Monthly Archives: April 2013

Shout It Out

I have been obsessing about rock music since about the age of nine, and it has informed every aspect of my worldview. After paying close attention since the mid-1970’s, I am still thrilled by music on a daily basis. I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s moving. Intoxicating. I am talking goosebump-inducing. It’s what keeps me young, inspired, and living in the moment.

Due to opportunity and today’s digital access, I am digging up worthy musical discoveries both new and old with more frequency than ever. I plan to curate some of my favorite finds… uh…er… greater listens  for this space, but my larger vision of this site includes some tracing of the evolution of my rock and roll geekitude.  Placing musical discoveries and experiences into a personal context is what I hope separates these posts from the overwhelming barrage that the online soundscape offers.  There’s no shortage of encouragement out there to “watch THIS” or “stream THAT,” and some of us slog through alot of it on a daily basis. 

Let me be your filter. I am definitely one of those “YOU GOTTA HEAR THIS“ guys, though. When I make that discovery, I want to shout it out and take others along for the ride.  Take for example this grin-inducing blast:

Shout It Out  by Mikal Cronin

Mikal Cronin‘s album MCII will be available on Merge Records on May 7th. If Shout It Out is any indication, this release should propel us happily right into summer.

Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before

ImageThe world doesn’t need another website/blog with a music slant, but I need to create one. You see I have been foisting my rock and roll discoveries, opinions and stories on friends (or anyone else who might listen) for decades, so why stop now? This compulsion started as a third grader playing records for neighborhood chums and later evolved into the cliche of compiling cassette mixes for friends while in my teens and twenties. In the post-college slacker years of the 1990’s, I was known to frequent Kinko’s and slap together a fanzine (for lack of a better term) that was chock-full o’ musings on rock music and pop culture. I was pretty naive about the world of zines initially, and mailed mine to everyone I knew (and not many who cared). More recently I have been that guy who occasionally surfaces on social media to send up a flare about the band that is rocking his night. You know. The Greatest Band on Earth at that given moment.

But that’s not enough.

Welcome to The Greater Listening Area.