Are these tracks more than “a good beat you can dance to?” — Growing up, I would watch American Bandstand every week, but I don’t remember the “Rate-A-Record” segment. Maybe I was too young, maybe the memory faded, or maybe after hearing “It’s got a good beat and I can dance to it,” one too many times my mind blocked it out? …

In the 90s, my life was focused almost solely on music. In the ’00s that focus shifted to, well, life. The former was a jungle teeming with shows and new releases. The latter, if not a desert, was close. The decade started strong, and got reaaal lean in the middle…

A decade of Smart Studios and sketchy life decisions — As soon as I said “yes” to this challenge, I knew this day was coming. The day to pick a handful of records from a decade that produced hundreds of worthy candidates. It was all here: Grunge, post-punk, straight-up rock, and even hip hop. In the 90s, people took existing…

Remembering the groundbreaking musician on what would’ve been his 80th birthday. — Sometimes, a gift can change your life. Curtis Mayfield was born in Chicago and started performing not too long afterward. His mother taught him piano, and he sang in the choir at his aunt’s church. At 10, he received his first guitar. Sometimes a gift can change the course of history. When the choir moved locations, Mayfield joined his friends and formed a band known as The Roosters.