This past weekend I saw Midlake at this newish venue in Chicago called Lincoln Hall. I went with two old (in stature and in age) friends from 2 entirely different circles. My friend Bob and I used to hang out near Lincoln Hall back when it was the 3-Penny Theatre. Across the…
The HotRats is a side-project by one-half (or I guess a little more) of the excellent and underrated band Supergrass. This album is a series of covers similar to Bowie’s Pin Ups album. The covers are not ironic by any stretch. You can tell these guys love the originals. In…
The debut album of my favorite jazz artist, Blossom Dearie. She was sweet, she was cute, she played a mean piano. Impeccable timing and true jazz instinct sets this record apart from from the common chanteuses of the same era (mid-50s). Blossom always picked numbers that suited her voice and her style. She had…
Mew is an alternative Danish band that is quite successful in the Nordic region. But weirdly, not so famous in any of the English speaking countries considering all Mew songs are in English and not Danish! I wouldn’t call them an Indie band as they’re signed with Sony, but they surely…
This is my favorite Bowie album of all time. A collaboration with Brian Eno gave birth to such amazing soundscapes for the time. This album was originally intended to be the soundtrack to his film The Man Who Fell to Earth. Have you ever seen that one? It’s pretty weird. The only thing I really…
“The world has lost one of the best MCs and hip-hop icons of all-time—my loyal best friend, partner, and brother, Guru,” reads the statement. “Guru has been battling cancer for well over a year and has lost his battle! This is a matter that Guru wanted private until…
I was listening to a random 60s album on spotify and suddenly an acoustic rock n’ roll tune grabbed my attention – felt like it didn’t belong to the 60s. And that’s how I found out about The Shadows. Looking them up further, it was surprising to find out they had over 50 singles…
Sunny yet chilly Sunday afternoon. Chicago in April. I was burning the branches of our dead Christmas tree in the backyard. It’s funny how quickly pine needles flare up. The sun hanging 3/4 down. It’ll set in a few hours. I threw in a bunch of pine branches and our wood fence…
Could the situation in Iceland be any worse? First the country enduring a financial meltdown. I believe Iceland was the first country to declare bankruptcy this past Autumn (BusinessWeek). Now there’s this volcanic eruption (BBC) happening. Really just terrible.
I dreamed of going to Reykjavik once. It seems like a cool place.…
When this album came out I was a junior in high school. Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde is one of those albums that transports me back to a carefree time. Throughout the years I’ve had this as a casette, a compact disc, and now as digital tracks. It still sounds fresh to…
