“Photographs and Memories: His Greatest Hits” – Jim Croce
The annals of music history are full of artists cut down in their prime. John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Andrew Wood, the list is entirely too long, and the world is poorer for the music they never got to make. One can only imagine what Jim Croce might...
Revisiting my top 100 albums: The 24 that didn’t make the cut
In 2016 I wanted to take on a 100-day blogging project and decided I’d do a top 100 list of my favorite albums, at the time. Looking over the list, it’s a good point-in-time snapshot, but a lot has changed in seven years or so....
“Close (To The Edit)” – Art of Noise
A discussion on Metafilter today about interviews with J.J. Jeczalik from Art of Noise tickled my brain and put this song back in heavy rotation....
Quick links: Guns ‘n Roses “lost” music, subscription fatigue and more
Clearing out the tabs on Saturday. The Search for Guns N’ Roses’ Lost Masterpiece: Good long-form post from Rolling Stone about leaked music from the Chinese Democracy sessions and how it played out for a fan who was accused of leaking some of the bootlegs. Once upon a time...
Listen to this: Steve Lawson “Episode 50: A New Hope”
Fresh new music for the first week of the new year, Steve Lawson’s Episode 50: A New Hope is two epic-length tracks of introspective goodness. I’ll turn the floor over to Steve to describe the release: Turning 50 after 5 months of chemo to try and get rid of...
Happy Public Domain Day! Or is it?
Today isn’t just the start of a new year, it’s Public Domain Day in the United States. Works from 1927 enter the public domain today, making them free to copy, share and remix....
Perfect year-end music: Zoë Keating’s Into The Trees
Today was my last work day of 2022. While I was doing some writing I put Into The Trees on for a little focus music. Once again, I was struck by just how beautiful this album is, especially track #2 “Escape Artist.”...
Christmas playlist part six: The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas is a holiday staple around these parts. It has been for me since I first saw the movie in 1993. It’s a classic that stands up to A Charlie Brown Christmas and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas but with the added fun of being a...
Christmas playlist part five: XTC and Andy Partridge
For an atheist, Andy Partridge has an impressive output of Christmas songs, though several were intended to be recorded by other artists. XTC released two Christmas songs written by Partridge, “Thanks for Christmas” and “Countdown To Christmas Party Time.” Technically they were released as “The Three Wise Men.”...
Christmas playlist part four: Strange Communion by Thea Gilmore
Strange Communion (2009) may not be an according-to-Hoyle Christmas album, but it’s a great album for the season. The album has a few songs specifically about Christmas, but the whole album is definitely winter-themed and the kind of thing you can really dig into when the weather cools off...