Earlier this month, I had an interesting exchange with our local paper, The Tennessean, regarding an unusual policy they followed in reporting on a city council member who had resigned after lying about money that was used to post bond for his cousin, who was facing domestic violence charges. That council member, Loniel Greene, was…


Previews: MST3K, Kesha, And A New Summer Playlist
June is a great month as far as I’m concerned. The entire original cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000 is getting back together, and I’ll be there covering it, because it’s happening on my birthday and I pretty much demanded it. (Yours truly got somewhat verklempt talking to TV’s Frank at a convention a few…

#Orlando
Orlando is not my city, not quite. I lived close by and I spent a lot of time there. I know a lot of people who live there. And I’m sorry that we’ve failed on such a huge level to protect the people who were gunned down in the Pulse nightclub on Saturday. I’m done…

Here Is Your SXSW Preview With A Side Of Politics
She ricocheted onto the stage like a furious pinball, looking for all the world like a young Liza Minnelli, and she did not stop until the end of it all: when she had told us exactly how much she liked us and she had no more songs left to sing. We knew what to do—it…

#FreeKesha
In a nefarious and unexpected turn, a New York court refused to grant Kesha’s request for an injunction that would allow her to record without working with her alleged abuser, producer Dr. Luke. While courts do not typically like to invalidate contracts, they also—and I’m just guessing here—prefer to, y’know, provide some justice in the form…

Caucus Day Thus Far, Starring Surprise Guster Performance
Janelle and Alyssa, my hosts here, are taking me around the city to see the sights and to get a feel for what the voters are thinking on caucus day. Iowa City is more subdued than usual. Maybe it’s the dull grey sky, a portent of snow on the way tomorrow (“We’re gonna get twenty…

So Close To The Caucuses, Complete With Playlist
I don’t even know what a caucus is. I don’t think anyone knows. They’re all faking it. Caucuses don’t exist. Maybe Iowa doesn’t exist. I’m gonna stop before I get in an argument with Rand McNally on Twitter and end up writing a diss track about them. So I drove to this thing, which is about…

Daniel Ellsworth: The Bitter Empire Interview
Since their inception in 2010, Daniel Ellsworth & The Great Lakes have been forging the kinds of tunes you’d expect to hear from a band with their credentials. Their discography is full of well-written, well-produced gems that work just about anywhere: at CMJ, SXSW, and as background music on The Vampire Diaries and Sunday Night…

INSTANT REVIEW: The Smiths & Morrissey, Hot Demo Garbage Sessions
Somebody did a thing, and some old recordings are new now. You can hear some demos from a long time ago on Soundcloud, and whatever. Listen, I guess. I won’t stop you. I never thought of Morrissey as someone who would tolerate doing demos, with all the stories of him wanting to come in and…

2015: The Year in Review, or “I Got Sidetracked Reading About How Terrible Wells Fargo Is.”
Here we are at the end of something, or the beginning of something, or whatever. Time continues to be worth less and less each year, and I wonder why we haven’t caught on—we, the non-elite, the under-rich, the eternally pre-wealthy. It’s hard to pay attention to economic trends when you have to hustle to get…
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