Heavy-hearted in the Midwest since 2011
Christmas, 1988. I was a newly-minted 15-year old, in the prime of a dorky and awkward teenage existence. I didn’t play sports, got bi-weekly allergy shots, had a mere handful of friends(the kind you spend lots of time with, not the kind you bide your time with in Algebra or English Comp), and spent most […]
Read More Christmas, 1988 : The Stockin’ Was Rockin’It’s been nearly two weeks now since the great and legendary jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter passed away at 89-years old. I hadn’t yet sat down to write something about the man I consider to be one of the greatest jazz saxophonists and composers to ever blow a note. Why? Well, Mr. Shorter passed away on […]
Read More Wayne Shorter 1933-2023Every once in awhile an album comes along and sort of rewires your brain. Something or someone in the universe sees fit to gift your head and heart with a little aural magic; a tickle to your psyche that ignites something in the head and heart. For me that came in the form of Paul […]
Read More “Nature, The Cosmos, Music, Art…” : The Sound World Of Paul RiedlAlexander Donat never rests when it comes to music. The German musician/songwriter is always working on new songs; whether it be the post/punk dark wave of Vlimmer, the the shimmering dream pop of Fir Cone Children, under his own name as Leonard Donat, or his most recent project Assassun. Assassun is a kind of post-punk/EDM […]
Read More Listen : Assassun Returns With Chaotic “Unfold On My Chest”; ‘Chronic Quicksand’ Out 3/24My Kroger store is a dump. Every time I go in there there’s some new Hell I have to endure. I almost always have to use the bathroom when I get there because I drink three to four liters of water a day at work, so by the time I reach Kroger I’ve got to […]
Read More My Kroger Is A Dump, And Why I Still Shop ThereLast week was a long week. A week ago Monday my wife and oldest daughter flew out east to New York City for three days of Broadway shows, museums, and subway rides to and fro. While the ladies were in the Big Apple, the boy(well, man now) and I and the four-legged creature who secretly […]
Read More Long Week, 18 Birthdays, Stewing In The FeelingsJonathan Sharp has been busy the last several years putting out next level, Gothic-tinged records as The Heartwood Institute. Hazy, dreamy, and eliciting sonic tales of witchcraft(The Witchcraft Murders) and dystopian worlds(check out the collaborative Concrete Island with HAWKSMOOR), Jonathan Sharp seems to never not be readying a new electronic delight for our ears. NIAVKA […]
Read More Jonathan Sharp : NiavkaMy first experience with MAINE, the all-analog electronic music project of France’s Michel Dupay, was with 2017s V. There was something haunting, enchanting, and all-encompassing about the songs on that record. Dupay records with all analog synths, real drums, and real strings and without the use of MIDI, so the songs sound and feel organic […]
Read More MAINE’s ‘IV’ Gets Gorgeous Vinyl Reissue With Midnight Mannequin RecordsThe Komische vibes are strong in Philly, at least according to heavy synth artist Phaseshifter, who hails from the city of brotherly love. I don’t know much about Phaseshifter, other than he’s one man and many synthesizers creating heady, dense, and decidedly cosmic music to zone out to. If you’re familiar with names like Tangerine […]
Read More Phaseshifter : Music For Cosmic ConnectionOne of the most common dreams that seems to pop into my head these days is the music dream. The old faithful ‘dirty bathroom’ and ‘oh God I’m back in high school!’ dreams are still pretty prevalent as well, but the one that seems to haunt my brain is the music dream. I’m either playing […]
Read More Every Guitar Has a Story