The fascinating story of an unsung music legend — In the early 1960s, a simple twist of fate would bring several Los Angeles session musicians together to loosely form the powerhouse collective that came to be known as “the wrecking crew.” Over the course of the next two decades, this proficient group would play on thousands of the most…

Volume one (of many) — As an artist, it must be stressful coming up with album titles. It’s a bit like naming a baby, if that baby’s name was a determining factor in its commercial success or lack thereof. More often than not, artists strive for interesting names, names that make you think, inspiring one…

You can’t make it great again if it never really was — Last week, a man, his wife, and their four children drove from Canada into rural Washington state to visit family. Within three hours of entering the United States, the man hears a loud sound and feels some sort of impact with his vehicle. Initially, he thinks it may be a…

A helpful tip for Mac users only — Everyone has some artists and songs they just can’t stand to listen to. Sometimes even our favorite bands release songs we don’t really care for and would be fine not hearing again. Every time these artists or songs begin playing on a shuffled playlist, we trip over ourselves to get…

All parents should heed this advice to avoid catastrophe. — Kids are full of surprises. They will amaze and amuse you, delight and astound you, and occasionally, they will bewilder and perplex you, overwhelm and even frighten you. As a first-time father working as hard as I can to be the best dad possible, I’m learning new lessons every day…

Remembering the legendary Ramones bassist — Anyone who has ever listened to the Ramones, will immediately recognize the famous rapid-fire shouted, “One! Two! Three! Four!” count-in for nearly every song they performed live or in-studio. That legendary rhythmic rally cry was courtesy of Dee Dee Ramone, bassist for The Ramones from the time of their formation…

The classic album made in exile takes an inevitable journey to Main Street where it remains relevant fifty years on — Garage rock experienced a revival around the turn of the 21st century. Interpretation of what constitutes “garage rock” is as varied as the bands classified under the umbrella of the genre’s largely ambiguous label. …

The phenomenally gifted singer died 25 years ago today — It was dusk on a warm spring evening when a fully clothed Jeff Buckley, singing “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin at the top of his lungs, dove into the Mississippi River. Six months shy of his 31st birthday, it would be the last time anyone saw him alive. Buckley…

Turns out the American dream is just a nightmare — We all saw it coming, right? The fact that we’re all rats on a sinking ship? I mean, everything we’ve witnessed leads to this terribly inconvenient conclusion. Wake up and smell the gunpowder, America. It’s way past time to admit that this country is a miserably failed experiment. Take the…