Another Covid 19 Playlist
Another weird week, in a string of weird weeks. Another 19 songs. Another Covid 19 Playlist. Unlike my prior effort, no self-imposed, OCD-driven, 1970’s-only restrictions for this one, so I can now give ‘Strange Days’ the opening slot it deserves. Lots of cautions lately to please ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me,’ ‘Keep Your Hands...... Read More
The Pretenders “Mystery Achievement” (1980)
There’s a real art to playing fake instruments. Air guitarists are obviously most prevalent, but finding the proper level of verisimilitude can be tricky. You’ve got to seek the right amount of exaggerated performance, of theatrics, while still enacting moves akin to actual guitar wailing..... Read More
Matthew Sweet “Morning Song” (2004)
..But music is such an amazing, powerful thing. A couple days before I’d been listening to a bunch of tunes by Matthew Sweet, and in the stillness his songs just kept running through my head, over and over, stuck in a loop. Especially this one, ‘Morning Song,’ as simple and beautiful a song... Read More
Tony Molina “Walk Away” (2014)
In about the time it takes to peruse this piece you could listen to San Francisco hardcore micro-song master Tony Molina’s entire 2014 album, “Dissed And Dismissed.” It contains 12 tracks and runs a total of 11 and a half minutes. Yes, you read that right..... Read More
My Morning Jacket “I’m Amazed” (2008)
During my years working at Madison Square Garden, I’d occasionally be passing through the arena during the day for one reason or another, and once in a while I caught some pretty cool behind-the-scenes stuff. One of the coolest of those that I can remember was basically witnessing the actual moment a band was seeing...... Read More
Still with Weezer, none the wiser
These are very confusing times to be a Weezer fan... Read More
King Missile “Detachable Penis” (1992)
Is this song quirky? Is it just plain weird? I’m not really sure exactly what to make of it, I just remember being amused by it when it came out in the early ‘90’s and I caught it on some late-night MTV show (back when MTV actually played music, of course), and after I listened...... Read More
Tundrastomper “Myth Of Slop” (2017); “For Flies Only” (2018)
Time for the nepotistic entry - as Jack Black said in "School Of Rock", "A little nep-o-tis." Time for my son Max’s band. Time for Tundrastomper! They’ve been playing as a 4-man unit for roughly 10 years, starting back early in high school, continuing through their college years – though they attended four different schools... Read More
Bob Seger “The Fire Down Below” (1976)
You’re listening to a good tune, enjoying it as you go through the verse-verse-chorus-solo sections, and at a certain point as the chorus circles around again, you feel the coda forming, the familiar parts of a song wrapping up, and sadly you know it’s about to end. And then – euphoria! – it re-starts. Even...... Read More
The Dungeon // Fatboy Slim “The Rockafeller Skank” (1998)
The word ‘literally’ is literally misused most of the time. Generally when you hear it spoken it’s for emphasis and not to be taken, well, literally. Still, on a night in 2001 in the joyous city of New Orleans, I literally…literally…thought I was going to die. There are a lot of great bars in New...... Read More