Occasionally I come upon a new artist whose musical capacity – let’s say, whose musical beauty – is almost literally staggering, so as to challenge finding a proper description or appreciation. I felt this way a few years ago when I first discovered a heretofore unknown 20-year-old named Marcus King. … More Marcus King Band “Where I’m Headed” (2018)
While a fan-favorite standard-bearer of the Americana and Outlaw Country scene, American Aquarium isn’t the kind of band you’re likely to see on a Grammy stage or to receive much mainstream notoriety. Nevertheless, I suggest this as being a song for our times, our difficult and confusing times … More American Aquarium “The World Is On Fire” (2018)
The task was simple and the theme was equally self-evident: create a party playlist of precisely four hours, made up of songs culled from the vastly music-rich era of the seventies. I questioned nearly every choice along the way. Well, every choice except for one: the pick for final song.. … More Bruce Springsteen “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” (1973)
There are just too many great summer songs to mention, but The Lovin’ Spoonful made one of the best, “Summer In The City,” and omitting one letter from a lyric may have made it the greatest ever. … More The Lovin’ Spoonful “Summer In The City” (1966)
Chris Shiflett has, for around 20 years, been the guitarist in two different bands, with two vastly different levels of notoriety: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, the greatest punk rock cover band ever (seriously, they are), and another one you’re more likely to have heard of, the Foo Fighters. Most recently, he’s set off … More Chris Shiflett “Sticks & Stones” (2017)
Something incredible happens when you tune in Sirius Radio channel 31. Supernatural, even. Tom Petty is still alive. Still there nonchalantly talking about music – his own, and that of multitudes of other artists. Still rambling from topic to topic in an excited but unhurried drawl. Still irreverent, a bit … More Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers “The Last DJ” (2002)
At the time that Johnny Winter signed his first recording contract with Columbia Records in 1968, his advance of $600,000 was reportedly the largest in the history of the music industry. Throughout his life, he did most everything else to excess as well … More Johnny Winter “Illustrated Man” (1991)
Dan Baird is everything I love about rock and roll. “Three chords and a cloud of dust,” as his website proclaims. Including his stint as a solo artist, he’s occupied the lead spot in four of my favorite bands of the last 4 decades. If you wanted to package up his work in a time … More Dan Baird & Homemade Sin “Licka Sense” (2017)
Chilling is the only word to describe the experience of listening to this beautiful and poignant song under its heart-wrenching circumstances. Just try to imagine: After all of the miles he had covered, Gregg Allman confronted the fact that – unlike one of his and the Allman Brothers most famous lines – the road does not, in … More Gregg Allman “My Only True Friend” (2017)
I guess the biggest of the “lies” here was that this delightful, melodic and catchy little song was not actually recorded by 4 mop-topped Beatles in Liverpool, England – as one might quite naturally assume – but by a garage band named The Knickerbockers led by a couple of brothers from Bergenfield, New Jersey. Apocryphal … More The Knickerbockers “Lies” (1965)
