For a long time – basically, from the British Invasion through the end of the ’80s – there was a great deal of shared history between the rock of America and the UK. What was happening on one side of the pond made its way in short order to the other side, and this was generally a good thing. But
Read moreI’ve always thought that Dream Academy’s “Life in a Northern Town” was just about as perfect a pop song as it is possible to write. The story captivates. The tune itself is so intuitive that it feels like it has been inside me my whole life, waiting for an artist to set it free. As for the performance and production,
Read moreI remember a conversation with an old girlfriend back in the late 1990s. We were talking about the sounds of the times, I guess you’d say, and I commented that the decade had been dominated by a lot of pretty rebellious music. Grunge, Punk, Industrial – everybody was well and truly pissed off, it seemed. The music of my youth
Read moreI’ve never much cared for the musical genre broadly known as Americana, and lately I’ve been thinking about why this is. I suppose it’s acceptable to say hey, I’ve listened to a lot of these artists and most of them just kinda bore me, but that seems unsatisfactory for a guy who thinks about music like I do. After some
Read moreI know I threatened yesterday to play some more Sam Cooke for my 1960s entry, but I’m trying to spread the love around and prop as many great artists as I can, so how about some Van Morrison instead?
Read moreI’ve always been convinced that the greatest R&B singer who ever lived was Sam Cooke. I know, that’s a massive claim and there are plenty of Otis fans (and Aretha fans, and fans of many other incredible artists) who’ll argue the point. And hey, if they do, then I can take pride in the fact that I started a great
Read moreMy guess is that “Radar Love” is going to get a lot of love in this category, and it’s easy to understand why. Still, as I have explained before, I’m a simply country boy. So let’s see how many dueling lead guitarists Molly Hatchet can line up across the front of the stage for the solo to “Flirtin’ with Disaster.”
Read moreThe summer of 1986 has lodged itself in the pleasure centers of my brain, although a hard look at the details makes me wonder why. Yeah, I was working in what passed for a cool job for a kid who’d recently graduated from college (copy and production manager at a rock radio station, albeit one that paid me less than
Read moreYesterday’s song was tough, but today? This is easy. There are a lot of great sunny day songs out there, but I don’t know that anybody has ever quite captured the magic like Scot Sax. So dial up the smiles, folks – here’s Bachelor Number One and “I Am the Summertime.”
Read moreI didn’t realize how hard this one was going to be when I slotted it into the challenge. I just spent the last hour and a half sifting through my iTunes, playing, sampling, searching. Checking to see what was available on YouTube. Deciding, undeciding. So many choices – The Samples, Garbage, Queensryche, REM, Van Morrison, Peter Gabriel, The Pinetops, on
Read moreI’ve had three favorite bands in my life and at various points each has done a song or two I didn’t care for. With Queen it was “Get Down Make Love.” With U2 I haven’t exactly hated much, but there have been a few tracks along the way that I felt weakened the overall impact of the record. But man,
Read moreWelcome to 30-Day Song Challenge, the Sequel. Over the last month I’ve been working through the 30-Day Song Challenge, and I liked the idea so much I created a follow-up around 30 of the questions I wished the original had posed. You’re invited to track along, comment, offer your own entries, and by all means click the link above (or
Read more“Favorite” is such a funny word. This time last year was pure turmoil, to be honest. It was a time for thinking about mistakes, about regrets, about loss and about opportunities foregone. Hope and despair and unbearable levels of stress. And confusion over what’s real and what’s illusion and who you know and who you just think you know. So
Read moreAnd now, something completely different. One of the best things about my life as a child, a thing I looked forward to eagerly, was Sunday morning, before we went to church. Channel 12 had a show featuring gospel quartets and I’d always park in front of the TV and listen to those marvelous harmonies. Religiously, you might say. Even as
Read moreThis was the hardest one yet, and I’m surprised by that. I mean, I have done plenty in life to feel guilty about. But I think I’ve just discovered that my mind doesn’t associate songs with that emotion as well as it does others. Interesting the things we learn about ourselves. Anyway, I think this is the best I can
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lullaby pit 