26. Midnight Oil, Diesel and Dust (1987) The first seed that would turn into the fertile garden Diesel and Dust was cast in 1984, when members of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil spent a couple days at an Aboriginal … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #26 and #25
I mean it as a high compliment when I assert that the new song Billie Eilish created for the Barbie movie soundtrack recalls the expert work of Randy Newman. Especially when Newman was the go-to for Pixar during the animation … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Billie Eilish, “What Was I Made For?”
28. Camper Van Beethoven, Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart (1988) “I got very tired of the fact that indie record labels sell to very specific audiences,” David Lowery, frontman of Camper Van Beethoven, told the Orlando Sentinel as his band toured … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #28 and #27
What Democrats Can Accomplish When They Control a Whole State by Grace Segers Like their cohorts on the other side of the Dairy State Divide, Minnesota Democrats have taken their recent wins at the voting booth as a mandate to … Continue reading Outside Reading — The Star of the North edition
Bush Tetras formed in the late nineteen-seventies. Like a lot of acts formed in the forge of New York City punk rock, they churned out a slew of singles and played loud live shows. They also didn’t release their first … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Bush Tetras, “Bird on a Wire”
CATT Change (Listenrecords) — A musical polymath raised in Northern Germany and currently based in Berlin, Catt might be uniquely calibrated to accept change. At least that’s how she comes across on the new album Change. Change can be rough, … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Change; The Chicago Sessions; The Answer Is Always Yes
30. The Clash, London Calling (1979) “I remember that things were so up in the air, and there was quite a good feeling of us against the world,” Joe Strummer, guitarist and co-frontman of the Clash, told Rolling Stone several … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #30 and #29
Pink Floyd, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and Me by Charlie Savage Charlie Savage, who’s now a well-regarded political journalist with a Pulitzer Prize on his shelf, recounts his experience a cub reporter when a human interest piece about stoners syncing … Continue reading Outside Reading — The Dark Side of the Trousers edition
This week brought an uncommonly large batch of the new tracks that tugged at my music-loving soul and demanded placement in this weekly spot. At different points, I was sure this week’s model was a recently unearthed gem from the … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Olivia Rodrigo, “Vampire”
INDIGO DE SOUZA All of This Will End (Saddle Creek) — All of This Will End, the third album from Asheville, North Carolina resident Indigo De Souza, is effusive in its caustic cacophonies. De Souza is relentlessly candid in her … Continue reading Medium Rotation — All of This Will End; The First Two Pages of Frankenstein
Coffee for Two 