Category: Uncategorized

  • Aaaand we’re back. I took some much needed time off during the holidays, the unintended consequence of which was that I didn’t post on my blog for about two weeks. But I’m back to working a normal schedule now, so fired up the laptop and I’m getting back into writing, too. The holiday break was…

  • Yesterday marked the 23rd anniversary of Joe Strummer’s passing and I think we could use him now more than ever.

  • Happy Friday, everybody. Well, we lost another legend (as I mentioned the other day) — the great Joe Ely has gone to that roadhouse in the sky. Ely, as you may know, was a great friend and admirer of Joe Strummer and the Clash, having toured with them and sung background vocals on “Should I…

  • I promise, dear reader, that this is a nonjudgmental post. Nobody hates a buzzkill more than I do. This is just a post about … not getting buzzed. Earlier this week, the Pogues’ Spider Stacy turned 67 (a wee bit older than I am) and posted a celebratory photo on Instagram. In it, Stacy’s smoking…

  • Cover of the Clash’s London Calling LP featuring Pennie Smith’s legendary photo of Paul Simonon smashing his bass. After two major losses in the span of a week — Raul Malo of the Mavericks and Joe Ely, the Texas troubadour — I almost overlooked a happy occasion: the 70th birthday of Paul Simonon, bass player…

  • I’ve seen a lot of wonderful tributes to the Maverick’s Raul Malo since he passed on Monday evening, but I wanted to share one thing that might get overlooked. It’s a story about a t-shirt, but also about his goodheartedness and genuine decency. I’m so sad that we won’t ever be able to see him…

  • To follow up on Friday’s post about Mavericks’ singer/songwriter Raul Malo, who’s facing a particularly aggressive type of brain cancer, I spent a good part of the weekend watching the livestream of the two tribute concerts at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium that marked the band’s 35 years in the business and Malo’s incredible contributions to country,…

  • Happy Friday, everyone. In today’s video, I play a snippet of the Maverick’s “What a Crying Crying Shame,” the title song from their 1994 album — my first introduction to this fantastic band — and I share some sad news about the health of their lead singer, Raul Malo. Raul is one of the greatest…

  • I will, in fact, return to our regularly scheduled program of punk rock and loud guitars, but, in light of the rather heavy content I’ve posted lately — and anticipate posting anon — I thought we could all use a break. So, without further ado, I give you this important feral cat update. About five…

  • I promised not to be too serious on this blog, so instead I’ll share this one-panel Far Side comic from about 38 years ago. It’s about grizzlies from hell, but it’s about so much more. As it happens, this comic is particularly appropriate today. You see, in late July 1987, a day after it first…