by Pico The other day I was digging Bill Withers’ gentle folk-soul masterwork from 1971, Just As I Am. A week later I still find myself occasionally warbling “Ain’t No Sunshine” when there’s no one else around save for my daughter and nearly sat down to write about it inRead More

While just about everyone else who critiques music have already trotted out their “Best of 2006” lists, I’m still going through many of these releases for the first time (I might work faster if I got paid better). One of last year’s servings that I finally gave a listen toRead More

In the brilliant, circular overture of synthesizer and riff that opens ‘Endless Wire,’ we find a triumph for what’s left of the Who.

by Pico A couple of weeks ago we looked at a band who at times sound like a virtual clone of Yes in their prime. This time, we spotlight a musical group who has taken mimicking others to an whole ‘nother level. Mickey Melchiondo and Aaron Freeman, aka Dean andRead More

Love is so strangeHow we change from day to nightLove is so strangeHow we change from black to white The music of our childhood and early adulthood…it seems that no matter how crappy the music is of the time, there’s still a strong, lasting connection to it. Recently I’ve beenRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Ever put in a CD for the first time not expecting any fireworks from the music contained within and find yourself surprisingly blown away by it? That’s how it was for me the first time I listened to Laura Nyro’s Laura: Live At The Bottom Line.Read More

by Pico So I was listening to this tune off of Hotcakes and Outtakes the other day on the Pico ‘Pod and ohmygawd it hit me: this blog has never respresented for Little Feat before! After all, we did promise to deliver musical musings in the realm of blues, rockRead More

by Pico Most everyone’s first exposure to jazz from about 1965 on has come from Vince Guaraldi’s kick butt soundtrack music to the Peanuts television specials. But rock? Well that depends on when you grew up and what was permeating the radio and tv (or at least children’s tv) atRead More

Al Jarreau has found a good measure of success from applying his unique weave of octave shifting singing and jazz scatting to a wide array of songs ranging from jazz standards to r&b to straight pop. And like Linda Ronstadt and Robert Palmer, he’s had a knack for finding someoneRead More

by Pico OK, I’ll say it up front: I’ve never been a fan of The Grateful Dead. Don’t know for sure why; after all, I love extended improvisations and the confluence of different styles. And it’s not that I don’t like jam bands; I can listen to the Allman BrothersRead More