Most of the music reviews come at year’s end. Great. That’s when most people are desperate to catch up on everything they missed in the previous year. I’m fine with that, sitting here with a large stack of unopened vinyl waiting to be heard. But between work life and real life – in the ‘in-between …
Month: January 2018
Without really intending to, we seem to have low-key ‘done’ Sundance this last week, mainly via the ewaitlist, which is cool fun. Of the headline grabbing films, we saw The Tale, (with Laura Dern, Jason Ritter and an eleven year old Isabelle Nélisse) which has amazing parallel times and lines storytelling. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4015500/ I can’t tell …
Lady Bird, the coming-of-age movie set in Sacramento, CA, has a stubborn disinclination to satisfy normal expectations. Whenever you expect the story to follow a certain path, it goes somewhere else, and whenever you think you know its characters, they always find a way to surprise you. This lack of cliche, along with the movie’s …
The Father, the musician, the former stand out prep shooting guard Ethan Anderson headlines Neumos this Friday, Feb. 2 with Cody Beebe’s Rust on the Rails. His band Massy Ferguson has been a mainstay of this Seattle scene for the last decade and with the help of Brighton label At The Helm Records, his band …
JAMAICA UPDATE: Man I just got a call from Lenni I-Music in Jamaica. Send this dude some friend requests. This is a friend that I want to be rolling around Kingdston with. He’s such a SOLID dude and damn good singer and songwriter. This ain’t no side kick talk. I am lucky to be his …
So Portland has a grammy-winning artist now. Portugal. The Man won folk/pop duo/group performance for “Feel It Still.” Portugal. The Man locks down pop/duo performance Portugal. The Man at Grammys 2018: ‘We’re All About Hard Work’
“I’m fortunate that I have a job that allows me to travel around our country and to meet people from all walks of life. Through those journeys, I have heard stories big and small, hopeful and heartbreaking, funny and frightening. The people behind these stories represent all corners of our country – Manhattan power-players, line …
The Democrats are rolling out their latest weapon after the State of the Union address. Here comes Joe Kennedy Jr. part 3. He is actually the grandson of Bobby. Here are some stats. He might be worth 55 million thanks to inheritance bankrolled by his name sake, he is technically an (unoppressed) minority because he …
On the 23rd of January I had the pleasure of seeing Vic Ruggiero play a solo show for the second time. Vic Ruggiero is the keyboard player and primary vocalist for the NY ska band the Slackers. This guy is classic New York Italian and very charming. He created an intimacy with his audience immediately …
The Fall were never quite my favorite band (okay, maybe during the last six months of 1988, in the wake of the glorious one-two LP punch of THE FRENZ EXPERIMENT and I AM KURIOUS ORANJ!), but their obstreperous uniqueness, unfathomable longevity, truly remarkable consistency, and unshakable integrity grew more admirable and undeniable with each passing …
Where were the designated crack smoking zones and free clean pipes in the 1980s? America sure is soft on white crime. That being said, we should be tackling this issue with methods other than locking up drug users. But our prisons are full of men from the Crack War…hmmmm. Maybe the war on crack wasn’t …
Fans of the movie AIRPLANE, I had NO idea that it was taken from this obscure film ZERO HOUR. This is interesting if you are a fan. It IS the same movie, just not (intentionally) funny. Even has the “Looks like I picked the wrong week” line in it. It’s shot for shot in some …
If you’ve never seen it, you should. It’s on YouTube in a pristine print. “How Green Was My Valley” the 1941 Academy Award winner (Best Picture, Best Director JOHN FORD, Best Supporting actor DONALD CRISP, best cinematography ARTHUR MILLER, best art direction NATHAN H. JURAN, etc.). It’s an amazing oldie. They showed it to us …
In the past I have called a number of bands my favourite – Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Pixies – but right now I am giving that small accolade to an American folk/country/rock duo based in Charleston, South Carolina called Shovels and Rope. They are literally the only act I have traveled to …
I just sent Bluejay Hankins my Anthony Red Rose-produced single ‘Free Your Mind’ to have Reggaeville premier. This is biggest raggae website, this song features Sly & Robbie and Lenky Marsden, the man behind Sean Paul’s ‘Get Busy’. I have spent the last year working with Anthony Red Rose as he crafted one of my …
Well my Jamaica tour got more exciting. It’s going to be a story. I am rolling with some good dudes when I sing in Trenchtown, and the crew I am shooting the ‘Free Your Mind’ video with are the legends. But why does it have to pop off right now? Jamaica is always going to …
Quickly making a name for herself with her soulful voice and authentic songwriting, Kassi Ashton shares, “This is the song I always knew I wanted to write. It’s an intro in to everything I am.” In the deeply personal song, Kassi digs into her experience as a self-described black sheep, ridiculed for her individuality and …
The NFC Championship Game has just concluded as of this writing, with the Nick Foles-led Philadelphia Eagles beating the Minnesota Vikings by a shocking score of 38-7. The Eagles will travel to Minnesota to meet the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, thus ruining Minnesota’s dreams of winning a Lombardi Trophy in their own …
If Amazon was really on our side why would they be investing the 100 billion dollar might into taking away jobs from hard working American mothers that actually have some dignity and a still almost decent pay check as cashiers. We see the End Game. Putting women out of work, whether single, married, separated, or …
Take a listen to the extraordinary musicianship and taut harmonies of Baskery, self-proclaimed QUEENS OF BANJO PUNK and a trio made up of sisters Greta (banjo, drums, vocals), Stella (double bass, vocals) and Sunniva (guitar, vocals) Bondesson. The electric live take (above) of one of their catchiest but still unreleased songs, “Hard On You,” was …
After the Portland Trailblazers’ win over the Indiana Pacers last Thursday night, comedian Cedric the Entertainer got up from his courtside seat afterward and took Coach Terry Stotts’ place at the podium for the postgame press conference: Thanks to the graciousness of the Trailblazers, I’ve been in that briefing room a couple of times. Usually, …
“Let Me Down”, the new song from Jorja Smith f. Stormzy, dropped last week with an overwhelmingly positive response from critics and fans. Today, she shares the official video, directed by Hector Dockrill, who did previous videos for Jorja’s “On My Mind” and “Beautiful Little Fools”. Filmed in Kiev, we see Jorja taking on the …
Australian prog oozes charm and confidence, tenderness and power. Take a listen to “The Middle,” a comeback tune for Sydney progressive rock trio Cog. The band has been around since 1998– with some time off– and this is their first new music since 2008. www.cog.com.au www.facebook.com/COG-12878803369 www.instagram.com/cog101
Burning Spear is that rare performer whose real name, Winston Rodney, was better– or at least as good— than his incendiary stage name. I would give my left nut to be named Winston Rodney today. Take a listen to this 1977 Spear tune recorded for Social Living. The rhythm section is one for the ages. …
As always, I sleep in on a Saturday morning ’til about 11:30, take a quick shower, then walk up Roy St. from my apartment on Summit Ave. for a leisurely lunch with Tim Cook at Siam on Broadway. Once the customary ten-star Thai cuisine has been consumed, we briefly duck into Orpheum Records to hassle …
When asked about my time in Seattle in the bad old days, I smile and say, “If you can remember the 90s, you weren’t there,” which is true. No lessons stand out to relate to you today. “Manifest Seattle Destiny” was the brightest and loudest and sharpest shared delusion of its time, which doesn’t mean …
Swedish death purge dilemma ~ More karate fighter bases than karate fighter guys. Hate to throw the excess bases away, but what to do with them? The fighter guys were broken in battle while the base endured. (It is an arm work out.) Posted by Jill Kuhel on Tuesday, January 16, 2018 – Jill Kuhel
Hippo Campus’ meteoric career trajectory continues to steadily ascend, playing to packed, over-capacity crowds of joy-filled and enraptured fans at Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza last summer, and headlining the Minnesota State Fair (the best of all 50 state fairs) in their hometown. Now that the holidays are past, the band is hitting the road again for …
Company of Thieves is back after taking six years off. Their new tune, “Treasure,” is pretty cool and you can hear it below. The band had a music industry story you hear about in the movies – founding members Marc Walloch and Genevieve Schatz met on a train station platform in Chicago and bonded over …
Name a greater man than Martin Luther King in the 20th Century. I can’t. He is greater than FDR and Eisenhower, and those are giants. MLK got murdered in the 60s because he would have been an incredible Presidential candidate in the 80s, and a shoe in as Senator in the 70s. I have watched …