Category Archives: Music

New Orleans and Jazz Fest 2013: A Chronicle

Posted on May 11, 2013 by

It has been 20 years since I cast my shadow on the hallowed fairgrounds where the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is held every year. Back in the early 90s, I went to the festival three times and held … Continue reading →

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Classic Rock Battle: U2′s Achtung Baby vs Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon

Posted on March 26, 2013 by

At first glance, these are two very different albums separated by 18 years from two groups with vastly different sounds. And yet, for each group the album represents the exact middle of their studio recordings and was both a milestone … Continue reading →

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Battle of the Bands: Van Halen vs. Van Hagar

Posted on February 18, 2013 by

OK, so it is not really a fair fight, but in light of the recent return of Diamond Dave, I thought it had to be done. Many of us grew up with VH I and II and dreamed of having … Continue reading →

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Music Review: Bands I Discovered in 2012 (from Alabama Shakes to Tame Impala)

Posted on February 16, 2013 by

As a final retrospective article about music from 2012, I wanted to write about some bands I discovered during the year that you might also enjoy. The Darkness released their 3rd album, Hot Cakes. It is a mix of Queen-like … Continue reading →

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Music Review: Grunge and Punk Revival Albums in 2012 (oh, and the Beach Boys too!)

Posted on February 15, 2013 by

The dinosaurs of rock were not the only comeback artists last year. Bob Mould, Green Day, Dinosaur Jr, Soundgarden and Smashing Pumkpins all released albums last year and I plan to give you a few notes on each below. But … Continue reading →

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Music Review: Return of 7 Rock-n-Roll Dinosaurs & Legends in 2012

Posted on February 14, 2013 by

2012 was a year for some notable musical comebacks. Neil Young, Donald Fagen, Van Halen (with Diamond Dave!) – from Asia to ZZ Top, there was a lot of nostalgia. I’ll review some of the highlights here. Neil Young’s Psychedelic … Continue reading →

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Music Review: My Hand-Picked 2012 Selection – One Soundtrack and Four AltCountry Albums

Posted on January 11, 2013 by

I counted about 41 albums that I got in 2012. Most are pretty much rock-oriented reflecting my state of mind, but there is a little more thrown in there for variety. Let me describe a couple of the most obscure … Continue reading →

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Movie Review: Looking for Sugar Man (2012)

Posted on January 2, 2013 by

You know, it’s funny how life will surprise you sometimes. Within a few hours of each other, a neighbor and a new friend both mentioned the same new film on New Year’s Eve to me: Looking for Sugar Man. Each … Continue reading →

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Music: Battle of Thrash – Comparing Anthrax, Metallica, Megadeath, and Slayer

Posted on March 19, 2012 by

I won’t belabor the point tonight because I have episodes of Californication and House of Lies to watch I did want to make a few quick observations about thrash though. A few weeks back, I posted about anger and I … Continue reading →

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Music Review: Metallica’s “Beyond Magnetic” EP

Posted on March 17, 2012 by

I talked about St Anger and touched on Death Magnetic some time back, but never got around to reviewing the follow-up EP to it, Beyond Magnetic. The EP starts off on Hate Train, a straight-forward metal anthem to the darkness within … Continue reading →

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