Day 758: Who Buried Paul?

originally published January 27, 2014 It was a cold November night in 1966 – or maybe it was January of ‘67, depending on whose account you choose to believe – when a car crash fatality forever changed the course of popular music. Or did it? Okay, there’s no real mystery here. The reality is that […]

Day 734: Cranking Up The Crap-tastic – Worst Music Part 2

originally published January 3, 2014 Whenever I’m feeling a little too happy, a little too comfortable within the overstuffed throw-pillows of our culture, I like to remind myself how easy it is to unzip those cushions and catch a whiff of the rancid stuffing inside. We may pride ourselves on our Breaking Bads, our Blue […]

Day 709: Crowding ‘Round The Stage Door

originally published December 9, 2013 I’ve got a picture, with me on the left, and beside me is singer/songwriter/reality show judge Ben Folds, one of my favorite talents in all three of his fields. On the right, there’s a groupie. Not one of Ben’s – she’s actually one of those women who gets all swoon-tastic […]

Day 687: The INDISPUTABLE Box O’ Juke – 80’s Edition

originally published November 17, 2013 I have, in the past, been accused of acute music snobbery, mostly by people whose names I never bothered to commit to memory. Yes, as an employee of Music World for the summer of 1993 I would regularly look down on customers who purchased music that I deemed to be […]

Day 635: Tuning In The Toxic – Worst Music Part 1

originally published September 26, 2013 After having penned over a dozen entries in this category of the most stench-laden drippings off the roasted fatty carcass of popular culture, I’m stricken by the uncharacteristic neglect on my part in addressing the scuzz at the bottom of the music bucket. Perhaps I’ve been burned too often by […]

Day 596: I… Uhhh… Made You A Mixtape.

originally published August 18, 2013 I’ll admit it, I’m the guy who made mixtapes for girls he liked. I also made them for friends and (mostly) for myself. My dad got me in the habit – he’d borrow or rent records (yes, back then there was a store in town where people would rent records), […]

Day 574: The Big Box O’ Juke – 60s Edition

originally published July 27, 2013 The day after writing about someone’s horribly-botched circumcision and subsequent medical torture, I really need to punch that gearshift into a new socket and spend this gloriously overcast day in a happier, more uplifting place. It is for this reason that we order up a shake, pull out that roll […]

Day 543: 21 Things I Learned About Billy’s Fire

originally published June 26, 2013 To be perfectly honest, reading through the Wikipedian entry for Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” was one of the more fun quarter-hours I’ve spent mired in that site’s seemingly infinite text. It was also educational. The song itself is a hit-or-miss affair. Some people love it, others find […]

Day 539: The Flaming Pies Of Band Names

originally published June 22, 2013 How did the Beatles come to be called the Beatles? Well, the official story is this: “It came in a vision. A man appeared on a flaming pie and said unto them, ‘From this day forward you are Beatles with an A.’ Thank you Mister Man, they said, thanking him.” […]

Day 499: A Neophyte Gives Doom Metal A Spin

originally published May 13, 2013 It occurred to me today as I was tidying up my kitchen and listening joyously to Michael McDonald and the Doobie Brothers sing “What A Fool Believes” that perhaps I should pen an article about doom metal. To be clear, the sum total of doom metal CDs on my shelf […]