The great Nick Tosches, one of my fave writers on music, boxing, the mob and a lot of other subjects, recently said the following about the People Take Warning! box set: "I've been sitting here watching the remains of this short-lived country go down the drain, and there is no better soundtrack to this than People Take Warning! , a grand and beautiful set - in every sense, from the remastered recordings to the notes to the extraordinary design work - that gives perspective both to these days and those of the past. This is white-hot history, [...]
What's Acceptable by Molly Lambert Double Denim is only acceptable on 1) Gay Guys 2) Paul Rudd in Wet Hot American Summer 3) Timothy Bottoms in The Last Picture Show , and by that token all Texans, including John Gruen. 4) Mexican Skater Kids who generally combine many kinds of black denim and favor long Sabbath hair and love Morrissey. Items 2, 3, and sometimes 4 potentially [...]

Awhile back I posted a slew of railroad songs and casually postulated that love and trains may be the most sung-about topics in all styles of music. Our long time friend, Mr. Beer N. Hockey, pointed out that inebriation belongs high on that list. Damn! How did I miss that? Along with folk music, inebriation has been a hobby of mine for many, many years. I've been working on a series of posts relating these two interests that I hope to post soon. Being Friday, I thought it a good time for a little taste. [...]