Hey Earn This friends and readers… Back in 2009, I started this blog with one of my friends during my senior year of college. 13 years, 22 writers, 900 articles, and 1.2 million readers later, we’ve entered adulthood and have all moved to bigger and (debatably) better endeavors. I’m excited to share with you one…
The 57th Annual Grammy Awards come to you Sunday, February 8th. Rather than complain about the rigged system or make fun of the losers, this year I thought I’d consider the nominees in the “big four” categories on their own merits and decide how I’d order them and dish out the awards. Record, Album, and…
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…
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…
Last week I encountered something brand new in music and I want you to share the experience with me. After our recent conversation, knowing I’d be in Boston on business, Beth McDonald tipped me off to a concert series being run by the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice (SICPP). The schedule of performances, now…
In the past, I’ve demonstrated that I am no stranger to weird music nor to things beyond music. While my exploration has always been as a student and fan, Beth McDonald is a participant on the front lines of invention. May 2014 saw the release of Still, the first album recorded under McDonald’s name as…
Prelude to a Dream This is the story of my best birthday present ever. One of the hallmarks of adulthood is realizing that paychecks allow you to buy yourself gifts; and who knows you better than you? Armed with a modest but steady income, on the eve of my quarter-century day, I made an investment…
Tonight, at 8/7c, I will be watching The Voice. NBC probably expects to net a fair number of 25-to-35-year-old males every week with their elaborate talent show, even if their ideal viewer is younger with longer hair. But how can any self-respecting independent music blogger be caught tuning into such a commercialized, pop-centric circus of…
Rating: 3.25 stars (out of 4) I’m not sure another movie has produced a bigger disconnect between its teased images and final product than Spring Breakers. The advance buzz promised…well, let’s not sugarcoat this—a T&A film with a bunch of attractive, heretofore-innocent girls going sexy, plus James Franco as a BAMF gangster. And it’s not…
The next time somebody complains that a supposedly ‘real’ movie takes liberties with the truth (like, say, The Social Network), I want to show them The Bling Ring. This is what happens when you don’t dramatize your movie. For all I know, the events portrayed here may well be accurate representations of the actions of…