The pandemic and its 10 months (and counting) of isolation have allowed us to do some profound navel-gazing. And even as most of us don’t have an ability to write about what we found in the deep-down, a few good folks have managed to put that isolation into song. Brooklyn-based songwriter Sam Phelps’ new EP, […]
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In this big, mean ol’ world, sometimes the hardest thing to do is change. Especially when all about you seems to be falling to pieces, it can seem easier to dig your heels in and resist the obvious. Pennsylvania-based songwriter Jay Carlis wants to talk about that reluctance on his album Here We Are. Carlis […]
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I’m willing to bet that we don’t have a whole bunch of disco devotees traveling with us on Americana Highways. There just isn’t a lot of crossover seen between the two genres. But for every commonly accepted musical opinion, there’s always at least one dissenting voice. In this case, that voice belongs to none other […]
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2020 was a time of tremendous loss, and before we finish sending last year on its way to wherever it is that bad years go, we have one last chance to say goodbye to Justin Townes Earle. A few months after Earle died last summer, his father announced an album of his son’s songs, with […]
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45 RPM Last year, I titled my year-end list “33 RPM (Reasons to Purchase Music).” Well, in a year of great music and dumpster fire everything else, 33 ain’t gonna cut it. Here are 45 reasons you need to scrape together some cash – RIGHT NOW – and support your favorite artists. Top 10(ish) Favorite […]
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If you’re spending time on this website, music has an outsized importance in your life. We all have the artists who hit us the hardest, and for nearly two decades, Ryan Adams was one of those for me. His appearance on Letterman a few short weeks after 9-11 was maybe the first time it felt […]
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During what may become known as the Year of Covers, many musicians have gone against type to recreate songs by beloved artists outside their own comfort zone, often with great success. Few, though, have sought to reinterpret entire albums by a single artist. For his second release of 2020 (following April’s Migration Stories), M. Ward […]
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There are really two types of holiday albums – the ones you listen to while decking the halls and swigging eggnog (my go-to every year is Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song) or with the family on the big day while opening gifts are the big sellers each year. But the other kind are the […]
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In all the great music and awful chaos of 2020, one thing that’s been in short supply is sad love songs. There have been some devastating albums (Courtney Marie Andrews’ Old Flowers remains the best break-up record of the year), but the old, odd comfort of finding that solitary sadness in the midst of a […]
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For a guy who suddenly, sadly lost his band of 40 years (and his close friend) back in 2017, Mike Campbell has been a busy man this fall. The erstwhile Heartbreaker spent a good chunk of time honing and promoting the release of Tom Petty’s Wildflowers & All the Rest. He co-wrote and played on […]
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