Matthew Bolin »
When Good Albums Happen to Bad People: Diana Ross, “Diana”
Berry Gordy is a powerful man. Not only did he found Motown Records, building a musical empire that allowed blacks to crossover into what had pretty much been a white-controlled music industry, but almost
Read More »Hall of Fame Week: Leonard Cohen
“That’s Leonard’s Jeep,” Robert said as we walked his dog past the monastery. My wife and I had driven north about ten miles, most of it curving two-thirds of the way up Mt. Baldy,
Read More »Songs for the Dumped: Volume Eight
You know who’s good for breakups? Bruce Springsteen. He’s also good for budding romances, weddings, funerals, long walks on the beach, calculus tests, trips to the jungle gym, pretty much anything. But as Matthew
Read More »Redeeming Rod: “Broken Arrow” (1991)
Rod Stewart’s 1991 cover of Robbie Robertson’s “Broken Arrow” (download) is perhaps the biggest hit that I’ll cover in my series. The third single off of Rod’s Vagabond Heart album, “Broken Arrow” peaked at
Read More »All Wham! All Weekend: Sunday Brunch
When I was 17 years old, I had my first serious makeout session. When George Michael was 17, he wrote the song that has arguably led to more makeout and baby-making sessions than any
Read More »All Wham! All Weekend: Saturday Night
It’s Saturday night, and it’s time to get back out on the dance floor as the all Wham! weekend continues. This time around, I’ve got a batch of Wham!-related extended dance remixes. As I’ve
Read More »All Wham! All Weekend: Friday Night
Backstory: About fifteen years ago, I was visiting my hometown outside of Los Angeles, tooling around with a couple of friends around the local colleges. I remember where we were because we were able
Read More »Redeeming Rod: “Leave Virginia Alone” (1995)
The first single from Rod Stewart’s album A Spanner in the Works, the Tom Petty composition “Leave Virgina Alone,” could be considered his first single in a very long time so greatly aligned with
Read More »Redeeming Rod: “If We Fall in Love Tonight” (1996)
In 1996, Rod Stewart released a collection of his ballads over the years, entitled If We Fall In Love Tonight. Or rather, Warner Brothers released this album, probably based partly on the fact that
Read More »Redeeming Rod: “Twistin’ the Night Away” (1987)
Hollywood, 1986. Fade in. The scene is an executive’s office. Exec: So what’s the pitch? Producer: Okay, Martin Short is this bumbling dude, okay? And somehow, he gets stuck with this needle, only the
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