Category: music

Podcast Of The Week: The Legend Of Paul’s Boutique

Paul’s Boutique, if you don’t know, is the Beastie Boys’ second album and arguably the Sgt. Pepper’s of hip-hop. It’s what happens when you push all the envelopes, all the buttons on the studio gear, (and maybe put down the bottle and pick up the bong, allegedly).  The stories on its making are as epic … Continue reading Podcast Of The Week: The Legend Of Paul’s Boutique →

Change Paths (How Doug E. Fresh Invented Beatboxing)

The path you’re going down doesn’t have to be the path you finish on. Doug E. Fresh invented beatboxing. If it weren’t for his music teacher, it might never have happened. In grade school, he wanted to learn to play the drums. He joined the school band but the teacher brushed off his request and … Continue reading Change Paths (How Doug E. Fresh Invented Beatboxing) →

Sunday Music: Play That Country Tuba, Cowboy

My brother said the song stopped everyone dead when it came on in the kitchen he works. At the mercy of shuffle mode, his Spotify-shuffle picked out “Play That Country Tuba, Cowboy” from the obscure Vandals album, The Vandals Play Really Bad Original Country Tunes. Understandably, nobody else had ever heard it, and the song … Continue reading Sunday Music: Play That Country Tuba, Cowboy →

Hope For The Best. Expect The Worst. Happy New Year.

As 2021 draws to a close, I want to say thank you for everybody who reads these little emails/posts I’m sending. I know how many newsletters I personally subscribe (and have unsubscribed) to. The idea that you spend even a few minutes a day sharing a thought with me… I am incredibly grateful. Making these … Continue reading Hope For The Best. Expect The Worst. Happy New Year. →

Sunday Music: Trying To Ignore The Elephant (Somehow)

3 recent deaths, one milestone birthday, and I’m thinking a lot about the lots we draw in what’s turned into a lot of life (not, ahem, enough yet, just for the record). Jason Isbell’s “Elephant” keeps playing in my head all the while. It’s a song about a friend with cancer. It’s a song about … Continue reading Sunday Music: Trying To Ignore The Elephant (Somehow) →

Sunday Music: Remembering The Monkee With The Hat

As a proud member of the 1980s Nick at Nite generation, I’m no stranger to The Monkees (via all those glorious reruns). Michael Nesmith, aka the one with the hat, passed away this week. I’ve revisited the band and the TV show on more than one occasion (see this prior Monkees post here). They’re a … Continue reading Sunday Music: Remembering The Monkee With The Hat →

Sunday Music: Told Virgil Write Brick On My Brick

Virgil Abloh once took a bunch of off-the-shelf shirts, screen printed “Pyrex 23” on them, and sold them for 7x more than what he paid. His idol, Marcel Duchamp, had said (long before), “I don’t believe in art, I believe in artists.” And that’s what Abloh was all about. Putting a spin on it. Making … Continue reading Sunday Music: Told Virgil Write Brick On My Brick →

You Can’t Always Get What You (Don’t) Want

Sometimes a person can get really hung up on not getting what they want. You try, work, grind, and… peanuts. As the song goes, You can’t always get what you wantBut if you try sometimes, well you just might find,You get what you needThe Rolling Stones, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” But what … Continue reading You Can’t Always Get What You (Don’t) Want →