Category: Music

A Charlie Brown Christmas, the animated TV special, has always existed. At least, that’s how it seemed to me as a kid. It’s how it seems now, really. I don’t remember watching it the first time, it just was a tradition that we observed as a family. It was...

Apparently 2006 was a banner year for Christmas albums. Well, two, anyway. Aimee Mann’s One More Drifter in the Snow, which I covered yesterday, and Sarah McLachlan’s Wintersong were both released in October 2006. Both albums are well worth the money, though McLachlan’s Wintersong strikes me as the more...

If the phrase “Aimee Mann Christmas album” seems weird at first, you’re not alone. Most Christmas albums seem like cash grabs, which would be weird for Indie-to-the-core Mann. Rest assured, this is not your standard Christmas fare. Mann’s not afraid to be downbeat and explore the somber side of...

It’s that time of year. The Christmas tunes are out in full force. For the most part, I’m not a Christmas music stan. I don’t hate it, but a little goes a long way, you know? But I have a confession… I actually love Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime.”...

It’s the last Bandcamp Friday of the year, which means Bandcamp forgoes its cut and artists get the entire price (minus some processing fees). Not sure what to get? Check these out! Access Denied by Asian Dub Foundation The band describes this album thusly: “Access Denied is an avalanche...

The first song I ever “scrobbled” was, apparently, “Outdoor Miner” by Wire. That was 2006, several years after Last.fm made its debut. This year the service turns 20, having never quite lived up to its promise after being acquired by CBS. In its prime, Last.fm tried its hand at...

Before I’m in a turkey and carbs coma, thought I’d throw a few links into the void....

Don’t let the title fool you, this is a rambly post about social media1. Specifically, about the plague that has visited the house of Twitter and the diaspora (but not Diaspora) to Mastodon or elsewhere. The title is from a song that’s been going through my head for the...

The past few months have been a little less productive in terms of finding new music, but there’ve been a few gems I’ve been wanting to blog about. Steve Lawson is a prolific solo bassist out of the UK who has an enormous back catalog on Bandcamp. I picked...

I’ve got a few bones to pick with Spotify, but “fake artists” isn’t one of them. Since I’ve been critical of Spotify’s business model of late, I figured I should be fair and give a counter-point to the “Fake Artists Problem Is Much Worse Than You Realize” post making...