Musings on the past and present state of music, film, and pop culture. Get off my lawn.
RIP Mark Lanegan: His Essential Playlist: We celebrate the late singer’s legacy with a 30 song Spotify playlist. Today, the music world lost a titan, the gravelly voiced, inimitable vocalist Mark Lanegan, has died at the age of 57. While the details are scarce (the singer had been suffering after a long and treacherous bout […]
Episode 35: 25 Albums Turning 25 in 2020-The Best Albums of 1995-SLIS Podcast Following last year’s podcast episode celebrating the best albums from 1994, co-host Chris Logan and I dive in to the best 25 albums from 25 years ago, in this case the year 1995. ’95 was another great year for alternative rock in all […]
Kaada ‘Closing Statements’ Review: Norwegian instrumentalist offers a moving meditation on death. [rating=5] Norwegian composer and multi-instrumentalist John Erik Kaada has had a diverse and multi-faceted career. While he’s perhaps best known for his work with vocal virtuoso Mike Patton, he’s also had a varied solo career as well composing film scores. And his cinematic take on sound […]
Moby ‘Everything Was Beautiful And Nothing Hurt’ Review: electronic one-man band conjures bleak blues on somber new release. [rating=3] Moby has never been shy in his political opinions, but he’s been particularly vocal during the Trump era. He vented his rage on his cathartic 2016 release These Systems Are Failing, and the 2017 follow-up More […]
Moby & The Void Pacific Choir ‘These Systems Are Failing’ Review: techno pioneer revisits the aggressive sonic approach of underrated 1996 album Animal Rights. [rating=4] Earlier this year, Moby released Long Ambients 1: Calm. Sleep, a dreamy effort (offered as a free download) which saw a return to his ambient electronic roots that begin as far as […]
Kickstarter Campaign Launched for Bruce Haack Festival: Crowdfunded campaign commences for Haackfest: an audiovisual festival to honor forgotten hero of electronic music. UPDATED: This Kickstarter campaign has been cancelled. Bruce Haack may not be a household name, but he’s a cult figure for electronic music aficionados. Haack was creating experimental electronic music as far back as the early 60’s, […]
40 Best Valentine’s Day Albums Part 1; Looking to set the mood for Valentine’s Day? Here’s the sexiest rock (and more) albums for the occasion. Hard to believe, but Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. Are you stressing over the best music to suit the occasion (or any upcoming romantic milestone)? Relax. I’m here to help. Last […]
40 Most Underrated Alternative Rock Albums Part 1: Counting down some of the best alt-rock records that never got their due. Declaring an album underrated is always subjective, but it seems Alternative Rock is a genre where some truly great albums often fall through the cracks. The reason is simple; when you have an all umbrella […]
Moby ‘Innocents’ Review: Moby collaborates with guest vocalists and new producer on ‘Innocents’. But his stylistic template remains largely unchanged. [rating=3] Moby has had one interesting career path. He started off as a 90’s techno pioneer. But then he broke formula, releasing two albums that merged electronica, punk rock and metal (Everything Is Wrong, Animal Rights.) […]
Only Happy When It Rains? Then check out our Best Rainy Day Playlist. We had rain this week in Austin. A welcome rarity in drought stricken TX. It got me thinking about how my musical tastes often depend on the weather. Any hint of rainy skies, and I gravitate toward the darker stuff. So I […]
