i hate the sound of guitars

It was just about a month ago that I became aware of the self-described “pop music cult” Hussalonia, and since then I’ve listened to Hussalonia songs about 350 times. Even more surprising, I’m showing no signs of getting sick of them.
Partly this is because Hussalonia is really good*, partly it’s because they (mostly just he [...]

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One of the reasons I never turned into a “real” music writer is that sometimes I get stuck, especially when a piece of music really hits me hard. I want to write about it badly, but because I lack clarity and objectivity, it takes a long time to come up with anything worth reading [...]

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The lead single from Please and Thank You manges to be simultaneously sweet, creepy, and poignant in a character portrait of uncommon economy. The song’s narrator is moving in with his sweetie. If we take him at his word, he’s literally drooling at the thought of a live-in friend-with-privileges, which is at least a [...]

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Glasgow’s Nanobots sound pretty much like they could have fallen through a time warp from the very early 80’s — before New Wave got slick and commercial (or even sharply differentiated from punk). It makes perfect sense that they’ve been opening lately for the current edition of the Rezillos, and I didn’t need to hear [...]

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Friday’s performance was just the tonic for folks who’ve seen Robyn Hitchcock numerous times in the past. The setlist was primarily drawn from his magnificent first (mostly) acoustic album, 1984’s I Often Dream of Trains. He was accompanied by recent frequent accomplice Tim Keegan on guitar and vocals, and (former member of The [...]

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Back in April, I wrote this about Big Dipper:
But if they pull a “Mission of Burma”-style return to active duty (and I hope they do), I would love to see/hear them again when they have another few shows under their belt, hopefully in a better-sounding room, and when I’ve had a chance to rein in [...]

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Breaking all kindsa rules: I haven’t even listened to this record all the way through once, and it’s already one of my favorites of the year. It’s got me bouncing around in my seat so much, I just have to tell someone about it right now!!! Manhattan Love Suicides (from Leeds; the name is [...]

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I got Simulacra via eMusic, which meant I first heard this as a weird record, not as a novelty record. It was an arresting mixture for sure, blending the everything-distorted-all-the-time aesthetic of Parts & Labor/Times New Viking et al; a slow-tempoed, heavy, King Crimsonish vibe; and deep-buried, high-pitched female vocals a bit like Melt Banana, [...]

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I had just enough leftover affection for Kay Hanley’s 90’s act Letters to Cleo to check out the previews for her new record, even though the only thing I remember about her solo debut Cherry Marmalade is that I felt like I didn’t need to hear anything on it twice. I’m really glad I gave [...]

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Great Plains is the band that ruined my life. You might know their signature “Letter to a Fanzine” as the “Why do punk rock guys go out with new wave girls?” song. But I know it as the Song of the Big Lie:

You like everything that comes out on SST
You like everything that comes out [...]

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