When it comes to relationships, I’ve never been much of a stand-up-and-fight kind of guy. When it’s over, it’s over, and it’s time to move on. A few times, though, moving on has been easier said than done — and with one relationship in particular…
Archive for the ‘Music’ Category
Reflections on Harry Nilsson’s “Pussy Cats” and the ragged glory of the rock ‘n’ roll loser.
A few rambling thoughts inspired by an old Push Stars song and a long-ago road trip.
Here’s one from the archives — one of my first major interviews, conducted with erstwhile Chicago frontman Peter Cetera while he was out promoting his fourth solo album, World Falling Down. This is kind of like looking at a dorky old photograph for me, but it was a thrill at the time, and I think Cetera said some interesting things… Having been there “in the beginning,” do you think that rock has become more style than substance? I think if[...]
Like a lot of people, I think, the romantic entanglements of my teenage years and early 20s were colored by a lot of unexpressed, misunderstood, or just plain repressed emotions — guilt over feelings that weren’t supposed to exist, or relationships that ended badly, or simple longing for what (and who) I couldn’t have. I walked around in denial a lot of the time, and every so often my subconscious rewarded me for it with a dream that would force[...]
Had a terrific chat this morning with Gorman Bechard, the director/author/photographer/all-around creative whirlwind whose latest film, Color Me Obsessed, is currently making the rounds at the festival circuit. It’s a documentary about the experience of being a hardcore fan, as viewed through the prism of the Replacements’ music; the interview was recorded with Dave Lifton as a segment for the next episode of the Popdose podcast, so listen for it soon. Our discussion, naturally, included a lot of talk about[...]
What follows is the full transcript from my interview with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s Ben Jaffe, conducted for an article published in the March 2011 issue of the Hilton Head Monthly. While preparing for our talk, I read a few of your interviews, and one thing that really stands out is how often you talk about the need to respect the traditions of your music. I was raised with a sense of tradition, and I was also surrounded by[...]
You know whose music sounds perfect to me on a cold and rainy afternoon? Mary Chapin Carpenter’s. Mary Chapin Carpenter, “4 June 1989″ (play) How about you?
Here’s a curious little novelty item from my promo vaults. Released by Mercury in 1992, this CD single — recorded by Don Was under the cheeky, but not particularly clever, pseudonym A Thousand Points of Night — was timed to coincide with the great Bush/Clinton/Perot three-way showdown known as the ’92 election. “Read My Lips” wasn’t a hit, and it isn’t a particularly entertaining listen, but after hearing it for the first time in many years this morning, I’m fascinated[...]
We’re never more vulnerable than when we express our love for another person, and I think properly expressing that vulnerability is one of the hardest things a pop songwriter can try to do. Too often, we’re willing to settle for sentimentality, irony, or cute humor — unnecessary layers built up around a simple, powerful emotion. And it’s understandable, really; when you’re talking about something that boils down to three simple words, you have to find some way of filling up[...]