When we last left off, I was saying that the Asia album you want is the one with “Heat of the Moment” on it. Well, this is not that album. But from about the first 15 seconds of Alpha, I’m thinking this one might just be a keeper.
MP3: Adam Cohen – “What Other Guy” from Like A Man, due April 3 on Decca (UMG). Who would’ve guessed? I can only thinkf of a handful of good musicians whose parents were famous artists. The Nelson twins? Nope. Wilson Phillips? Nope. Arguments could certainly be made for Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainright, and Charlotte Gainsbourg. [...]
So the first thing you may notice if you read my last column post, is that regardless of what kind of writer I am, I clearly don’t have a grasp of the alphabet. Or more to the point, I’ve done a really crappy job of organizing my records. Now I could waste a bunch of time going through and making sure that my records are indeed, alphabetized. Or I could spend the time actually listening. Clearly there is only one choice here, and that’s to forge ahead and pull the lp’s off the shelf in whatever order they are in and call it good.
Video: Wilco – “Dawned On Me” I usually hate animated videos but this one was pretty fun. It’s apparently “the first hand-drawn Popeye cartoon in more than 30 years.” Which is odd, because who knew that there have been any Popeye cartoons made in the past 30 years? Even if you’re not impressed by the [...]
Until recently, we’ve had a mild winter in the Midwest. There’s been very few days where temperatures fell below freezing and it was the first time in years when there wasn’t snow on the ground during Christmas. It was a challenge not to buy Kate Bush’s new album 50 Words For Snow when it was [...]
Launching a new column is somewhat daunting, as there’s usually a lot to explain. But an editor of mine once told me to just dispense with the disclaimers and jump right in. The readers will figure it out, he felt. And besides, plotting out all the thinking that went into the thing is somewhat presumptuous [...]
Video: Butch Walker And The Black Widows – “Synthesizers” “To commemorate the 20 year anniversary of the filming and inception of [Dazed and Confused],” Butch Walker says, “we brought a little someone from the film back to be the life of the party for our new video for the song ‘Synthesizers.’ The song lyrics really [...]
Let’s put politics aside for a moment and just appreciate that this guy is smooth. Years after Clinton squawking away on a sax and eight arduous years of Bush trying to dance (or whatever that is), we finally have a President with at least a hint of musical acumen. Making the rounds this week is [...]
Video: Howlin’ Wolf Defines the Blues, “Meet Me In The Bottom” This is something else! Wolf is patiently trying to explain what the Blues really are, while he’s repeatedly heckled (off-mic, unfortunately) by an apparently loaded Son House. After not too long Wolf has had enough and rips into House. “You had a chance with [...]
Sancho from Martin Starr This is a mildly amusing song about a guy who suspects that his wife (played in the video by Liz Phair) is getting some service from a non-authorized dealer. The punchline is silly, but Liz looks great throughout. Will Forte steals the show, of course.
