Music

Shocked to hear about this today after missing the news in February. Just devastating. I was lucky enough to see Dallas play with the Sadies several times, and I was looking forward to many more. RIP to a true legend. 💔 twitter.com/TheSadies/stat…

This feels like a genuinely fresh take on Swiss modernism, and I’m here for it. creativeboom.com/inspiration/ne…

Not in the upper echelon of the many Low shows I’ve been to, mainly because I’m somewhat underwhelmed by the new record, Hey What, which I think they played in its entirety. And the rest of the setlist was a bit too familiar, made up mostly of songs they play at pretty much every show these days. Some are classics I’m always game to hear (“Sunflower”) and others not as much (“Monkey,” “Plastic Cup,” “No… See more →

Let me begin by saying I promise this post is mostly good vibes. Skip ahead if you like, but if you’ll momentarily indulge my pessimism: What a stupid time to be alive.

2021 was supposed to be the year the vaccine gave us our lives back, and while it did for some of us to some degree, its international distribution predictably favored wealthy nations, and the long-simmering anti-vax movement here in the wealthiest nation of… See more →

A decent profile of Kenny G and his position as a uniquely polarizing figure in music, but not nearly as probing as it could be. For a much deeper dive into the notions of “good” and “bad” music, I highly recommend Carl Wilson’s Let’s Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste.

@otobokebeaver Reader, I gasped brooklynvegan.com/japans-otoboke…

No one can say Baroness aren’t professionals. After two years away from the road, an all-request tour where everything in their roughly 80-song catalog is on the table? Impressive. Ticketholders for each show were able to vote for which songs they wanted to hear, but I unfortunately missed the link in the ticket confirmation email, so I was at the mercy of my fellow audience members, who apparently prefer newer material than I do. The… See more →

Note to self: Look for Mary Lattimore interviews discussing her composition and documentation process. I’ve enjoyed her music casually for a few years, but after now seeing it assembled in real time in front of me—with her hands constantly moving back and forth between the massive harp in front of her and the delay pedal on her lap—I’d love to know more about her mental model for her music. Most other delay-oriented performances I’ve seen… See more →

Before the pandemic took hold and when I still lived in Brooklyn, I had been planning to check out Human Impact’s first-ever show at Saint Vitus in mid-March of last year. I’m lukewarm on the records they’ve put out since, so I wasn’t going to bother with this tour, especially since their tour mates Child Bite (who I’ve previously seen and enjoyed) weren’t playing the Philly show, but my friend Matt invited me to come,… See more →

Tuesday tea

I bought two tickets to this show during June’s post-vax frenzy of we’re-back-baby optimism. I actually thought someone would go to the show with me! I was so young. Not only were there no takers, I ultimately didn’t even want to go myself. I listened to some Idles records today in advance of the show and came to the sad realization that I’m just not that into this band. But couch inertia has cost me… See more →

Love @jesshopp’s concise and dead-on @lowtheband review here. I also really miss this format. twitter.com/rockwritpod/st…

Well, this was a learning experience. My previous experiment in seeing a show in NYC and sleeping in my own bed that same night was pretty successful. This time? Not so much. I got to see Greet Death play exactly one song before I turned into a pumpkin. Luckily it was the song I most wanted to hear, “You’re Gonna Hate What You’ve Done,” whose title was also very appropriate for the moment.

As it… See more →

I Just Can’t Stop It on repeat today. 😔 twitter.com/TheBeat/status…

Somehow, in the 25 years since I (or anyone else) last saw Deadguy, we all got 25 years older.

Aaaaand we’re back!

This show was originally supposed to happen a year and a half ago, and it’s undoubtedly a different experience now than it would have been then. The last 19 months of COVID loomed large, sure, but for me personally, there was also the issue of my intervening relocation to Philadelphia. A night out in Brooklyn ain’t as convenient for me as it used to be, which, in a number of important ways,… See more →

It’s Friday and there are new records from @lowtheband and @AndrewWk, so if I don’t manage to have a good day, consider this my DNR.

I used to think perfection was unattainable, but then I found this Cramps poster (X3 Posters, Bob Linney and Ken Meharg)

I’m glad Lydia Lunch exists, but man is she exhausting.

Metallica’s deluxe box set version of the 30th anniversary remaster of the Black Album comes with six LPs, 14 CDs, six DVDs, and assorted swag/booklets/etc, and I have absolutely no idea who would want to buy it

Just got tickets for some shows in the fall! Oh, how I’ve dreamed of returning to @LiveNation’s gouging embrace! 😃😀🥲🙂😐😑😐🙁😠😡🤬🔥💀

Woke up with the YMCA song in my head, except it’s “Clown NDA.” 🤷🏻‍♂️

My brain’s newest morning trick is to put a Taylor Dayne hit single in my head when I wake up. Today’s is “Love Will Lead You Back.”

Some blessed soul made a playlist of pretty much the entire Kranky Records catalog, and I spend most days with it on shuffle. open.spotify.com/playlist/7L6qG…

An a capella Cro-Mags tribute called Age of Choral

I’ve scoured the internet but not found any evidence of a cannabis-themed TLC tribute act called THC and I’m disappointed in all of us

The coda to this live version of “July” with a choir destroys me every time. youtube.com/watch?v=YBpQNQ…

As a latecomer to @lowtheband, Things We Lost in the Fire was the first album I heard, and I was a huge fan instantly. Still hooked all these years later. 💙 twitter.com/brooklynvegan/…

I began last year’s “That Was 2019” post by expressing disappointment in my immune system’s poor performance that year, so let me begin this year’s wrap-up by praising that same immune system’s effectiveness in 2020. More than 1.8 million people died of COVID-19 in 2020, a disproportionately high 340,000 of them Americans, and I didn’t get so much as a head cold. I spent much of the year being grateful for my health and financial… See more →

Apparently this is what happens when I am @hjchams’s Secret Santa. 🤫🎅🏻

Merry Christmas!

I watched Lovers Rock a week ago and Janet Kay’s “Silly Games” is still stuck in my head. youtu.be/qCVR5XR04Mo

As perfect a Friday blog post as they come. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 twitter.com/raygunray/stat…