This was the year live music came back after an unprecedented hiatus. A year without live music — what an unthinkable proposition. Like a… — This was the year live music came back after an unprecedented hiatus. A year without live music — what an unthinkable proposition. Like a subplot of twisted post apocalyptic television, we live in a world of our own creation so of course the music never stopped. Artists created pandemic albums…

I saw one film in the theater in 2020 and it was the great 2019 French language film “Portrait of a Lady On Fire.” I miss the quiet… — I saw one film in the theater in 2020 and it was the great 2019 French language film “Portrait of a Lady On Fire.” I miss the quiet, put-your-phone-in-your-pocket, freedom of sitting in a dark room in front of a massive screen without any interruptions. Fifteen years ago, going a…

Wind of Change — Did the CIA commission the writing of the hit Scorpions song “Wind of Change” to end the cold war? Maybe. — Wind of Change — Did the CIA commission the writing of the hit Scorpions song “Wind of Change” to end the cold war? Maybe. Dead and Gone — Part history of the Grateful Dead and part murder mystery around an unsolved murder that happened after one of their shows, “Dead…

High Fidelity (Hulu) — An unexpectedly amazing take on the most perfect original, with Zoe Kravitz handling the Cusack character with… — High Fidelity (Hulu) — An unexpectedly amazing take on the most perfect original, with Zoe Kravitz handling the Cusack character with sharp cynical chops in a world where record shops are even more esoteric than they were back then. The Third Day (HBO) A beautifully shot, outrageously tripped out story…

This the first year of my adult life lived largely without live music. This would have been an almost unimaginable concept before March of… — This the first year of my adult life lived largely without live music. This would have been an almost unimaginable concept before March of 2020, but alas this is where we find ourselves without a specific end in sight. But for me music became even more ever present with work…

Decades ago I read the magically surreal Garcia Marquez classic with a sense of suspended admiration and disbelief. It was magical and… — Decades ago I read the magically surreal Garcia Marquez classic with a sense of suspended admiration and disbelief. It was magical and real for sure, but it also seemed like such an impossibility. Last week while staring at a bookcase I rarely take the time to notice, I saw the…

2019 was a dark year for the human race. Politics, fires, floods, war, anger, and sadness were rampant. I haven’t ever seen so many… — 2019 was a dark year for the human race. Politics, fires, floods, war, anger, and sadness were rampant. I haven’t ever seen so many incredible films that were so consistently bleak yet compelling. It’s hard to imagine that we fix many of these problems during this new decade, but at…

The last year of the decade was every bit as solid as each of the preceding years. Counter to popular belief, I still tend to think that… — The last year of the decade was every bit as solid as each of the preceding years. Counter to popular belief, I still tend to think that real artists make albums. Maybe songs turn slowly into albums, but thematically the 32 releases I fell in love with this year were…

The bigger the internet gets, the easier it is to make and distribute music, and the more sub-genres that tend to emerge, the less… — The Bestest 2018: Tunage The bigger the internet gets, the easier it is to make and distribute music, and the more sub-genres that tend to emerge, the less consensus seems there seems to be. There is more music, more writers and more varied taste than ever before. That said I…