We’ve been doing “Songs for the Dumped” for awhile now, and if we’ve learned anything it’s that: 1. People are at heart mean and vindictive, and 2. Apparently nobody had…
Music
9,227 Articles
Jeff Vrabel
1 Min Read
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…
David Medsker
2 Min Read
For a genre that makes its living by cutting up other people’s records, hip-hop artists are notoriously touchy about other people touching theirs. Eric B. and Rakim reportedly hated Coldcut’s…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Greetings, Videots! Due to unforeseen circumstances, Scraps had to bail out on this week’s Name That Tune, so we’ll be taking a special trip to the 1980th dimension instead. Buckle…
Darren Robbins
1 Min Read
Although released in late 1977, the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack would be impossible to ignore for much of 1978, with the Bee Gees’ “Night Fever” and “Stayin’ Alive,” as well…
Jason Hare
1 Min Read
Hey, everybody! Welcome to another edition of CHART ATTACK! This week, we head back to the ’80s, as we tackle February 7, 1987! 10. We’re Ready – Boston Amazon iTunes…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Orchestra JB was the nom de plume of Jimmy Brown, a multi-instrumentalist and DJ who, after releasing a few underground dance hits for indie labels, signed to major EastWest Records…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
While driving through L.A.’s Laurel Canyon on Super Tuesday, I let Jesus take the wheel for a moment as I steered my iPod past the singer-songwriter types who once called…
Mojo Flucke
1 Min Read
Seattle spawned the 1980s-1990s garage rock revolution for good reason: Garage rock thrived out there during the 1960s, and record collectors will buy any compilation of any bunch of two-bit…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
Hey Matt, I know we haven’t spoken in awhile, but you know I’m always thinking about you around this time each year. I wanted to tell you about this dream…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Susanna Hoffs – When You’re a Boy (1991) purchase this album (Amazon) As longtime readers of this space are no doubt aware, I have a severe weakness for Susanna Hoffs,…
Jeff Vrabel
1 Min Read
David Medsker takes us on a mad, dark journey into a land most of us are probably familiar with — the Land of the Co-Dependent Relationship That Will Not Die,…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
For five years now, the Mars Volta has colored the alternative rock scene with their hardcore-prog-jazz hybrid. They’ve represented the point where hippies, metalheads and avant-garde fans could meet in…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
A Joanna Newsom album has never sounded as good as she did when she played at the Brooklyn Academy of Music last Thursday. Even the most middling of fans, the…
Ted Asregadoo
1 Min Read
DOWNLOAD THE FULL MIX HERE Bonjour mes amis! This week’s mix is brought to you by the letter “L” — which is the first letter in leukemia and lymphoma. I…
Jeff Vrabel
1 Min Read
Timing, the New Testament tells us, is everything, and it takes a startlingly few number of works to turn a glorious, magnificent, rainbows-and-puppies kind of day into one of hideous…
Zack Dennis
1 Min Read
I don’t think Michael Mann is particularly interested in popular music. It’s practically impossible to think of Phil Collins’ classic song “In the Air Tonight” without thinking of the iconic…
Matthew Bolin
1 Min Read
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,…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
With guest musicians like Sting, the Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey, Nile Rodgers, Carly Simon, Todd Rundgren, and Steve Winwood, Will Powers’ Dancing for Mental Health is probably the most star-studded…
Ken Sumka
1 Min Read
[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…
Jeff Vrabel
1 Min Read
We’ve been having a lot of fun here at Songs for the Dumped, but let us not forget that these are stories of heartache, woe, ache and heartwoe, and that…
Will Harris
1 Min Read
During my years on the ‘net, I’ve been a member of various E-mail lists and participated in countless discussion forums, and if there’s one recurring theme that never fails to…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Among the many reasons why I love Two Gallants, one of the most prominent is the way their songs feel alive, as if they posses minds of their own. Guitarist/vocalist…
Jeff Vrabel
1 Min Read
The great thing about breakup songs is that you have absolutely no control over what they are; they just happen to be playing in the background, clamped into the CD…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
Grammy week is upon us, and I couldn’t be less excited. I used to live for the Grammys during the early part of the year, just like I lived for…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Keith Sweat – I Want to Love You Down (1992) First of all, no. No, I did not own this when it came out. Not that there’s anything wrong with…
Matthew Bolin
1 Min Read
It is an inescapable fact that while George Michael left Andrew Ridgeley far behind in his rearview mirror, and while the Faith album proved Michael was capable of being the…
Matthew Bolin
1 Min Read
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…
Jeff Vrabel
2 Min Read
A lot of people are going to tell you that adolescent regression is an unhealthy thing, but few among us are the people who, if given the chance, wouldn’t jump…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Dan Bern – One Thing Real from Fifty Eggs (1998) 38 Special – See Me In Your Eyes from Tour De Force (1983) Simple Minds – Once Upon A Time…