Why It Matters

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  • The (Kind Of) Complete Woodstock: Janis Joplin

    Pearl and her Kozmik Blues Band got it going around two a.m. Sunday morning.  Big Brother and the Holding Company were a little less than a year in her rear-view mirror, a fatal overdose just a little more than a year in her future.

  • From the Stacks: Kick Axe – Vices

    I picked this up at a promo party the year it came out (1984), and when I say “I picked this up” I mean “this was left at my house.”

  • Deep Cuts: Boxing Day Songs

    It’s Boxing Day, a tradition we don’t have in here in the United States but that I know all about. 

  • Merry Christmas, No Money Down

    It’s Christmas Eve, so I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that if you dropped in today you’re probably in no mood to read twisted tales of life and music.  Hey, I get it.  Rather than try to go through the Christmas rock I’ll flow around it. Here are some great…

  • From the Stacks: David Lee Roth – Sonrisa Salvaje

    Hola!  Here we have Sonrisa Salvaje, or “Wild Smile,” David Lee Roth’s Spanish language version of Eat ’em and Smile.

  • The (Kind Of) Complete Woodstock: Creedence Clearwater Revival

    It’s after midnight,  and the Grateful Dead have finally cleared the stage.  A good portion of the muddied audience is wiped out, having spent two straight days overcrowded, underfed and wet — not necessarily stoned but beautiful. The opening riff of  “Born on the Bayou” whirls from the towers, whipping Max Yasgur’s pasture into a…

  • From the Stacks: Keola and Kapono Beamer – Honolulu City Lights

    The Beamer brothers are legends in their home state, and among slack key guitar aficionados worldwide.  Their  1978 single “Honolulu City Lights” from the album of the same name was by far their biggest commercial success.  It’s a nice song, to my ear inspired by Jimmy Webb but only songwriter and older brother Keola can…

  • James Takes On More Writing Than He Can Handle

    I have a buddy back home who is the editor for a couple of those Patch sites.  You might have one in your hometown or at least be familiar with the concept, but if not imagine essentially an online local newspaper. So recently I ran a “Deep Cuts” that showcased musicians with connections to Upstate…

  • Deep Cuts: A Glam Rock Christmas

    Will this become a Why It Matters tradition?  Probably not, but last year’s obligatory Christmas playlist overlooked the strange obsession that the glam rockers had with the holiday.  I don’t pretend to understand it, I just report it. So here you go: a glam rock Christmas.  Watch out for Krampus, or at the very least…

  • Sneak Preview – 2013 Chapbook Art!

    One of my to-dos for 2013 is a follow-up to Keep On Stomping: A Why It Matters Chapbook.  With sales bordering on double digits it’s obvious that upwards of three people might be interested.  Not too shabby, eh? “Stomping” introduced Wimbot, the daisy stomping Why It Matters mascot.   Designed by Cinder, I really love this…