‘Twas a dark and stormy afternoon:! Seriously, you guys. It was almost sunny when I left the house this morning–something about which I laughed bitterly to myself while walking to…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
It’s twelve weeks tomorrow, so I guess now’s when we’re supposed to start making general announcements. I’m not really sure:we’ve never done this before. I pledge to keep this space…
Jeff Giles
2 Min Read
So we’ve been shopping for a camcorder. Having never owned one (unless that bulky VHS thing my parents owned counts), it’s been a slow process. We solicited advice from some…
Jeff Giles
2 Min Read
What a weekend. I spent a lot of it with a shovel in my hands–determined to remake our bad-mojo-infested house back into a cozy home, we ran a 48-hour Living…
John C. Hughes
2 Min Read
When it comes to spectacular pop flame-outs, it’s still tough to match the Knack, even 25 years after the phenomenal success of “My Sharona” and their debut album, “Get the…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
So, as some of you may remember, during a recent trip to the grocery store, I discovered a terrible new development in applesauce engineering: I was too stunned to buy…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
“These are dire times, men,” said the CEO of Sunshine Foods to the members of the board. “Profits are up, sure, but what with all of our bonus packages eating…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
That was my mantra in 1988, when industrial music was in its golden age, and I was a sucker for anything released on the Chicago Wax Trax label. Most if…
John C. Hughes
5 Min Read
Question: You’re the lead singer and lyricist of an up and coming underground synth-based band. You’ve just lost your songwriter and main keyboardist to an ego clash. You’re left with…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
It’s called B(e), pronounced “B-to-the-E,” and it’s Budweiser’s latest innovation in their quest to make terrible beer. “Hey, people like Red Bull in their vodka,” say the Bud geniuses. “Why…
Jeff Giles
2 Min Read
At the grocery store last weekend, I noticed a pair of new, horrible-looking food products, so naturally, I had to buy them. I thought it would probably be awhile before…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
I shouldn’t be laughing at this, but I am: Policymakers and citizens pondering the merits of Social Security reform should consider new evidence showing that “social security” adversely affects decisions…
John C. Hughes
3 Min Read
It was tough being one of two Frankie Goes to Hollywood fans in my suburban/rural Ohio hometown in 1985. The popular musical force at Elyria West High School was hair…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Sometimes you go through your old albums and run across one that leaves you scratching your head, wondering “why did I buy this?” This happened to me the other day…
Jeff Giles
3 Min Read
Ladies and gentlemen, in the BLUE corner, hailing from POST and loaded with TEN ESSENTIAL VITAMINS & MINERALS (including IRON AND ZINC FOR GROWTH), we have MARSHMALLOW MANIA PEBBLES: And…
Jeff Giles
7 Min Read
Miss Christina drives a 944 Satisfaction oozes from her pores She keeps rings on her fingers, marble on her floor Cocaine in her dresser, bars on her door She keeps…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Greetings, Videots! Come read about my latest brave excursion into the 1980th dimension–at my new digs!
John C. Hughes
3 Min Read
Once upon a time, Bob Geldof was an asshole, and infinitely more interesting. I’m using the term “asshole” in the most complimentary, and admittedly, inflammatory fashion here. Geldof, alongside the…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
from Billboard: Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, at which artists including the Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bob Seger recorded classic songs, has closed. The…
John C. Hughes
4 Min Read
Welcome to Lost in the “Ëœ80s. Here’s where you’ll find the other side of all the big hits you remember”¦the failed follow-ups to the one-hit wonders, the album tracks that…
Jeff Giles
7 Min Read
Presented for your edification and reading/listening pleasure: a brief summary of the recorded output of one Mister Bruce Hornsby. He’s popularly known mostly for his earliest singles, and of these…
Jeff Giles
2 Min Read
So I?ve never really liked wine. Well, that isn?t really fair?I mean, I only started drinking anything alcoholic like six years ago?so I guess it?s better to say that my…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Lots of good new music lately, although it’s all decidedly of the ultra-sensitive coffeehouse variety. If this keeps up, soon I will grow breasts and start taking a lot of…
Jeff Giles
2 Min Read
This week’s mp3 collection comes from a band you’ve probably never heard. Or heard of. Or if you’ve done either, it was probably so long ago you’ve forgotten about it….