michaeljarmer

#718: G is for Goat Girl

They call this post-punk, this all-female band from South London calling themselves Goat Girl. Not sure how I came by them, aboutfive years ago; likely, that early in my experience streaming music, I stumbledupon them, as one does, shuffling through“things you might like.” Apparently, I liked it. I liked it enough to buy thisrecord, although,Continue reading “#718: G is for Goat Girl”

#717: G is for Glaspy and Glavor, Margaret and Hannah

It sounds good to say their namestogether, for one, and for another, they’re both extraordinarily talented singer-songwriters and equally mean guitarists, and look at them there, right next to each other in the alphabet,as if it was just meant to be. The first song on Margaret Glaspy’s Echo the Diamond is a rocker called“Act Natural.”Continue reading “#717: G is for Glaspy and Glavor, Margaret and Hannah”

#716: G is for Gizmodrome

Okay. Super group time, it is, again. I don’t know whose brainchild this was, but Gizmodrome brings together Mark King, the bass player from Level 42, Adrian Belew, from King Crimson, Zappa,Talking Heads, Laurie Anderson, et al.(his fourth or fifth appearance now in my record collection, A to G), Vittorio Cosma, a renowned Italianjazz pianist,Continue reading “#716: G is for Gizmodrome”

#715: G is for Gibbard, Ben

Every once in awhileas The Flaming Lips havedone now a couple times, a musician or a banddecides to do a song by songcover of one of their favoritealbums. I’ve had fantasies ofdoing it myself, a fantasy thatwill likely go unrealized. Dare I confess? I’d like to do a songby song cover of my favorite albumContinue reading “#715: G is for Gibbard, Ben”

#714: G is for Gang of Four

Maybe their only hit songcomes from the Songs of the Freealbum and has the rousing chorussung by the new bass player, Sara Lee, and a few other female voices, “I Love a Man in a Uniform,” while lead singer Jon King laments in the versesabout how girls aren’t paying him proper attention and so decides to jointhe armed forces. It’sContinue reading “#714: G is for Gang of Four”

#713: G is for Gabriel, Peter

It took me years after hearinghis music for the first time and becoming a fan to figure out that Peter Gabriel was the firstlead singer of Genesis! In this regard, I was born yesterday, or living under a rock. It was 1986, and I think So was my first, and then I went backwards almostallContinue reading “#713: G is for Gabriel, Peter”

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Program to Talk About Publishing A Book in the Age of AI

AI is basically sucking up all human knowledge and throwing it back at us–and charging a price. –David Byrne My novella, Submarine Stories, is up now for pre-order in all the usual places where you can preorder a book or its ebook counterpart. Very exciting stuff. This is my second published work of fiction, andContinue reading “We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Program to Talk About Publishing A Book in the Age of AI”

#712: F is for Future Islands

In 2014 Future Islands appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman. Imagine your nerdy high school math teacher as the lead singer in a rock band. We all had one, mostly, not in rock bands, but maybe sometimes. I think of a colleague of mine, a mathteacher, one who will, for the purposeof thisContinue reading “#712: F is for Future Islands”

#711: F is for fun.

I like it when the same artist shows up morethan once in a single letter, as the singerNate Reuss does now, the front man for The Format andthis group, my first encounterwith Nate, the singer for fun. That’s right, no cap. And if it’s in themiddle of a sentencefun. is followed by a stylized period.Continue reading “#711: F is for fun.”

#710: F is for Freelance Whales

I love the name of this band. I like to think of whales out therefreelancing, as opposed to the otherwhales out there working for the manor some corporate interest. It’s funny. In so far as whales have jobs to do, you know, other than living as whales, I’d much rather champion the freelancers. It’s beenContinue reading “#710: F is for Freelance Whales”