Retrospective Review: “The Jezebel Spirit” by Brian Eno and David Byrne
When you type “the jezebel spirit” into the YouTube search engine, without Brian Eno or David Byrne’s names attached to it, their song of the same name is only the sixth result. The previous five videos are from Christian sources, and they all patiently explain the concept of “the Jezebel spirit” without a hint of […]
“Missing Cows & You” by Natalina: UFOs and Heartbreak
When I was preparing to write this article, I looked up whether there were any UFO sightings in my home area of Long Island – and to my surprise, there were quite a few. In fact, Suffolk County reported the highest number of UFO sightings of anywhere in New York state, with more than 800 […]
“Pictures” by Dan Petrich: A Complicated Reunion with a Complicated Mother
I have never been far from my mother. When I was younger, she was always there waiting to pick us up from school, clad in a black pantsuit from her job at a nearby college. She would smile and hug me close, and she smelled like clean cotton. She would later get another, busier (but […]
“Closer to Myself” by Rachel Angel: Self-Actualizing Through Golden Country Music
“Closer to Myself,” a new song by the Miami-based singer-songwriter Rachel Angel, starts simply enough: the click of drumsticks, and someone counting off “One! Two! One-two!” Then, after a quick drum roll, the song blossoms into its full, golden splendor. The retro-country sound is rich and appealing, with some nice Wall of Sound-esque production and […]
“Easy As That” by Cara Louise: Sun-Dappled Agnosticism
“Nap in a hammock, pick some fruit/We’re halfway through the year.” That line comes just before the chorus in Cara Louise’s recent song, “Easy As That,” and it’s hard not to be won over by such simple, sun-dappled imagery. I’ve never found a hammock that wasn’t too taut or too saggy, but I admire them […]
“Trophy Thieves” by Ryan Hoffman: A Warm, Evocative Story Song
“There’s a man at the end of a dead end street/with a Bible in his hand like a trophy thief/I know, but I can’t say I blame him.” These are some of the lyrics in the first verse of “Trophy Thieves,” a thoughtful new song by the Pittsburgh-based singer-songwriter Ryan Hoffman, and it provides only […]
“Cathedral Swings” by Hush Bewlay: A Gothic Haunting with a Sweet Center
Not far from my house, along the route I take to my dermatologist, is a small white Anglican church that has a children’s playground overlooking a cemetery. From the top of the banana-yellow slide, you’d be able to see the whole thing: row after row of plots, solemn gray headstones going back hundreds of years, […]
“August” by Michael B Thomas: A Song Good Enough to Make Humidity Appealing
August is a strange month. There are no major holidays to look forward to; the stretch between the Fourth of July and Labor Day is, I believe, the longest stretch without a holiday on the calendar. It’s usually the hottest, ugliest part of the summer, where the beachy summer vibes wear off and you’re left […]
“Sweeps” by John Hollywood: A Strung-Out, Alt-Folk Zombie Shuffle
“Sweeps,” a song by the Houston-born singer-songwriter John Hollywood, is, in a word, exhausted. On paper, it’s a witty, easygoing folk tune in the tradition of John Prine and Arlo Guthrie (in particular, Hollywood’s voice is a dead ringer for Guthrie’s), going through all the things that have gone from the narrator’s life: a restaurant, […]
nina gala on “we looked like angels,” Her New Album, and Baltimore
I don’t have synesthesia. I don’t “see” sound or music in color, floating out of the speaker in a rainbow mist. But I do strongly associate colors with music, to the point where it’s self-evident in my head; a song can be blue, as plainly and simply as my bedroom walls are gray. A song […]
