Why It Matters

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  • Deep Cuts: They Came From the South

    R.E.M. won the mainstream, but there were many brilliant bands kicking around the Southeast during the eighties.  Some have become legends, others never made it out of the kudzu belt, but they are all worth a listen. I’m never going to work all of the wonderful eighties Southern bands into stories — too much greatness,…

  • 116. You Act As If You Just Don’t Care

    I’ve never been in a band, never had that “get in the van let’s go catch the flying panties” band experience.  There’s always hope, though.  Any day now I might hit a Stryper yard sale and commit to hanging my doughy, hairy belly over the waistband of a pair of yellow and black spandex pants. …

  • From the Stacks: Carly Simon – No Secrets

    Rarely have album cover and title gone together so well.  Please welcome Carly Simon’s No Secrets to the Thank You For Getting Me Through Puberty Hall Of Fame, and shut the door on your way out.  I need to, um, comb my hair.

  • The (Kind Of) Complete Woodstock: The Band

    Sandwiching The Band between Ten Years After and Johnny Winter on Woodstock’s closing night seems like an odd choice.  Robertson, Helm, Danko, Hudson, and Manuel were brilliant players, but The Band’s music was far from the blistering, bluesy rock that preceded and followed their set.

  • From The Stacks: Floaters (self-titled)

    I picked this one up solely because the great Dennis Coffey is credited as both guitarist and arranger.  Also, it has that cool airbrushed chrome logo that was so popular in the seventies.

  • Why It Matters to Dennis Coffey

    Dennis Coffey has long been one of my favorite guitarists.  He’s one of yours, too – you probably just don’t know it.

  • Deep Cuts: Songs For A Beautiful Day

    Our friends on the East Coast could use a beautiful day.  Who couldn’t? I can’t do anything about the weather, but I can put together a play list of nice day songs. As a super special bonus for those of you who are already suffering:  no U2! Okay, here we go:

  • And the Answer Is…

    Last week I posted the following brain teaser:Several of you got it right, which means either: A) You’re very clever B) You played a lot of Atari as a kid C) This little brain teaser was too easy D) You’ll squint as hard as you have to if half-naked women are involved. And the answer…

  • Lightning In A Bottle Tickets Presale

    This looks pretty cool.  Are you in Southern California?  You just may see me there.  From the official press release:

  • 115: It’s A Beautiful Day For A Rerun

    I wrote the following piece a year and a half ago, and now it’s time to fit it into its proper place in story time.  For those of you who read it back then, I hope you find something new to enjoy now that you have some context.  And as for you first-time readers, I…