I posted this on my Facebook page earlier today, and it needs to go here too: “The day has come at last. The second album by The Dark Young—which took 20 years to finish and involved recording sessions in five major cities on three continents—is available at this link for audition and purchase. (Our first album, […]
As Neil Young would surely tell you, complaining about the sound quality of compressed audio files is nothing new. Neither is complaining about the tiny royalty rates paid to people who create music by the companies who make that music available online. One partial answer to the latter gripe is to buy music outright rather […]
I played a fun gig at the Delancey in NYC last week, and here’s some evidence: a solo version of “Looks Like a Frown,” the first track on my debut solo album, I Call Time (which continues to be available via iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby, and many other respectable retail outlets). For more info about […]
Last week, within a single 24-hour period, I watched Montage of Heck, the new Kurt Cobain documentary directed by Brett Morgen, and Amy, the new Amy Winehouse documentary directed by Asif Kapadia. I guess life was a little too bright and cheery for me that day. But seriously, folks… The coincidence of these two films […]
It is my pleasure to announce that on Wednesday, July 15—one week from tonight!—I’ll be playing a solo gig back at The Delancey in downtown NYC, opening for veteran California indie-rock combo The Black Watch, who are currently on their first full U.S. tour in more than 15 years. Come cheer me on as I […]
Having been a fan of the Beach Boys since my late teens, I learned the basic facts about Brian Wilson’s life long ago. The prodigious musical talent. The bullying and beating inflicted by his father. The unparalleled grasp of the recording studio’s possibilities. The strange voices he started hearing in his head in his early […]
One hundred and fifty years ago today, on June 19, 1865, the news about emancipation in America finally reached Texas, the last Confederate holdout. Union Major General Gordon Granger read these words after his army had secured the port of Galveston: “The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the […]
It was Saturday, February 10, 1996, a cold late afternoon in midtown Manhattan, and I was standing in the middle of the Roseland Ballroom’s vintage hardwood dance floor, watching Blur soundcheck in preparation for their concert that evening. I had never seen the band perform live before, and was tickled when they and the four-piece […]
Continuing my immersion in all things Blur, here are some thoughts on the final 10 CDs of the Blur 21 boxed set. To read about the first eight discs, go here; to find out why I’m doing this, go here. Discs 9 and 10: Blur (1997). Time for big Blur style shift number two, toward a […]
So I’ve been on a Blur kick recently—you can read more about it in the first episode of this series—and in the depths of my obsession I decided, among other things, to listen to the entirety of the band’s 21-disc boxed set career retrospective, Blur 21, and write something about it. Here’s how Blur 21 […]
