Worst Song Ever
Another great series at the AV Club is Hate Song, where they invite artists to talk about a popular song that they hate. Duh. The latest entry, which features Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio,1 just happens to focus on my least favorite song ever, “Two Princess” by the Spin Doctors. Holy crap do I hate that song. Why? Because it…
Spin The Black Circle
You would think, as much as I love music, that I would have some sweet set-up for listening to my tunes. A nice stereo receiver/amp with kick ass speakers and some high end headphones for use when I couldn’t crank it up to 11 You would be wrong Since going fully digital about a decade ago, I’ve relied on pretty…
Pedestrian Verse
I’m the dickhead in the kitchen Pouring wine in your best girl’s glass With that, the first line of the lovely opening track (“Acts Of Man”) to Frightened Rabbit’s new album Pedestrian Verse, lead singer Scott Hutchison sets the stage for another epic album of wallowing in sorrow, guilt, and misery. For three verses he offers a litany of the…
Don’t Mess With Marx
This has been bouncing around for a week or so, thus some of you may have seen it. But it’s sooooo great. A Chicago culture blogger finds out what happens when you besmirch an 80s pop music sensation. Would you say that to my face? Let’s find out. I’ll meet you anywhere in the city, any time. I don’t travel…
Stats 2012
Top 10 artists for 2012, based on my Last.fm stats, which sadly, aren’t necessarily a full representation of what I listened to. Close enough for blog purposes, I suppose. Wussy – 250 The Clash – 220 The White Stripes – 219 Japandroids – 188 Jack White – 184 Frightened Rabbit – 169 Radiohead – 150 Pearl Jam – 145 Dum…
Favorite Songs Of 2012: #1
“The House That Heaven Built” – Japandroids Here it is, the big one! This, my friends, is a great fucking song. It is a song that, the first time I heard it, I knew would be in the running for song of the year. I’ve listened to it countless times since that first play in April, and it has never…
Favorite Songs Of 2012: #2
“Season In Hell” – Dum Dum Girls The Dum Dum Girls topped my favorites list last year with “He Gets Me High.” They nearly repeat with this, perhaps their finest song yet. Over the past two years lead singer Dee Dee Penny’s life has been a whirlwind. Her mother got sick and then died. Her band immediately blew up, becoming…
Favorite Songs Of 2012: #3
“Myth” – Beach House Because there is always a difference between reality and our deepest desires, even the best relationships are based, in part, upon a myth. When that gap is exposed, heartbreak is inevitable. Here Beach House explore the moment that gap becomes evident, and the overwhelming desire to bridge it. Your heart can’t help but break a little…
Favorite Songs Of 2012: #4
“Serpents” – Sharon Van Etten Ms. Van Etten has a wonderful ability to create dramatic tension in her music. Her best songs, like this, build to an emotional peak early, then sustain it for the remainder of the song without either letting up or resolving it. It’s a tough trick to pull off, but time-and-again she does it.This song is…
Favorite Songs Of 2012: #5
“Sinful Nature” – Bear In Heaven Chillwave takes a lot of heat, much of it with good reason. The sub-genre, which is heavily reliant on computers for its sound, often produces sound-alike music that just isn’t that good. But when the artist does it right, it can produces amazing songs. Example: last year Washed Out’s “Eyes Be Closed” was my…