Heavy-hearted in the Midwest since 2011
A year ago I was feeling the weight of it all. I feel the weight of it all most of the time, but a year ago I was especially feeling it. I was inching closer to some kind of finality with my nearly 24 years at the same job, our youngest was heading into the […]
Read More Songs For Your Enjoyment And Scratching The Creative Itch2024. So how’s the new year been treating you? Already one month down, just eleven more to go and we’ll be looking at 2025. But hey, let’s not rush it. It’s going to go by fast enough as it is. Let’s talk about some soothing, heady sounds that might help you through it all, shall […]
Read More Long Story Short(Ambient Edition) : Slow Dancing Society/Billow Observatory/zakè/Chihei Hatakeyama, Hakobune, From Overseas, zakeIt’s been a heavy week so far. The impending move of our oldest is officially happening. They found an apartment in Indianapolis. Something that’s reasonably priced but not a dump either. Reasonable price and not a dump is a rarity in the world of renting these days, so I’m happy they found something. There was […]
Read More Things Keep Moving, Changes Imminent, RIP Uncle JoeTy Segall has covered a lot of musical ground over the last 15 years since he emerged from the California garage rock scene. The guy doesn’t seem to ever take a break; whether it’s solo albums, collaborations, or even soundtracks Segall doesn’t rest. You’d think he’d start repeating himself at some point but that’s not […]
Read More Ty Segall : Three BellsThe Smile emerged in 2022 six years after the last full-length Radiohead album A Moon Shaped Pool. Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and drummer Tom Skinner got together to make pared down rock and roll, with Yorke and Greenwood switching back and forth between bass, guitar , and electronics. The result was the excellent A Light […]
Read More The Smile : Wall Of EyesCentral Indiana is a vast, endless horizon of cornfields, farms, and the occasional city strewn in for good measure. If you’ve ever been to West Texas you’d feel right at home in this Midwest pocket of agriculture, small town life, and the feeling of being nowhere and everywhere in just a single glance. Interstate 65 […]
Read More “The Boundless And The Infinite” : In Conversation With Musician, Composer, And Label Runner zakèThere’s very few things I take pride in regarding myself. One of those few things is that I’m a great sleeper. My older brother, my mom, and my late grandma all were/are terrible sleepers. Waking in the middle of the night, wandering the halls and out to the living room to attempt to lull themselves […]
Read More In The Wee Small Hours Of SixpenceEver since I was a little kid growing up in the Midwest, USA, I’ve been fascinated with music and film journalism. Music and film critics covered the two most important things in my life: albums and movies. Before I dove head first into buying albums in the 5th grade the movie theater was the most […]
Read More A Few Words On Why I WriteHello. How is it going in your neck of the woods? Did the weekend treat you right? Spins some tunes? Watch a movie or two? What book are you currently reading? I’m trying to get through Chuck Klosterman’s Fargo Rock City. I’ve actually been trying to get through it for a couple months now. I’m […]
Read More Painting, Music, Books, And Concerts: A Few Quick NotesIt was the fall of 2012 when I first heard about the band The Soft Moon. They might have been recommended to me, or maybe it was an album review for their then new LP Zeros. Whatever road it was that led me to them, I was thankful once I arrived. The Soft Moon was […]
Read More “I’m Here, Deal With It”: RIP Luis Vasquez and The Soft Moon