William Basinski @ Spectrum Culture

My review of the mammoth reissue of William Basinski's The Disintegration Loops is up over at Spectrum Culture. Sometimes art is not about liking it.

Laurie Spiegel @ Spectrum Culture

My review of the new expanded reissue of Laurie Spiegel's, The Expanding Universe, is up over at Spectrum Culture. This is a revised version of the original review, which was posted on November 27. Thank you, Ms. Spiegel, for reading my review and responding with some clarifications.

Blut Aus Nord @ Spectrum Culture

My review of Blut Aus Nord's 777 - Cosmosophy is up over at Spectrum Culture. Experimental French black metal at its finest!

The Pyramids @ Spectrum Culture

My review of The Pyramids: Otherworldly is up at Spectrum Culture. I really wanted to like this...

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This week's "List Inconsequential" featured "Good Songs on Bad Albums." My choice? "Brownsville Girl" from Bob Dylan's Knocked Out Loaded.

Joni Mitchell @ Spectrum Culture

The "Revisit/Rediscover" series of reviews over at Spectrum Culture highlights "past releases that now deserve a second look." My pick? Joni Mitchell's 1976 album, Hejira. I think I could write about a book about this record and this is an 800-word precis.

Converge @ Spectrum Culture

My review of Converge: All We Love We Leave Behind is up over at Spectrum Culture. Metalcore for the middle-aged.

Metz @ Spectrum Culture

My review of Metz's self-titled debut is up over at Spectrum Culture. "Good" punk rock.

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Also, the Monthly Mixtape has been posted. My pick? Katatonia's "Dead Letters."

Dusted Interview @ Spectrum Culture

My email interview with Brian Borcherdt of Dusted is up over at Spectrum Culture. This is definitely one of my favorite pop/rock records of the year.

Morton Feldman @ Spectrum Culture

Now this was interesting! Check out my review of Morton Feldman: Crippled Symmetry: At June in Buffalo over at Spectrum Culture.

Robert Pollard @ Spectrum Culture

My Robert Pollard obsession continues over at Spectrum Culture.

YOKOKIMTHURSTON @ Spectrum Culture

My review of the Yoko Ono, Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore album, YOKOKIMTHURSTON, is up at Spectrum Culture. You can read it here. The rumors are false but the record is good!

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This week's "List Inconsequential" topic is "Cover Songs That Are Better Than The Originals." My pick? The Grateful Dead's cover of Bonnie Dobson's "(Walk Me Out In The) Morning Dew." Check it out here.

John Cage @ Spectrum Culture

My review of John Cage Shock Vol.1-3, a three-CD compilation of previously unreleased recordings from Cage's first tour of Japan in 1962, is up on Spectrum Culture and you can read it here. This was definitely one of the more interesting and obscure things I've had the opportunity to review for the website. Good stuff!

Royal Band de Thiès @ Spectrum Culture

While I have not been writing much on the blog, some stuff has appeared over at Spectrum Culture. My review of The Royal Band de Thiès: Kadior Demb can be found here. This one was particularly difficult: while I love African music I am in no way an expert. A delightful record, anyway.

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In addition, my pick for the "Monthly Mix Tape" is "Sinai" from OM's latest album, Advaitic Songs. I've been meaning to write about this record for a while, but haven't had the chance. You can read my 200-word blurb here.

Holograms @ Spectrum Culture

My review of Holograms' self-titled debut album is up over at Spectrum Culture. You can read it here. Frankly, I didn't care for it.

Stefan Prins @ Spectrum Culture

My review of Stefan Prins: Fremdkörper is up over at Spectrum Culture. It's another screed about improvisation and composition and you can read it here.

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The Monthly Mixtape is also up. My choice? Storm Corrosion - "Drag Ropes."

Six Organs of Admittance @ Spectrum Culture

My review of the new Six Organs of Admittance record, Ascent, is up at Spectrum Culture. You can check it out here. It's another great record I probably would never have heard if not for this "gig" -- I liked it so much, I bought the LP. Woot!

Xibalba @ Spectrum Culture

You can read my review of the new Xibalba album, Hasta La Muerte, here.

I dunno, maybe I'm just too old for this stuff.

"Fallen Idols" @ Spectrum Culture

This week's "List Inconsequential" over at Spectrum Culture is about "Fallen Idols." Frank Zappa was the first to come to mind. I had to restrain myself at only 223 words--I could have gone on and on (as you can see here).

Dusted & yet more Baroness @ Spectrum Culture

My four-star review of Dusted: Total Dust is up over at Spectrum Culture. It made the "Recommended" section and you can read it here.

Also, an email interview I conducted last month with Pete Adams from Baroness has also been posted. I was trying to elicit some more, um, expansive answers, but, as a friend said, "They don't call it 'stoner metal' for nothing!" Heh. I still think it's pretty cool. You can check it out here.

Spectrum Culture

About a month ago I was contacted by David Harris, Editor-in-Chief at Spectrum Culture, regarding the possibility of my writing about music for their website. This came as quite a surprise to me; apparently, they read my blog and liked my writing enough to ask me to participate--how could I say no?

Well, my first piece was posted today: a (rave) review of Chris Forsyth's solo-electric guitar CD, Kenzo Deluxe (out on Northern Spy Records).You can read it here.

If you've noticed the blog content has been sort of thin lately, this development is partly to blame. I'm not used to writing on demand, with deadlines and editors and all that (at least outside the law office), so this is all new to me. It's funny: I did not seek this out--I never set out to be a writer, it just sort of happened--but I see it as an opportunity to take my writing to another level. I hope to keep the blog going as well, with the usual playlist on Saturdays and (occasional) Sun Ra Sundays, but it will definitely be a challenge!

Anyway, there's some exciting stuff in the pipeline. I'll let you know when they run!