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  • 61. Bewitched

    I arrived early for my first day of work.  My new manager issued me a stained tee-shirt and a bright orange pair of pedophile football coach shorts that were three sizes too big.  Miss Dumpfey laughed when she saw me.  “Just wear the shirt and your jeans,” she said.  “When you get changed go rake…

  • Some Weekend Housecleaning

    I’m always thinking about how to make “Why It Matters” a better experience for you guys.  Suggestions?  Send them to me — I’m listening. I would like to ask you a favor, though.  You know those little rating stars under each piece?  That’s not a vanity thing.  The results drive the “Top Rated” box that…

  • From the Stacks: Sammy Davis Jr. Now

    Something new for “Why It Matters” — stuff from my collection that isn’t story-worthy but is fun anyway.   I’ll post album covers and other ephemera now and then, and would love it if you would share some of your weirdness, too.  First up:  Sammy Davis, Jr. Now. The sheer awesomeness of the Sam Man cannot…

  • Johnny Otis: 1921-2012

    Man, what a way to end Chitlin’ Circuit week.  Things kicked off happily on Monday with some jabber about Prince, who is sort of the international superstar embodiment of all that Chitlin’ Circuit goodness — big show, sexy songs, Little Richard hair. From there we moved to a great interview with author Preston Lauterbach about his…

  • Deep Cuts: A Listener’s Guide to the Chitlin’ Circuit

    Preston Lauterbach’s The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock ‘n’ Roll is a must read, but it’s also a must listen.  The music covered spans a period of sixty years, and listening while you read is the way to go.  Below are just a few of the outstanding cuts that you’ll read about. I’m going to forego…

  • A Conversation With “Chitlin’ Circuit” Author Preston Lauterbach

    Preston Lauterbach’s  The Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock ‘n’ Roll  absolutely knocked me out.  It is a well-researched history of, well, of the road leading to what we know and love as rock ‘n’ roll, but don’t let “well-researched” and “history” scare you away.  His book is damned entertaining, a true page turner. I’m…

  • 60. I Wondered If I Had Enough Class

    Fortunately at the height of Jacko Mania there existed an Anti-Michael who countered the King Of Pop’s lack of funk with a mass appeal mash-up of James Brown, George Clinton, Jimi Hendrix, Little Richard, gospel, and the over-produced synth-heavy sound of the period.  Yeah, you know whom I’m talking about.

  • (Really) Deep Cuts: Classic Rock

    An alert reader and good friend I’ll never meet brought up classic rock radio recently.  I’m paraphrasing here, but he mentioned that in the good old days of radio — say, 2005, for example — programmers would play the same damned songs until they were so completely fucked out that we’d rather jab pens in our…

  • On My Turntable: Quadrophenia: The Director’s Cut

    Oh, the dreaded reissue, the pricey box set.  I’m a sucker for these things — always have been.  As a kid I had to have KISS’s The Originals,  though that collection was no more than their first three studio albums repackaged.  I have multiple copies of many albums — each release with its own bonus tracks,…

  • 59. Pretty Young Things, Repeat After Me

    I have a lengthy track record of disliking Michael Jackson.  When I was seven my oldest sister received a 45 of “Dancing Machine” as a birthday gift.  I thought that was pretty hot, then my cousin brought over Brownsville Station’s “Smoking in the Boys Room” and “Dancing Machine” lost its cool.