Tag: reviews

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

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

A few thoughts on binge watching, daytime TV, and The Boss. Also a buncha fresh tracks.

At some point this week, I will join 99.999999% of the rest of humanity and be able to say that I’ve finished watching Game of Thrones all the way through. There are really only a few other long-running dramatic series I can make that same claim with, namely Dallas (yes, really) and Cold Case.

For the former, it was more a case of “why not?” than anything else and was a real field trip through primetime soap operas, cultural mores, and, um, fashion. For the latter, it was simply a case of proximity. When you are done with work by lunchtime, there’s not a whole lot on, and unless you’re into infomercials or courtroom TV series (how are there so many of these?!), the pickings are slim.

I loved Cold Case as it was—I’m a sucker for a mystery and a nice, compact ending before the credits roll—but it was the music that really set it apart from anything else released.

For those who might not know (or work a regular shift), the series followed a group of homicide detectives in Philly who would tackle a new cold case in each episode. Pretty boilerplate stuff, I know. But what really set it apart was that the producers would use music from whatever year the murder originally took place. Sometimes they would even use a single artist, which they did with Bruce Springsteen1 in Season 3, leaning heavily on Born in the USA (among others).

It makes sense; the record gets a lot of love and is often at or near the top of people’s favorites lists. Others default to Born to Run, while “serious music people” often gravitate toward Nebraska. No one ever picks Only the Strong Survive, and not nearly enough pick Tunnel of Love.

Tunnel of Love turns 39 this week, and it is my favorite. There are plenty more in his catalog I like, including the ones listed above, but none feel quite as honest as this one. When it came time to take on the Top 100 records of all time, there really wasn’t going to be another choice for me.

Writing about it at the time, I noted:

After Born in the U.S.A., Bruce Springsteen could’ve kept making soundtracks to Midwest beer-league softball games. Instead, he bet the other way and released one of his most introspective, sober records.

1987 saw him at a crossroads; he was a star with the world at his feet. He was also in the middle of a marriage that was rapidly disintegrating. It’s hard to write stadium rock when your world is falling down around you. At its heart, Springsteen’s music is aspirational, if occasionally simplistic: love, victory, the open road. After all, like the song says, it ought to be easy, ought to be simple enough; man meets woman, and they fall in love, right?

All well and good, except love isn’t always that straightforward, and sometimes the ending isn’t the happy one you hoped would be written. Listening to the record, it’s clear that this was what he was grappling with.

Tunnel of Love wrestles with all the things unsaid. It’s fraught. “Tougher Than the Rest” paints love as a contact sport. “Valentine’s Day” is when the lights go down, the applause stops, and you’re left alone with your thoughts.

And someday, I’ll hear it for the one-too-many-eth time, and it’ll break me.

The E Street Band is here, but more in theory than anything. They appear sporadically, with Springsteen choosing to write and play most of the parts himself. We don’t hear a single note of Clarence Clemons’ sax here—his only credit is for backing vocals on “When You’re Alone.” Sometimes, you just gotta work through things yourself, and I’m betting that’s why he made the personnel decisions he did here.

Tunnel of Love is not Springsteen’s best-selling record. It’s not his most commercial or radio-friendly one. But it is him at his most honest. It’s the Boss at his best.

He’s made records that are more timeless. Ones that sold more copies. Ones that TV producers decided to base a whole episode around! Sure, the sound is more of its time than almost any other he’s made—except maybe Only the Strong Survive—but with lyrics as potent as any writers’ room could gin up, you’d be hard-pressed to say he made one more honest than this one.

Onto the music:

Tunnel of Love is here, of course, as are R.E.M.’s “Ignoreland” and the Afghan Whigs’ “Gentlemen.” Both are also celebrating birthdays this week, and while it took a while for Automatic for the People to grow on me, Gentlemen worked its way into my ears right from the start.

Ditto Spoon, another band where everyone seems to have a different favorite—except Transference, and maybe some people even dig that?—and Ride. Oasis too. Nothing wrong with “Wonderwall,” but this one’s my favorite. Most people look to Wire’s first three as their best, but I love the middle era of the band. Ideal Copy, A Bell Is a Cup… Until It Is Struck, and IBTABA are peak Wire for me, and “Ahead” is at the top of a long list of favorites.

Speaking of Philly, Kurt Vile’s here as well. Not sure if this one was ever big, but it’s one I come back to often.

I don’t spend all my time in a time machine, and there are plenty of brand-new tracks here as well. Lily Konigsberg is back. Her album Lily We Need to Talk, Now was one of my favorites of ’21, and I’m excited to hear more from her coming up. We’ve got another one from Isa Heller as well. Look for more on that record at some point soon. We’ve also got killer sounds from Local Drags, the BV’s, and, last but not least, we travel down to Louisiana for one from Other Desert Cities, our friend Patrick Fellows’ latest project.

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!

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

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

A few thoughts on kids in the comments, New Order’s Brotherhood, and brilliant closing tracks.

The kids are all right.

NPR recently shared a story about comments that were appearing underneath its podcasts. In isolation, they didn’t make much sense, but they did seem to be talking to one another. At first blush, staffers assumed they were bots and set out to clean up the comment sections.

But then they asked a Gen Z coworker for their take, and her response will shock you…

Just kidding—we’re not doing that here. But it is an interesting story. As most of you know, social media platforms have started age-gating, and, well, like water seeking its natural level, kids got creative in trying to find new places to chat. It just so happens that the relatively empty comment sections under NPR podcasts fit the bill, so there they were. I don’t know who these kids are—though Ira Glass spoke to one of them, because of course he did—but I hope all of ’em wind up at NASA someday. That’s my kind of subversion.

Kids will always find an overlooked corner of the internet and make it their own. In a much less technologically advanced version of that impulse, I’ve spent the week thinking about New Order’s Brotherhood: a great record that has spent far too long in an overlooked corner of the band’s catalog. If ever a record had middle-child energy, New Order’s Brotherhood is it. It’s also magnificent.

Talking about the record for an article on What Am I Making, I wrote:

Can a record have middle-child energy? If that’s possible, Brotherhood is it. Other records by the band spark lively discourse on fan forums or get slapped with a critic’s-darling label. Brotherhood has been unfairly exiled to a purgatory of inattention. Meanwhile, it’s just in the corner doing its thing, happy to be left alone. Split in half between electronic and analog, it’s a wild ride—and well worth it.

Brotherhood often gets overlooked in discussions about the band’s discography, and, to be fair, it does occupy a bit of a weird space in the group’s timeline. With one foot in the analog world and the other firmly planted in the electricity of Italian discos, the band was split on which direction to go. So they did the only thing they could: Side A is primarily acoustic, and Side B is dominated by digital. That represents a literal split in musical stylings and a fracture within the band.

So, you have a band growing tired of one another as people and split into two distinct tribes—rock and electronic—as musicians. All the while, their label was pushing them for a follow-up to Low-Life. No pressure, then! Those factors are a sure bet for disaster, and yet, once again, despite—or in spite of—themselves, they released a record that holds up well.

“Paradise” feels almost claustrophobic, with Sumner’s pleading vocals feeling almost smothering. Up next is the much brighter “Weirdo,” a track where everything feels like it’s this close to flying off into space, and the only thing holding everything in stable orbit is Hook’s bass. To my ear, it’s them at their best, and anytime I get a new stereo—or AirPods—this is the song I use to test them. “As It Was When It Was” gives listeners a wistful breather before things ramp back up with “Broken Promise.” Side A closes with “Way of Life,” a track that feels like a close cousin to “Weirdo.”

Initially intended to be a single, it was even released as a promo 12”, but it wasn’t meant to be. From Hook: “I really wanted to get another bass riff that was as good as ‘Age of Consent’… I managed it here by turning that riff backwards and using it again. Distorted bass intro. We got that by putting it through an Akai cassette player!”

“Bizarre Love Triangle” kicks off Side B and sets the tone early. As good as Side A is, the song isn’t halfway over before it’s clear what the future looks like for New Order.

That record turns 40 tomorrow, and I think it’s pretty clear that the future for the band did indeed include a lot of 808 synths and an overindexing on digital. I’m not mad about that, but it also included a lot of internal strife and the eventual fracturing of the band, with bassist Peter Hook advocating for a more analog sound and the rest of the band determined to follow the muse they’d first heard thundering out of clubs in NYC. The cracks really first start to appear here.

Hook is now performing with a supporting band, Peter Hook and the Light. Meanwhile, recent health issues have sidelined Gillian Gilbert and, by association, Stephen Morris, leaving frontman Bernard Sumner as the last original touring member. It’s a real Ship of Theseus situation, and, if I’m honest, for two people so at odds with one another, there’s not much daylight between what Messrs. Sumner and Hook are currently doing. One history, two ways. So be it. I guess this is my way of both plugging a great band and saying: get out and see yours while you can.

And listen to Brotherhood! Turning 40 tomorrow, it is no longer a kid, but what it does do—and does well—is hold up. For a record heading headlong into middle age, it sounds as good as it did the first time I heard it… as a kid.

In the above article, Morris talks about the band’s “Bizarre Love Triangle” and how it was initially grossly overlooked. He also talks about “Face Up” (from the band’s “Low Life” LP), which he loves but that fans met with indifference. You could’ve fooled me; it’s one of my favorites from the band, and arguably their best closer.

In my talk with Matty at WAIM, I mention another track from Brotherhood, “Weirdo,” and how anytime I get a new stereo, speakers, or even AirPods, it’s the song I use to first test ’em out. I don’t see that changing anytime soon; I’ve been doing it since I was a kid.

Onto the music:

“Face Up” and “Weirdo” are both here, as is “Way of Life,” which was initially slated as the record’s “breakout” single (You didn’t really think I wasn’t gonna try to squeeze a third New Order track on here, did you?). But there’s also much newer stuff, including the latest from community favorite Lydia Loveless, Julia Jacklin, and Nathan Kendall. We’ve also got one from Louisville’s Future Fossils that, if you’re not careful, will melt your speakers, and one from the Klittens. Isa Heller’s also here, closing things out with a sticky groove in “Wildflower.”

Speaking of closers, besides “Face Up” and Wildflower, there are a couple of others here. Over at The Runout Grooves, our friend Mitchell Stirling is running a survey on the best closers of the 2000s, and to say they’ve been on my mind and in my ears would be an understatement. If you’ve got a second, check out the survey and vote for your favorites. I can almost guarantee a couple will still be in your heavy rotation, and maybe some you’ve completely forgotten about.

If you’ve got some thoughts on closers, New Order, or anything else on this list, I’d love to hear them.

And if some random kids show up in the chat, be cool!

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!

What’re You Listening To?

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

FTA: Some thoughts on family, football, and having a little faith. Plus a whole buncha killer new tracks.

Note: I’m resharing a post from this same weekend last year. It has only been mildly updated. In a world that’s gone sideways, celebrating life events has become much more essential. I also will take any chance I get to talk up John Hiatt and Ducks football, so there’s that. FWIW, I wound up finishing the book I mention below not too long after this first ran. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it.

The Ducks and Badgers don’t play each other this year, but maybe next year? We can talk all day about the perils of college football, but in my case, it’s serving as an excellent pretext for family reunions, and my life is all the richer for it. Oh, and I still have no idea where my suit is.

KA—

Today, twenty-two four years ago, we had a party, and not a lot went according to plan.

For one, we ran out of food. I’m told it was delicious.

Attendance was capped at 150, split three ways between my mom, my in-laws, and us. With us in Oregon and most of my in-laws in Wisconsin, I assumed many people would not make the trip. Never underestimate Badgers’ desire to travel.

For my part, I have the sort of family where if you invite one, you must ask another 8. The ones you skip will drive 4 hours and crash it anyway (see my comment about the food). Never underestimate my family’s affinity for a gathering. 

We told people to prepare for any kind of weather. It was in the 80s. I sweat in March. You can imagine how this went. I’m fairly certain that was the last time I wore a suit. Last I knew, a kid in the neighborhood borrowed it for a science presentation at school.

Maybe he still has it?

Like most weddings, there are plenty of lovely, very professional pictures that document that day. They are nice, with everyone perfectly posed, beaming, and in just the right pairings: the parents, the moms, the wedding party—you know the drill. If nothing else, it’s evidence that I can clean up nicely. Outside of the 2-3 that we had printed, they’ve maybe seen the light of day a handful of times in the last two decades.

The candid shots taken throughout the event are much more interesting to me. None of these were taken on a phone or posted to Instagram. They found their way back to us via US mail, or more commonly after someone had printed them and shared them the next time we got together. Even with a candid shot, there’s an intentionality you don’t get with a phone. Each picture tells you as much as it leaves out. I wish someone had taken a picture of the food.

A quote in this article has stuck with me for several days now:

For me, at least, my Polaroid project this summer was really about memory and time, tangibility and loss. The act of reaching for something that you know, even in that moment of capturing it, is already out of your grasp. Like our memories, too, because what we choose to frame tells us so much about the things that we hold onto – as well as the things that we let go.

(Yes, another week of talking about Polaroid pictures, physical media, and how we used to use them to document the mile markers of our lives.)

The shots from that day are dispatches from the road, full of people still in our lives and those who aren’t, of people held onto and people let go. Some of those friendships didn’t survive the attrition of distance, and some have shuffled off this mortal coil.

One of my groomsmen lives 10 miles away. With two kids each and busy careers, we’ve seen each other once, and that was at a soccer tournament. Somewhere, there’s a picture of that, too—both of us a little older, both in cargo shorts; I guess we’re both suburban dads now. It was in the 80s that day, too.

I was probably sweating. We’re both beaming. 

One worked with me and left for another airline. He’s younger than me and somehow managed to retire. Lucky him.

My best man has been in my life for almost all of it. He and I still talk a few times a week via text, usually sending each other mildly offensive memes that the 12-year-olds in us would delight in. I haven’t seen him in five years. I’m grateful technology keeps us close. Lucky me. 

I hadn’t seen my cousins on one side in 10 years and wouldn’t see them for another dozen or so (at one of their weddings, of course). I’ll see them again in 56 days. It will have been one day shy of 6 years. I’m grateful the Oregon Ducks moved to the Big 10.

For our reception, we crowdsourced the music, adding a line on the RSVPs to request a song. In hindsight, this was a good idea, and I wish I had thought of it. In retrospect, we also should’ve known that picking the date we did would sentence us to a lifetime of receiving memes like this. On the plus side, it makes it easy to remember. 

Van Morrison’s “Moondance” was the most popular request. I don’t know what to say about that. John Hiatt’s “Have a Little Faith in Me” was our spotlight dance. He’s very much still in my life. I listen to his records often and just started a biography by the same name. That we could dance at all was remarkable; my wife’s knee had been demolished a few months earlier while playing soccer. She scored on that play, by the way. That injury was definitely not according to plan, but the dance was an incredible win. 

Of course, there were up-tempo songs too–it was a party, after all–and people rarely miss the chance to tell me how great it was to see my stepdad and father-in-law “fast dancing” at different points. They’re both gone, and I’d like to think that they’d laugh at that being their legacy. It’s a helluva snapshot if you think about it.

Whether at a courthouse, a church, or on the beach, a wedding is aspirational. The couple has a lifetime ahead of them, an early chapter in what hopefully will be a long story of life events and milestones, and regular Tuesday nights watching TV. 

Depending on when you see this, we may be celebrating at brunch, record shopping (I hope!), riding bikes, or at a concert by going to work and then hopefully somewhere cool for an early dinner. It’s fast livin’ for sure.

Twenty-two four years ago, not much went according to plan, but everything went right. Surrounded by friends, family, and lord knows who else, underneath a warm sun and next to the gorgeous Oregon coast, my (now) wife and I decided to have a little faith and said yes.

As always, thanks for being here.

KA—

On to the music…

Were I not solidly middle aged, I’d just type something like “Hard Life by The Tubs? OBSESSED” and call it good. The reality is that I’ve been playing it pretty much nonstop, and every time I do, a new favorite track emerges. Kalshi’s probably got the odds of this being on my AOTY list easily at 75-80%.

Speaking of Badgers, there’s also a couple of WI bands on here with Milwaukee’s Fellow Travelers and Madison’s Parting Blue (aka the band formerly known as Depression Glass). The latter have a new record out, and it’s got a great heartland indie sound going. RIYL: The Jayhawks, Spooner, or Son Volt.

We’ve also got killer sounds from Outer World, Phosphene, Devecia Mack, Gift, The Tisburys, and more!

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!

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!

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

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

A few thoughts on living with abandon, old cars, and a buncha new tracks.

I was supposed to be at the Milwaukee Mile this weekend, but well, there was rain in the forecast, and well, I’m at the point in life where such things are now a dealbreaker. Instead, we wound up at a car show about a half hour west of here. It was at a church, and whatever you’re picturing in your mind right now is correct. Small white building straight out of central casting… on relatively high ground overlooking an impossibly green valley broken only by the occasional farm field… wind turbines running across a distant ridge. Real “amber waves of grain” stuff.

At any rate, I’m also at the age where I’m just old enough to share some small talk with the people showing these cars. I generally have zero idea what I’m talking about, but it’s amazing what doors having gray hair and wearing cargo shorts will open for you.

One of the cars was a ’73 Malibu, and in this case I did sort of know what I was talking about. I mentioned to the owner that my first car was a ’74 Malibu, and that’s the sort of opening gambit that buys you 3–4 mins of chit chat. My car had just enough horsepower to be dangerous in my hands, and I still remember just enough about it to get in trouble. I can tell you about the engine (V8, 350, 4-barrel carb, etc.), and that it had a landau roof, because of course it did. We went a little ways into the weeds, but the short version is that this car was immaculate. Doubly so for being 53 and maybe triply so for spending its life in a place not afraid to use salt half the year.

I was curious about how it stayed that way; had it just been garaged most of the last half century? Was this the result of an extensive rebuild? Something different? Turns out it was a bit of both. You can do a lot to keep a car from rusting or parts wearing out, but time is undefeated. So where was he sourcing these parts, I asked? He rattled off a bunch of different places, “but really,” he said, “once you start looking, you start seein’ ’em everywhere.”

That’s the second time I’ve heard something similar in recent weeks, the first being while chatting with an artist for an upcoming article. Both are right, of course, and it’s also correct that the playlists below this text block are the result of mining all kinds of different sources; friends, articles, radio stations, the records in my living room, etc. In other words, actively looking and active listening. And if you’re here, the smart money says this is how you find stuff, too. No set-it-and-forget-it for this crowd.

I also (somehow) made it to a show Friday night, and got the chance to see John McCutcheon play. Other than a couple of kids in the crowd wrecking the curve, I’d say the median age was, well, older. It was also fantastic. The kid ripping that Malibu around Washington County wouldn’t have been here to save his life, let alone say something like “It sounded beautiful in the hall we were in (another thing meticulously renovated),” but here we are.

I’ll leave it with this: while he played, McCutcheon would share stories and riff on whatever, and something he said really struck me: he was talking about the current state of play in 2026, and rattled off the same list most of us know by heart, but his point was that now more than ever, it’s crucial to live not with control but with abandon; love with abandon, share with abandon, speak and listen with abandon. Maybe go all in on something you’re really into like rebuilding a muscle car.

Teenaged me would’ve recognized the hammer dulcimer on his right only as something gathering dust in the high school band room, but 110% would’ve understood his message.

On to the music:

This list kicks off with one from the Strokes, but really I want to talk about Comedown Machine’s cover art. It’s impossibly retro and looks like something that would’ve been right at home in either Malibu on the way back from the record store. There’s also some tracks from the Posies, the Amps, and the Judybats, who to this day are still the most polite people I’ve ever seen on stage (not derogatory). Snapping back to today, there’s a brand-new one from Thao and Neko Case, Immersion (new record later this week!), and one from Swervedriver whose latest track sounds just as white-hot as “Rave Down” did all those years ago. It’s best played loudly, with abandon.

KA—

P.S. O.R.R. fave Hazel English also dropped a new EP late last week!

The Playlist:

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

Want a little more Dolly Parton? Of course you do, and our friends at Qobuz have just what you’re looking for.

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!

This week I spent a good deal of time listening to the earlier part of Heart’s catalog. As I noted last week, my better half came home from a garage sale with quite a haul, and, well, those records weren’t going to play themselves, you know? No one needs to know my take on Bebe Le Strange (“Even It Up” is a top-five track from them), Private Audition (you can probably skip this one), or the deep cuts on Dog & Butterfly and Dreamboat Annie. I’ll just say I’m always surprised at how well these hold up. Even the glossy-era stuff has its high marks. I’m never mad about hearing “Never” in the store. I’m slow to praise anything from Seattle, but credit where credit’s due.

At any rate, this week I’ve been feeding my ears with quite a bit of stuff that’s held up. The Veldt are a band I found in high school, and if Instagram is anything to go by, people are still finding them. The kids are alright! We’ve got two of them here. A few years ago, our pal Keith R. Higgons did a great interview with the band’s Daniel Chavis that’s also well worth checking out.

Similarly, Watershed is an Ohio band that had a brief moment in the ’90s, then faded from the spotlight, but, lucky for us, never really stopped making records. Their new one’s on here, and they’re doing a short regional tour. If you’re in the upper Midwest, you’re in luck. Also, shoutout for most of these shows starting early. Related: I’m old. They’re also playing with Madison’s Shazy Hade.

There’s some Yo La Tengo, because of course there is, and a couple from the Stones, Pink Floyd, and Eddie Vedder (see above: never beating the old-guy allegations).

Going the other way, we’ve also got brand-new killer sounds from Joel Cusumano , Philly-based Mesh—who sound old in all the best ways—and Young Friend.

Also a new one from THAO that’ll likely still be stuck in your head midweek (sorry!), a double dose of new music from Outer World, and a banger from Swedish House Mafia ft. Lykke Li.

In other words, something for everyone. This is an all ages show. Get in!

KA—

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

The Playlist:

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.