Heavy-hearted in the Midwest since 2011
21 years ago my wife and I had left an appointment at the OBGYN, what would be our final OB appointment before our “son in the oven” was to be introduced into a strange and quickly declining world. But it was 2005, and at that time things seemed to be moving along nicely. We had […]
Read More Pisces Birthday(s)Of all the alt rock bands that came out of the mid-2000s alternative scene I didn’t expect Silversun Pickups to be in for the long haul. I dug their 2006 debut Carnavas, a mix of shoegaze haze and gnarled post-punk guitar that went down smooth. And “Lazy Eye” was a pretty fun, catchy tune that […]
Read More Silversun Pickups : TenterhooksI had no idea what to expect when I blindly ordered the album Malign Seeds by Joachim Nordwall and Aaron Turner. I’m a fan of SFI Recordings who had released a beautiful vinyl pressing of the record, and since I dig most of the artists they work with I figured it was a no-brainer. Am […]
Read More Joachim Nordwall + Aaron Turner : Malign SeedsAlan Sinclair is one of the OGs of the imagined soundtrack world. For years he’s been releasing era-perfect records as Repeated Viewing, slabs of haunted and cursed wax that emulate a world of scuzzy late night movies that had higher budgets for recreational drugs than for special effects and proper cinematographers. But the one thing […]
Read More Repeated Viewing Returns 2/21 With ‘Break The Faith’ : Listen to The FRenetic “Flying Ointment”I’m always looking for new music to get into. That’s the forever music lover in me. You’re never late to the party when it comes to music, as there’s so much of it out there that it could take you years to get to a band. I think it’s pretty amazing that at 52-years old […]
Read More New Discovery : YobAt this point now it seems like it’s a given that if I take some time off I’m going to get sick. It’s the vacation playbook; take a couple days off for a nice 4-day weekend and 24 hours in I’m going to start feeling like crap. It was the case last week, as I […]
Read More Took Some Days Off, So I thought I’d get SickMandy, Indiana’s debut I’ve Seen A Way dropped back in 2023 and was quite the listening experience. Mixing post-punk’s jagged hard edge with dance-heavy moments, all delivered in the urgent and frenetic vocals of lead singer Valentine Caulfield’s and her native French language. The album was as catchy as it was disorienting. Mandy, Indiana has […]
Read More Mandy, Indiana : URGHI still remember the palpable excitement when Mondocon 2019 arrived and everyone was talking about someone named Mr Eff and his album Eyes Down. I wasn’t there, so I figured I’d never get a chance to hear it. Well, that’s just the naive music-obsessive in me. Of course I was able to get a copy(just […]
Read More Fight Night : Mr Eff Returns With Meditation For ViolenceMan, this week has not been the best. Started out Sunday where I had that weird little twinge in the pit of my stomach that usually indicates anxiety is just around the corner. Ended up going to the Y and walked three miles which helped that twinge. It went away, thankfully. But once I got […]
Read More Check-In : Extended-Release AnxietyI had a dream late last week that I’d gotten a call at work from someone wanting to hire me. It was the company that we currently share a building with. This medical company out of Kentwood, MI actually bought our facility when my employer was planning on closing and moving our manufacturing to Costa […]
Read More Wishful Thinking(Monday Thoughts)