Why It Matters

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Choose and Defend: The Big Red Button

You are walking along a downtown street when you pass a man sitting at a desk in an empty shop. On the table in front of him is a red button.
Throw Beck Thursday: Why “Freebird” Matters

My first major breakup didn’t even involve me. My sister dumped Mike, no doubt for valid hell-raising reasons, but without considering me. How was I supposed to find my path to the Dixie Gem Garage — the hot spot for street races — without my travel guide? In whose Chevelle would I cruise The Beacon…
On Diffuser: Cover Stories – Smashing Pumpkins, ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’

Is Smashing Pumpkins’ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness the prettiest album cover of the last 20 years?
Deep Cuts: Court Songs

You aren’t here for a civics lesson, but you’re going to get one anyway: Take your jury duty seriously.
On Ultimate Classic Rock: Everything You Need to Know About Guns N’ Roses

Just a few weeks ago, prior to Lemmy and Bowie grabbing unfortunate headlines, the big news in the music world was the announcement that Guns N’ Roses were reuniting.
243. Tropic of Courtroom

I received a jury summons. Aside from visits to the DMV this marked the first time I’d butted up against government and its processes. Friends recommended various strategies for avoiding jury duty–act racist, claim hardship or religious exemption–but I actually wanted to do it. Seeing firsthand how the whole thing worked seemed interesting. The only…
From the Stacks: Foghat – ‘Boogie Motel’

Foghat was one of the great boogie rock bands of the ’70s, if not the great boogie rock band.
On Diffuser: Worst to First – Every David Bowie Album Ranked

David Bowie released 27-30 official studio albums starting in 1967 and running through to 2016. Why the discrepancy? Well, it’s all a question of how you count them.
On Diffuser: Cover Stories – Arcade Fire, ‘Neon Bible’

Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible sports one of those album covers that is both visually interesting and obtuse enough to make me wonder what’s going on there.
Choose and Defend: To Meet or Not To Meet

We all have our idols, even after we’re well past an age where such fawning is appropriate.