This week is a bit of a somber one for me, as Nov. 25/26 marks the 20th anniversary of my mother’s death from cancer at the far too young age of 52. I give those dates because she passed away late at night after Thanksgiving of 1999, likely with the cold front that curls over […]
The Setlist
Our picks for the week’s best live music plus interviews and music news.
Posted inMusic
To Autumn
It’s definitely been what John Keats called a “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, close bosom friend of the maturing sun” recently. We have been lucky in that sense because even though I have been swerving in the low fog a lot lately to avoid the odd raccoon, dog, cat or dark-hoodied skateboarder, I have […]
Posted inMusic
Loving the Alien
Despite some of the disapprobation I get from the public as feedback for a few of my hotter takes in this column, I am not a particularly “woke” person nor do I have much interest in being one. The only reason I talk about politics so much in a local music column is that I […]
Posted inMusic
PG&E WTF
I’m hastily typing this out a few days earlier than usual because I’m trying to beat the clock on PG&E’s incoming Saturday power austerity, which I am sure you will have all been heartily inconvenienced by as of press time. I’d like to say that this sort of thing is unexpected and will likely be […]
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Halloween Lite
This is an odd series of days to report on the nightlife, as it so happens Halloween is just past the clutches of this writer’s ichorous, undead claws. By which I mean it falls on a Thursday so I have to kick the can for another week before I can deliver the goods. But most […]
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The Week in Review
Like everyone reading this, I survived the blackout PG&E inflicted upon us. Sitting in the dark, reading books by candlelight and headlamp, gave me ample thinking time, so I have decided to review some of last week’s events, both worldly and personal. One thought came to mind: Public utilities should be publicly owned, and the […]
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A Wee Touch of the Lurgy
I have what I am telling myself is a slight cold. Maybe it has something to do with my multi-generational associates: My friend’s absurdly cute baby seemed a little snottier than usual when I picked her up the other day and I will tell you that nothing is more likely to Trojan Horse disease into […]
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I’m Your Man in thePeanut Gallery
I was in my early 20s when I realized that I would never cut it as a strictly objective journalist. I had just sold my second piece of freelance writing to a now-defunct magazine called Clamor. It was an interview with Christian Parenti, the author and Iraq War correspondent for The Nation magazine. Hearing about […]
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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Full disclosure, I absolutely love autumn. In fact, fall is one of the only times I feel justified in my general instinct to cloister myself away from the rest of the human world while finding a balance between social isolation and subterranean slumber. This might seem like a cop-out to many of you and I […]
Posted inMusic
Some Things Last A Long Time
Last week two very different musical geniuses passed away. Ric Ocasek was a hook-writer like no other before or since, and was the mind behind The Cars, as well as a talented producer behind the boards. Daniel Johnston was a lo-fi music collage artist who suffered openly and tremendously from various mental health issues for […]
Posted inMusic
Lend A Hand If You Can
It’s been an active week for a news junkie like myself. Johnathan Franzen took a backheel approach to climate change in the pages of the New Yorker and, in doing so, cemented for all time the terminal uselessness of the establishment liberal position on nearly any topic. A brave banjo-wielding man busted the crap out […]
