It’s easy to forget about Linda Ronstadt, the ubiquitous singer of the 70’s and early 80’s, but The Sound Of My Voice is a breezy and enjoyable look back at her career. I had forgotten just how popular she was. …Read more

 

 

I have written quite a few times about Peter Holsapple and his fine combo, live review at (tinyurl.com/zubphc) and their recent Christmas residency at (tinyurl.com/zubphcguests). This is a tough, melodic band featuring Peter Holsapple, from the …Read more

It’s always a treat to go to a show at your hometown club. The Radio Room is where my current band (https://www.facebook.com/babylonrocksyou/) plays and we’ve done some Zub multi-band shows there. It’s a comfortable, sort-of-dive place with good …Read more

I don’t think I’ve written about visual art before, but I must say this exhibition at Raleigh’s Museum of Art really, profoundly moved me.  I, like many, learned much about Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera via the excellent Julie Taymor …Read more

Wartime photo of Scottish soldiers, mascot in the trenches during WWI 

 

You may know that I was born in Scotland. I proudly display a shadow box with a number of medals and ribbons from a distant relative who served in …Read more

 

 

The word to describe Sirsy is genuine. They know what they are and they know what they are about, an amazing ‘little’ band. I say ‘little’ because this band is just two people: singer, drummer, flautist and keyboard pad-playing …Read more

    This was the second time I’ve seen Arrow Beach, first being at The Station in Carrboro opening for the Peter Holsapple Combo. Arrow Beach was then a five piece, Drums, bass, guitar, guitar/keys, and singer. They blew me away that …Read more

Two great bands from the Athens 80’s heyday recently played a special reunion show at the fabled 40 Watt Club. This was a magical evening in Athens. I got to the club early and watched it fill up from the …Read more

 

 

Welcome to 2020! Here’s a few things we’ve been hearing and seeing: 

 

The Successful Failures: Saratoga  It’s great to hear a band that really knows what they are doing. The Successful Failures are from New Jersey, led by frontman/songwriter Mick …Read more

  New Order is another band that is a constant in my life. Their music is always inventive, different, and unique. New Order: Decades is a bit documentary, a bit concert film. During the Manchester International Festival 2017, the band collaborated …Read more

Tim Robinson is a sui generis comedy force. His characters are angry, awkward, loud, stubborn, ignorant, and prickly. And irresistable, somehow. Tim Robinson is a Saturday Night Live alumnus (where his unique skill set was under utilized), who together with …Read more

 

This is an improbable and unexpected story. I can’t overstate to you how much the Neighborhoods, a fine rock band from Boston, MA, meant to me (and to Adrienne). Playing with them was the spark that lit the fuse for …Read more

    There’s nothing like nostalgia for the kids TV we grew up with. John Mulaney, the stand-up comic and former Saturday Night Live writer, understands this very well. With his co-writer, Marika Sayer (also from SNL) and songwriter Eli Bolen, he …Read more

 

What does it mean to be punk? To me, it is about bursting over-inflated egos, defying pompous icons, challenging prescribed social roles, and celebrating self expression over conformity. That’s a pretty good summation of Greta Gerwig’s brief in her approach …Read more

Adrienne and I were asked recently to be guests on the Punk Lotto Podcast. Punk Lotto is hosted by two brothers, one in NC and one in Phoenix, AZ. They draw an LP and an EP from a single year, …Read more

    In the past year and a half, I have traveled to Durham many times for Zub Records business. At Christmas break Adrienne and I work on podcasts, but we always make time to see local bands. We’ve had the luck …Read more

 

Favorites from '19: Buz & Muf's Year End Pick Thru The Litter (Commemorative Edition Redux) 

Our fanzine Zub Alert, featured of cool stuff “selected” by the Zub kitties, Buz and Muf, in each issue. We did this last year…

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Thinking about this review, I was realizing that Robyn Hitchcock is one of those musical artists that has been a constant in my life, like The Posies, or Mission Of Burma. Of course, I was aware of the weird beauty …Read more

  I’ve recently reviewed The New Pornographers fine new release In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights (at tinyurl.com/zubpornos). The Vancouver, Canada ‘supergroup’ featuring the songwriting of Carl Newman is one of (if not the) best pop bands of our …Read more

 

What a cracking surprise these stalwarts have brought us! This EP is the most welcome, enjoyable four songs I have heard in a long time. It’s so good to hear Andy Partridge (from XTC - see our podcast at tinyurl.com/zubxtc …Read more

  This is the third time I’ve seen Elvis Costello & The Imposters in the past 363 days. We saw the Look Now tour at the DAR Hall in Washington D.C.in November 2018, and the Costello/Blondie tour at The Anthem in …Read more

 

The Opaque Memoir.  First off, I enjoyed Debbie Harry’s book Face It, it was a breezy read and had a bit of filler, but also some sweet ideas. We just saw Blondie with Elvis Costello recently (tinyurl.com/zubbeastly) …Read more

 

So this is the last installment of my blogs on Ken Burns’ expansive look at Country Music from the 1920s to 1990s. It was ambitious project, not perfect, but in these episodes he must tie together the threads an ultimately …Read more

 

Jojo Rabbit begins with  ‘Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand:’ The Beatles ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ sung in German, played over scenes out of the Richard Lester school of musical movie wackiness. There are montage antics, screens divided into multiple …Read more