My previous post referred to an upcoming Blur album, the band’s first in 12 years and first with its original lineup in 16 years. That album, The Magic Whip, is now available to all and has been widely lauded by the press, including me in The New York Observer. Listening to it repeatedly put me in a retrospective mood. […]
The recent announcement of the new Blur album made me nostalgic for 1995. I moved to New York in June of that year and spent most of the summer and fall—and the following winter—listening to the work of musicians based 3,000 miles away, including Blur. What a moment that was for British pop. Not a […]
With Christmas in the rearview and the all-important Top 10 albums list completed, it’s been my pleasure over the past few days to forget about the latest and just enjoy the greatest. Specifically, I’ve been delving back into the work of two British music paragons, neither of whom I ever need much of an excuse to […]
Ian “Mac” McLagan, the impeccable and effervescent keyboardist for the Small Faces, the Faces, and many others, died of a stroke at age 69 today. Although I never had the pleasure of meeting him—and my understanding is that meeting him was almost invariably a pleasure—listening to his playing on record never failed to lift my […]
Ever since their celebrated pay-what-you-want online release of In Rainbows in 2007, the members of Radiohead have gotten as much notice for the ways they’ve chosen to put their music out as they have for the music itself. Last Friday, the band’s leader Thom Yorke seemed to be bolstering this rep for innovation when he […]
Well, bronchitis got me down the first time we tried this, but now it’s official once again. My first live show in support of the new I Call Time album will be at 8 PM on Wednesday, October 15, at The Delancey, 168 Delancey St., New York City. I’ll be performing with most of the […]
After a year’s hiatus, I am back in the editor’s chair of Music Alive! magazine. Our first issue of the 2014-2015 season, dated October, is now on its way to middle and high schools across the country (you can see its cover on your left). This is the 34th season of Music Alive!, which is […]
The moment has arrived at last. I Call Time is now available for purchase, either as a CD or download, at CD Baby, and all you have to do is go here. You’ll also soon be able to find it on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and various others; more on that in the coming days. Another […]
I am happy to report that 1) finished CDs of the I Call Time album are currently wending their way to me in a UPS truck and 2) the album’s title song is now available for your streaming pleasure on my SoundCloud page. Next week, I’ll post a second song from the album there, and […]
On Wednesday, June 11, I saw Ben Watt, best known as half of the ’80s/’90s British pop duo Everything But the Girl, play his debut solo show in New York, at Joe’s Pub. It was an intense experience—not a surprise, given that most of the songs on his new album, Hendra, address how to carry […]
