The Fabled Automatic

Taylor Swift has been known for genre switching in the past, most notably in 2014, when her fifth studio album 1989  took a turn from her then typical country towards 80s inspired synth pop. Now, in the current period of isolation, she has again shifted her sound.  Her newest project, Folklore  was a surprise release, only being announced a day before the record was due to drop. The album also comes just under a year after her last studio album Lover . In collaboration with Aaron Dessner (The National) and Jack Antonoff (Lorde, Bleachers, Fun.) as co-producers, Swift brings us an alternative project, and doing something lyrically unusual for her, telling fictional stories (hence the name). Dessner and Antonoff work in elements of their own personal styles, while, again, maintaining the essence of Swifts general sound. The record uses a lot of piano, instead of synthesizer. And in place of drum machines and 808s, there are brush drums. Antonoff said in an Instagram post af...

Thrilled to have a guest writer contribute to this post.  Richard is my dear friend of almost 30 years and a musical 'soul mate'.  He was the first person I knew who had an apartment and our groups' frequent visits there were always centered around music.  Meeting Richard and being introduced to the music he loved was a natural extension of what I had experienced at home.  Still rooted in classic rock, Richard was a little more 'metal', a little more discerning and definitely the most opinionated person about music I had met to date.  My favorite music argument we ever has went something like this.  "The Beatles?  Forget the Beatles.  ELO actually did everything the Beatles were trying to do."  Could have been straight from the mouth of Lester Bangs.   Most importantly, Richard was the first Springsteen fanatic I had ever met.  He had stories about the Born in the USA tour, bootlegs, video tapes of performances by the band (har...

Guess it’s about time I wrote something before I get kicked off the staff! First, let me re-introduce myself. I just recently retired. I came of musical age in the sixties and seventies so I am pretty much steeped in genres that today are called Oldies and Classic Rock. In recent years I’ve expanded to listen to a lot more classic and contemporary jazz. I’m really glad that I have a son, and now a grandson, to nudge me into listening to music that isn’t pushing fifty years old. I recently watched the documentary “John and Yoko: Above US Only Sky” which was released in 2018. It’s a look into the lives of John Lennon and Yoko Ono during the writing and recording of John’s 1971 album Imagine. It uses both video shot at the time of the recording sessions and recent interviews with people involved in the album. (You can find it on Netflix…) Back in the day I never did jump on the “We hate Yoko because she broke up the Beatles” bandwagon. I think the musical and creative talent in the Beatle...

In July, the  Dixie  Chicks released their first studio album in 14 years. The anathematic single 'March March' and its associated socially poignant video piqued Nate's interest, which has led to an interesting discussion in our house about The Chicks and their music.  I explained to Nate how they were famously ostracized by the country music community after making controversial comments about President George Bush and the war in Iraq, and that they have never been afraid to publicly voice their opinions.  I respected them then, because what they were saying was 'just because you don't agree with what your government is doing, that does not make you un-American'. After he played me the new record, I told him, "I was proud of them then, and I am proud of them now."  Its a record about standing up for yourself, and independence. About believing in your own power and not being afraid to show it.  I was thrilled that he connected with them and the message....

I think we can all agree that the 'recent' quarantine has been less than enjoyable, however, I'm sure it's forced many of us to also create new forms of entertainment for ourselves. For me personally, I decided to make an major effort at discovering new music for relief from extreme boredom. I started a list of notable albums I had yet to listen to. Then, inevitably, my dad and a family friend of ours learned of the list, and made their own additions. Needless to say, the list grew... and grew..  Here's a photo.  The concept of the project was simple. I add an album that I had heard about or that someone else had recommended, and once I listen to it, I mark it off, and note my opinion of it. All sorts of albums, artists, and genres  made the list. It has definitely  exploded my personal library. Ranging from Cyndi Lauper and Roy Orbison (Dawn), to Steely Dan and Clapton (Paka) to REM and Jayhawks (Dad), the list has currently grown to 220 albums, ~ 165 of which I ha...

My music journey didn't really start the way you might think. When I was younger, I didn't really listen to much music. My Dad tried to get me into it, but nothing seemed to stick. I did have a few Springsteen songs I like to listen to on the way to school, but it wasn't really much more than that.  Around 6th grade my dad started playing different artists in the car and I remember him playing me Are You Experienced? by The Jimi Hendrix Experience and telling me about him playing the guitar upside down. I Iiked it, but what I was really thinking about was how I wanted to discover some music for myself. I needed a favorite song. So I tried. I found a YouTube video that featured 24k Magic By Bruno Mars. I thought it had a good beat, so I liked it. I listened to it over and over again and told my whole family and all my classmates that it was my favorite song. But it wasn’t actually my favorite song. I was much more concerned with having a favorite song to talk about, ...