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”
Category Archives: Poetry
#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”
#706: F is for The Format
First of all, can we just agreethat The Format is about the worstband name ever. It does absolutely nothing for me. I can’t imaginewhat would inspire one of popmusic’s current best singers to choose such a stupid band name. However, Dog Problems is an infinitely bettertitle for an album. I don’t rememberhow I learned aboutContinue reading “#706: F is for The Format”
#705: F is for Folds, Ben
Ben Folds Five, a 90’s era rock trio, was for me the antidote to grunge. Here was a band with a pianoat the center that rocked harderthan any guitar. Ben was like a punk rock Elton John. Joined by two guys who seemed neitherpunk nor grunge, looked a littlebit like a couple of jazz nerds,Continue reading “#705: F is for Folds, Ben”
#704: F is for Fleetwood Mac
I picked up this box set, not because I loved Fleetwood Mac, but because, growing up, their music was ubiquitous, everywhere, all the time, and I hated none of it, and in 2019, felt someobligation to have them in the collection. Having owned as a youngperson none of their records, I neverthelessknew almost every songContinue reading “#704: F is for Fleetwood Mac”
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