Published in The Riff·Mar 18Member-onlyCollecting Vinyl on a Budget: 5 Records I Bought for Under $10Buying good music doesn't have to break the bank — My little corner of the world is evolving. Change is inevitable, I suppose, even in a landlocked suburb hemmed in on one side by a lake and on the other by a larger city. There are, of course, the ubiquitous “mixed-use” apartment buildings that seem to be springing up like…Music5 min readMusic5 min read
Published in The Riff·Mar 17Member-onlyUpcoming Event: The Riff’s March Album of the Month DiscussionJoin us as we dive deep into Augie March’s Sunset Studies record. — It’s that time again; time for our monthly album discussion! One of the core tenets of this page is sharing music. That obviously involves writing about it (we are on Medium, after all) but also talking about it. Together. We do that monthly here. And this coming Sunday (3/19/23) is that day. My boilerplate explanation of what these discussions entail…Music3 min readMusic3 min read
Published in The Riff·Mar 7Member-onlyThe 5 Latest Additions to My Record CollectionAnother “little bit of everything” edition — Here’s to great teachers! My son has photography as an elective this semester, and his class took a field trip downtown last week. Remember when we’d get excited to see a teacher roll a TV in on a cart, and it was movie day? You knew you could just relax…Music6 min readMusic6 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·Mar 5Member-onlyAnd I’m Never Going Back To My Old SchoolMy High School Experience: Answering 17 Essential Questions — Remember when Facebook didn't suck? When it was still new and, well, kinda fun? Your racist uncle wasn't on there yet, and the sorts of posts going viral were things like lists and cat pics? Yeah, me too. And while I can't stand the current iteration, I do miss those…Life4 min readLife4 min read
Published in The Riff·Feb 23Member-onlyUpcoming Event: The Riff’s February Album of the Month DiscussionJoin us as we dive deep into Gerard Way’s “Hesitant Alien” record — It’s that time again; time for our monthly album discussion! One of the core tenets of this page is sharing music. That obviously involves writing about it (we are on Medium, after all) but also talking about it. Together. We do that monthly here. And this coming Sunday (2/26) is that day. My boilerplate explanation of what these discussions entail…Music3 min readMusic3 min read
Published in The Riff·Feb 16Member-only5 Questions With: Nervous TwitchThe indie pop band stops by to chat about their latest record, the Leeds UK scene and more. — Don’t reinvent the wheel. Leave well enough alone. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. On their fifth album, Nervous Twitch does precisely that. Some People Never Change is another strong effort standing on the shoulders of the records that came before it. Going from strength to strength, Some People…Music5 min readMusic5 min read
Published in The Riff·Feb 4Member-onlyThe 5 Latest Additions to My Record CollectionAnother “little bit of everything” edition — You can cover a lot of distance in a week. It can be both really short and seem really long. And, of course, it can mean being a world away from where you were just seven days prior. There is, of course, an entire industry devoted to popularizing pithy quotes…Music6 min readMusic6 min read
Published in The Riff·Feb 3Member-onlyThe Setlist For 03. Feb.2023Introducing a new way to connect with your fellow writers! — Hello from a very frozen upper midwest! This week's big news is that I finally set up a Discord server for The Riff. That really means my kid set it up for us, but it’s there, and it’s live. Why? I set this up for a couple of reasons. I wanted…Music2 min readMusic2 min read
Published in The Riff·Feb 1Member-onlyNew Order/Joy Division Rock & Roll Hall of Fame NominationThe post-punk/synthpop pioneers finally have a chance at long-deserved recognition — The list of 2023 nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is out. It will surprise absolutely no one that I’m delighted to see Joy Division/New Order on the ballot. There’s nothing I’d like to see more than them on stage playing as part of the awards ceremony…Music2 min readMusic2 min read
Published in The Riff·Jan 30Member-onlySong of the Day: Genesis- “Just A Job To Do”A quick look at one of the band’s overlooked classics. — Phil Collins is celebrating a birthday today, so I thought it’d be fun to take a look back at a Genesis track that’s been largely abandoned to time: 1983’s “Just A Job To Do.” In music circles, the debate about whether Phil Collins finally started to sound like Genesis or…Music2 min readMusic2 min read
