Used to be I couldn’t sleep at night, baby

“We have a Switch??” Nothing gets past a nine-year-old (at the time) and thus last April’s school-vacation surprise was blown. That’s what I get for assuming consumer discretionaries can’t creep their way into kids’ awareness in the age of commercial-less streaming. That’s what I get for making no effort whatsoever to hide the distinctive red […]

Beer and football XII — week four

The game: Buccaneers at Patriots The beer: True North Coco-Nilla-Zilla Stout The result: Loss, 19–17 The method: Live via Peacock The headline: “There’s something here that doesn’t last too long.” – Nazz, “Hello It’s Me” The commentary: Adele, eh? I see her and raise (the) Nazz, admitting “Hello It’s Me” isn’t a great song despite […]

Don’t gimme no affliction: 25 years of “Moonlight on Vermont” and other bush recordings

“It’s very gratifying to say that Captain Beefheart’s [Trout Mask Replica] is a total success, a brilliant, stunning enlargement and clarification of his art. Which is not to say that it’s in any sense slick, ‘artistic’ or easy.” – Lester Bangs, Rolling Stone “If one is to enjoy Trout Mask Replica’s twenty-eight songs on a […]