The Song of Euphoria
As of this second, I have a new project on Kickstarter called Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this game and this project. It is the product of countless hours of research, brainstorming, designing, coordinating, and playtesting. And I loved every minute of it. You don’t read [...]
Let’s Look at the Lyrics: The Boys Are Back in Town
Maybe it’s because of the sheer number of commercials that feature this one-hit wonder by Thin Lizzy, but I loathe this song. Let’s look at the lyrics: The boys are back in town: Oh, cool, the boys are back in town. I don’t know why you’re telling me, but I guess it’s good to know. [...]
Let’s Look at the Lyrics: I’d Do Anything for Love (but I Won’t Do That)
One of the great mysteries of my childhood was MTV. I rarely watched MTV, but every once in a while I’d turn it on when my parents weren’t home to catch up on pop culture. I couldn’t tell the difference between songs that came out that week or 10 years ago, so the hottest new [...]
Let’s Look at the Lyrics: The Thong Song
Last week I examined the timeless classic song from The Sound of Music, “Do Re Mi.” Naturally, today I look at the next evolution in music, Sisqo’s “The Thong Song.” If you’ve never heard “The Thong Song,” I’m going to feel really old, so please just pretend you have or go watch the music video [...]
Let’s Look at the Lyrics: The Sound of Music Song
I remember watching only a few movies growing up: Home Alone, Pretty Woman (inexplicably, given that I wasn’t even allowed to watch PG-13 movies until I was 13), Newsies, and The Sound of Music. We knew The Sound of Music better than the Von Trapp family. I don’t know why, but it was a family [...]
My Favorite Songs of 2012
Do you ever go way back in your music collection and listen to songs that you haven’t heard in years? That’s what happened to me this year after I resorted my hard drive and had to re-rate all of my iTunes music. I’m still not quite done (it’s a slow process) but I’ve really enjoyed [...]
Best of 2012: Readers’ Choices
A few weeks ago, I asked you to fill out a brief survey indicating your favorite books, movies, songs, and blog posts of 2012. Before I launch into my personal best-of-2012 lists this week, I thought I’d give the reader responses center stage. These are listed in no particular order except that if one of [...]
What’s Your Favorite Song Right Now?
I love this question, and I want to ask it more often. It’s an infinitely better question than, “What kind of music do you like?” That question is way too broad. It’s like asking what kind of food you like or what you like to do in your free time. There are too many possible [...]
Pet Please #66: The Moment When Two Voices Join in a Duet
I’ve been surprised by the recent popularity of the Gotye song “Somebody That I Used to Know.” It came out almost a year ago, and yet it gained traction sometime this winter and has been at the top of the charts since then. It’s a catchy song, easy to remember, and full of emotion, but [...]
The Best Concert I’ve Ever Been To
I haven’t been to that many concerts in my life, but I feel like I’ve said this at least a dozen times: “That was by far the best concert I’ve ever been to.” And then I say it again the next time. Maybe each consecutive concert is inherently better than the last. A few very [...]
My Favorite Songs of 2011
After learning about some new ways to discover music in 2011, picking the 18 best was quite difficult. Here’s my best effort. Keep in mind that some of this music was released before 2011, but I attained it this year. I’ve also linked to YouTube for your sampling pleasure (if the song was available). Ten-Twenty-Ten (The [...]
Pet Peeve #38: Album-Only Songs
A few weeks ago I saw an interesting movie called Drive. One of the best parts of the movie was the music–and the lack there of–depending on what the scene called for. I realized after seeing the movie that I think there was only music in the scenes where Ryan Gosling was driving, perhaps because [...]
How Do You Discover New Music?
How do you discover new music? I love that there isn’t a perfect system for discovering new bands and artists. Instead, there are a plethora of systems that people can use depending on their tastes and preferences. You have the classic word of mouth in addition to iTunes Genius, Pandora, and YouTube, as well as [...]
My Favorite Songs of 2010
Wow. This was either a good year for music, or I was just loose with the ole’ wallet. I bought 286 songs in 2010. I think a big part of it is due to the iTunes Genius widget–it’s eerily good at recommending new songs, and then once I find a new song I like, I [...]
The Coolest Music Video of All Time
If you want to watch the coolest music video of all time completely unspoiled, please go here and watch it first (takes 4 minutes). But the following analysis shouldn’t conflict with your viewing experience. The first thing you’ll notice when you go to the video page is a box that reads, “Enter the address of [...]
Welcome to Deer Tick
A former girlfriend of mine once saw John Mayer before he was John Mayer. Have you ever had that happen? I think I had that happen tonight. I saw a band called Deer Tick at Off Broadway in St. Louis tonight. Just got back. Ears are still ringing. They were at capacity with about 200 [...]
My Favorite Songs of 2009
Every year since the beginning of time (or, 2007 and 2008), I’ve compiled a list of my favorite songs that I bought on iTunes that year. I purchased 126 songs in 2009. These are my favorites. My top 4 are the first four, and the rest are in no particular order. The Heartless Bastards is [...]
A Ray of Sunshine: Concert Review
Thanks to Nancy’s passionate love for Ray LaMontagne, I attended a Ray concert with in Louisville yesterday. It was one of the best concerts I’ve ever attended, made all the better by the beautiful girl by my side (I think her name was Brahbrah. Call me!). If you haven’t heard of Ray, now you have. [...]
The 2008 Playlist
Last year, I posted a playlist of my favorite songs that I heard for the first time and purchased on iTunes in 2007. In 2007, I purchased 192 songs. My favorites, the ones that best represent 2008 for me, are as follows: Revelry (Kings of Leon) Mama, I’m Coming Home (Ozzy Osbourne) Fake Empire (The [...]
A Quick Concert Primer
Last night I went to the Kings of Leon concert at The Pageant in St. Louis. It was an incredible show–great band, great song selection, great crowd. And in a non-smoking atmosphere, to top it all off. I did learn two things while observing the the bands (The Whigs and We Are Scientists opened for [...]
Kings of Leon
I mentioned the other day that the Kings of Leon are about to be huge. Maybe they already are huge; I’m really not the one to ask (as seen by my recent discovery of Led Zeppelin). But I think the time is now for the Kings. One, they just appeared on SNL. Two, they released [...]
Jamey Goes to a Rap Concert
(Warning: This is far less amusing than what it could have been.) A few months ago, a law clerk in St. Louis mentioned to Caroline that he’s a member of a rap group. He invited her to a concert, and she didn’t end up going that time. Last week, she ran into him again and [...]
