Monthly Archives: December 2011

The lack of attention on this blog to Lana Del Rey‘s music is not an oversight as much as it is an overwhelming inability to put into words what stirs so strongly everything that I love, have loved, and will always love about art.[1] But with yesterday’s release of her latest video, “Born to Die,”one of the smartest and most emotive works I have witnessed this year, her value as an art-ist, that rare operator able to move between mediums and messages to edge closer and closer to the god-honest truth – and to the edge itself – becomes crystal clear.

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Last time I wrote in these pages, I made a playlist to guide you through a finals week that had begun to feel at least a little bit like a zombie apocalypse. So you made if through that bloodbath alive, congratulations.

Lucky for all of us this finals week is a lot more like a transatlantic flight. It’s long and arduous, the air feels different, and you wish you could be moving your legs more often. You’ll probably spend the whole time wishing for it to end, but what can you do except buckle in, put on some music, and hope you’re sitting next to someone you like, or at least, someone who will leave their shoes on? And remember, at the end of this time you spend being held captive in Lau while having anxiety dreams in which you are chased by a gang of blood-thirsty blue books, something beautiful awaits you: your final destination. Which, if statistics prove to be correct, is most likely New Jersey. Read More »

On the morning of December 7^th, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its inductees for the 2012 ceremony. Making the final cut were: 80s hard rock giants Guns N’ Roses (getting in on their first year of eligibility), funk-rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers, 60s psychedelic folk singer Donovan, English blues rockers The Small Faces/The Faces, featuring already inducted Rod Stewart (solo) and Ronnie Wood (as a member of The Rolling Stones), hip-hop’s #1 nerdy white rap group, The Beastie Boys, and singer-songwriter Laura Nyro, who penned hits for a number of 60s artists such as Three Dog Night and Blood, Sweat & Tears. Read More »

Dan Vickrey has been the lead guitar player and backup vocalist for the Counting Crows since the band’s first tour in the early 90’s. He’s received co-writing credit on many of their songs, including Accidentally in Love, for which he was nominated for an Oscar and a Grammy. He recently released a CD with a side project, called Tender Mercies, on the label Collective Sounds. Vickrey was interviewed by Mitchel Hochberg on Politricks, a political talk show that covers politicians’ tricks with conversation and humor. The interview covered a wind range of topics, including Tender Mercies, Counting Crows, and, of course, politics. Click through to listen to the full interview! Read More »