Elvis and Charlie in CLT 10.20.21 

photo by Adrienne Meddock

 

The last time I saw live music in person was March 7, 2020. The promise of a masked and vaxxed audience in a well-ventilated venue lured me back to see …Read more

  David Geffen would have to be invented if he didn't already exist. First aired on PBS (American Masters), then on Netflix, this  view of Geffen, agent, record label owner, and movie producer, is mostly from his own words, …Read more

Friday July 2: “Insertion Issues”  Auspicious beginning! The Telecaster is out and ‘Give it to The Soft Boys’ starts us off, with some random video looping courtesy StageIt that lends an unintentional arty, cool effect. It’s a bit of artistic …Read more

It’s no secret that Adrienne and I were geeks. We met at a High School Model United Nations conference and I believe life has never been the same for either of us. Both history wonks, we knew that The Open …Read more

Questlove's directorial debut is a dazzling contemporary look at a summer series of concerts filmed in Harlem in 1969. The new documentary is based on over 40 hours of high quality video tape made by Hal Tulchin (read his…

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This was it for me. My first rock show since the pandemic began. First since my transplant surgery and stroke. The tour: Music is Our Friend.  

And the band was the legendary King Crimson, the band that essentially invented ‘prog-rock,’…

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R: Feminist icon Germaine Greer, Alan Davies (QI), Richard Osman (Pointless), some bloke named Jermaine. F: David Mitchell, Rob Brydon, Lee Mack on an episode of Would I Lie to You.

Born  in America, but a uniquely British phenomenon,…

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So June finds us well into the parallel arrangement with our Sweet Home being based not only in London (The Scottish Folds, Robyn, and sound reinforcement by Andy Washington) but in Oz, with Our Emma preparing for her Australian tour …Read more

 

5-5-21 RH BY Request Robyn Hitchcock is sweaty with the new May heat. Declaring he’s in a “clammy paradise,”  because he took a couple of “Nixon pills”  and he's come up with some new compound from Tubby and Ringo rubbing …Read more

To acknowledge Judy Garland’s 99th birthday, Rufus Wainwright put together a spectacular streaming concert experience. Since 2006, when Rufus released his own version of “Judy Live at Carnegie Hall,” he has performed the double album in its entirety at a …Read more

Who made that request?  4/7/21  Welcome welcome to April!  Tonight I scoot in a wee bit late; RH enters my screen adorned in a top hat and playing’ Erasing Your Life’ from the Tromso, Kaptein record, followed by what Robyn …Read more

 

Charlie Higson and Suggs at the London Palladium  The weekend of March 14, Madness, the stalwarts of the nutty, nutty, second-wave ska sound, hosted a bold streaming event. The ticket price ($24 in the US) was healthy and a real …Read more

We have stored up a number of accounts of the fantastic Sweet Home Quarantine Shows given by Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift from their Nashville home. For excellent trainspotting setlists of these shows, see Marcus Slade’s impeccably curated listings at …Read more

Lo-res Image of Reg & Em, Sweet Home Quarantine 

So we are a bit late in sharing our thoughts on the marvelous Sweet Home Quarantine shows with Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift. Here are accounts of the February SHQ shows.  …Read more

I’ve read dozens of books about The Beatles, and I’m pretty familiar with all the old stories. So, as this book opens up, I got the impression it would be a retelling of many of the same chestnuts. Luckily was …Read more

I’ve written about Sturgill Simpson a few times, seeing him live in electric rock mode with Tyler Childers (tinyurl.com/zubsturgill) and the amazing bluegrass live stream he did from an empty Ryman Auditorium (tinyurl.com/zubryman). Sturgill was raising …Read more

 

Ben Elton is the author behind three seasons of one of the most inventive and emotionally compelling comedies, BBC’s Black Adder. Historical accuracy interlaced with hilarious and well-crafted anachronisms, the series finale is one of the most effective ever. I …Read more

 

 

In a nutshell, I absolutely loved this show. It was must-see TV at my house. Also, the show is a complete mess. Written by Misha Green (also behind the historical show Underground), Lovecraft Country is an adaptation of Matt …Read more

 

This Is Spinal Tap is a touchstone in my life. Indeed, most musicians are great fans. The 1984 film is the ultimate parody of musicians and life on the road. It was probably the first of the so-called ‘mockumentary’ films, …Read more

 

 

This is an old book, copyright 2005. I found a copy at a thrift store in Durham, NC. I had read Klosterman’s Fargo Rock City years back, I knew he was a great writer that worked within the rock critic …Read more

 

There’s no secret how much I love Joy Division; I've been following the short-lived group since 1979. I’ve read many books about the band, including Deborah Curtis’ Touching From A Distance and Jon Savage’s excellent oral history of the band, …Read more

 

In 2014, Robyn released The Man Upstairs, a folk record produced by the legendary producer Joe Boyd, known for his work with Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, and Nick Drake. Robyn has said the concept of the record is like a …Read more

 

Monty Python’s Flying Circus is in my DNA.  The British comedy troupe that performed four seasons of their anarchic, silly television comedy show started in Britain in 1970. By 1974, my very young self was watching these shows presented in …Read more

 

Raise a toast to St. Joe Strummer  I think he might've been our only decent teacher  Getting older makes it harder to remember we are our only saviors  ----The Hold Steady, ‘Constructive Summer.’  Sixty eight years after he was born, …Read more