Thanks to a good friend, I’ve enjoyed about $120 worth of free lattes and sandwiches from Starbucks. His left over Christmas gift cards have found a much more needed home with me – a poor college student – than with his wealthy clients. But as much as I like walking into Starbucks and seeing Lane’s [...]
Author Archive
Communication breakdown
There are certain questions I dread as a record store clerk. A surprisingly common one is, “I need that electric slide song for my ten-year-old’s birthday party … can you help me find it?” Christ. You would think this song would be easy to find, right? Wrong. I’ve spent hours looking through children and party [...]
I’ll come running with a heart on fire
I really like music recorded by kids. Some of my favorites include “Daddy What If” by Bobby Bare and Bobby Bare Jr.; 1970s UK novelty hit “I Am an Astronaut” by Riky Wilde; and just the other day a WFMU DJ played some great tracks by middle school students making electronic music. Kidz Bop offers [...]
Polymetric trance
I had the opportunity last year to see the first U.S. appearance by a wonderful African group called Konono No. 1. Founded over 25 years ago by Mingiedi, the virtuoso electric likembe (“thumb-piano”) player, Konono No. 1 plays a style of music that started in the suburbs of Kinshasa, but their roots can be traced [...]
Download confessional
I was complaining to a record store co-worker the other day about prepackaged bands and how transparent the whole industry has become. He responded that he doesn’t pay attention to the hype: he gets the majority of his music from MySpace.com. I told this story to another friend who also said that the majority of [...]
