For the second time I spent the first part of a week in D.C. and – for the first time – I rode the Amtrak Acela, perhaps best described as the Eastern seaboard’s very own Bullet Train. My thoughts of the Acela: nice seats, ho-hum lighting, (same) awful food,
Disruptive, foreboding, (and mostly) instrumental, The Order of Things (a reference to French Structuralist Michel Foucault?) is often a somber affair. Taking this into account, one should not steer away from this finely crafted album, the intricateness and depth of which absolutely astounds. Transporting. Favorite tracks: ‘Adonai,’ ‘Popul Vuh,’ ‘Death
Rhythm of Black Lines makes invigorating, sweeping Prog, as elusive as it is enchanting, with guitar, bass, and drums individually—and uniquely—pushing the limits of your comprehension. This is Prog that evokes the classic strains of Yes and Genesis, not the neo-Prog of the Thrill Jockey set: look
It’s that time of year again, it’s probably sometime this week, and, rest assured, you’re going to make an ass of yourself: the office holiday party. Consider these Office Party Tips from Christmas.com that range from the logical Select an alternative location for the party if
Because his cocaine use at the time was so heavy, David Bowie does not remember 1976, the year this album saw release. I suppose it’s just as well, since much of Station to Station sounds like the work of someone in a very unique place, much as this album
Yesterday on my way to work I saw a man, possibly in his seventies, helping someone dressed in a full chicken costume out of the back of a van. After the ‘chicken’ was safely removed from the truck, the man looked to this teenager, presumably knowing him, said, ‘See?’ and
Awkward and backwards, North Carolina’s Polvo surprises at every turn. ‘Is this the part? No, wait, here it comes.’ Repeated listens won’t deter the confusion, but the songs always sounds good, and Polvo knew when to keep the good bits going, and when to cut the meaningless meanderings
Prog rock at one of its finest moments, though perhaps not at its most ambitious (and that should probably be seen as a good thing), Fragile sees Yes expressing restraint in its endeavors, with a keen eye toward expanding the parameters of an, erm…eight-minute pop song in ‘Roundabout,
It was a long, long trip on a long, long train back from Pennsylvania today. Got home – famished and exhausted – dropped the bags, walked deliriously to a favorite restaurant, and dined. A glass of wine in my tired brain later, I heard from an accompanying table: No, no, get this
A mind-searing epic of beauty, 1991’s Loveless is an album that, in itself, spawned thousands of bands, and changed the face of music in so very many ways, in so many ways to have reached an undeniably legendary status. Songs that can somehow compress no fewer than forty
