After the demise of King Crimson in 1974, Robert Fripp spent several years laying low before entering a period of high activity from 1977-1980, resulting in some of his most interesting collaborations. Starting in 1977, Fripp joined Brian Eno in Germany to add guitar parts to David Bowie’s “Heroes.” This was followed by Fripp’s production […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Baby Get Worse” by Divine Fits
When I first started playing Divine Fits’ debut album, “A Thing Called Divine Fits,” I immediately gravitated to the songs that featured Britt Daniels on lead vocals. Daniels formed the band with Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade and Sam Brown of New Bomb Turks while on hiatus from his band Spoon. In fact, it was […]
Song Of The Day – “Jumping Jack Flash” by Ananda Shankar
East certainly met West on Ananda Shankar’s eponymously titled first album from 1970. Shankar’s father was the Indian choreographer, Uday Shankar, while his more-famous uncle was the master sitar player, Ravi Shankar. Although, Ananda also became famous for playing sitar, he did not study under his uncle, but rather studied traditional Indian music with Lalmani […]
Song Of The Day – “Toe Thumb” by Billy Martin and Wil Blades
One of the best by-products of making a top albums list each year, is when those I send it to share some of their picks with me. And let me tell you, even though I do listen to more music than the average person, it is impossible to hear everything, so I do rely on […]
Song Of The Day – “Cosmic Convoy” by Todd Rundgren & Utopia
If it had come out when it was recorded, it would have been met with shrugs, or even worse, total disdain. Instead, except for those lucky few who could afford an expensive Japanese import box set, we’ve had to wait 36 years for it to finally get a legal release, and then only in the […]
Song Of The Day – “Where Are We Now” and “Try Some Buy Some” by David Bowie
What a great way to start a new year! The first new David Bowie music in ten years, in the form of a single called “Where Are We Now?,” was released on Bowie’s 66th birthday this week, and a new album, “The Next Day,” is coming down the pike on March 12. The recording sessions […]
Song Of The Day – “The Magdalene Laundries” by Joni Mitchell
“Turbulent Indigo” was Joni Mitchell’s last great album. That’s not to say that all that followed wasn’t any good, it’s just that “Indigo” was her last consistently good album from beginning to end. Coming in on the heels of a trio of experimental records on the Geffen label – “Dog Eat Dog,” “Chalk Marks In […]
Song Of The Day – “Rock On” by David Essex
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Rock On” by David Essex It was the era of T. Rex’s Electric Warrior, David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and Lou Reed’s Transformer. Glam rock was all the rage as were Roxy Music, Mott The Hoople and The New York Dolls. And there was also a new brand […]
Song Of the Day – “Mother People” by The Mothers Of Invention
Every Christmas Eve through Christmas morning I manage a homeless shelter in an area church. It gives the regular workers a night off on their holiest of holidays, and it is something that I find very rewarding. Inevitably every year, I either get home after, or someone comes up to me during the 15 hour […]
Song Of The Day – “This Ain’t No Picnic” by Minutemen
I’ve been spinning tracks by San Pedro’s Minutemen all day, since it was 27 years ago today (12/22) that lead singer, D. Boon, died in a car wreck. Minutemen were such an important band to me and my cohort back in the early 1980s. They were a band that cut through the image-centered video-centric MTV […]
