My Airwaves

For the first decade of my existence I pretty much lived in a dead zone. My dad was too cheap to get cable, so we relied on a 40′ antenna tower for our television needs. I didn’t really miss cable till I got a little older and things like USA Up All Night, movies with […]

Another Year(Nearly) Gone

Rounding out the weekend following one of the last big yearly holiday markers we call Thanksgiving. That means December is only a few days away, which also means my 49th birthday is just a few days away(cue The Beatles.) It was a decent Thanksgiving weekend, though today(Sunday) is an especially dreary one. Dark gray clouds, […]

Durham’s Magic Fingers

So coming up through middle school and high school as an introverted wannabe guitar shredder is tough business. I could barely strum chords in front of my parents at home, let alone cut heads like Jack Butler in Crossroads in front of my peers. There was a definite “who’s the best?” vibe in high school. […]

Feeling Good(Or Better), The Art Of Art, and Thanksgiving Incoming

A lot can change in the course of a few days. I’ve made a real attempt to pull myself out of the doldrums and it seems to be working. Tired of being tired, I’ve said the hell with letting it all pull me into the deep end and have waded into shallow waters, so to […]

Billow Observatory Return with ‘Calque’ EP, Out 1/13/23; Listen To “Kiyosumi”

Billow Observatory return with a new EP in January, and single “Kiyosumi” is subtle sonic beauty.

36 & zakè’s ‘Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel I & II’

I’ve recently discovered a gorgeous and all-encompassing slice of ambient heaven in the form of two albums, titled Stasis Sounds For Long-Distance Space Travel I & II. The artists are 36 and zakè. 36 is the musical project of UK musician Dennis Huddleston, while zakè is, well, zakè. His work has been talked about and […]

Exile On Meh Street

The week before Thanksgiving is usually a time of the year I love. Lots of dark overcast days, the temps drop, and the thought of having a four-day weekend coming up helped me push through those final, few work days. And in year’s past I would typically take the whole week off. Take a whole […]

Jon Brion : Meaningless

Jon Brion has made a name for himself as a go-to producer and film score composer for over 20 years now. Producing albums for artists as diverse as Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple, Kanye West, and Spoon. And his film score credits include directors like Paul Thomas Anderson, David O. Russell, Michel Gondry, and Charlie Kaufman. […]

Repeated Viewing : Murdercoaster

Murdercoaster. That’s a name that had I run across it as a misanthropic teen on one of my many trips to the video store in the 80s would have peaked my interest. Had Murdercoaster been hanging on the wall of Video World in 1987, collecting dust and the ire of every parent walking in that […]

zake, Marc Ertel, James Bernard : Hearkeneth

The world of ambient/new age music seems to have gotten a bit of a boost thanks to artists like Jonas Munk, Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea, Billow Observatory, Marine Eyes and City Of Dawn. The manipulation of guitar and keys with the help of modular synthesis, echo, and maybe even a touch of cosmic […]