was long enough during that … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #5
The Cassette-Tape Revolution by Jon Michaud I am of the exact right age to be enthralled by a brief treatise on the bygone pleasures of the cassette tape, which is exactly what Jon Michaud provides in this piece. Using the … Continue reading Outside Reading — The Compact Audiocassette edition
Tradition holds that the holiday season formally begins with Phoebe Bridgers releasing a cover song as a charity single, but, this year, she’s one of the boys. So Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus are present, too. Joining boygenius are the … Continue reading This Week’s Model — boygenius & Ye Vagabonds, “The Parting Glass”
Coffee for Two 