98. The J. Geils Band, Love Stinks (1980) The career boost sought by the J. Geils Band had worked, more or less. After several years on Atlantic Records, they jumped to EMI based on the promise that they’d get more … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #98 to #96
As the curtain falls on 2022, tradition holds that I offer up a few of the songs released during the span of the calendar coming off the wall. Steering away from the artists who were represented in yesterday’s tally of … Continue reading Five Songs from 2022
After sometimes getting lost in the constant stream of new music that comes out, I worked a little harder at really listening to everything that came my way this year. The introduction of the Medium Rotation feature was a way … Continue reading Top Ten Albums of 2022
101. Foreigner, 4 (1981) For anyone who want to understand — really, really know — what album-rock radio sounded like in the nineteen-eighties, particularly the first half before hair metal came prancing in to knock the system askew, Foreigner’s 4 … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #101 to #99
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”
Coffee for Two 