The Barr Brothers: Self Titled

The Barr Brothers are on NPR this morning. Most of you will know these two characters, Brad and Andrew Barr, from one of my favorite pseudo-jam, folk, rock bands, The Slip, which is currently paused while the brothers chase down women and musical inspiration in Canada. I have already talked about The Barr Brothers self-titled […]

Crooked Fingers: Breaks in the Armor

Crooked Fingers is one of those bands who can’t decide where they’re from.  But, it’s OK, we don’t blame them, I don’t want to live in Atlanta either. Their most recent album, 2011’s Breaks in the Armor, is my favorite of the many I’ve heard.  It is more refined and calm than most, except perhaps Reservoir […]

Mike Oldfield: Incantations

The year is 1978 and you are actively participating in the drug-induced, free-love, new age, pre-Ronald Reagan, wacky movement.  Disney’s magical theme park has just opened Space Mountain (damn those drugs, it actually opened three years earlier.) and giddy, you are first in line to be shot through the stratosphere!  Oh, what joy! But whats this?  Rather […]

Of Monsters and Men: My Head is an Animal

In 2010, Of Monsters and Men managed to win the Icelandic “musical experiments” competition: Músíktilraunir, becoming just the second band in the competition’s 29 year history to win with a name Americans can actually understand (previous winners include Dáõadrengir and Soõin Fiõla). Naturally this probably means that they will be a smash hit in the […]

Blues Heroes: Howlin’ Wolf & Robert Johnson

Today I’m listening to a pair of collections of blues greats:  Robert Johnson and Howlin’ Wolf. It is hard to say what kind of an impact Robert Johnson would have had on the world had he lived longer.  Johnson was killed at the age of 27 in Greenwood, Mississippi, after consuming poisoned whiskey while flirting with […]