“I’m A Rocker” definitely lands on the light-hearted and fun side of The River. Nothin’ fancy here. It’s just Bruce hammering out the Rocker-As-Superhero story to his lady friend, while a wall of guitar, organ, and sax set up an enormous clatter. I wanted to show a video from theRead More

I’ve never met Greg Brown (though I did once see my mom, all five feet and seventy-something years of her, run up to him to shake his hand after a show) … You May Also Like: Greg Brown’s ‘In the Hills of California’ Finally Reproduced His Nervy Live Sound GregRead More

The Flaming Lips are an odd band. A pretty unique blend of art rock and nearly bubblegum pop. When I first heard The Soft Bulletin it made me stop to wonder: just what is this stuff? What struck me immediately was the nearly John Bohnam-like drumming … odd in thisRead More

A couple of nights back, I saw this cool documentary titled Press Pause Play. It’s about how the digital revolution has changed the entire game for human creativity You May Also Like: No related posts.

Kottke’s a funny guy and a beyond great guitar player. While I’m generally a bigger fan of his solo guitar records, there’s always something of interest lurking on the rest of Kottke’s albums. Highly recommended: Ice Water has his version of Tom T. Hall’s classic “Pamela Brown.” Also, check outRead More

It’s funny how certain bits of music can get under your skin. Several years ago, I was having a visit with my old buddy Gene out in upstate New York. You May Also Like: On Eric Weissberg, Doc Watson and Lester Flatt: ‘By the Time We Got to Mole LakeRead More

It must be the time of year. It must be the heat. Or the humidity. Whatever the reason, I have a big hankering for some off-kilter music. Now that I think about it, I always have a hankering for that stuff. It’s just that sometimes the feeling goes from aRead More

The lighter side of The River‘s light/heavy axis contains more fun than a person should be allowed to have on any given day. There’s no way I could pick a favorite You May Also Like: Reevaluating Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle’

It’s said that music has its own language and syntax. I’m not talking about the technical stuff like notes, measures, and key centers, but the more subtle areas You May Also Like: Ivo Perelman, Mark Helias + Tom Rainey – ‘Truth Seeker’ (2024) Matt Mayhall and Dan Rosenboom – ‘Language’Read More

In the Pat Metheny Group, there is always one musician who plays the role of “utility man.” The basic instrumentation is guitar, piano/keys, acoustic and electric bass, drums, trumpet, and (sometimes) harmonica. The extra player is responsible for filling in on any number of instruments including vibes, acoustic guitar, electricRead More