Come Sail Away! — Q: What’s the best way to derail a music nerd’s day? A: Make sure he sees a writing challenge involving music & playlists More than one of us has Steve Goldberg to blame for this. If any of our bosses are reading this, talk to him, not us. This challenge…

A look at the seminal record as it turns 45 — 1989: A kid picks up a copy of De La Soul’s “3 Feet High And Rising.” He comes for “Me Myself and I” but stays for “Eye Know,” in love with the samples used. The kid rarely gets past this track after that. …

I found a nearby store that carries vinyl. Here’s what happened. — Sometimes search engines are a good thing. Sometimes they’re bad. Sometimes, they’re both? I’ve previously written about my favorite local record store being across town and how that’s just enough friction to save me from financial ruin. I’ve also mentioned another second store close enough to walk to. …

The straight outta Lubbock edition — What is this?! On American Bandstand there used to be a segment where two people from the audience listened to a snippets of two different songs. They then rated each one on a scale of 35–98. Now you get to do it, too. Track 1 For our first rate-a-record, we have a song released on…

Better than reading the label on a shampoo bottle — The challenge was to write 100 things in 20 minutes. Anything Hogan does I can do better*. He’s also good at dispensing with nonsense, so here we go 1.I hate lists 2. No, not really 3. Maybe I just hate challenges 4. No, not those either. I actually like them 5. Pivoting to Substack…

Jazz great Ramsey Lewis has passed away. A post from his wife on FB noted: “Ramsey’s passion for music was truly fueled by the love and dedication of his fans across the globe. He loved touring and meeting music lovers from so many cultures and walks of life. It was…

There was no color guard this year. Every September 11th, the TSA at the airport I work at performs this ritual of remembrance. Timed to end with a moment of silence at the exact moment the second plane hit the towers, it never fails to move even the most distracted…

A New Mexico County commissioner has been ordered removed from office after being convicted of participating in the January 6th riots. Otero county commissioner Couy (yes, really) Griffin became the first public official in over a century to be banned from serving. …