Tag: news

In Conversation With: San Gabriel

by KevinLeave a Comment on In Conversation With: San Gabriel

The synth pop artist stops by to talk about his latest EP, his creative process, and the vibrant scene in southern Oregon.

San Gabriel. Photo: Kassy Balli

Good morning!

Today we’re talking with synth pop artist San Gabriel.

Retail jobs are an incredible incubator for side projects. Some people use the downtime to catch up on schoolwork. Others may work on a side hustle. James Bookert used that time to work on his music. Initially, something to do in between tours became San Gabriel, a fully formed synth-pop project.

If that name sounds familiar, trust your gut; last year’s Nights and Weekends caught the attention of many here in the community, and I recently took a quick look at the follow-up EP Adult Onset Goth, noting:

Last year’s Nights and Weekends was a revelation. Adult Onset Goth is the follow-up EP, and all of the dreamy synths, washed-out guitars, and sugary hooks are here. Are you a fan of New Order, or even Tame Impala? Maybe you spend a lot of time mining the crates for early 80s synth pop. This’ll scratch that itch.

Lead single “Paradise” explores themes of avoidance, emotional stagnation, and the tension between moving forward or remaining in unhealthy but familiar places, with Bookert saying, “This song is about avoiding the complicated feelings that come with growing up. It’s about avoiding moving on. It’s about avoidance and the fear of growth. It’s about feeling stuck in life, admiring the past through a not-so-healthy lens, and not knowing if to move forward into an open uncertainty, or stay rooted in a place/relationship that isn’t healthy.”

I wanted to talk more with James about the threads he’s been pulling in his work—both the lyrics and the sound—but I was also curious about where he’s at in life, both literally and figuratively. He currently calls Ashland, Oregon, home, and while I can tell you that Ashland is known for a lot of things, synth-pop ain’t one of ’em…or so I thought. But I was happily surprised (and happy to be corrected) by his take on life in Southern Oregon.

In our wide-ranging chat, we cover the local scene, what his creative process looks like, and what the rest of the year has in store for him. It’s only been lightly edited for grammar and flow.

Congrats on the new record! Can you walk us through the backstory of how ‘Adult Onset Goth’ came together?

Hey, thanks, Kevin! I’m pretty psyched on these songs! When I’m not on the road, I’m pretty much always writing. It feels like a productive way to distract myself from all of the crazy stuff that’s happening in the world. And since I’m just kind of always writing, I tend to have a ton of songs sitting around. Cayle, who owns and operates Share It Music, gave me a little nudge to put some of these songs out, which was super helpful. But, in short, they’re songs that I love, but maybe didn’t feel like they were fitting in with my next record, and I still wanted them to see the light of day.

I’m curious about the title (which I love, btw). What does it mean to you now, and has it changed since you first landed on it?

I’m 41, and it’s been crazy watching the world, or maybe just the US, turn into what it’s turned into. I think social media rewards a lot of performative negative behaviour (our president), and when that’s all that we see of society, that’s what we believe. If I’m perfectly honest, it’s really hard not to be cynical and give up hope, or think that we’re all against each other.

But I’m fortunate to get to tour, play music, and meet new people. And what I see is the exact opposite. I see and meet a lot of people who are sweet and kind and accepting and weird, and not afraid to be themselves.

Maybe the title was just me making fun myself, or maybe the songs on my EP are “the cure for adult onset goth” (take twice daily) I don’t know. It just sounded fun.

Did any of the tracks come together particularly quickly (or slowly)?

Yeah, I got pretty lucky with some of em! Sometimes, if I have a good idea, I’ll set an alarm for 30 minutes and tell myself that by the end of these 30 minutes, this song has to be finished. That means 2 verses, 2 choruses, and a bridge if needed.

With “Paradise,” I think I was playing bass and just said, “t t t take me back to paradise.” So I set an alarm and wrote the rest.

That said, “Magic” was the opposite. That was a completely different song that I shoehorned together, and that was over the course of maybe a year. I was just banging my head against a wall trying to write a chorus, and was like, wait a minute…this fits with this other song, and boom, Magic was born.

Double-clicking on that, what comes first for you: sounds or lyrics?

You know both. There’s never one thing that works. For “Paradise,” I was just sitting around playing bass, and the chorus came out. Other times it’s just been the rhythm of a set of words that will inform the rest of the song. It’s kind of all over the place.

Sometimes I’ll write a whole instrumental track, walk around, and sit in the park listening to it, trying to write lyrics; it all just kinda depends.

Shifting gears, you’re in Ashland, Oregon. I grew up in PDX, and synth pop is the last kind of thing I’d expect from that part of the world. What brought you there? What’s the scene like?

Ashland is freaking awesome. This place is crammed full of musicians and artists that you’d never expect. Ashland seems to function on its own terms, in a way that I really love. Super vibrant and healthy music scene.

For one, Sylvia Massy has a studio here. Sylvia is this genius engineer/producer who recorded Prince, Johnny Cash, System of a Down, you name it. She actually let me mix some stuff from my last record in her studio.

There are also a ton of local people here who would blow your mind. My buddy Mitch fronts a band called Slow Corpse. Dude has the voice of an angel and will write 5 amazing songs a week. I used to play bass in his band, and he’d come in with a whole new set every week.

Then there’s Sean, who is a synth wizard, and he fronts a band called Yaaro Light; there’s Casey and the Cutoffs, who are an amazing local band; and this dude Kyle, who does DIY shows out of his warehouse/skatepark.

I just randomly saw a Brazilian band at a thrift shop last weekend. We just heard music and walked over there.

Also, there’s a super vibrant theater scene here. That’s not ever what I’d considered “live music,” but boy was I wrong about that. Because, man, I just saw a play called “Come From Away” that had a full live band playing the entire time, and it was mind-blowing, from both a musical and technical perspective.

In short, Ashland is awesome. Super cool vibrant scene.

For someone that might be new to your work, what do you hope they take away from this record?

That’s a great question, and I don’t know if I have an answer, but I’ll try.

I feel like music has given me so much, especially as a young person. Life can be super isolating, and lonely, and confusing, and we’re always expected to put on this face and say things are okay when maybe they’re not.

Like, there are song lyrics that we’ll sing and fully 100% relate to, that we’d never say in a sentence. I feel like music is a place we can let our guard down and be immersed in our feelings. I think of it as the little friend I keep in my back pocket that understands me 100%

That said, I don’t know that I have any hopes for people’s takeaway from this record, but if it makes you dance, or tap your toes, or you like a little synth sound in there, I’m happy with that. If there’s lyrics in there that you really resonate with, that’s cool too. I just hope that it helps somebody in the world in some way.

What’s the rest of 2026 look like for you? More shows (I saw you recently did one with Limerence)? Back into the studio?

I’m about to jump on 6 weeks of touring with my buddy Griff, who is Goth Babe.

We’re doing 6 weeks opening for Foster the People, which is gonna go everywhere. I’m working on booking some PNW and California stuff for the end of the year, which will definitely include Limerence.

And yeah, always in the studio. I got a bunch of music I’m working on for whatever my next record is gonna be!

Last one, just for fun: I bump into you as you walk out of the record store. What records are you carrying?

Oof. Probably “Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player” by Elton John. That was my favorite tape when I was 5, and every time I see it I’m like, woah, look, it’s “Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player” by Elton John, only to come home and realize that I’ve forgotten that I already have three copies of “Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player” by Elton John.

But honestly, anything. I was a banjo player for years, so if I find any old bluegrass or old-time records, I’ll scoop ‘em. I’m also a huge prewar blues fan. I will say, I’ve been looking for it for years, but my hope is that I’ll walk out of the record store with a copy of “Tupelo Honey” by Van Morrison

Listen:

Click the record to preview/play ‘Adult Onset Goth.’

A Few Thoughts on Some Records From 2001, Cleaning Airplanes, and CDs as Comfort Food.

by KevinLeave a Comment on A Few Thoughts on Some Records From 2001, Cleaning Airplanes, and CDs as Comfort Food.

Also: a buncha new tracks.

I ended last week by meeting another MusicStack writer in town for a show. More of that, please! I am lousy about getting to shows, but the next one (lightly) penciled in on my dance card will be Sweeping Promises, who I’ve been waiting to see for a while now. They’ve got a new record out, and hopefully I’ll spill some ink on it soon. I found the previous one by chance, and it wasted no time locking in its spot on my AOTY list. It was definitely a case of good timing.

Meanwhile, the Best Album of 2001 is rounding third for home, and the last few standing are exactly who you might think (spoiler: with three of the last four records, suburban dads are in fat city). The lone exception is Björk, who found time to beam down from whatever planet she’s from to gift us Vespertine.

This sent me down a rabbit hole of records released on September 11 (talk about bad timing). Bob Dylan dropped Love and Theft, and if you know me, well, you know how that movie ends. Not the worst record I’ve heard, but this is still as good as it gets for me. It made it to Round 3 before being bounced by Rilo Kiley.

John Hiatt also dropped The Tiki Bar Is Open, and I’ll listen to that any time. I first found him via Perfectly Good Guitar when it was mandatory in-store play at the record store where I worked. I didn’t listen to it much until the summer of ’01. In those days, we still did our own cabin cleaning, and to make it a little less miserable, we’d jury-rig the PA system to play music. The guys on my crew were all Hiatt’s target demographic (read: dudes older than me), and he got a lot of airplay.

I don’t remember listening to him much after that fateful Tuesday. After that, my listening diet switched almost completely to a mix of news radio and old favorite CDs as comfort food. I’m not even sure I heard this record until much later, but I did manage to see him play, which was an incredible win in an era where they were pretty scarce.

That whole stretch colors a lot of this week’s picks. Dylan and Björk aren’t here, but there’s plenty of what I’d consider comfort food with Yo La Tengo, Afghan Whigs, Nada Surf, and more. There’s also some Dismemberment Plan, who might be my fave (re)discovery from this tournament. And the shared-member org chart of them, Maritime, and Promise Ring is (*chef’s kiss). If they’re new names to you, all three are well worth your time. Might I suggest starting with what might be the most Milwaukee-coded video ever?

Fear not; this isn’t a total retrospective. There’s plenty of killer new tracks from likes of The War on Drugs (new War on Drugs!), M(h)aol, and Teenage Fanclub—a band that took me way too long to come around to, but was totally worth the wait. We’ve also got some great fresh sounds from Jacob T. Simons and Working Men’s Club. Perfect for cleaning airplanes or wherever you might be listening.

One quick note before you press play (v2.0): You may have noticed there’s no Spotify link this week. That’s intentional. I’ve been yapping about supporting artists for a while, and it felt like the right time to finally (!) put my money where my mouth is. Nowhere’s perfect, but small steps matter. It’s also worth noting that the platform with the lowest-quality sound and worst pay for artists is also the most expensive. I first rolled this out with the playlists that go out to paid community supporters, and now I’m rolling it out fully.

Maybe you still really like Spotify or find value in it. That’s ok, too. No judgment here! Promise. Either way, if you have strong thoughts on the matter, I’d like to hear ’em! Please weigh in below.

On to the music…

KA—

The Playlists: | Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music | Tidal (NEW) |

Now it’s your turn.

What’s been exciting you lately? Any releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Remembering Steely Dan’s Walter Becker

by KevinLeave a Comment on Remembering Steely Dan’s Walter Becker

Photo: Variety.com

Perfection and precision can be funny things — especially in music, where all you really need are “three chords and the truth.”

Rarer still is the group that turns that alchemy into sounds with a unique (that is to say, hard to categorize) but universal appeal.

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, aka Steely Dan did just that. Obsessive musicians on a perpetual quest to hit just the right mix of notes, they would’ve been at home in a lab. And in many ways, the studio was their lab. Edison had Menlo Park. Becker and Fagen The Village Recorder.

To operate smoothly, a machine needs every part to work well and work together. Becker and Fagen did this by swapping musicians in and out of songs. On the Aja album, there were 6 different lineups for 7 tracks. Recognizing that Chuck Rainey could play the parts better, Becker even took himself out of the lineup for “Black Cow,” “Aja,” and “Peg.” The end result of this endless iterating? Timeless music. Music that is (strangely) at home on the AM dial, at your local college radio station, and in the grocery store. You can still hear songs like Hey Nineteen and Peg fairly often.

As Becker himself noted:

“We have been fortunate enough to do something that has always been out of the mainstream and yet have an audience for what we do.“

We lost Becker on this day in 2017, but his legacy lives on the sounds of Steely Dan. On our radios, in our earbuds, and overhead in the aisles at Safeway.

Have a favorite track by Steely Dan or Becker himself? Let me know in the comments!

What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on What’re You Listening To?

A few thoughts on friction and a buncha fresh tracks.

I am finally getting around to going through a box of 45s my mom gave me. Ostensibly, this was “payment” for helping her downsize her house a few years ago. Really, I think it was just a face-saving exercise for her.

Wherever you fall on the friction spectrum, 45s sit at the far end.

Friction and intentionality are all the rage these days—I’m as guilty of yapping about this as anyone. I’m also a fan of it. I spend my entire workweek splitting my attention and keeping multiple plates in the air. Sitting down to do nothing but listen to a record is a great way to recover. There are, of course, all the other sensory experiences that come along with it: the smell of the vinyl…reading the liner notes…appreciating the art—all the tactile things.

Still, 45s feel like a bridge too far. I like friction, but not this much. My turntable is on one side of the room. Playing 45s means no couch; it means sitting right in front of the sound machine. That’s partly why it’s taken me so long to get around to this. Real life gets in the way, of course, but it also takes some work to get through a box of these things.

The upside is that going through a small collection like this lets my mind wander a bit. Everyone’s collection says a bit about who they are, and in my case, I’ve known this person my entire life—but I know very little about the almost one-third of her life before I showed up. These little slabs of wax help fill in the blanks a bit, but they raise almost as many questions as they answer.

I know the story behind my own 45s. Each of them tells its own little story, a plotline I can recite: where I was in life when I picked them up—literally—what buses I took to get there, and so on.

Did my mom find these on her own, or did someone else tell her she “had to hear this”? If she found them herself, the likely source would have been the radio. What station was she listening to? I know the house she lived in, but I also know it wasn’t close to any stores. Did she ride the bus to get these? I can pick up the story, but only from the midway point.

The station I remember playing constantly in the house has since become a talk-radio station. That’s a rant for another day.

Also, while I know why everyone put address labels on their records, it still strikes me as strange. Today, we live in a world where everything is collectible, and Lord help you if there’s a 1 mm crease on a corner. They were betting the other way. Records weren’t meant to be preserved; they were meant to be played, even if that meant someone changing things up every two or three minutes.

Maybe that’s the best takeaway here: treating records—or any physical media, really—purely as an investment vehicle is a weird choice. Of course, you should take care of them. Putting them in sleeves and storing them in the right place is the way to go. But ultimately, their place is on the turntable, spinning around and delivering sound.

On to the music…

This week, we’ve got killer tracks from all corners of the music universe. There’s a ripper from Wristwatch, one of my favorite Madison bands—it’s a long list—and one from Maritime, one of my favorites from just down the road in Milwaukee. Our pal Jodaki also sent us one he thought I might like. He was right.

There’s some Lungfish, because of course there is. Indy-based indie darlings Wishy keep their streak of great singles going, and the latest from Afghan Whigs is finally out. It’s been a long time coming, but it was worth the wait.

Catacroma from Riviera Gaz also dropped, and if you like the sort of stuff Winged Wheel—or Lungfish, for that matter—puts out, this is for you. This is also a Steve Shelley side project; he’s having quite the year.

Last but not least, there’s a track each from ORR favorites Wussy and The Paranoid Style. Lisa Walker and Elizabeth Nelson are pairing up for a series of upcoming house shows, and, well, if your favorite baseball team is in the NL Central, gas up the car and make a plan to get out and see them. There are a couple of East Coast dates, too.

KA—

The Playlist:

Other sources: | Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music| Tidal (NEW) |

I’m trying Tidal out after getting a couple of requests for it. We’ll see how it goes! Mostly, I’d like to slowly move away from Spotify and make sure we’ve got as many bases covered as possible.

Now it’s your turn.

What’s been exciting you lately? Any releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

Good morning!

Hello from Lake Michigan.

I’m writing this from somewhere called South Beach (no, not that one): a dispatch from nowhere that somehow feels like everything. One of the best things about Portland was its proximity to the coast. In the span of ~75 miles (and 60-ish minutes, if you timed it right and kept a sharp eye out for cops), you could go from strip-mall Babylon to the state line along the shore of the Pacific. You could foolishly attempt that same pace on a run to Mt. Hood, but the police in Sandy are undefeated. We can make the same run to the Midwestern equivalent of a coast run. It’s not the same, but it sure feels like it sometimes.

Looming over this beach is a massive power plant. Its presence surely makes sense, but it honestly reminds me of something out of The Simpsons. Or something you might see if you took the longer route to the coast via Highway 30, where the now-gone Trojan nuclear plant loomed, dominating the skyline and seeming very much both in and out of place.

WTF does any of this have to do with music, you may be asking? My point is that I always find it fascinating how one thing reminds you of another, and how transportive those flashes can be.

An offhand conversation about the band ALL this week led to mentioning a shared love of Big Drill Car, which led to me dusting off CD Type Thing and landing right back in the early ’90s. Which led to some Bettie Serveert and Happy Mondays. A short YouTube documentary on Sugar reminded me of being at Tower to grab one of their midnight releases. And why can I remember exactly what the terrazzo floors looked like but need help remembering what I had for lunch yesterday?

We lost John Douglas of Trashcan Sinatras this week, and it felt mandatory to include a couple of their better-known tracks. I’d also highly encourage new listeners to burrow into their deep cuts. It’s well worth the trip.

And that power plant I’m sitting in the shadow of? Well, it reminds me of Pink Floyd and the picture of Battersea Power Station on Animals. The only things flying between the stacks here are frisbees, but still…

KA—

On to the music:

Besides the tracks noted above, we’ve got some killer sounds from Cola, Bad Bad Hats, and Boscomoestas, Jason Singer (Michigander), The Veldt, and close things out with something from our pal Matty C’s Harborcoat.

Side A is tracks 1-13. Side B is tracks 14-27.

The Playlist:

Other sources: | Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music| Tidal (NEW) |

Note: Trying Tidal out after getting a couple of requests for it. We’ll see how it goes! Mostly, I’d like to slowly move away from Spotify, and want to make sure we’ve got as many bases covered as possible.

Now it’s your turn.

What’s been exciting you lately? Any shows you’re looking forward to? Maybe one with an early start? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

Good morning!

Late last week, I was in a meeting when my wife walked in and quietly set a stack of (new to us) records down. That by itself was cool. What made it eve better was the how excited she was that she’d found them. She’d been at a garage sale, and they had brought them out while she was there. Right place, right time and all that.

I’ve mentioned it before, but garage sales up here usually follow a specific template:

In Wisconsin specifically, you’re bound to find cross-country skis and…a lot of beer steins (seriously, why do people buy these?!). There’s also a 110% chance that there will be at least one giveaway shirt from a Bucks game. At this point, I am convinced that Gruber Law is single-handedly keeping several T-shirt companies afloat. IYKYK.

Records are a rarer commodity, though judging by the sales I hit, it’s clear that owning at least two Ray Conniff records was a state law at one point. Maybe they came with the beer steins…I dunno. When you find them, they’re not always in the best shape and look/smell exactly how you’d expect them to after spending the last twenty years in a Midwest basement next to a pair of cross-country skis.

No one will consider the records she grabbed for us holy grails. That doesn’t make ‘em any less cool, or dampen the excitement. We’ve been playing ‘em all weekend.

It’s easy for “music people” like all of us here to get lost in things like the Geese discourse, whether or not Madonna’s new record is up to par (it is), and the ongoing saga of curation vs. critique. And who gets to make those calls? Ask 10 people, and you’ll get 11 opinions.

In the end, no matter one’s taste, we’re all chasing that same north star- the electricity you feel when a record finds you at just the right time- even if it happens to be a release from Ray Conniff.

KA—

On to the music…

On to the music. No Madge this week, but her debut record turns 43 today. Oof. I’d put it up there in her top 3. Maybe you have some thoughts? In the what’s old is new crate, we’ve got a track from the latest Rolling Stones record, Teenage Fanclub, The Strokes, and Pete Yorn. There’s also some deep cuts from Heart, and Jet Stream Heart from Temples. Also one from Sioux Falls SD-based Off Contact, and another from Liz Hogg. There’s also some Yo La tengo because, of course, there is (and stay tuned for more on them later this week).

Best of all, we’ve got a brand new one from our pal Brian K. Pagels with Lilly Hiatt (Lilly Hiatt!). If that’s not exciting, I don’t know what it is.

Side A is tracks 1-12. Side B is tracks 13-27.

Other sources: | Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music |

Now it’s your turn.

What’s been exciting you lately? Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

Good morning!

This past Friday I went to a political rally lightly disguised as a stop on a book tour. It was a Q&A with Ben Wikler and Pete Buttigieg, and a couple of other local/state politicians and activists. I was really there to see “Mayor Pete” (I’m an unrepentant infrastructure geek), but if I’m honest, it was far more engaging and entertaining than I thought it might’ve been.

I’m terminally online and far too plugged into the WI political landscape for my own good. It’s easy to get jaded and check out, but this was a great antidote; a bulwark against the tsunami of political ads that are about to swamp every channel.

One of the points made was a quote: Hope is not the cause of action. Hope is the consequence of action.

I admit it’s a touch pithy—something very much at home on a Successories poster—but I also couldn’t help but frame it in terms of records, writing, and any creative pursuit. People take their time, treasure, and talent and put something out in the world. They hope people like it, of course, but that’s an aftereffect.

The TL;DR of the evening was that success comes when we (collectively) decide to tear down existing models and speak truth to power. Those walls come down slowly at first and then all at once. It starts with a conversation, or making a single phone call. Or making a small ask of someone (in my organizing days we would call these pressure tests, and the equivalent might be asking them to sign an A-card). You do this over and over—you put in these reps—and eventually something new and better emerges.

On the way there, we drove by what was once Smart Studios, and as each person spoke, I couldn’t help but map their points to the past and current music landscape.

Writing about the building a few years ago, I noted:

Today, Smart Studios stands stoically on the corner as the world rushes by. Boarded up and on the market, it stands sentinel over an era long past, but whose legacy lives on.

In the ’90s, people took existing models and bent them to their will…or they just tore them down altogether and built something novel.

And we did it together. People collaborated long before your Instagram timeline was polluted with spammy “DM to collab” comments from bots. It felt like everyone was in a band. And if you weren’t playing, you were writing. And if you were writing or making a ’zine, you were doing art for record covers or T-shirts.

When people took to the streets in PDX, it wasn’t performative or for the ’gram. The crowds built a person at a time. One person asking another to join them. And another. And then another.

It was a fantastic time. And it was the result of small steps adding up to something much larger.

No wonder it gave us so many good sounds.

On to the music…

This week, I’ve been listening to a ton of The Church. Ditto R.E.M. and Yo La Tengo (some of you may have seen that those are the two frontrunners for which discography Sam Colt and I work through next- stay tuned for the results!). There’s also some INXS and Shonen Knife, the latter of whom used to soundtrack a lot of my drives into the city for shows, We also lost L7 bassist Jennifer Finch late Saturday. L7 of course recorded at Smart Studios. Fuck cancer.

I promise this isn’t a nostalgia account; I might be an 80s/90s kid, but the music of 23026 gives me just as much hope as those records did back in the day. This week we’ve got some killer new sounds from Sweeping promises, Ceylon Sailor, Inland Years, and many more.

Side A is tracks 1-14. Side B is tracks 15-27.

The Playlist:

Other sources: | Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music |

Now it’s your turn.

What’s been in heavy rotation in your world? Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Some Thoughts on Dave Kendall and the Magic of MTV’s 120 Minutes

by KevinLeave a Comment on Some Thoughts on Dave Kendall and the Magic of MTV’s 120 Minutes

I miss my 120 Minutes CDs.

Like many people, I was lured in by the iPod. I could have all of my music on a little machine? I wouldn’t need to store anything? Sign me up! In the early 00s, I was already sick of moving boxes around. I did brisk business offloading them-interestingly, a lot went to APO boxes-and I never really looked back. The future was bright, and it belonged to these cool new devices being sold to us by impossibly cool ads.

We didn’t think much about the second-order effects of offshoring all these things. Or how putting “earbuds” and later AirPods in would seal us off from other music fans, both literally and figuratively. This shift wouldn’t be the death knell for IRL music discovery, but it certainly put it in the ICU. Being able to access music online, on our own terms, also meant the end of relevance for shows like MTV’s 120 Minutes. None of that will be news, of course.

The big news this week is that former 120 Minutes host Dave Kendall has passed away.

I’ve touched on this before, noting:

It’s always a tell when someone makes a snide remark about remembering when MTV actually played videos. The channel answered the siren song of more eyeballs and pivoted away from music to other content, resulting in more people associating the channel with reality TV, outnumbering those who knew it for music videos. This is why Gen Xers regard MTV as a vehicle for music discovery, and Millennials regard it as where they discovered Snooki.

MTV had shows back then, of course. Yo! MTV Raps introduced a whole generation to the world of hip hop. 120 Minutes did the same for alternative/indie music, and this was when the term alternative still meant, well, alternative. NBC might’ve coined the term Must See TV, but for someone like my fellow travelers and me, this was the show to watch, even if it was on impossibly late. Sometimes that meant taping it and watching the next day after school (no internet = no spoilers). I got rid of those tapes, too. They’d be fun to watch, though.

They often let musicians from your fave bands host, and things would often get… interesting…I mean, does anyone else remember when Greg Dulli and Donald Logue hosted 120 Minutes?

For that matter, does anyone remember when MTV would just give 2 hours of airtime to people who’d do things like reenact scenes from The Godfather before teasing upcoming videos from “The Radiohead & The Pavement?”

Those were fun, of course, but the regular hosts were what made it great. Kevin Seal was as irreverent as anyone. Matt Pinfield’s encyclopedic knowledge was his superpower, and to be fair, one he only ever used for good. That would’ve made lesser men interminable.

But in between them was Dave Kendall. An affable guy with cool hair and a cool accent, both of which lent him more credibility than any other VJ, though I imagine metal heads felt the same way about Headbangers Ball hosts Adam Curry and Riki Rachtman.

Week in, week out, he would introduce legions of indie/alternative/goth kids to their new favorite bands. Alternatively, his would often be the only chance their fave current-band videos would ever see the light of day airtime.

In 2026, YouTube exists. In 1992, this was it.

“Dave was one of the true believers. Long before alternative music found its way into the mainstream, he was there every week on 120 Minutes, introducing people to bands that would go on to define an era. He didn’t just host a show. He gave a home to music that deserved to be heard. He loved the music, respected the artists, and connected with fans in a way that always felt authentic. “That’s a rare gift.”

~Matt Pinfield

It’s possible that Kendall was just reading cue cards or parroting what an A&R exec had handed him to read, but I doubt it, and if that’s the case, don’t tell me. He was a TV host, sure, but this was also a show whose idea he pitched and sold to the network. More than that, he was the man introducing us to a world of new bands and sounds. For those of us not yet in college, he was the substitute for the cool kid down the hall with the crate full of cool shit.

Today, you might get lucky and have the algorithm serve you up that sort of thing, but I doubt it. You can, of course, get anything you want anytime online- including links to every 120 Minutes episode and a list of hosts. This morning, I listened to a playlist I made via Qobuz. You can usually find “The Pavement” on there. You won’t find “The Radiohead.” It’s wild what you can build with 1’s and 0’s. That’s today’s version of the mixtape, but a lot of the tracks on there are bands introduced to me via 120 Minutes that later spent a lot of time on Maxell cassettes in my car. I watched the show and picked up copies (and later, picked up a pen). Others watched and picked up guitars. Those descendants often make these playlists, too.

It all makes for an incredible time to be alive, but there’s an electricity missing there. If you’re intentionally looking something up, it’s not the same lottery. Ultimately, that’s something people like me attributed to Kendall, and where much of that affinity lies. That his stint on the show neatly coincided with my peak music-discovery years doesn’t hurt. I hammered out a proverbial shitty first draft on Wednesday morning shortly after seeing news of his passing online. It would’ve been better to hear it via MTV News, but that too exists only as a memory now. I guess it’s cool that he outlived the network?

CDs are making a bit of a revival, so there’s that. Kendall would probably dig it. I’m taking some liberties here, but I like to think he was a CD guy, outside of DJ’ing, of course. Looking at the Nevermind the Mainstream comps now (online obvs.), the track lists for Volumes 1 & 2 read like who’s who of my favorite bands. To say that’s down to the influence of 120 Minutes and Kendall is not assumptive. I’m also confident there are a lot of people out there who would say the same.

If there’s any justice in the world, by now you’ll have seen many well-written obituaries, fueled by memories of people like me who used to stay up late just to see what Kendall would gift us next.

Thanks, Dave, and rest easy.

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

Good morning!

Saturday, I talked a little bit about two music “hot takes” I have. At the risk of sounding like a broken record (sorrynotsorry), there’s a third: I’m not especially fond of Nirvana’s In Utero.

Writing about the record in 2023, I noted:

Part of that incuriosity was down to my insufferable gatekeeping mindset back then, but the reality was this: I had first heard the songs from Bleach live before I heard them on cassette. I can remember how “Negative Creep” was introduced as something that “would be coming out soon” and how it felt like the best kind of kick to the head. The rest of the record was more of the same.

Nevermind came out not too long after, and, well, we all know what happened next. It was the end of a brand for Mennen and the beginning of an era for “alternative music.” And let me say this: In short order, “alternative” would become a punchline, the music being more mainstream than whatever it was supposed to be a substitute for that would come soon enough. In 1991, Pearl Jam’s Ten and this were a vicious 1-2 combo for a world not quite ready for it, but in hindsight, better for having had them both happen.

There was also a period where I soured on Nevermind, mostly, I think, because it became so inescapable. Time has largely softened that, and while I still (subjectively) think Bleach is the best release of the lot, Nevermind is a very close second — and objectively the top pick. Ask 10 people what their favorite track is, and you’ll likely get 11 answers. If that’s not the hallmark of an excellent record, I don’t know what is. If you have, if you need.

That line’s from my pick, “Breed,” but “Lithium” is usually at the top of the leaderboard too. And I mention all of this because it was released as the album’s third single on this day in 1992.

Tell me, would “Lithium” be your pick? If not, what is?

KA—

On to the music…

Besides Nirvana, we’ve got tracks from Sugar and Fugazi, both of whom were also feeding my ears back then (and anyone within a 5-6 block radius of my car). Also, more Fleetwood Mac, but not from Mirage. We’ve also got killer fresh sounds from Jack White, The Strokes, Brothertiger, feeble little horse, Twin Bloom, and Jodacki. There’s also a new mix from New Order, because of course there is.

Side A is tracks 1-15. Side B is tracks 16-29.

Other sources: Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music |

Now it’s your turn.

What’s been in heavy rotation in your world? Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July, in whatever form it took. If nothing else, I hope you were somewhere that didn’t feel like the inside of a vast furnace.

I think it’s safe to say that the wave of mid-year reviews has crested. I know some people have a distaste for such things, but I love ‘em. Maybe you do too? Here’s a good one, and a couple of others here, here, and here. Finding new records- or a new spin on one of my own faves- is always a delight, but I think my favorite part is that these lists invariably include the phrase “so far” in the title. Yeah, I know that makes sense, given where we’re only halfway through the year, but it’s also a signal that (maybe) the best is yet to come? That maybe our new AOTY is just around the bend, waiting for us to catch up.

Speaking of lists, through a combo of old age, provenance, and shifting priorities (read: not being able to stay up late, not wanting to drive more than 10 miles in any direction), there are very few bands I want so see play left on my bucket list.

Spoon was one of the few left standing…until this past Friday, when we got to see a stripped-down, mid-day set. It was only Britt and Alex Fischel, but it was fantastic and well worth the drive to Milwaukee. I also got to see Lake Michigan, some ships, and watch Cape Verde almost pull off the upset of the century, so it was just triple 7’s all the way down. We should all be so lucky.

KA—

On to the music…

It’ll be no surprise that this week’s list is extremely Spoon-coded, and a bit longer than usual (see also: 3 hours in the car on Friday). There’s plenty from them, but also new stuff from Kristen Hersh, Mike D, Milwaukee band SPF-150, and more.

Also, a few tracks from Wire’s Colin Newman. Nothing this time from his Immersion project, but they also have a record coming later this year. Having heard a preview, I’m pretty confident it’ll be on more than a few AOTYs come December.

Side A is tracks 1-17. Side B is tracks 18-37.

Other sources: Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music|

Now it’s your turn.

Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!