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The Popdose Guide to Nick Lowe
Doesn’t look like the godfather of punk, does he? Well. Maybe not the godfather, but perhaps a kindly uncle. Either way, Nick Lowe’s footprint on punk — hell, on all of British pop music,
Read More »The Popdose Guide to Al Jarreau
What, you thought we were kidding around with the whole “Al Week” thing? Shame on you. And while we’re at it, shame on you for thinking Al Jarreau is too square for the retrospective
Read More »The Popdose Guide to Toto
I love rooting for the underdog. In almost any scenario, whether it’s sports or politics or just plain real life, I root for the little guy. This means I’m frequently frustrated, of course, but
Read More »The Popdose Guide to Tom Waits
[He doesn't write them anymore -- in fact, they aren't even online anymore -- but truth be known, it was my good friend Ben Wiser who inspired the original Idiot's Guide series, via his
Read More »The Popdose Guide to Lloyd Cole
[Editor's Note: I just checked, and it was November 24, 2005 when I got an e-mail from Ken saying "If you ever want someone to do a guest Idiot's Guide to: The Smiths, R.E.M.
Read More »The Popdose Guide to Ornette Coleman
I am not one to toss around the word “hero” lightly. It takes extraordinary courage to earn such a designation. I am also not one to write one of these artist overviews with too
Read More »The Popdose Guide to The Call
Welcome to the Popdose Guide to The Call, a semi-forgotten group that had a couple of hits in the ’80s, but has seen its catalog fall out of print and into obscurity over the
Read More »The Popdose Guide to Nanci Griffith
Nanci Griffith is arguably the most important folk-music artist of her generation. That statement is risky not so much because there are so many other contenders for the throne, but because we live in
Read More »The Popdose Guide to John Mellencamp
Act I: Johnny Cougar Chestnut Street Incident (1976) purchase this album (Amazon) I remember finding a cassette of this album back in the ’80s and enjoying the hell out of it, most notably for
Read More »The Popdose Guide to John Hiatt
For the first decade or so of his career, John Hiatt was a case of mostly unfulfilled potential. Everyone knew he was a good songwriter — particularly other songwriters — but, for one reason
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