For reasons only known to my cranial jukebox I have been stuck down the earmworm hole of the music of Athenaeum. A nearly flawless 90s pop-rock outfit that lasted all of four years they soared to some pretty titanic heights. Single “What I Didn’t Know” landed on the Billboard Hot 100, soaring as high as 58. “Un-noticed,” another single from their Raidance album was used in the film Varsity Blues. The song “Flat Tire”, also from Radiance was a big hit in the Philippines. Read more…
Who the heck knows what makes music popular these days? The more one casually listens to Top 40, the more disenchanted one feels. At least that’s true for this writer.
In a perfect world Nate Bergman would be a chart-topper. Whether that ends up happening remains to be seen. But if this blog has any say in the world (and we think it has some) let this be the first of many posts championing the likes of Mr. Bergman. Read more…
Some people listen to songs to find themselves in the lyrics. Others listen to hear a narrative play out that allows them to dream and ponder. And others want to hear a songwriter’s anguish. This writer certainly leans towards the latter two and nowhere is that more apparent than on Midlake’s new song “Noble.” Read more…
There’s a certain pride in being from New York. A kind of pride that’s hard to explain. Sure everyone is proud of their hometown but New York City, well that’s something different. Okay, sure, technically Long Island was home but the amount of time I’ve spent living and working in NYC is enough to call it home. Even now a decade-plus into living in Central Florida, there are some things one still misses about NYC. Z100 is one of those things. I can’t begin to tell you how many bus rides, carpools, road trips and mundane errands had Z100 as the backdrop. But how exactly did Z100 become the household name it is today? Read more…
I’ve seen WAY too many films this year. As the years continue to pass, I’m becoming more cinephile than audiophile. Much like the best albums list, I’m not too thrilled to put one over the other. All of these films have their merits. Without further ado, here goes. So as not to rank them, we’ll just put them in alphabetical order. I’ll probably have to edit this in a few days and add some others: Read more…
Lists are stupid. Really, really stupid. I don’t like making these lists but America loves them and as such, here it goes. Now for the disclaimer. Are these all the best albums of the year? Probably not. I can’t listen to everything. And now for the controversial part. This list might be alphabetical next year. Why you ask? It can be argued that album #50 is as good as #1 and #35 is as good as #2. But nonetheless here goes. Read more…
We’re always eager to find music that comes out of left field and today’s selection is no different. Kyle Bielfield who performs under his surname is an opera tenor with a Juilliard degree, a stint in the Met Opera and an appearance in the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Angel’s Bone. We always like to celebrate the weekend with a dose of pop music and today is no exception. Read more…
Let’s take a dive in the Wayback Machine and revisit the days of the early 00s. Nu metal, Napster, LimeWare and the American Pie movie franchise, the hilarious coming-of-age set of movies featuring Eugene Levy and Jason Biggs among others. Read more…
As much as we all love American-made music there is no denying that artists and bands east of the Atlantic just do music better. Whether its The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Queen, U2 or Coldplay, the list of Irish and British bands and artists is pages long. Heck, we could add Elton John, Oasis and Ed Sheeran to that list and not even be scratching the surface. Read more…
