I hadn’t had the feeling for a long time: that crestfallen heaviness of learning that a band had broken up. It’s something that really used to hit me when I was a kid. Attachments to bands and their music were particularly powerful, and when a breakup was announced…it felt personal.Read More

I have said (and defended) many times that I am not a lyrics person. Still, that doesn’t really excuse me for what I am about to admit: that I’d listened to Deerhoof’s album Apple O’ many times and never realized, until just the other day, that Satomi Matsuzaki was singingRead More

When Devils & Dust was released, I was in the middle of a vacation. Late at night, sitting in a big comfy chair at our hotel, I sipped a glass of scotch while I listened. You May Also Like: No related posts.

A definite 80/81 standout track, “Every Day (I Thank You)” features Michael Brecker at his most expressive. There are many interviews out there where Pat runs out of superlatives when talking about Brecker’s work on this song. It’s not hard to see why. You May Also Like: Pat Metheny, MayRead More

A few years a back, me and TheWife™ decided that our cable bill just wasn’t worth it. On most nights, we’d watch (or put on and sort of ignore) a few things on either the Food Network or maybe HGTV, all for a ridiculous sum of money each month. YouRead More

I am more familiar with composer Steve Reich’s percussion/phase work — Six Marimbas, Piano Phase, Drumming — than his more out there material. I’d never even heard of “Pendulum Music” until Sonic Youth created a version of it for their Goodbye 20th Century record. You May Also Like: Sonic BeatRead More

As I listen to pianist Matthew Shipp’s latest release, there’s a part of me that finds it difficult to not be unduly influenced by the knowledge that Shipp thinks that Stanley Crouch is a horse’s ass. That influence is hard to ignore, since one of the qualities of Shipp’s pronouncementsRead More

Written for the decay and subsequent revival of Asbury Park, “My City Of Ruins” has taken on many other roles since its release. For my money, the most moving and powerful context that Springsteen placed it in began with the gospel and horn-drenched unveiling at that legendary Apollo Theater show.Read More

Sometimes, it’s all about Ornette. On the whole, 80/81 comfortably visits “out” material and more straight ahead jazz, with a healthy introduction to Pat’s idea of “folk jazz.” Some of the glue that holds all of this together is the influence of Ornette Coleman. You May Also Like: Why YouRead More

So even though they tell us that spring is almost here — time’s been moved ahead an hour, the 21st of March is approaching — we’re not really getting the feel of the season up here in the Northeast. You May Also Like: Johnny Winter Refined His Hell-Raising Brand ofRead More