tryin’ to take the whole damn jukebox apart one 45 at a time
march 2025
oldies guy this month. “oldies” being a label i’m liberally interpreting and applying to anything that didn’t come out… hm, i don’t know, let’s say in the new millennium.
possibly something to do with vibrations. typing that i fear i sound like RFK Jr., which i generally try to avoid. but occasionally my dad will attempt to explain the difference between songs recorded with analog equipment and songs recorded in the digital age. like when he and my mom and i were listening to a (recently remastered) album by THE BEATLES.1 all i can say as a sort of crude summary is: analog=beneficial physical limit, whereas digital=infinitely rising ceiling. at the moment i don’t feel called or qualified to investigate it further. the feeling is enough. and if i’m full of shit, then chalk it up to the fatigue of staying abreast of new releases. and yet it is my sworn duty to you.
i am grateful for LOU REED and JOHN CALE and queen JONI MITCHELL. like great russian literature, these records sound “contemporary”—lyrically and sonically—in a way that never fails to floor me. but i guess that’s just another way of describing timelessness…
and then there are new songs that affect oldness. that tack rarely does the trick for me, but the SHARP PINS record “RADIO DDR” is an exception. of course the guy behind the project, Kai Slater, is twenty and signed to Matador. of course.
really, i’m glad people like him and MJ LENDERMAN and LOMELDA and RYAN DAVIS AND THE ROADHOUSE BAND and GREAT GRANDPA are making music, putting it out into the world. i’m grateful to hear it. things that never existed before.
CASSANDRA JENKINS played at The Blue Room with ADAM BRISBIN continuing to accompany her, making the most delightful, kaleidoscopic noise on his guitar. CHARLIE HILL continues to fill the basement at Momo’s Basement with smiling faces and cheering friends. i missed HOVVDY :(… oh, and i went to Big Ears and saw YO LA TENGO and TORTOISE and ASTRID SONNE.
this month, i’m looking forward to seeing a stacked bill at Soft Junk—MERCE LEMON, STYROFOAM WINOS and BATS. BEN KWELLER at Basement East. YOUTH LAGOON at Exit/In. SHANE PERRY at East Side Bowl. nothing like a show to stave off these blasted tornado watches.
SHOWS IN MARCH: HOVVDY / ANNIE DIRUSSO / THE SEWING CLUB / CHARLIE HILL at MOMOs / JOSH HALPER / BIG EARS / CASSANDRA JENKINS
SHOWS IN APRIL: TOM BARRETT / MERCE LEMON + STYROFOAM WINOS + BATS / BEN KWELLER / SHANE PERRY / YOUTH LAGOON / whatever you invite me to
not by choice, but because Sp**ify is stinky