A Warm Slice of Pizza in a Bombarded City by Thomas Gibbons-Neff and Natalia Yermak I understand that I operate with a level of privilege, and I try not to take it for granted. As my household gets to pause … Continue reading Outside Reading — The Road Is So Long edition
Funky boys and girls who’ve secured their place on the Nice list know that the jolly man coming down their chimneys on Christmas Eve doesn’t hail from the North Pole. Instead, a proud son of Cincinnati who plays the bass … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Bootsy Collins, “Here 4 a Reason”
VARIOUS ARTISTS Dig Me In: A Dig Me Out Covers Album (self-released) — Starting with the surprise inclusion of 7-inch with two new tunes in the complete-discography box set Start Together as means of teasing their comeback, the second coming … Continue reading Medium Rotation — Dig Me In: A Dig Me Out Covers Album; CAZIMI
This series of posts covers my long, beloved history interacting with the medium of radio, including the music that flowed through the airwaves. I grew up and went to college in a state that hurls mighty tests of fortitude at … Continue reading Radio Days — The Snowbound Satellite Dish
104. Bangles, Different Light (1986) There was no official lead singer in the Bangles. On Different Light, the band’s second full-length studio album, every last member of the quartet — guitarist Susanna Hoffs, drumer Debbi Peterson, guitarist Vicki Peterson, and … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #104 to #102
Dove Cameron wasn’t born yet when Edwyn Collins was all over alternative rock radio with “A Girl Like You,” the swaggering lead single from his 1994 album, Gorgeous George. But the Disney Channel escapee who had a great big pop-star … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Dove Cameron, “Girl Like Me”
CARLY RAE JEPSEN The Loneliest Time (604 / Schoolboy / Interscope) — It’s well established by now that the Carly Rae Jepsen pop music factory is about as dependable as they come, every new widget of hooks and beats heaved … Continue reading Medium Rotation — The Loneliest Time; Love Me Forever
These posts are about the songs that fell just short of crossing the key line of chart success, entering the Billboard Top 40. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 41. In late 1964, Steve Cropper was driving … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Mr. Pitiful” and “I’ve Got Dreams to Remember”
107. Big Audio Dynamite, Tighten Up Vol. 88 (1988) Mick Jones believed Tighten Up Vol. 88 was an album made to vault Big Audio Dynamite to next level of commercial popularity. The band’s first two albums, This Is Big Audio … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #107 to #105
Whatever else can be said about Phoebe Bridgers, she’s pretty damned impressive as a collaborator. In the shooting-star ascendancy of her past few years, it seems Bridgers has eagerly responded in the affirmative to just about every cool opportunity that … Continue reading This Week’s Model — SZA, “Ghost in the Machine (ft. Phoebe Bridgers)”
Coffee for Two 