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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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,…
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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…
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…
DOWNLOAD THE FULL MIX HERE Bonjour mes amis! This week’s mix is brought to you by the letter “L” Á¢€” which is the first letter in leukemia and lymphoma. I…
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…
We had a good response to the Friday Night Lights writeup last week, and I thought that all the loyal fans out there should be made aware of Ben Silverman’s…
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…
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,…
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…
[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…
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…
Each year Turner Classic Movies airs 31 straight days of Oscar-nominated feature films and shorts. This year they’ve added a nice twist by spotlighting a different decade every day of…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Years ago, I used to teach political science to students whose level of interest ran the range from apathetic to enthusiastic Á¢€” with a good chunk in the middle just…
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…
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…
I knew I wasn’t voting Republican, that much was certain. No offense to our Republican readers, but eight years is enough. I am not better off than I was in…
Like the finest Springsteen song, or a Steinbeck novel, Friday Night Lights is an American treasure.