Dave Marsh has got to be livid today. Kiss is finally going to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Time and again, Marsh, the veteran rock critic and member of the Rock Hall’s nominating committee, has stated his defiant opposition to such a thing ever happening. “Kiss is not a great […]
Viewing John Scheinfeld’s excellent documentary Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him?) the other night pulled me back to my favorite Nilsson song, and led me to ponder why I like it so much. The song is his version of Randy Newman’s “Love Story,” from the 1970 album Nilsson Sings Newman. […]
In the first three parts of this series, I focused on recent popular music-related autobiographies: Pete Townshend and Rod Stewart in Part 1, Peter Hook and Bill Bruford in Part 2, Bob Mould and Tracey Thorn in Part 3. The final two books on my 2013 reading list are a bit different, as they don’t […]
So far, my 2013 rock book report has investigated the autobiographies of legends (Pete Townshend, Rod Stewart) and key role players (Peter Hook, Bill Bruford). Now it’s time to flip through the memories of two great artists who at first glance might not appear to have much in common, until you realize that they both came […]
In Part 1 of this series, I began my ambitious attempt to ride the rising tide of recent rock memoirs by examining the autobiographies of Pete Townshend and Rod Stewart. For Part 2, I review one book by a bassist and another by a drummer. This is one rhythm section I don’t think you’ll be […]
Back in July, I made a resolution to blog more frequently. Nice idea. Too bad I only held to it for about three weeks. Now it’s November. So what have I been up to in the intervening months? Fatherly duties. A little freelance writing. Taking courses in front- and back-end web development at General Assembly. […]
I adore music documentaries. As the history of popular music grows ever longer and richer, the films made about it become more intriguing, uncovering obscure subjects and finding universal meaning in them. Searching for Sugar Man, about Sixto Rodriguez, the early-’70s Detroit troubadour who achieved stardom in South Africa without knowing it, is a great […]
It’s taken me four months to get around to writing something about the passing of The Boston Phoenix. At this point, it almost feels like the time for comment is over. Maybe it really is unnecessary to add another layer to the mille-feuille of eulogies, but enough already—I said I was going to do it, […]
Two major things have happened since my last post. First, I realized it was well past time to do something more with my own music, so I created a SoundCloud page for myself and uploaded some relatively recent song demos for general consumption and comment. The comments have been encouraging enough that I’m now planning […]
I’m pretty sure I was seven years old when I first saw Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel verbally wrangling over movies on PBS’ Sneak Previews. I liked them both immediately, and I was a regular watcher of their show for years as it moved from public TV to commercial syndication. Their passion, their wit, their […]
