Best Music of 2008 – Mates of State

One of my favorite Christmas gifts was Re-Arrange Us, the latest CD from the band Mates of State. Though it’s their fifth full-length album, they are new to me, and I’d like to introduce them to you!
Don’t let their indie-rock posturing fool you, these two are nothing but pop music fun!
I first heard about Mates [...]

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Top 10 Listing Begins

From one of Drew’s favorite film critics (“he thinks outside the box”), and care of one of my favorite uncles…
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98634268
More Top 10 lists to come from us. And, of course, we’d love to hear your Top 10 for 2008 (or Top 3 or Top 20, whatever you have!) in any pop culture category you like!
Oh, [...]

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Newman & New Dylan

Not much to say that hasn’t already been eloquently stated elsewhere about the passing of Paul Newman. He was a legend in cinema who decided to do something with his fame that impacted people positively beyond his excellent work on screen. Check out the touching tribute below by David Letterman in case you missed it. [...]

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A Truly Pleasurable Read

Last month my mother-in-law, Katie, read Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. She so enjoyed it (finishing it in less than two days) that I was inspired to borrow it and read it myself. I knew that I’d read this book at some point in my public school education, but only the names of the [...]

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Goodbye Summer…..

I know, I know… I have been downright lazy the last few weeks and have no excuse for my lack of involvement here. I will do better after Labor Day, I promise.
Here are a few items of interest brought to you mostly by readers of this blog. How exciting!

First of all, in light of high [...]

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Tom Waits Live

Not everyone’s cup of mud I know, but the eccentric, gravel-throated, mad-genius has just allowed NPR to host a full concert on the All Songs Considered website. Recorded in Atlanta from the last night stateside of his recent 13-city “Glitter and Doom” tour, he pulls out classics, reinterpretations and new material with the signature banter [...]

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Why I Love Iron Man

Earlier this week I heard the beginning of Kerri Miller’s interview with Kenneth Turan, a film critic for the Los Angeles Times, on MPR’s Midmorning. Bemoaning the influx of cheesy, “frothy” movies released each summertime, Miller & Turan discussed the fact that so many summer movies are geared toward “13-year-old boys.” Miller expressed particular frustration [...]

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Icelandic Pop!

Have a hankering for ethereal orchestral rock music from Iceland?
Well look no further than the new album by Sigur Ros. Who cares if you can’t pronounce either their album or song titles, music is universal right?
Their new album is streaming for ONE WEEK ONLY (before its big release). Enjoy, or let us know why [...]

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New Music

I am often asked where I hear about new music and my answer is usually pretty vague. Mostly because I hear about new music from so many different places; friends, family, radio, magazines, podcasts, etc. But I thought I would throw out some of my sources that keep me privy to both new music by [...]

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