Comfort’s made a mess, all along the fault, ripe enough to rain and once again the minds of the Califone arbiters race to goop in the waning harvest moon. It finally hits me to make a playlist of Wilco and Califone, their sort of sister group and fellow Chicago cohort, finding my Wilco selections to … Read more“It’s Spooky in Here”
It seems like there’s been a weird, conspicuous lack of chatter about Steve Harwell’s death (liver failure, per NPR), at 56, on social media today, so I thought I’d just whip up a little blurb in commemoration of him. Of course, the elephant in the room here is “All Star,” the band’s mega-hit from their … Read more“A Stern Bow to Steve Harwell, Late Singer in Smash Mouth”
Now, I’m kind of a dunce for writing this article, since in general my typical mission is to praise this band and try to highlight all of their underrated tracks and strengths that go unheralded by a dourly callous media. These, by and large, centralize themselves within the band’s third album, It’s All in Your … Read more“‘B.F.G.F.’: When Eve 6 Made a Kind-of Understandable Stab at a Radio Hit on a Comeback Album”
It seems like every year, there’s a whole new rash of simpletons mesmerized by the shiny object known as Nirvana’s music, them thereupon proceeding to act like they’re the only ones who truly “get” the band, and obsess over the infallible messiah known as Kurt Cobain and every available online picture of him. This is … Read more“Nirvana Was a Pop Band. Stop Calling Them ‘Punk.’”
The south side drag has two bars on it, neither of which gets live music and both of which play the juke box shmear at like 200 decibels, usually something pertaining to a girl’s “booty.” I drive north on Ironwood, considering going to one of the Mishawaka dives. At the Phoenix one time I tried … Read more“Apollo 19”
“Wow, are there a lot of flowers in this garden. And I’ve never seen so many ladybug-spotted umbrellas on picnic tables in my life. What pop star’s house was this again?” “Donna Lewis.” “Oh, jeez. I’m getting nervous.” “Hehe. It’s just another job. Nothing to get worked up about.” “She did that song ‘I Love … Read more“Police at the Donna Lewis Manor”
I’ll admit, this post is cursorily at best about music. I’m writing it really fast because I have to go to work in five minutes. When I moved back to Indiana from Colorado in 2010 I had only a vague idea of who the fu** Lady Gaga was. Everyone would always talk about her, like … Read more“Speed Post: Lady Gaga”
I suppose, in part, I’m writing to the millennials here, or the newer generation which seems to hold this staunchly utilitarian attitude to everything, being apparently completely oblivious to all right-brain satisfaction in life. This type would likely opine that it doesn’t matter whether you see a concert indoors or outdoors — the experience is … Read more“Why is Phish Playing So Many Indoor Shows This Summer?”
It all happened pretty fast, you’ve gotta admit. I remember the Pitchfork “Best New Music” placement for Wild Mountain Nation (2007), an album I could never seem to wrap my mind fully around. I recall how this energy bled into the succinct, near-perfect Furr (2008), and its killer energetic yin/yang of “Black River Killer” and … Read more“Wouldn’t it Be Spooky if Holy Smokes Future Jokes Ended up Being Blitzen Trapper’s Swan Song?”
So I dragged my 39-year-old a** back into McCormick’s tonight, for a TUESDAY night tilt, as I guess now they no longer do it on Mondays. I think I showed up at 9:45 or so, whereas the gig is supposed to start at 9, and the dude on stage was like doing Linkin Park karaoke, … Read more“A Synopsis of Open Mic at McCormick’s Coney Island, 07.25.2023”