music commentary

The beats on Pusha T's My Name Is My Name make you want to install and then blow a set of very expensive speakers as you drive your hooptie...

When it rains, it pours. I'm writing this while lying on a friend's livingroom floor, recuperating from a knee surgery brought on from years of...

Wow. The Talkhouse has asked me back to write about another record. Someone must have gotten something out of the piece I did on Keith Jarrett's ...

No matter how many years and trends have flown by and no matter how many drugs he's ingested, Al Jourgensen has been nothing if not consistent.

Paul McCartney’s New is a deeply sad record. I don’t mean that in the sense of it being a disgrace (it’s not) or that it’s mopey or...

Attempting to put words to the sonic world of Tim Hecker is a tall order. For the past 15 years he has explored an uncharted backcountry of sound...

"For every path you follow there's another left behind/every door you don't kick open there's a million more to try," sings Glen Phillips on...

For the past few years, I’ve taught “The Braindead Megaphone” to my writing students at UMass Amherst. It’s a George Saunders essay about...

I was rather late to the game of songwriting. I recorded my first album when I was 30 and, as with most first attempts, it was, at least to me...

If you held a gun against my head and asked me who my favorite pop group is, I’d have to say Prefab Sprout. I’ve loved Prefab Sprout ever since I...

In 2008 Glasvegas were adored, at least here in the UK. Lead singer James Allan became famous for his Joe Strummer looks and his personal, emotive...

While today “melancholy” simply means being sad, it used to mean a variety of introspective attitudes and, as they were called back then, humors.