On The Lighter Side: Our Trip To Schaumburg, Illinois

Okay, so I’m done with all my bitching and moaning in regards to that horribly, horribly gone awry trip to the local county fair. I’m done. I’m over it. I wanted to share a bit about our family vacation last weekend to Schaumburg, Illinois. Just a half hour drive north west of downtown Chicago. The […]

So…how are you?(or, I’ll never go to a fair again)

Man, it was one of those weekends where at a certain point you could hit the “do-over” button. That time would be about 4pm Saturday afternoon. Let me explain… So this was the weekend of the beloved company picnic my employer puts on each summer. We skipped the last couple summers because I just didn’t […]

My Own Little Corner Of The World

So here is where I go after a long day at work. It’s also where I go when I’m throwing on some tunes for the wife and I when it’s chill time in the evening. When the moment calls for Coltrane, Davis, Monk, or Dolphy? Yep, right here. I’m entertaining and the moment requires a […]

James Murphy Is Playing At My House

Last night I finally watched LCD Soundsystem’s swan song live documentary Shut Up And Play The Hits. While it didn’t move me quite like I’d hoped it would(an 8 year old punching couch cushions pretending to be a member of the Justice League throughout the film didn’t help…in my living room, not the movie itself), […]

Steve Gunn-Time Off

Steve Gunn’s Time Off is like a mixed drink, maybe a scotch and soda, on the front porch after a long day at work. Crisp fall air, alcohol warming the belly, and a stupid smirk on your face as the stoned-out acoustic grooves wash over you. I say stoned-out, but I’m not sure if Steve […]

Horror That’s Not Horrible: James Wan and his Ghosts

It’s not often I get excited about horror films anymore. More often than not they’re pretty much crap. I’ve talked about my lifelong love/hate relationship with the horror film genre. It started as a kid and has followed me up into adulthood. Though now, I’m much more pickier than when I was 12, 13 years […]

My Favorite Albums of 2013: Six Months In

We are officially halfway through the year. A little past that point, actually. Since we spoke last time Easter, Memorial Day, and the Fourth of July have passed. We’re only a month away from the final episodes of Breaking Bad, there was that whole Game Of Thrones thing, and the wonderful James “Tony Soprano” Gandolfini […]

Daniel Wohl-Corps Exquis

Do you ever have those really strange dreams where you wake up from them and you still hear noise ringing in your ear from it? Like, you can’t quite recall what just went down in your subconscious but you know something big did. You can recall colors, places familiar but where you’ve never stepped foot […]

Smith Westerns-Soft Will

When you compare Smith Western’s self-titled debut from 2009 with their brand new long player Soft Will the progression is pretty staggering. Going from a Nuggets-like lo fi overblown sound with songs such as “Dreams”, “Boys Are Fine”, and the Gary Glitter-meets-The Troggs “Girl In Love” to something like Soft Will’s “Idol”, a crisp, clean, […]

Eleanor Friedberger-Personal Record

Eleanor Friedberger’s first words to us on her new long player Personal Record are “I don’t want to bother you”, and I believe her. She seems like the type of gal that would rather keep her business to herself. She seems like more the listening type than the talking type. Yet, when she gets going […]