From the monthly archives:

May 2009

They Do Not Understand the Urgency Of Life

May 22, 2009

[I'm off on a mission next week, but I'll be back with fresh vegetables on June 1]
You can’t say Colin Meloy doesn’t know and appreciate his pop. He’s put out several solo EPs covering other artists: Sam Cooke, Shirley Collins, and our beloved Morrissey, who turns 50 today (So many years left!).
I’m always thrilled to [...]

Read the full article →

We Were Both A Little Hungry So We Went To Get A Hot Dog

May 21, 2009

Well, the Decemberists pretty much took the place apart last night.
With the help of “The Diamonds” (Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden) and a passel of  on-the-spot instrument tech and roadies, they dropped the Hazards Of Love album front-to-back on all 2800 of us over there at Oakland’s new-again and astoundingly [...]

Read the full article →

From The Jungle To The City Looking For A Bigger Crowd

May 20, 2009

A year or two ago, this young fella was telling me he was going to a concert at the Greek in Berkeley. I asked who he was seeing, and he said, “Manu Chao.” After I got him to spell it for me twice, I said, “Huh-who?”
It was a little disconcerting to have never even heard [...]

Read the full article →

Who Cares What Army?

May 19, 2009

I don’t know if any of y’all took advantage of Record Store Day, but it was pretty special. Records, donut holes, orange soda … I picked up this sweet compilation  called This LP Crashes Hard Drives — ten tracks, ten artists, ten labels that really care about quality new and reissued music, in a package [...]

Read the full article →

Thank You For Your Precious Time

May 18, 2009

Tom T. Hall, peoples!
Like many younguns of the 1970s, I got my first dose of Kentucky boy Tom T. Hall via his 1974 LP Songs Of Fox Hollow.  Even folks who never heard that album (and its tales of sneaky snakes and one-legged chickens) are familiar with the super-surple-y “I Love” (which, for all people [...]

Read the full article →

I Was Delighted That The World Would Wanna Smell Like This

May 15, 2009

Let us now remember that we live in this world with Jonathan Richman.
It can be easy to lose sight of that sometimes, but Jonathan is there for you now, although he might not always be.
Jonathan Richman – The World Is Showing Its Hand from Not So Much To Be Loved As To Love

[Photo by Quique [...]

Read the full article →

If She Wants A Scene Report, Don’t Tell Her ’Bout The Kicked-In Doors

May 14, 2009

Hey, what can I say?
Craig Finn has left the world with enough amusing, sad, and true lyrics about drugs to last us the remaining years of our lives.
The Hold Steady – Ask Her For Adderall from the pretty sweet live album A Positive Rage

http://www.theholdsteady.net
http://www.myspace.com/theholdsteady

Read the full article →

Time Your Mom Called You Back

May 13, 2009

I love bands where everybody’s all singin’ all at once, there. Either Fleet Fox-y stylee (in rainbowbrotherly harmony), or like Arcade Fire (all at once, whether you’re near a microphone or not), or anywhere inbetweeny.
I also like debut EPs. Because what we all want is great music, and we’re fine with some now and some [...]

Read the full article →

We Talk Of Being Sober, As The Sun Evaporates

May 12, 2009

Good morning, dear hearts. Have we had a Holy Crap Alert in a while?
Usually an HCA comes in the form of some straight-out-of-nowhere band that has an insane new take on things that adds one more step to the stairway to heaven.  Today’s alert, however, comes from a more personal, local place. As in “wait [...]

Read the full article →

RRRAH!

May 11, 2009

Sacramento?
Freestylers (w/Million Dan) – Dogs And Sledges from Raw As F**k

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries