I love Todd Rundgren. I’ve been a fan since the early 1970s, and at this point I don’t see that ever changing. Like Neil Young, Todd is one of the most mercurial of artists who still makes interesting records in all sorts of genres mainly to please himself. That’s made for lots of experimentation along the […]
Song Of The Day – “Pusher Love Girl” by Justin Timberlake
Growing up in public is nothing new. Sammy Davis, Jr. did it. So did Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. Heck, even Justin Bieber’s doing it now. Some have handled it better than others, and while it’s probably not the easiest thing to do, there are some that make it seem effortless. Justin Timberlake is one […]
Song Of the Day – “On The Air” & “Moribund The Burgermeister” by Peter Gabriel (Live from Rockpalast, 1978)
By the time of the broadcast from this 1978 Rockpalast show, Peter Gabriel was three years past his Genesis days and was out on the road promoting his second solo record, Peter Gabriel (which also goes by the names Peter Gabriel II and Scratch because of its album jacket image). I’ve already written several pieces […]
Song Of The Day – “What The Eyeballs Did” by Atoms For Peace
The first thing that grabs you is the rhythm – jittery, squiggly, purely wiggy and totally glitchy rhythm. Rhythms that don’t make you dance, but do make you move. The ghost of Talking Heads’ Remain In Light lives here. Their fingerprints are all over songs that have been built up from rhythm. They inhabit the […]
Song Of The Day – “While I’m Alive” by STRFKR & “Young Turks” by Sexton Blake
Sure, you’d be hard-pressed to forgive them for a band name as over the top as STRFKR (which is short for Starfucker). But props are firmly in order because over the past few years they’ve released three solid albums; chock full of deliciously danceable and tuneful electro pop confections. STRFKR’s roots are in solo projects […]
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 – “Today’s Supernatural” by Animal Collective
Psychedelia is alive and well and living in…Maryland? Well at least in Animal Collective’s case, it hails from Maryland. In a musical world where little is truly ever new, Animal Collective consistently tap into the past to create a sound that’s wholly their own. Like a wigged out Yes or a Beach Boys on acid, […]
Song Of The Day – “Dinner Bell” by They Might Be Giants
Choosing the perfect Thanksgiving Song Of The Day is not an easy task. In the past, I’ve done the obvious with the all-American standby, “Alice’s Restaurant” by Arlo Guthrie. It’s something I’ve listened to every year on Thanksgiving ever since I was a kid, and I will be spinning it again (on vinyl, of course.) […]
Song Of The Day by Eric Berman – “Head Over Heels/Broken” by Tears For Fears
There never was a “sophomore slump” for the duo of Roland Orzabel and Curt Smith, the ‘80s synth-pop duo better known to the world as Tears For Fears. While their debut album “The Hurting” topped the charts in their native UK, it was their second album “Songs From The Big Chair” that did the trick […]
Today in Rock History – June 1
Rock History for June 1 1966, The Beatles returned Abbey Road studios to complete recording on “Yellow Submarine. ” The band, plus friends and members of the staff helped search for a “weird instrument” to create the desired sound effects. John Lennon ended up blowing bubbles in a bucket of water. Paul and John imitated […]
