Tag Archives: Music

New Orleans and Jazz Fest 2013: A Chronicle


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


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


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!)


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


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)


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


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


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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Music: Great anti-war songs


Machine Gun from Jimi Hendrix came up on my iPod the other day, and it reminded me of some of my favorite anti-war songs. The guitar stoccato of Machine Gun and the haunting lyrics put Jimi’s anti-war anthem near the … Continue reading

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Some more drummers I neglected…


I posted a few days back about 10 of my favorite drummers, but to be fair, here are a few more that merit mention: Like John Selway of Radiohead. He has a range of styles that is mind-boggling. Besides, anyone … Continue reading

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