Punk rock taught us tons of things. It taught us how to draw logos on leather jackets, how to put Elmer’s Glue into hair and make it stand, it taught us about independent music, and it taught us stupid stuff like the ZOMG ANARCHY DUDE~! aspect of the sound- all of these are important (yes, in a way, even the last one). But the most important thing that punk showed us was that we are all fans of music, and that the enthusiasm that a music fan feels for a …

Nearly twenty years after I discovered Sebadoh, I’m getting another chance to see Lou Barlow in concert tonight.  I wish that I could explain what it is about a loveable stoner with great hair, a penchant for noise and a Jackson Browne-like quality for making sweet and mellow music (only unlike Jackson Browne he doesn’t suck) that makes me adore his music so much, but I can’t.
I guess Lou Barlow is just honest. He isn’t afraid to make big and bold proclamations about love, hope, and masturbation and once he’s …

Gospel music is a difficult thing for an atheist like myself.  On one hand, you have the subject of the music- God. Or Jesus. Or sometimes both. But on the other side there’s the music, which when done correctly is music done with fire and passion.  I suppose the peril of the modern day aging hipster/atheist has to run together at some point.

So I broke my vow of steady updates until September. I put an honest effort out there to do it, and I’m going to keep putting forth the effort to update the blog everyday.
Last night I played with my old band Glaze (notice the link) at Stella Blue. The show, from what I have been told, was pretty good. My bass sounded about as good as I’ve ever heard it last night. It had this nice deep thumb with just enough Mike Watt-like growl to it.
Now that the show is …

Music biographies (and to an extent, biographies in general) are kind of masturbatory if you know a bit about the subject. I know about Sam Cooke- gospel singer, switched to pop, huge star, “Bring It On Home to Me”, shot in a hotel room, the dominant force in soul music, and hero to Bobby Womack, Lou Rawls and Rod Stewart. But then I read Peter Guralnick’s excellent Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke and was completely blown away by the man.
I’ve loved Sam Cooke for a long time (specifically …