We stop today to remember those who left the world of music in 2012.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNCbJY5647o&w=420&h=315] <<< BACKWARD (“Confide In Me”) ||| ONWARD (“Down In The Bottom”) >>> *** STEELY DAN SUNDAY INDEX *** Another Fagen rarity, first appearing as the B-side to the “Trans-Island Skyway,” and finally finding a long-player home on the Nightfly Trilogy in 2007. No, wait, it actually first appearedRead More

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGtl-_qW1sQ&w=500&h=305] Blending elements of arena rock, prog and metal, Heroso confounds expectations in the very best of ways. The album opener, called “Act 1,” begins as a tensile, mainstream rocker, marked by a searching riff courtesy of Brian Rohr You May Also Like: Charlie Parker – Unheard Bird (2016)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpO7TW0NwqE&w=500&h=305] There’s definitely no lack of compilation albums promoting gooey goodies from the late 1960s and early 1970s, but this particular collection, which I picked up at the Dollar Store, is what I’ve been spinning the refried beans out of You May Also Like: Rachel Platten – Waves (2017)

It seems that many year-end arts and music lists feature a kind of longing look back at the supposed “good old days.” You May Also Like: Joe Jackson’s Rain underscored a complete modern-era return to form Buggles’ ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ Predicted the Music Industry’s Larger Shift

Brit-styled power pop has been making undiluted rock bouncy and fun since the Beatles and “Can’t Buy Me Love” took the world by storm in 1963. New wave bands that emerged at the end of the 70s such as Squeeze The Cars, The Romantics and The Knack reminded us ofRead More

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp_rgWn5Yp0&w=420&h=315] Flush with beauty and mystery, “Elusive Butterfly” by Bob Lind remains one of the greatest tunes ever to inhabit the airwaves. The track reached #5 on the charts, both in America and Europe, making an instant star out of literate singer/songwriter, who was born in Baltimore, Maryland. YouRead More

Pete Molinari’s second album found him going electric, with spectacular results. This felt more like a debut album than his all-acoustic low-fi Walking Off The Map. You May Also Like: Bob Dylan, ‘The Bootleg Series Vol. 15: Travelin’ Thru, 1967-1969′ (2019)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di2EmyzCmdw&w=420&h=315] As one of jazz’s more restless saxophonists of his generation, Jeremy Udden has moved from the “melodic jazz-rock” of his Torchsongs ensemble to the country/folk-inflected jazz of Plainville. You May Also Like: Three-Layer Cake [Brandon Seabrook, Mike Pride + Mike Watt] – ‘Stove Top’ (2021)

In 2012, readers flocked to a boisterous discussion on those times when the Beatles didn’t exactly impress. You May Also Like: Part of Neil Young’s Creative Process Was Ignoring Bob Dylan