Come over to the dark side. We have music. A deep dive into a few numbers you might have missed so far on your journey through life. 1: “Midnight Man” by The James Gang 2: “Starless” by the Unthanks 3: “Ach heile mich” by Cassiber 4: “Opening Theme” by Morte Macabre 5: “Gotta Go” by Bud Shank 6: “Night Life” by Ray Price 6a: “Repent Walpurgis” by Procol…

Guitarist, vocalist, absurdist — I’m starting a new series: “Digging ___”, a sort of archaeology of superlative but forgotten musicians, writers, and artists. First up, Slim Gaillard — well-known to brilliant cabaret pianists, fans of jazz musicians who prefigured rock / r&b / rap (like Louis Jordan), and finger-popping hipsters like Jack Kerouac. Because…

Six songs by Annika Norlin — The challenge from Pierce McIntyre: The ‘Each Letter of Your First Name Is a Song’ Challenge In which my name becomes something you can sing and dance along to (well, sort of!)medium.com To make the task a bit more challenging, I decided to focus on my favorite current genre, Swedish Indie Pop. When I found that most of my STEVEN selections were by Annika Norlin (the creative genius behind the groups Hello Saferide and Säkert!), I honed…

A Latin-inspired mid-century Rate-a-Record challenge — A recent Rate-a-Record challenge from Kevin Alexander pits two modern Rhumba songs against each other: Rate-A-Record Challenge Post-modern vs. post-punk editionmedium.com Like the Rhumba, the Mambo was a popular Latin American dance rhythm that gained popularity in the middle of the 20th Century. Most listeners today associate the mambo with Lou Bega’s tremendously popular version (432…

“Shame on my soul for loving you”: A doomed romance subverts a Christian concept album — Plethora of Pop challenge: Tell us about your favorite concept albums and why you love them.” My response: I don’t love this particular album but I love how one of its works calls into question its fundamentally flawed concept of sin and redemption. Truth of Truths Concept albums are often criticized for elevating…

45 rpm finds #1: “I Love You” by the Volumes; “It’s Raining” by the Tifanos — A new series: 45 RPM Finds. Discovering new (old) music on the cheap. For $.77, I recently picked up a single from a band I’d never heard of on a label I’d never heard of, and it turned out to be a treasure (not financially but musically). I’ve mentioned before…