John Convertino of Calexico is what’s known as an ‘expressive’ drummer. Which is another way of saying he’s great. Put him behind any solid song, and you’ve got a fleshed out arrangement almost immediately. He’s wonderful on the slow burners, keeping the snare involved, and when the pace quickens to 4/4 he still knows it’s […]

Blogs. Diary turned inside-out. Diarydrome. It’s a vessel that even Melville would have shunned. And it’s also the Death of the Zine, right here in code, not to mention the promise of the internet spread thin into millions of aficionados, none of them versed in much more than what they like, or who they are. […]

If I’m wearing headphones and reading a book on the subway, at least have the courtesy to not be annoyed when I answer “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you” after you ask me directions. About 47 other people were just standing there, no music, no book, but you pick me, and then you want details […]

There’s a prevailing stupidity among some mainstream music critics that a new album by a previously respectable artist can be considered a ‘comeback’ or a ‘masterpiece,’ when in reality it’s only their first album in a long time that didn’t simply suck. See: Bob Dylan’s last two, Neil Young’s latest, Springsteen’s last two, the new […]

Derelict! Neglector! But I have excuses: Jury Duty: Don’t even try to tell a judge and prosecutor that you would not convict someone of a drug felony, after trial, because you know incarceration is a failed solution to non-violent crimes. It does get you thrown off a jury, that’s for sure, but man, were they […]