Rock music is about to get interesting. I’m excited. Good stuff is about to happen. Key: Strikethrough indicates what you probably think it does Green indicates highly recommended listening Underlined indicates questionable but ultimately acceptable record Blue bold italic indicates ABSOLUTELY MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE Note: Suggested alternatives are from the same year as […]
Suggestion is an interesting and elusive power. Sometimes a suggestion may persist long after its freshness has expired. Aside from an unshakeable and abusive relationship with nicotine, I have few compulsive behaviors on an everyday scale. The main odd, compulsive behavior is most likely how I carry money, and to a certain extent, ID and […]
23 More Short Stories of 23 Words or Less, Vol. 2 | Black Sunshine Media. Fans of Vol. 1, check out Vol.2, won’t you? “There was a time when nothing short of Tiffany’s death would satisfy Lauren’s lust for vengeance.”
Comparatively speaking, 1975-76 is a dead zone for Albums You Must Hear Before You Die; in fact, there are almost as many Suggested Alternatives as legitimate selections. Overall, ’75 has more good stuff happening than ’76 – not by a wide margin – but it’s a shady part of town, and we’re going to roll […]
In hindsight, it seems that I’ve been a little too generous with certain artists, letting some slide with multiple albums when one would suffice. At the same time, I’ve made some egregious oversights. For instance, the first three records by the Meters are Potential Must Hear Albums, but both me and Robert Dimery missed them […]
It’s a fact: What goes up doesn’t always come down. All hell broke loose in the late 60s – early 70s, and in spite of (or maybe because of) the chaos, some remarkable music was made. Equally important, we’re now seeing a phalanx of splinter genres reaching maturity: psychedelic, folk rock, country rock, heavy metal, […]
Out in the fringes you’ll find the most resourceful of humankind. It happens so rarely that I don’t remember the last time I stumbled upon an artist-in-obscurity like Moondog, who absolutely, completely blows me away. Serious audiophiles are free to scoff and say, “I’ve been on the Moondog tip for years, man.” Nevertheless, I’ve been […]
There’s no question about it. This is when popular music started getting really high. Now, the super-cool kids had been using recreational substances for a while. In fact, the real junkies of the crew had been down in the basement for years, shooting up and playing jazz. Anyway, right here and now is when the […]
The whole thing is preposterous, I know. Music appreciation, like 90% of all things material or otherwise related to humanity, is highly personal and exclusively subjective. Some person just paid $300 million for a Gauguin painting. The world gasps at his extravagance. Perhaps in the buyer’s mind, it’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened in […]
Over the years I’ve grown exceedingly skeptical and often dismissive of almost any article, book, or list that promotes something the reader “must do.” You don’t have to do anything. However, if you’re interested in the development of rock music as an artistic, historical and/or social movement, there are more than 1001 Albums You Must […]
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