Copper

What Is a Bass?

I’ve been contemplating this topic for a little while, although my reticence to finally put it to “paper” must be some kind of sign that I’m a genuine writer…. Anyway,...

Circuit City Bankruptcy Enters Tenth Year

Circuit City began by taking over the last few stores of the defunct Lafayette Radio chain, and was once one of  the largest electronics dealers in the world, and second only...

Southern Italian Wines, Part 3: Of Gods, Monste...

The wine history of Sicily, like that of most of Italy, particularly the southernmost regions, is ancient, and colorful, replete with outrageous tales of gods –- both Greek and Roman...

Torque

The house just down the hill was having a lawn party with a live blues band in attendance. I was at the back of our own home when I first...

The Band, Part 2: From Dylan to The Last Waltz

There were many remarkable moments in the history of The Band.  The first was the incredible luck we all had that these teenagers found themselves in the same band at all. ...

Crying

Remember those frantic, chirpy sounds that old 8-bit video games used to make? Did you know there’s a pop subgenre inspired by those sounds? Wait, don’t run away. Chiptune, as...

Brainz The Size of a Planet, Part 1

There is a seismic shift underway in the manner by which consumers interact with their music. We can feel the first tremors, and some of us are even starting to...

Brit Psychedelics

First a word about what/who is not on my Psychedelic Shootout  list: Fever Tree—debut album Yes, I had the album, and yes, I played it fairly often… but it did not make any...

Red Sky at Night

Fractured

While sight-seeing around the uncommonly-empty campus of the University of Wyoming in Laramie on Thanksgiving weekend, girlfriend Pat and I flipped around the meager offerings on FM radio. Between  strident...

Jambox

Gatecrashing

“Would you like to see the car?” Leland and I looked at each other in bewilderment. “Sure” we said. Parties at hi fi shows are fun. They are a way...

Dry vs. Juicy

Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.  Well, it’s hard to write about a lot of things. Sometimes we have to invent new language, but mostly we make old language...

Arnie Nudell: RIP

At the very beginning of 2017, I  wrote about the passing of friend and colleague Ken Furst . I’d hoped to get through the rest of the year without having to write...