Best Of the Best Ofs
I see that today is “Best Of” Day here in Times Union land. I’m an inveterate list maker, but open “readers’ poll” kinds of surveys tend to leave me cold, as I think they are better indicators of “Most...
View ArticleTop Ten Albums of 2010 (First Half)
In the same way that I stop considering albums for my year-end list in early December, because things need to spin successfully for at least a couple-three weeks before I consider them to have legs, I...
View ArticleLemons Never Forget
1. I haven’t been space geeking much here lately, though two mind-bogglingly cool things have gone down in recent weeks, both of them pulled off by JAXA, the Japanese space agency. First, the Hayabusa...
View ArticleRock and Roll is Not Collective
I’ve written before about my strong belief that the best music ever made is the music being made right now, no matter when right now happens to be. To believe otherwise is to accept that it’s not worth...
View ArticleReturn of the Son of Five Songs You Need to Hear
1. We Want War by These New Puritans (2010, United Kingdom: A lush blend of orchestral and electronic music; I like just about anything with a bassoon in it). 2. The Human Germ by Snog (1998,...
View ArticleThis Is Where I Came In
1. For those who don’t know or know of my extended family, my sole sibling sister is an artist and arts educator who lives in Asheville, North Carolina. She’s got a lot of works hanging in a lot of...
View ArticleBeneath the Valley of Five Songs You Need to Hear
1. “Yuppie Exodus from Dumbo,” by Jed Davis. (2010). A brilliant bit of social commentary delivered by a once and future denizen of Albany, over a beautiful bit of 1920s-styled music, recorded by Tony...
View ArticleBoognish Power
On something of a whim (which is quite unlike me), I took a day off from work today, thinking I’d go for a long bike ride or something. Of course, it was such a whim decision that I didn’t bother to...
View ArticleFive Songs You Need to Hear Strikes Back
“Black Satin” by Miles Davis (1972). A cut from the jazz master’s On the Corner, one of the most mind-blowingly prescient albums in music history, though it was widely reviled at the time of its...
View ArticleThe Analog Kid Speaks
Note: This is another archival piece, something I wrote a long while ago for another online venue. The views expressed in this piece are not necessarily the views of the author today, accordingly,...
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