It can be difficult to remember because nobody thinks of the switch from 4 to 5 as significant, but the 2010s just wrapped up the first half of the decade. Thus, these past couple weeks have been a pretty good time to reflect on everything that’s happened in the pop culture world during the past…
My dad, born in the mid-50’s, has a modest vinyl collection: just a few boxes, but more than one person could lift all at once. One of his most worn records is the soundtrack to 1983’s The Big Chill. While the film earned mixed reviews, the tracklist in the credits reads like a greatest hits…
I wish that everyone can be blessed with a band like Relient K in their lives: A band that so closely matches your personality and growth that listening to them sometimes feels like looking into a mirror; a band that feels like it was designed specifically for “you”; a band that you love as much…
Every now and then, I’m going to take a break listing my favorite things to talk about something I don’t like: Mumford & Sons are a bland, calculated, passionless, hipster-baiting, inauthentic, and — in general — very unpleasant band. It bothers me that they are championed as paragons of bringing music back to its “roots.”…
Dear Readers, In 2012 we brought your attention to a unique musical project. Dutch instrumental indie band All Shall Be Well (And All Shall Be Well And All Manner Of Things Shall Be Well) sourced a short story from a fan of theirs and set out to write a piece of music based on the…
CHRISTMAS CLASSIC COUNTDOWN #1 – “Holidays Are Coming” Yes, friends and neighbors, the BTMN Christmas Classic Countdown is back…and off to a late start from day 1. I hope you can overlook my tardiness and still enjoy the month to come, as I feature 25 songs and poems from Christmas films and television specials throughout…
Anchorage is a tasty blend of electronic beats and acoustic strings where pop sensibilities connect the technological and the classical. What began as an attempt to “bridge the gap between the kids blasting Usher at school and the ones debating the intricacies of Mozart at youth orchestra rehearsal” has proven successful as sole member Caitlin…
Taylor Swift dropped her much-hyped fifth album, 1989, today, and as one of the millions who professes himself a fan of Tay-Tay, I’ve already made a few listen-throughs. I wanted to share my thoughts here. Let’s start by going back two years. Taylor’s fourth album, Red, put me off a bit when I first heard it. I had…
According to a story broken yesterday by TMZ, Ke$ha is suing Dr. Luke for sexual, physical, verbal, and emotional abuse. I see two ways to spin this story into a broader dialogue, and I have no interest in either of them. First, some-kind-of abuse is evil. Agreed, and cheers to those who wave that flag…
That’s right, I’m back again, for a final FINAL chapter of “Ten Things Brian Likes.” I won’t stop beating this dead horse ’til it’s glue. In the first half of my honorable mentions, I acknowledged ten more topics about which I’m passionate. Now, to close out the series, I’m returning to the original ten “canonical” categories,…