
The beginning of the year is generally a slow time for music news. Bands are working to prepare the year's album, keeping much of the details in-house. But with spring comes new beginnings. Summer releases are beginning to take shape, festivals are gearing up, and tours are being booked. I've recently shared news on a new Deer Tick album , Samantha Crain's new one , and I've reviewed The Felice Brothers' 2009 effort . Leftover are some news snippets that didn't warrant a full post, so here goes: First, [...]
This above video of the Dedringers' show at the Granada on Friday night is pretty much the sole clip on the Youtube this morning of this past weekend's musical affairs. Other than that, there's a who... Continue reading "Weekend Roundup: The Dedringers...and not much else." >
Just in time, i bring you my list for the Best Albums of 2008 . Throughout this year-end list process, i've come to realize i don't like making lists. Maybe next year i won't order them. i will offer some limited justification for my picks after naming each album, so i won't go on too much here in the preamble. But i feel like i should explain some of my decision making processes. Since really getting into good music in the last couple of years, one of the biggest changes i've gone though is to [...]
Ok, i've put this off long enough. We're now only 2 weeks away from 2009, and i might be one of last to get their lists up. And to be completely honest, my top 10 album list is not yet complete - well not the back half. But i have made final decisions on the Best Songs of the Year. But first.... What makes a song great? That question has been tossed around since the first single was ever recorded, and if we (or anyone) knew the answer, there would [...]
Saturating myself with James McMurtry's Just Us Kids for the past two weeks paid off big-time tonight as the Austin singer leaned heavy on the new record, playing eight of the album's 12 cuts. It's an incredibly strong record, and McMurtry brought it to the stage smoothly, with his Texas drawl right at the center of the mix. I'd known him mostly as a word man up until tonight, but I came away

Alright, so February is almost over, and i'm pumped. Beacause, starting in March, a flood of great albums are coming out. Seeing as i'm pretty new to this music journalism (hardly...) world, i don't have any cool new friends on the inside to give me any exclusive news or tracks, but i've got a couple tricks up my sleeve. For some of these that are coming out a little further in the future, i'll re-remind you, but here are the forthcoming album releases on my radar: 3.4.08 [...]

As this so-called winter fades to spring, and it warms up in places, other than here - that need warming up, hippies everywhere start making road trip plans. Because from March thru August, outdoor music festivals are happening across the country from Newport to Galveston, Austin to Wilkesboro, Manchester to the Everglades. i'm not gonna try to act like i've been to any of these outside of Texas, but i will in due time. Here's a little info on some of the festivals that i wish i could go to: [...]