Are you tired of having it shoved up your ass by the suits? If so, then Conan O’ Brien is your man. After being toyed with by what passes as…
Ken Shane
844 Articles
Ken Shane lives in Narragansett, R.I. He is a freelance writer and far and away the oldest Popdose writer. In fact, he may be the oldest writer, period. He wants you to know that he generally does not share his colleagues' love for the music of the '80s, and he does not forgive them for loving it. (Ken passed away in November 2022. R.I.P. —Ed.)
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
If you read the Jon Cummings interview with Freedy Johnston on Popdose yesterday, you know that Rain on the City (Bar None) is his first studio album in eight years….
Ken Shane
2 Min Read
Maybe it’s because I’ve read Peter Guralnick’s comprehensive 2005 Sam Cooke biography Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke that the newest entry in the generally wonderful PBS series American…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Todd Rundgren is one of rock’s great auteurs. Along with artists like Emmit Rhodes, Paul McCartney, and Prince, Rundgren has the ability to put together entire albums on his own….
Ken Shane
3 Min Read
In June of 1967, the Zombies entered EMI’s Abbey Road studios to record their masterpiece, Odessey & Oracle. Earlier that year, the Beatles had recorded their own masterpiece, Sgt. Pepper,…
Ken Shane
4 Min Read
The Austin Rehearsal Complex (ARC) opened on March 1, 1990, using funds provided by the city’s arts council to get started. A few months later, in August of that year,…
Ken Shane
2 Min Read
There had never been anything quite like them. They weren’t the cute mop-tops or acid-fueled freaks that had risen to fame in recent years. The members of Blood, Sweat &…
Ken Shane
2 Min Read
It should come as no surprise that the members of Roxy Music spent time in art school. The band’s interests went far beyond creating the seminal music for which they…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
The second season of Spectacle: Elvis Costello With … is upon us. Year two of the acclaimed Sundance Channel music series debuted last week with Elvis welcoming Bono and The…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
I haven’t gone back and checked the exact number, but I think it’s fair to say that I’ve reviewed at least one or two albums a week for Popdose, every…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
TV viewers who enjoy good conversation about, and performance of music will be pleased to know that Elvis Costello’s acclaimed series Spectacle: Elvis Costello with … will be returning to…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
The Cars seldom seem to get enough credit for being a fine band. That of course is because they had the temerity to be too successful, launching hit single after…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Elvis Presley died in 1977, but that doesn’t seem to have slowed him down very much. In fact, to celebrate what would have been his 75th birthday on January 8,…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Greenpeace has released a two-disc set of the live, re-mastered recording Amchitka: The 1970 concert that launched Greenpeace. The CD is available exclusively through Greenpeace, and all proceeds will benefit…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks met when both men were writers for Sid Caesar’s fabled television program, Your Show of Shows. Working from an idea that Reiner had, they developed…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Exactly one year ago, ten terrorists from the Jihadist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure) sailed from Pakistan to India. Their goal was to attack that country’s financial and culture…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
It’s dark in here. Really dark. That’s probably for the best, because it makes it hard to see the creepy and crawly things. The slick and the slimy things. And…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
At the beginning of this decade, sax player Neal Sugarman and bassist Gabriel Roth founded Daptone Records in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. They put together a studio in a…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Let’s begin with the facts. Motown: The DVD contains 18 vintage clips of Motown artists performing some of their best known songs. Only five of the 18 are actually live…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
The latest installment of the vaunted PBS series Independent Lens is No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos. The documentary about the legendary Hungarian cinematographers debuts this week around the country….
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Artie Lange has been a core cast member of the Howard Stern radio show for eight years. Even if you are not a Stern listener, you may have encountered Lange…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Gary Hustwit is best known (to me, anyway) as the filmmaker behind the award-winning documentary about Wilco, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, and his film about synthesizer pioneer…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Earlier this week, I posted an item to Twitter (sorry, I refuse to use the word ‘tweeted’ in regard to any action I’ve ever taken) saying that I was listening…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
How much do you know about Vic Chesnutt? You might know that he currently resides in Athens, GA, and that his first two albums were produced by that city’s most…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Want to win a vinyl copy of 429 Records’ tribute to the Greenwich Village scene of the ’60s? Of course you do. Enter our contest here!
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Beginning this Sunday night, AMC will be asking you to invest six hours of your television viewing time, over the course of three nights, in their remake of the iconic…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
You know the scene. Hell, if you grew up in a certain era, it’s practically tattooed on your eyelids. Lloyd Dobler (deftly played by John Cusack) stands in the driveway…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
The Airmen and the Headhunters is the most recent entry in the PBS series Secrets of the Dead, which has been running for nine years on the network. The documentary…