The Arctic Monkeys sure know how to make a sexy rock ballad, and Alex Turner is a very seductive frontman. Seductive in the sense that he seems like the type to slip you some cash for the taxi in the morning. All the sexiest rock … Continue reading That’s Where You’re Wrong
This is Tom Waits at his most non-weird, a reminder that in the first phase of his career, he was an average songwriter not dissimilar to Randy Newman or Bruce Springsteen. Being those things isn’t bad – he was perfectly good at it. But eccentricity … Continue reading Tell Me
Everyone who said that they don’t make soul music like they used to had to sit back down when Charles Bradley showed up. Bradley sounded like he’d teleported, fully-formed, from 1962 – although in 1962 he had been just a kid, catching James Brown shows … Continue reading The Telephone Song
You can always count on The Real Tuesday Weld to accompany their enchanting music with equally enchanting imagery. Their animated music videos are legendary. And, aside from their impeccable aesthetics, and arcane cosmology, their music also requires that you first read the book. Well, you … Continue reading Tear Us Apart
What the hell has Tom Waits been up to the past ten years? I know the answer is he’s enjoying a nice semi-retirement, and he probably makes better money for the occasional acting role than he does making records. I imagine that he has a … Continue reading Talking at the Same Time
And now, a little light psychedelia. I’ve never taken a trip to Bombay Bicycle Club, but I think I need to. I think if would be most conducive. There aren’t all that many contemporary bands that I would add to psychedelic playlist, but I think … Continue reading Take the Right One
Cold days, warm hearts, amirite? Nothing warms up a grey day like heartachy music. That calls for an album by Lucinda Williams, who has never wavered in her humanism. Really, no one else writes about hard luck cases with such an unerring sense of empathy. … Continue reading Sweet Love
Everyone (that is, me) is all excited about St. Vincent’s new album. I can already tell that it’s going to be a favorite for years to come. But setting that aside, I need to delve into her older work as well. Strange Mercy was the … Continue reading Surgeon
Full disclosure: I thought this was a Goldfrapp song at first. It’s Keren Ann, a French-Israeli singer, who usually doesn’t look like this. She usually occupies a more understated, Charlotte Gainsbourg-adjacent niche. But being a French sophisticate isn’t how to penetrate the pop market, and … Continue reading Sugar Mama
Some of us are not a fan of the title Suck It and See, because we’re Americans and we only see it as a dick joke. It’s not a dick joke, say the English, the same way that ‘cunt’ is a term of endearment. It’s … Continue reading Suck It and See
Lady Garfunkel's Song of the Day 