The Swingle Singers – The Well Tempered Clavier from Anyone for Mozart, Bach, Handel, Vivaldi? (1989)Red House Painters – All Mixed Up from Songs for a Blue Guitar (1996)El-P –…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Part three in a yearlong weekly series designed to get you up off your dead ass and dancing. Who doesn’t love a little Joe Jackson Level 42? Nobody, that’s who:although…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Some Velvet Blog doffs its cap to Little Feat; DaBlog takes a look at Steve Smith’s extracurricular activities, then toasts the great Roach/Gillespie summit, the great Snooks Eaglin, and Freddie…
The Chartburn Panel
11 Min Read
Mainstream Rock: Quarterflash, “Harden My Heart” (1981) Jason: As a kid, I always had to pass through Quarterflash before I could get to the Queen records in the store. Pissed…
Jason Hare
8 Min Read
We need to change the title of this series this week. Don’t believe me? Well, why don’t we take a trip together – a laaaaame trip together – back to…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Yesterday’s Power Balladeers were roped into recording material by outside writers, and their career suffered accordingly. At the other end of the spectrum sat the post-rehab Aerosmith, gleefully lapping up…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Never let it be said that this blog does not have a raging chubby for all things Nick Lowe-related:and now, thanks to reader Stephen, we have a chance to prove…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
I’m sure that, once upon a time, bands recorded power ballads for, um, artistic reasons. Falling in and out of love can make a man do strange things, like recording…
Jeff Giles
3 Min Read
Aretha Franklin – Aretha (1986) purchase this album (Amazon) Often, when researching potential albums for this column — yes, I do research; quit laughing, fuckers — I’m surprised by what’s…
Scott Malchus
5 Min Read
It was supposed to be like any other first date: Go to a movie, get to know each other, maybe have a couple of drinks, and, if lucky enough, share…
Jeff Giles
4 Min Read
What were you doing in 1986? If you were a suburban kid with access to a radio or MTV, you were experiencing the dawn of rap as a commercial force…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
The masses have spoken, and I have listened. Lo and behold, fuckers — every (week)day this month, I’ll be “treating” you to a power ballad! (For more on why I’m…
Jason Hare
1 Min Read
Note:Á‚ Mellow Gold #42 marks the original appearance of the now-infamous Mellow Gold logo.Á‚ Although it now appears on every post, let’s re-live the near-unbearable excitement, shall we? Welcome back…
Jeff Giles
29 Min Read
[Jefito’s Note: Now this is an Idiot’s Guide — 33 years and approximately 600 albums of music, all boiled down into a relatively manageable few thousand words (and few dozen…
Scott Malchus
1 Min Read
While searching for a Jonathan Franzen short story sent to me a couple years ago, I came across a folder of old journal entries that date back to my senior…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
(For more information on the 2 Meter Sessions, see 2 Meter Sessions: Volume One) Paul Weller – Above The CloudsJayhawks – Nevada CaliforniaJohn Trudell – Beauty In A FadeLong John…
Jeff Giles
2 Min Read
Glenn Frey – True Love (1988) We’ve covered some crappy songs here in the past — and trust me when I tell you that we will cover many more —…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Hess – Everybody from Just Another Day (2003)BoDeans – Hey Pretty Girl from Blend (1996)Toto – Blackeye from I Will Remember (single) (1995)Michelle Shocked – Used Car Lot from Don’t…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Part two in a weekly, yearlong series designed to get you up off your dead ass and dancing. Shake your groove thing! Eurythmics – Would I Lie to You? (remix)
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Soul Shower’s Summer Fling adds a pair of covers to the festivities; Some Velvet Blog goes apeshit with music-y goodness, offering a taste of the acoustic stylings of Chris and…
The Chartburn Panel
17 Min Read
Mainstream Rock: Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas, “Mas Tequila” (1999) Will: Where to start with this? Well, how about that Gary Glitter really deserves a co-write? Several times throughout the…
Jason Hare
10 Min Read
Welcome back to another exciting Friday! Before we start this week’s attack, I just want to thank those of you who e-mailed and offered to send me the i-Ten album…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
I hope you’ve been enjoying our two-week burst of Lemonhead-fresh tunes, because to wrap it all up in true Bootleg City fashion, Robert has donated a collection of Lemonheads and…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Indulge a few moments of paternal pride, if you will. My wife and I took our daughter and our friends, Brad and Felina, to the beach today. On the way…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Sheena Easton, the adult comtemporary pop princess of the early ’80s, got a bit of a makeover in 1984 with her album, A Private Heaven, thanks to the Top 5…
Jeff Giles
2 Min Read
Pointer Sisters – Hot Together (1986) purchase this album (Amazon) To my generation, the Pointer Sisters were an act that leapt fully formed out of the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack;…
Jason Hare
2 Min Read
What were you doing in 1986? If you were a suburban kid with access to a radio or MTV, you were experiencing the dawn of rap as a commercial force…
Jason Hare
10 Min Read
Welcome back, folks, to another edition of Adventures Through The Mines Of Mellow Gold! This week’s post is going to be a bit different, since I attended a real, live…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
I think most of us, at one point or another, have carried an unrequited torch for someone. Mine happened to last, off and on, for about five years, meaning that…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Jonah Smith – Jonah Smith (2007)purchase this album (JRS Direct) Smith bills himself as a “roots/soul singer-songwriter,” but musically, he’s less Bill Withers (or even Ray LaMontagne) than Amos Lee….