Early on in his remarkably well-researched book, “The Man Who Sold The World: David Bowie & the 1970s”, Peter Doggett posits that Bowie’s seminal folk-rock song “Changes” is a thesis statement for his entire legend, a sort of musical I Ching wherein all the complexities and possibilities of David Jones the man combined to form David Bowie, the legend. Continue reading
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson likes music criticism. A lot. Throughout the length of his impressively arch, anti-formulaic pseudo-autobiography, he nearly spends more words on the subject of music criticism than the art form itself. As a kid, he grew up worshipping not just records, but the reviews of those records. Basically, he was part of the first generation of omnivorous music nerds, the kind of which now rule the insanely divergent cultural mass that we call the internet. As a musician, writer, and curator, he was made for these times. Continue reading
To me, Neil Young is the greatest musician who will ever live. He chases down ghosts and makes them sing. He wrenches beauty from brutality. He connects delicate fragments like a wise old spider. He’s a touchstone of authenticity in this false, confusing world. He’s the prairie wind, blowin’ through our heads. He’s just the coolest, most fearless artist of our time.
He’s given us so much over the years that it is difficult to appreciate the scope of his musical output. To prove that point, here’s 68 songs from his staggeringly varied and enormous catalogue, in celebration of his 68th birthday. Continue reading
Icons can influence people in indirect, peripheral ways. Artists who achieve some measure of cultural ubiquity quickly become diffuse and viral, influencing fashion and music and informing the hive-mind concept of what it is to be “cool”. Sometimes you end up becoming a fan without even realizing it. Continue reading
“Sound City” is Dave Grohl’s offering to the Gods of Rock. It’s a beautiful, life-affirming film that honours both rock and roll itself, and one of its greatest temples. Continue reading
Steve Poltz is a restless and creative spirit. He is one-of-a-kind. He’s a true Renaissance man who can change his artistic hat at any given moment. He is a musical shape-shifter who dances between genres. He is a well-spring of creative urges. Since his early days in the San Diego band The Rugburns, he has charted a unique and dynamic artistic path that few others would be able to pull off. Although he is presented as singer-songwriter, Poltz incorporates a wide background in music and the arts into his own unique stew of entertainment. Continue reading
Genius never dies. Sometimes it gets buried under a mountain of indifference. Sometimes it languishes in the wilderness. Sometimes genius has to earn a living smashing things or hauling garbage or some other un-glamorous thing. And every once in a while, genius that was ignored or forgotten is resurrected and earns its rightful place in history. “Searching For Sugar Man” is a documentary that explores the amazing story of one such genius. Continue reading
There are those brave souls who put so much of themselves into their creations that their lives become works of art in and of themselves. This book is the story of two such adventurers. Continue reading
“I never saw a guitar player that was worth a damn.”
– Elvis Presley, “Elvis On Tour” (1972) Continue reading
Audio Reckoning 