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  • Deep Cuts: Songs From A Promo Party

    So yeah, I scored some tasty cuts at Steve The Manager’s promo party.  I may have gotten stuck with Kip Adotta, too, but them’s the breaks.  Here’s the best of the best from that Saturday afternoon:

  • On My Turntable: a dark horse (Debut EP)

    I abide by one guiding principle when reviewing new music:  If I don’t like it, I don’t write it up.  Making art is tough and putting it out there is even tougher.  It’s not my place to tear anyone down. The bad news for you is that means you don’t get a bunch of snarky…

  • 90. I’ve Got A Handful Of This, What Do I Do With It?

    Steve The Manager’s office was gone, buried beneath piles of promotional records so deep that he could barely fit behind his desk.  He didn’t, really.  Steve The Manager slumped into his desk chair and the records filled in around him like quicksand. “I think it’s time to have a promo party,” he said.

  • Death Of A Record Store

    Very few great places remain to buy records.  I’m sure it’s true in your town, but I know that it’s true in Sacramento.  Physical media are something of a fetish item in the iTunes era.  CDs still have a bit of life left in them thanks in part to older shoppers, but more likely due…

  • Why It Matters To The Bar-Kays (and How To Score Some Cool Stuff)

    True. Funk. Legends.   We’re talking Stax session players, Otis Redding’s backing band, players  on Isaac Hayes’s classic Hot Buttered Soul.  And then of course The Bar-Kays were seventies and eighties superstars in their own right. For forty-five years James Alexander and Larry Dodson have kept The Bar-Kays together through tragedies, line-up changes, and the fickle tastes…

  • From the Stacks: Rusty Warren – Knockers Up!

    Well said, Mr. Warren,  well said.  And congratulations on your induction into the Bad Album Cover Hall Of Fame.

  • Rise Of the Planet of the Lemeloes 2: Electric Boogaloo

    Last week we covered the Leave Me Alone (Lemelo) Party’s position on regulation.  If legislation results in us being hassled less, we’re all for it. That seems simple enough, right?  We pride ourselves on being a free country, and some of us make a tremendous amount of noise about wanting government out of our lives.…

  • On My Turntable: This Is PiL

    After a twenty year hiatus music’s own Richard III is back with This Is PiL, Public Image Ltd.’s first album since 1992’s That What Is Not.  If you’re looking for artistic growth look elsewhere.  If you’re looking for art with a dub beat this is your disc.

  • Deep Cuts: From the Class of 1984

    Bruce wasn’t the only chart topper of 1984 whose worst songs also happen to be his most popular.  The Billboard 100 singles chart for that year represents a tremendous amount of talent pissed away on “Ghostbusters” and “I Just Called To Say I Love You.”  Here are some redeeming tracks for you to consider from…

  • Stompin’ Prints Are Here and Ready For Presale!

    I just picked up the twenty-five “Keep On Stomping” prints.  They came out great.  With border the final prints are 18×24 inches and are printed on paper with more specifications than my car. Next up is getting on Cinder’s calendar for a signing party, but due to the incredibly small run of prints I wanted…