New Release Roundup: Hard Working Americans, Al Scorch, Adia Victoria, Blind Boys of Alabama
MUSIC 1. Hard Working Americans – Rest In Chaos In his liner notes for the new album from Todd Snider’s Hard Working Americans,...... Read More
Perfect Poor Decision: “Reviewing the Situation” from Oliver!
It was somewhere around third grade when I fell in love with Oliver!, the musical made from the Dickens classic Oliver Twist. I’m...... Read More
Interview: Musician and Publicist Perry Serpa of The Sharp Things
I first came to know Perry Serpa as a publicist with Good Cop PR. He regularly sends me music to listen to and...... Read More
Department of Tangents Minicast Ep4: Interview Flashback with Margaret Cho
I interviewed Margaret Cho back in October when she was stopping through Boston on tour. At that point, she was still months away...... Read More
New Release Roundup May 6 2016 – Cyndi Lauper, Ryan Adams, and Dan Boulger
MUSIC 1. Cyndi Lauper Detour Lauper has always had one of the best voices in pop music, and here she changes up her...... Read More
Department of Tangents Podcast Ep5 – Filmmakers and Musicians Michael J Epstein and Sophia Cacciola
My guests for Episode 5 are filmmakers and musicians Michael J Epstein and Sophia Cacciola, who have been working at the hellish pace...... Read More
Perfect Musical Nonsense: Pink Floyd’s “Several Species of Small Furry Animals…”
One of the first Pink Floyd albums I ever owned was the Works compilation. It was a good primer for the early history...... Read More
Department of Tangents Minicast Ep3: Interview Flashback with Richard Lloyd
Some of my most enjoyable interviews have happened when I don’t ask too many questions. The subject has so much to say, it...... Read More
New Release Roundup: The Jayhawks and Rob Zombie
MUSIC 1. The Jayhawks Paging Mr. Proust This album makes 2011’s Mockingbird Time, which saw the band reunite with Mark Olson, seem like...... Read More
Perfect Horror Classic: The Original Texas Chainsaw Massacre
“Classic” is a temperamental designation. Often a work benefits from distance. A movie can seem like a classic because it belongs to a...... Read More
Books Out Today: Vincent Price’s Book of Joe
It is no exaggeration to say The Book of Joe: About a Dog and His Man, originally released in 1961 and reissued today...... Read More
Department of Tangents Minicast Ep2: Interview Flashback with Jen Kirkman
This is your weekly Interview Flashback, where I dig into my archived of 18 years interviewing comedians, musicians, authors, and artists for newspapers...... Read More
New Release Roundup: Nate Leavitt & the Elevation, Guided By Voices, The Loom, Texas chainsaw Massacre 2
MUSIC 1. Nate Leavitt & the Elevation Someone Send A Signal I was privileged to hear Nate play a couple songs from this...... Read More
Perfect Inspiration: Levon Helm
By the time Levon Helm’s music really struck me, he had already lived several lifetimes. He’d had his wild days on the road...... Read More
The Best of Record Store Day 2016
Every year, there are dozens of new releases for Record Store Day, some nuggets for people who are particularly nuts about music. Nuts...... Read More
New Release Roundup: Sturgill Simpson, Touched By Ghoul
MUSIC 1. Sturgill Simpson A Sailor’s Guide to Earth This is the big one for me today. Simpson’s last two albums were full...... Read More
Nora Guthrie Talks Del and Woody
One of today’s more exciting new releases is Del McCoury’s Del and Woody, for which the bluegrass legend interpreted a new batch of...... Read More
Department of Tangents Podcast Ep4 – Nate Leavitt Interview, Andrew Mayer Comedy
Nate Leavitt spent a couple of decades playing guitar in bands like Delta Clutch, Oldjack, and Parlour Bells before he stepped out on...... Read More
Perfect Pop: Guided By Voices “Glad Girls”
Most music fans I know have in their collection albums they love, albums they should get rid of but can’t, and then this...... Read More
First Minicast: Trevor Williams, Writer/Director of “The Jane,” Out Today on UCB Comedy
Trevor Williams wrote and directed the short film The Jane, which debuted on the UCB Comedy Vimeo site April 13. Funny thing about...... Read More
Movie Review: Darling
Darling Written and Directed by Mickey Keating Starring Lauren Ashley Carter, Sean Young, Brian Morvant, Larry Fessenden, John Speredakos, Al-Nisa Petty, and Helen...... Read More
Interview Flashback: Skyping With Puddles
On New Year’s Eve 2015, I “interviewed” Puddles of Puddles Pity Party for the Boston Globe. I put interview in quotes because Puddles...... Read More
New Release Roundup: Peter Wolf and Mark Erelli
MUSIC 1. Peter Wolf A Cure For Loneliness It has been six years since Peter Wolf released Midnight Souvenirs. Far too long, but...... Read More
Live Review: Steve Martin and Martin Short – An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life
Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget For the Rest of Your Life April 6, 8 PM Wang Theatre, Boston,...... Read More
Perfect Routines: “The Morning After” from Inside Shelley Berman
This album, and this routine in particular, has a lot to do with shaping what I find funny. The cadence, the ideas, the...... Read More
Kickstarters: Humor Magazine The American Bystander – Issue Two
There has been a lot of interest in the National Lampoon lately, from the documentary Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead to Ellin Stein’s wonderfully...... Read More
Department of Tangents Podcast Ep3 – Producer Dave Cobb, music from Morgane Stapleton with Chris Stapleton
The April 1 edition of the Department of Tangents Podcast is a conversation with Dave Cobb, who won Grammys in 2015 for his...... Read More
Interview Flashback: Josh Gondelman
Josh Gondelman has been on one hell of a hot streak the past two weeks. The Last Week Tonight with John Oliver writer’s...... Read More
New Release Roundup: Robbie Fulks, Shonen Knife, Cheap Trick
MUSIC 1. Robbie Fulks Upland Stories There are few musicians as complete as Robbie Fulks – as a writer, a singer, a flat-picking...... Read More