Amidst all the frustrations rampant in my life, I am however currently enjoying the fact that we at least HAVE a record store in South Bend, and I have a shi**y record player I got for $50 online. I’m pretty much the only person in there every time I frequent it, but for now it’s … Read more“Oh, What Do I Tell My Record Store Clerk?”
Advertising is a pretty immoral enterprise. Let’s face it. To say that the entire expedition is based on lying is barely an overstatement at all. Things like the “straw man fallacy” — the endeavor of setting up a “fake opponent” (like a fast food chain whose burgers make you explode when you eat them, or … Read more“Whoa, This Thing, Like, Meant Somethin’”
The other day I think I was sitting around having one of those cheesy moments where I was ruminating on the fact that nothing lasts, in this life. We all die, one day, all buildings will eventually collapse or need renovation, and, as Dave Matthews once said, “Everything good needs replacing”. And, short of getting … Read more“Is Songwriting at the End of Life Inherently Doomed?: Jerry Garcia”
It’s certainly interesting to trace the career of Guided by Voices as their releases correspond to the general musical landscape. The Dayton, Ohio troupe, which despite their lo-fi sound typically has at least five members for each album, made their breakthrough as a band, being indie, in ’94, during a primeval groundswell of vitality in … Read more“Amidst the Dizzying Litany of Albums, It’s Easy to Overlook Guided by Voices’ Let’s Go Eat the Factory as a Vital Comeback”
I know this is like a laughably awful and piteous story to tell but I really can’t get the CD player in my car off of repeat. I’ve tried everything from hitting the “Source” button a million times, to hitting the “Mode” button a million times, to turning it on and off, to detaching the … Read more“Believe it or Not, the CD Player in My Car is Stuck on ‘Repeat’”
Score: 4/10 The brand of big, bombastic, fully produced glam-rock to which Iggy Pop seems preternaturally attracted sort of requires an introduction. In interviews, Ig has been effusively derogative of “The ’60s” (in one interview positing one of his main accomplishments as “I helped kill of the sixties”), and has also taken it upon him … Read more“DD Review: Iggy Pop – EVERY LOSER.”
Now, before you scoff at the idea of an entity as lowbrow and mediocre as Taco Bell being the center of our culture, remember that it’s the biggest companies that get the best writers for their commercials. And I’m talking about Wendy’s, and I’m talking about Sonic, and, of course, insurance companies, everybody’s favorite. My … Read more“There’s a Legitimate Brand of ‘Cool’ Being Administered by Taco Bell Commercials These Days”
Someday my ideal record player will arrive at my doorstep, I know it. It will cost under $150, have built-in speakers (I mean I don’t need to broadcast across the Grand Canyon, for Christ’s nuts) and won’t break right after I drop $90 at our local record store on vinyl. Until then, all I have … Read more“10 Vinyl Records I Want for Christmas”
There’s nothing more megalomaniacal than cutting 20 minutes of music on your computer and calling it an “album.” You think, maybe, you’re catering to the short attention span of the world today, and your album is “cute,” and you can transport 25 of them around to shows, instead of 12. Actually, if your music is … Read more“DJ’s Who Only Put out EP’s Are Shooting Themselves in the Foot”