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
Perfect Zombie Author: Max Brooks
When I first cracked Max Brooks’s Zombie Survival Guide, I didn’t expect to like it. I was reading, watching, and playing every zombie-related...... Read More
Kickstarters: Rock Opera Heterotopia
I have covered Lainey Schooltree in her endeavors in musical comedy (The Steamy Bohemians) and prog rock (Schooltree) and there is no indie...... Read More
Music and Comedy: Bob Odenkirk Interviews/Interrupts Robbie Fulks
You won’t get too much information about Robbie Fulks’ new album, Upland Stories, from The First Bob Odenkirk Interview Quiz Challenge Show: Robbie...... Read More
Podcast Theme Song – “Tangential”
I’ve gotten some positive feedback on “Tangential,” the the Department of Tangents Podcast theme song, so I thought I would post it for...... Read More
New Release Roundup: Bob Mould, American Psycho Original London Cast Recording
Music 1. Bob Mould Patch the Sky The former Husker Du and Sugar leader plays a guitar like a beautiful buzzsaw, and he...... Read More
Interview Flashback: Amy Schumer Moves Into the Spotlight
Amy Schumer had only been doing comedy for three and a half years when we spoke in 2007. She was coming off of...... Read More
Perfect Albums: Drive-By Truckers – Southern Rock Opera
I discovered the Truckers by chance. There was a pile of free CDs in the backroom of the Borders where I worked for...... Read More
Comedy horror and Music in Shaun of the Dead
Comedy, music, and horror don’t intersect all that often (thus the name of this blog). I guess you could count “Monster Mash,” which...... Read More
Close Personal Friends: Joe Kowan
I am lucky to have many talented friends. From time to time on DoT, I will feature some of them I would like...... Read More
Dot Podcast: Bonus Ep2- Noel Fielding and The Grownup Noise
The Department of Tangents Podcast Bonus Episode! Normally, I’ll be posting a new podcast every month. But since Noel Fielding (The Might Boosh,...... Read More
DOT Mission Statement
So what the hell is this site about? What do comedy, horror, and music have to do with each other? What’s your mission...... Read More
DoT Podcast Ep1: Comedian and Author Brian Kiley
Episode One of the Department of Tangents Podcast is up! This month, we feature and interview with comedian and author Brian Kiley, who...... Read More