Mountain Goats @ Webster Hall, Tuesday, March 18th
Much like John Darnielle himself, the Mountain Goats’ audience at Webster Hall on Tuesday night had a tendency to flaunt its wit. Every time someone called out a song request – which was frequently, because in this cultish fan base, everyone has a favorite – someone else had a witty thing to yell in retort....
Lost MP3 of the Week: Bruce Springsteen, “Red Headed Woman”
The best thing about St. Patrick’s Day – aside from that whole drinking thing – is that it’s a day to be especially proud about redheadedness. A long time ago, the Seattle alternative weekly Tablet had a feature called something like: “what it’s like to be…” and had someone write a short paragraph about what...
T-Sides Elsewhere.
Things have been a little quiet here, it’s true. That’s mostly because yours truly has been swept up in a flurry of writing activity for some other websites – and I’d like to take some time and point out a few. Bullz-Eye: I’m writing CD reviews for this Men’s/Entertainment site. Recently, I’ve covered Ray Davies’...
Enablers @ Knitting Factory, Sunday, March 9th
San Francisco’s Enablers are more an amalgam of music and poetry than the average band. This distinction is forged primarily through the use of speech only loosely set in pattern with the music instead of sing-song verse. In a live setting – in this case New York City’s Knitting Factory, at the Tap Bar –...
T-Sides B-Sides: Lost MP3 of the Week: My Bloody Valentine, “Sometimes”
My friend Clay makes the best mixes of anyone I know. He’s also one of the best writers I know. His words are fluid and natural, holding a powerful grace and excitement. Naturally, I asked him to write a guest post for me about music of his choosing. He selected My Bloody Valentine’s “Sometimes,” and...
Lost MP3 of the Week: Bob Seger, “Night Moves”
One of the most astounding things about art, and especially music, is the way a self-centered thought or experience contained in a medium can ignite a chain reaction of independent yet similar thought, ironically turning the originator’s selfishness into a wide-spread and no-longer singular experience. It is this ability to tap into a well of...
Lost MP3 of the Week: Bone Thugs ‘n’ Harmony, “Crossroads”
In sixth-grade, I was very good friends with a guy named Gabe. He had come into our private school rather late in the game – most of us had been going to school together for years – but we became fast friends because he lived near me. I lived far outside the standard reach of...
Looking Forward & Looking Back: T-Sides is Two Years Old!
Amazingly enough, we’ve reached the two-year mark here at T-Sides. I say amazingly because as any avid blog reader/writer will tell you, blogs — and music blogs in particular — tend to have a short shelf life. After many unsuccessful brainstorms and attempts, T-Sides will not, in any foreseeable future, be implementing any sort of...
Lost MP3 of the Week: The Anniversary, “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter”
The Anniversary’s “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” is exactly the kind of song that I began “Lost MP3 of the Week” for. However, it’s a music journalist’s nightmare. The Anniversary: “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” (download) This is partly because I’m not sure how I came across the song. It was, in all...
Joanna Newsom @ BAM, Thursday, Jan. 31st
A Joanna Newsom album has never sounded as good as she did when she played at the Brooklyn Academy of Music last Thursday. Even the most middling of fans, the most ardent of critics, could not possibly have walked away unswayed by the remarkable skill and charm she emanated throughout the evening. Accompanied by the...
Lost MP3 of the Week: Two Gallants, “All Your Faithless Loyalties”
Among the many reasons why I love Two Gallants, one of the most prominent is the way their songs feel alive, as if they posses minds of their own. Stephens recently told Sentimentalist, “I’m constantly changing things in the songs, even live.” It shows, in both live and recorded versions of their work. The more...
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