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’...
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 –...
Getting a car was a bit of a long process for me. In actuality, it probably wasn’t that long, but when you’re 17 and most of your friends have cars, anything short of buying a car the minute you see it is “too long.” There was a bit of a debate over the Pontiac Sunfire...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
If there’s one major aspect of the rise of hipster irony (which seems to be, basically – so bad/ridiculous/awkward it’s good!) that I appreciate, it’s what it’s done for cheesy music. “Africa” by Toto, for example, is now widely played and appreciated by countless 20-somethings. Go ahead and cringe, but let’s face it: you liked...
Now that I’m done with 2007, it’s time to turn our attention towards 2008, which I’ve sorely neglected for these past two weeks, though not out of spite. With the start of 2008 came the start of PopDose, a smart, uninhibited blog about all things pop culture and even a few things not. There’s a...
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