Although it may seem like we’re careening out of control now and then (“Thankless Jobs”), I started this blog with a simple, basic premise. Over the years, I’ve collected a whole lot of music. [...]
If the Grammys had an award for Ridiculously Talented, Incredibly Versatile Roots-Music Wunderkind, Mike Henderson would be a hands-down favorite to win every year. But here in America, 2011 – [...]
In this economy, I suppose any of us who are gainfully employed should be thankful. But have you ever held a job that made you question your very existence? A job that made “meth addict” seem [...]
Since we got some of you to play along to “My First Album,” I decided to try something else along the same lines: What’s your most memorable concert experience? The venue can be anything from a [...]
I was trolling through the vast wasteland that is cable TV (one of those many “500+ stations and nothing to watch” moments) and came across a documentary on Showtime about the great [...]
My sister Mary Auerbach, French teacher at Woodridge High School and mother of The Black Keys’ Dan, gives us a blow-by-blow of her recent trip to the Grammys, where the Keys picked up a [...]
Dr. John, the Night Tripper. Gris-gris man. Guru of hoodoo. Master of New Orleans rhythm and funk. With Dr. John, New Orleans native Mac Rebennack created one of the most memorable characters in [...]
Here’s an idea I borrowed from a fellow music blogger: What’s the first record you ever owned? (“Kristian” described the joys of receiving Guns n’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction as a [...]
Here’s a re-post. See you soon… In a rare moment of weakness, my brother admitted that his love of Latin music makes for a very lonely existence. The same can be said of jazz. You [...]
Latin boogaloo – one of those great cultural collisions, like fried chicken and waffles or Tiger Woods. Rooted in Cuban son montuno and bastard stepchild of the Fifties mambo craze, boogaloo [...]
No over-arching themes this week. No long-lost album to dissect. No need to dig up buried treasures from any given genre. And nothing about Mamie Van Doren, even though we use her glowing figure [...]
Let’s revisit a couple of albums that had a big impact on yours truly, Brother James and Nephew Dan – basically, the vast majority of RCR’s global workforce. Marc Ribot (pronounced ree-bow) [...]
A few posts back, I touched on my stint playing in a Columbus, Ohio bar band. And one of the pleasures of that assignment was opening for and rubbing up against some fairly respectable players, [...]