a blog for those who never gave up their turntables or records
I PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AN ARTICLE about the use of dashes titled “On Those Pesky Dashes As Punctuation Marks” on Neal Umphred Dot Com. There I addressed the em-dash (—), the en-dash (–), and the hyphen (-). It should have included some suggestions on the proper use of the forward leaning slash (/). After all, graphically the forward-slash, or virgule, is just an upright, slanted dash! READ MORE
A FEW WEEKS AGO, I received an invitation from a young musician in England to make a connection on the LinkedIn site, the “world’s largest professional network.” Reluctantly I accepted it, despite the fact that I have yet to meet anyone who has actually benefited professionally from any of their LinkedIn connections. Nonetheless, I certainly don’t know everyone on that network, so maybe I was missing something. READ MORE
THIS IS PART 3 of an ongoing conversation with or about Lawrence Bray concerning his career as a solo artist and as a member of the group Around Town. The group has a new record Out Of Control and both it and its accompanying video gave me great joy to participate within. Here I have a few words with Michael Godfrey, the writer, arranger, and producer of Out Of Control, who channels the rich sonic palette of George Martin. READ MORE
MIND GARDENS, one of David Crosby’s contributions to the Byrds’ legacy, has been a bone of contention among fans since its release on the YOUNGER THAN YESTERDAY album in 1967. Actually, using that euphemism is inaccurate: almost everyone has something negative to say about the recording—the lyrics, the singing, the music. Including me!
As time has passed, my enjoyment of those Sixties artists who took a chance here and there has grown, especially given how narrow the mainstream became in the ’70s and how boring since. READ MORE
EARLIER THIS YEAR, I posted my first Amazon review, this one of the Rolling Stones’ album THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST. It had the over-long and grammatically cumbersome title of “Clearly their answer to PET SOUNDS—or at least Good Vibrations—SGT. PEPPER is actually as disparate an artifact as REVOLVER.”
What the title was intended to mean is this: SGT. READ MORE
BY 1963, JACKIE DeSHANNON had released fifteen singles and she had just turned 22 years old! By the end of the decade, she would score a pair of Top 10 hits (What The World Needs Now Is Love and Put A Little Love In Your Heart) but would have problems getting any of her other fine sides played on AM radio none ever came close to the Top 10 again. READ MORE