The Only Christmas Album You Need : Vince Guaraldi Trio’s ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’

Growing up in the Midwest Christmas was always a special time to me. The family gatherings, the mysterious gifts that appeared under the tree, the spirits both in the air and in my parents glasses, and of course the true reason for the season. There was a mix of happiness and bittersweet, as you thought […]

The Beatles : White Album Super Deluxe Edition(2018 Mix)

When I think of The White Album two songs stick out: “Back In The USSR” and “Piggies”. Yes, there’s far more relevant tracks, but these two have very specific meaning for me. “Back In The USSR” was my favorite Beatles song as a little kid and I’d always ask my mom to put it on […]

…And Justice For All : 30 Years On

…And Justice For All was both Metallica’s shining achievement and also the straw that broke the band’s back. It was their most intricate, complicated, and progressive album of music, but also their most stunted collection of tunes. If the record had a face, it would be frozen in a perpetual scowl, seething at everyone else’s […]

Revisited : Causa Sui’s ‘Free Ride’

When I first discovered Causa Sui I wasn’t about the typical rock and roll trip. I was falling for heady instrumental jams; acid-soaked fusion in the form of Bitches Brew and Miles In The Sky, and heavy synth excursions like Phaedra, Visions of Dune, and Geogaddi. I wasn’t looking for vocals to muck up the […]

Red Chevy Nova

I was heading into my sophomore year of high school when I discovered the Canadian power trio Rush. It was a pretty natural progression into Geddy, Alex, and Neil’s thoughtful, intellectual, and technical brand of progressive rock. I had been playing guitar for a little over three years and was winding down on that whole […]

MCMLXXXIV

So by the time Van Halen’s 1984, or MCMLXXXIV was released in January of that year and you were a fan of Van Halen you were pretty much in one camp or another. You either dug the heavier synthesizer trip Eddie was taking and liked that at times they were starting to sound like Asia, […]

“Borrowed Nostalgia For The Unremembered Eighties”

I think if James Murphy and I hung out we’d get along great. Or at the very least I’d feel great about the conversation while James might walk away from it feeling uncomfortable and weird. Either way, I’m drawn to this bear of a guy that makes electronic disco punk music that is, essentially, about […]