Category: Series of posts
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Top 40 Over 40.29: 50 Ways to Be Steve Malkmus
When I started writing this series a number of years ago, I didn’t think I would be including Stephen J. Malkmus in the line up. My last year in college I had 7 roommates, several of whom played Slanted & Enchanted like 75 million times. I burned out on Pavement in the process, mostly through…
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The Core Is Getting Soft.18: SketchCassette
My mother used to tell me she got a weird feeling when she walked into vintage clothing stores in the 1990’s. She said a lot of the clothes on display looked she things was used to seeing in the 1950’s when she was growing up. It was odd for her to see the time of…
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Top 40 Over 40.28: Matana Roberts, Coin Coin Chapter Four: Memphis
Yes, social media can be a waste of time, and a low self esteem machine. Yes, it facilitates hate and social sniping. But – with a good roster of musical friends it can also introduce you to a lot of great new music – both in the sense of just released, and new-to-you. My latest…
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Other John Davises.7: Up for auction
Diversification: the key to financial success. A cliché to be sure, but one worth following. I am blessed to collect revenue from a vast stream of people who share my name, through a special patent I have placed on it. Thus, a feeling of joy flooded me when Andy Danser, an excellent guitar craftsman who…
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Top 40 Over 40.27: No Protection
Remixes usually disappoint me. I often imagine it’s because they’re run off quickly without the remixer having an in person musical relationship with the artist they’re remixing. I didn’t really dig either the UNKLE or Dust Brothers remixes that were done of Folk Implosion’s Natural One & Insinuation. When One Part Lullaby came out in…
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The Core Is Getting Soft.17: Iris
While this site is not organized for commercial purposes, I did want to let those musically productive readers know that Izotope’s fantastic virtual sample based synthesizer Iris 2 is on sale for just $29. You can also get it combined with Izotope’s Trash 2 distortion plug in for $49. I used the Iris 2 extensively…
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Top 40 Over 40.25: Wise Intelligent
Even rarer than artists making great records after 40 is those who are able to do so in quick succession. Back when I was high school, Hüsker Dü released New Day Rising and Flip Your Wig only 8 months apart. It’s hard to imagine young bands doing that in today’s post-internet crash music economy, let…
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Top 40 Over 40.24: Zero Set
1982: I was 12 years old and listening to James Taylor.* Ouch. I could have been listening to an album that came out that year by Moebius, Plank, and Neumeier called Zero Set. That would have been a better outcome for all concerned. Conny Plank (above) would have been 42 when this came out, which qualifies…
