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”
Category Archives: Music
#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”
#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”
#709: F is for FFS (Franz Ferdinand and Sparks)
It took a collaboration with Sparksto get me interested in Franz Ferdinand,this alt rock group from Glasgow, now into their twentieth year or more as a band. This record, the only album I have of theirs,is titled simply FFS. Not officially a FranzFerdinand album, but rather a new supergroup collaboration with a new super groupname.Continue reading “#709: F is for FFS (Franz Ferdinand and Sparks)”
#708: F is for Foxygen and Foxwarren
FoxygenWe Are the 21st Century, Ambassadors of Peace and Magic, is the bold title of this 2013album from Foxygen. It’s theonly record of theirs I have, one thatI remember liking, at least a little,but before I play it today I canremember nothing about itor who turned me on to itor how. It’s a retro affair,Continue reading “#708: F is for Foxygen and Foxwarren”
#707: F is for Foreigner
I“I guess it’s just the woman in youthat brings out the man in me,”an objectively dumb lyric. I’m not looking forward to this. I have five, that’s right, five Foreigner albums, inherited by my older brother who hasn’t plugged in a turntablefor decades now. Like the Flashdancesoundtrack, but in a very differentstylistic direction, I don’tContinue reading “#707: F is for Foreigner”
We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Program to Announce the Publication of Michael Jarmer’s Novella
Available for preorder now, Michael Jarmer’s novella, Submarine Stories, comes out into the world officially on April 3, 2026. As it is an unusual device, rarely employed here on the blog, to write about oneself in the third person, Michael Jarmer has chosen this particular strategy for this announcement. He hopes that you will beContinue reading “We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Program to Announce the Publication of Michael Jarmer’s Novella”
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