• Winter Of Mixed Drinks

    She was not the cure for cancer And all my questions still ask for answers There is nothing like someone new This girl she was nothing like you Like many fans of Frightened Rabbit’s amazing 2008 album The Midnight Organ Fight I was worried how they would follow it up. It was obvious that they were a band of great…

  • Favorite Albums Of The Decade

    Another 2000s music retrospective, this time focusing on some of my favorite albums. Not meant to be comprehensive, it’s more an accounting of albums I both enjoyed this decade and which have stood the (brief) test of time. There are plenty of other worthy albums from the decade that probably should be included, but these are my favorites. While there…

  • Favorite Songs Of The Decade

    Something meaty for you to chew on, should this be a short week for you. If not, tuck it away and save it for a day when you have time to read about my 30 favorite songs of the decade. 30 – “Love Steals Us From Loneliness” – Idlewild 2005. This band started out the decade gangbusters, a rocking outfit…

  • Deep Dance Party

    S. and the girls have a new evening routine. She opens up her computer, pulls up the YouTubes, and they watch fun music videos. The vids run the gamut from our favorite kid music singer Laurie Berkner to the Black Eyed Peas and Beyonce. Their favorite song, though, is Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA.” No surprise, I think most…

  • Review: Pearl Jam – Ten, The Legacy Edition

    In advance of Pearl Jam’s new album, due next month, I offer a review of their recent remastered and remixed release of their debut album, Sometimes I wish that we could access all the information in our brains as computers would, so we could track the metadata of our lives. Am I the only one who wants to know what…

  • Going Out On A Limb

    I haven’t written much about controversial issues since the election. There are many reasons for that, many of which are related to our pathetic media, which is focused on partisan screamfests and the TV version of shockjocks rather than interesting and intelligent debate of actual issues that matter. I’m not sure if the fact that the best place to get…

  • “I Want To Live, Breath. I Want To Be Part Of The Human Race.”

    I’m kind of fascinated by the coming copyright wars. That may be a bit dramatic, but there’s no doubt that the digital age and the explosion of the Internet are ripping apart all the current copyright laws. The old media companies take their heads out of the sand only long enough to entrench themselves deeper in the old system and…

  • Casey Hangs Up His Mic

    Even a long-time Casey Kasem fan like me was surprised by this news. Not the fact that he was retiring his countdown show(s), but that he was still even doing a countdown. Casey Kasem ending his run on radio this weekend – “Hosting various versions of my countdown program has kept me extremely busy, and I loved every minute of…

  • Another Classic (With Bonus U2 Bashing)

    So much for last year’s Wimbledon men’s final being unmatched. Sunday’s Federer – Roddick final was pretty damn epic as well. The 16-14 fifth set was one for the ages and the perfect ending to a fantastic match. Yet, I kept thinking it didn’t quite match the drama of a year ago. Last year had the rain and the race…

  • Genius Social Experiment

    Give a 13-year-old a Walkman for a week and see what happens. I remember my first Walkman well. It was actually a knock-off, since those early Walkmans were quite expensive. And it was the obvious knock-off: had some crazy decals on it and, worse, a pull-out antenna for the AM/FM tuner. But I loved that thing. Giving up my iPod…