Reminiscing about Sonic Youth’s A Thousand Leaves finds me recalling a short-lived friendship. Like many, I had a friend who I spent a lot of time with for a short while. Hanging out with her...
On considering Steely Dan’s 1973 smooth epic Countdown to Ecstasy, I’m reminded of my first steps into music geekdom. My first run in with a real deal music nerd happened late in college. I worked...
Meditating on Dylan’s 1976 live album Hard Rain, I get both inspired and embarrassed. I had made a friend my first year in college who was a hippie kind of fella that I ended up...
This year I’ve decided to take the route of nostalgia here at SOTO. Though the term was recently discussed by Jandek on his Hardly Sound episode (watch the whole shabang here) as some kind of...
Ju Ju Men: The Story Of Rockpile Rockpile were not just an extension of the pub rock established by Brinsley Schwarz (see my column on them here) in the early 70’s. The group would undoubtedly...
It Ain’t Easy Being Brinsley: A Short History Of Brinsley Schwarz Brinsley Schwarz’s history is an important one to the genre of Pub Rock and beyond. Though they may seem rather unassuming as far as...
Every band seems to have a sore thumb or two sticking out of their discography that either you love, hate or have little opinion of. Seemingly undeterred by bad reviews, harsh criticism, and/or disapproval by...
Beginning in 1990, Crosstalk started to sound very different than it had in previous years. Maybe it was the rejection of nostalgia or the faded convictions of punk rock, either way the idea of Crosstalk...
Crosstalk generally refers to a signal affecting another nearby signal. Take that statement and apply it to a band with two or more guitar players that do not participate in the traditional lead/rhythm scenario, and...
I read a bumper sticker recently that said, “Change is Inevitable. Growth is Optional.” That resonated with me. The sentiment I gathered from that Toyota bumper can be applied to my love for The Grateful...
