The Nicholas Brothers in "Stormy Weather"
If you’ve never seen this clip before, man are you in for a treat. The 1943 movie “Stormy Weather” featured 20 musical numbers in a mere 77 minutes – and one of them was this astonishing piece...
View ArticleNada Surf's "Always Love"
A masterful pop/rock confection from the thinking-man’s nice-guy rock trio. This song is a few years old and the band has made another record since then, but the hook from this one is still ringing in...
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Frightened Rabbit’s “The Midnight Organ Fight”
For those of you inclined to care about music geeks and their year-end picks … here’s my choice for best album of 2008. Frightened Rabbit is from Scotland, a heritage that becomes abundantly clear the...
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Let's play Decemberists Bingo!
The Decemberists are one of my favorite bands. Ever. They are smart, they are funny, they are ambitious, and they are amazing musicians. (They’re also really nice folks – I got to interview them when...
View ArticleRush, "Red Barchetta," live in 1981
Here, fellow babies, we have one of my favorite songs of all time. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to it, and it still amazes me. Such a great, imaginative story. Such intelligent lyrics....
View ArticleMy playlist for August 09
My buddy Bill Yackey does something really cool, really simple, something I had never thought to do: Every month, he builds an iTunes playlist of the songs he’s into that month, new or old. The result...
View ArticleThe Beatles: Rock Band is awesome
At my house lately, it’s all about “The Beatles: Rock Band.” This game is so well done, so affectionate to the source material, and so durned enjoyable. This is a game that my wife – who previously had...
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OMIGOD, Midlake is good
Just got an early copy of the upcoming record from Midlake, “Courage of Others.” Man oh man, is it spectacular. It’s only January, but I feel confident saying this is going to be one of the best discs...
View ArticleThis Fear Factory video is beyond badass
Something got me thinking about the band Fear Factory yesterday, a metal band I was into in the 90s but have totally slipped away from. Then I remembered how incredible the song “Resurrection” was, and...
View ArticleHawkwind, PBS style
This is almost too awesome for me to process: It’s the James Last Orchestra, that bastion of PBS pledge drives and your mom’s house, doing Hawkwind. I just don’t know what to say. Reminds me of the...
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