Jack Blocker’s “Big Jefe” & Cowboy Country
Good news and bad news. Bad news: I’ve been at a record low of my usual listening activity (yes, I’m obsessive and keep track on Spotistats). My usual favorites haven’t been hitting, the new stuff seems like it’s been done before, and a general malaise has been hanging heavy like a cloud above my Spotify. […]
Scottish Singer’s “Chapters” is a Head Turner
You’re bouncing along on a remote Scottish road, not another vehicle in sight, trying not to be distracted by thoughts of getting your car in for service to get the shocks looked at, because there are various upcoming bends to negotiate and potholes to avoid. You happen to look up into the Highlands. Well, they […]
The Half-awake Dream of Jörgen Kjellgren’s “On A Tuesday”
If you make music, if you put pen to paper and voice to tape (well… the electronic equivalent these days, but I’m being nostalgic), does the time of day or day of the week affect what comes out? Tuesday is the day of the week for music producer and singer songwriter Jörgen Kjellgren’s latest song, […]
6 Best AI Music Generators (2023)
Making music has always been considered a creative endeavor. While the music industry has been revolutionized more than once by events such as the emergence of MCs and rap in the 1970s or the popularisation of electronic music in the 1960s, AI-generated music is taking the creative process to an entirely new level. Whether you’re […]
Retrospective: Blaze Foley’s Last Show “Live at the Austin Outhouse”
The first thing I regret about writing a Blaze Foley retrospective is that it is, by nature, retroactive—that is, that I am yet another in a long string of fans, reviewers, and artists who have come to know and appreciate his talent when it is far, far too late. No amount of good things I […]
The Era of “Epoch” by DeYarmond Edison
“Epoch,” or – by the full name, “Epoch – Song for a Lover (of Long Ago)” is the culmination of some unfinished business. That business is now being taken care of by the band DeYarmond Edison, originally from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Also, a box set, because DeYarmond Edison has actually been around for a while, […]
Films on Song Leave Room for Imagination in “Gnome”
“Gnome” is a song about killer gnomes. What I like about it, and about the work of Charlottesville band Films on Song generally, is its emotional realism. Songwriters Jonathan Teeter and Francis McKee collage stock images from science fiction with snippets of everyday speech, making stories set in someone else’s dream of your hometown. I […]
Jason Wozniak’s “Missing Piece,” Catching Up, and Letting Go
The beginning of Jason Wozniak’s “Missing Piece” is like entering a storied jazz club, under new management. You hear a smooth synth. The musicians, friends of the owner, have agreed to help set the stage for a revitalization of the establishment. You come in for a bit of conversation with a long-lost friend. There are […]
Noah Gundersen’s “Swim” & Old Souls
Noah Gundersen is no rookie on the scene. And even when he was, the high praise he received as a rookie was often laced with reference to his spectacularly grounded vocals and battleworn songwriting, often called “old school.” But there is, whether you listen to his older stuff or the freshest single, something about Gundersen’s […]
Sinead O’Connor’s “The Last Day of Our Acquaintance”
This is the last day of our acquaintanceI will meet you later in somebody’s office The opening lyrics to Sinead O’Connor’s “The Last Day of Our Acquaintance” enter briskly, as a cold autumn wind through a poorly-sealed window frame. Clinical, mechanical, and void of all but exhaustion, O’Connor aptly reflects and envelopes all the emotion […]
