Blurbs

“Toward Initiating an Apoplectic Hissy Fit about Google’s Jane’s Addiction Post”

What if Jane’s Addiction ruled the world? Are you afraid that you’d turn gay? Did Dave Navarro turn you on, shirtless, in leather pants, noodling out some of the dopest guitar riffs you’ve ever heard?  Ok, just to backtrack: the primary source of my virulent rage toward Jane’s Addiction criticism is The A/V Club, which … Read more“Toward Initiating an Apoplectic Hissy Fit about Google’s Jane’s Addiction Post”

“Is it Possible We’ve All Been Sleeping on Secret Machines?”

To be honest, I seem to remember there being a pretty decent amount of hype surrounding the 2006 release of Secret Machines’ second album, Ten Silver Drops. The album gathered a three-and-a-half-star review in Rolling Stone (which I think they’d automatically give to any album provided it were indie) and the thought of it seeing … Read more“Is it Possible We’ve All Been Sleeping on Secret Machines?”

“A Call for The Dismemberment Plan to Revive Vinyl Rock”

I’ve mostly been listening to my vinyl records at night, lately, and the reason has to do with them being generally placid, mostly encompassing music recorded before 1980. Punk rock came along, of course, in the 1970s, and is surely enjoying a resurgence, at least around where I live, among girls in their 20s, in … Read more“A Call for The Dismemberment Plan to Revive Vinyl Rock”

“Indie Rock Fires Rekindle in Chicago with Mer’s Musical Showcase”

It’s a pretty hard thing to ignore — things just aren’t like they were in the 1990s, or even the 2000s, in terms of grassroots music scenes, all across the nation. Chicago is a great measuring stick for this. I can remember, that is, a time when the outdoor ampitheatre in Tinley Park (which I … Read more“Indie Rock Fires Rekindle in Chicago with Mer’s Musical Showcase”

“Pontificating on Whether the Soul Coughing Renditions Would Work as Pop-Punk Versions”

Let me please preface this post by saying I’m a huge Soul Coughing fan and have the utmost respect for their artistic contributions in the 1990s. Their catalogue is a distinct force with, in tow, an incredible variety, dynamic and multitude of kinds of musical influences feeding its prowess. I am today dispatching from somewhat … Read more“Pontificating on Whether the Soul Coughing Renditions Would Work as Pop-Punk Versions”

“On the Potential Extent to Which The Libertines Have ‘Become Blur’ with All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade.”

In general, most of the opinions of Blur have been pretty positive, in America, in the last 20 years, matters perhaps getting a bit murky circa 2023/2024 with their questionable festival live show and band/audience relationship, centralized at Coachella and reported copiously by NME. Interestingly, upon its release, The Ballad of Darren, an album whose … Read more“On the Potential Extent to Which The Libertines Have ‘Become Blur’ with All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade.”

“How Epoch Might Have Informed the de facto Emotional Authenticity of ‘Jambi’”

There’s a classic knock against Fiona Apple that she’ll take any little relationship hookup and blow it up into an astronomical disaster, provided it makes good copy in her lyrics. Well, as a TOOL fan, I’d be hypocritical to accuse her of that and forgive the penchant of Maynard James Keenan of treating a “Beastie … Read more“How Epoch Might Have Informed the de facto Emotional Authenticity of ‘Jambi’”