[jefito’s note: You see those two guys up there? That’s Ken from Gaper’s Blog and his old pal Jeff, otherwise known as the people responsible for today’s Smiths Guide. I’m…
Popdose Guides
124 Articles
Jeff Giles
7 Min Read
Don’t Explain (1990)purchase this album Robert Palmer plus Steve Stevens plus Teo Macero equals Don’t Explain, eighteen tracks that nobody knew quite what to make of in 1990 — a…
Jeff Giles
7 Min Read
So. When last we left Robert Palmer, he was in the process of tricking out and slicking up his world-beat soul sound, sending his music in a more contemporary (and…
Jeff Giles
11 Min Read
[Jefito’s Note: He doesn’t write them anymore, but truth be known, it was my good friend Benja who inspired the Idiot’s Guide series, via his impassioned, messy, and always entertaining…
Jeff Giles
11 Min Read
[Jefito’s Note: Right around the end of 2005, I got an e-mail from reader Elaine, who volunteered to guest-blog a Thomas Dolby Guide. My initial reaction was probably similar to…
Jeff Giles
9 Min Read
So. When last we left Billy Joel, he was riding high on the back-to-back, world-beating successes of The Stranger and 52nd Street. You’d think that would mellow a guy out…
Jeff Giles
13 Min Read
[One of the most polarizing features of jefitoblog, I think, is my tendency to give more-or-less equal time to music I hate. Lotsa music blogs are proselytizers for certain artists,…
Jeff Giles
9 Min Read
When last we left Nick Lowe Á¢€” at the end of Part One last week Á¢€” he was mired in a sales slump and battling the bottle. After the commercial…
Jeff Giles
8 Min Read
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…
Jeff Giles
13 Min Read
Last week’s installment in our Hall & Oates Guide got big love from Stereogum and Entertainment Weekly, among others, forcing me to further question my belief that the blogosphere is…
Jeff Giles
12 Min Read
The Guide subjects here fall into roughly three camps, I think: Artists who I periodically enjoy and think are interesting; artists who I think are important in some way; and…
Jeff Giles
12 Min Read
Okay, jefitoblog faithful…you’ve stuck with me through Toto and Big Country. Can you handle an in-depth look at Norway’s most successful pop export? I’m sure many of you think I’ve…
Jeff Giles
8 Min Read
When last we left our heroes, they were down one member (Slipperman reference intended). Would they pack it in or soldier on? Turns out they had no intention of breaking…
Jeff Giles
9 Min Read
[Note: Just as another reminder, this week’s Guide has been thoughtfully guest-blogged for you and me by Joe at Illicit Noise. Please join me in giving him a round of…
Jeff Giles
17 Min Read
How you feel about Jackson Browne probably depends largely on your level of appreciation for songcraft in general; if you’re the type of person who thinks that, say, the Sex…
Jeff Giles
14 Min Read
[Here it is, at long last: The Graduate’s conclusion to the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Otis Redding. I’ll be doing next week’s Guide, unless I get a better offer from…
Jeff Giles
12 Min Read
[Note: I put out a call for guest Idiots a few weeks ago, and was quite pleased to get a response from one of my favorite bloggers (his comment about…
Jeff Giles
15 Min Read
[Note: For those of you who werenÁ¢€â„¢t here a couple of weeks ago Á¢€” or just have very short memories Á¢€” this here is Part Two of the Complete IdiotÁ¢€â„¢s…
Jeff Giles
8 Min Read
[Note: As I mentioned last night, todayÁ¢€â„¢s Guide was written by my good friend Ted, who has been patiently and tirelessly defending Rush to me since we met. I take…
Jeff Giles
13 Min Read
“The radio, that was my big influence … Bands that were faceless, that didn’t really have anything other than what you heard on the radio. And I liked the real…
Jeff Giles
14 Min Read
LetÁ¢€â„¢s talk about the blues. It only seems appropriate, after all, given that itÁ¢€â„¢s Tuesday, the bluesiest day of the work week Á¢€” last weekend a distant memory, Friday a…
Jeff Giles
11 Min Read
IÁ¢€â„¢ve been working up to a Ry Cooder IdiotÁ¢€â„¢s Guide for awhile now. HeÁ¢€â„¢s one of my longtime, all-time favorites, but heÁ¢€â„¢s released so many albums in so many different…
Jeff Giles
9 Min Read
Talk about a guy who should have been huge. An accomplished guitarist and songwriter who paid his dues playing for established artists, worked his way up through the ranks, and…
Jeff Giles
7 Min Read
Now here’s a band that would be huge if the world made any sense. A trio of non-threateningly scruffy alterna-pop minstrels, singing songs about love and loss, hope and heartbreak,…
Jeff Giles
29 Min Read
Á¢€Å“Randy Newman Finds Something New Under the Sun,Á¢€ proclaimed the back cover of his 1968 debut, and even if that wasnÁ¢€â„¢t entirely true Á¢€” his music, after all, has always…
Jeff Giles
13 Min Read
You don’t hear their songs much on the radio anymore — not even on classic rock stations — and they’ll probably never be elected to the Rock & Roll Hall…
Jeff Giles
12 Min Read
Over the last few decades, American folk music — like jazz and blues — has largely ceased to be a genre of any commercial importance. Many point to Dylan “going…
Jeff Giles
7 Min Read
Afternoon, friends Á¢€” here’s hoping you enjoyed your three-day Free Time Bonanza. Lord knows I did. Between Saturday’s powerful deluge of awesomeness with the Benjatas and last night’s avalanche of…
Jeff Giles
4 Min Read
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…
Jeff Giles
8 Min Read
Pussy Cats (1974) Since receiving unsolicited public praise for his work from Lennon and McCartney, Nilsson had maintained a friendship with the members of the band; in fact, 1973’s Son…