the411

Other Music Documentary Other Music, famously located on 4th Street with a view of Tower Records before it folded,was a destination stop for me. The small shop was neatly packed & stacked with the latest & the greatest vinyl records & CDs. This thoughtful, well crafted documentary truly depicts what it was like to be a guest at Other Music. Puloma Basu & Richard Hatch - Miller  clearly took their time to interview the owners, past staff members & the artists who got their start at OM.   Walking into OM always gave me a happy tingle. Watching this documentary evokes a similar feeling. It made me smile as if I was there pawing through the Big Star Category, the Latin flavored music & of course the latest releases. The scene with a composer clutching his hand written review card was priceless. Hearing one of the Berringer brother's bliss out about having a card at OM was a delight. He gushed "That meant the National was a 'real' ban...

Whenever I think about a cello player I think of someone pristine and stately like Yo Yo ma or Jacqueline Du Pre. Wild haired & squinty eyed,  Arthur Russell pleasantly surprised me. He lived fast & died young in NYC during the AIDS pandemic of the '80s. Hanging with Beat Poets and photographers he was in the IT group. In fact Allen Ginsberg once read poetry while Arthur accompanied him on his cello. Arthur was a sweet ,troubled and tempestuous musical  genius. You can gather that he live the full life for only for only being around 40 years when he succumbed to AIDS which is very strange because this AIDS virus feels like the coronavirus we don't know what's going on so it might be timely to bring that back up the platform of the ocean just stuck struck me as many layered panoply of a song much like the other music record shop there was a little bit of everything in this song there was some electronica there is weird vocals there was a little bit of there...

UK artist and multi-instrumentalist, George Barnett, 25 is slated to blow up.  “Stone Cold Classic” serves as his break out track. George is ready to thrive after writing songs such as the melodic “2020” and the electronic beat heavy song "Give Your Heart a Gun" which landed him a minimal but loyal You Tube following. He did attain some early notice in 2015 and even headlined the Silverhayes stage at esteemed Glastonbury. Due to the fact that he played all the instruments on his cover of Pharrel’s “Get Lucky’” and promptly the mega star rapper (in his own mind) attempted to seduce him into a production deal. This young gun went to a few cheesy A%R meetings in slick offices only to decide this is not happening. So in true rebel form he took all of his content off the internet inciting a tiny mutiny among his online fans. Bring back George they were furiously messaging from their Smart Phones.  In 2017, he made a roaring com...

“ The mouth of a cannon is safer than the mouth of a woman scorned” Anon Women famously use their heartbreak for artistic fodder and gain Etta crooned that she would rather go blind than see her man with another. PJ questioned "Who the Fuck?" while dancing drunk in her underwear. This petite bad ass was proclaiming “Get out of here, man”. Liz Phair trashes every dude from her past in Guyville. A winning favorite of mine is “6’1” It's cold out there And rough And I kept standing six-feet-one Instead of five-feet-two And I loved my life And I hated you Aimee Mann’s wrath are usually found in her song titles such as “I’m With Stupid”, “Save Me”, & “That’s Just What You Are”. She is famous for skewering her exs - real & imagined. I randomly met the guy, sporting a Dad bod, who was the subject of “Amateur”. He was just a unassuming guitar player who did session work. He told me all these years later he still felt hurt. Words wound. The sh...

The Scientists The post punk psychedelic music of the late 60s spurred the Scientists, out of Perth, to create disjointed loud sounds.  Their sound is anything but smooth. Their 3 minutes and under songs feels like a dash of the Ramones and drip of The Church. This band has no trouble advertising tat they have no idea what the fuck they are dong. They are erratic, erroneous and elegiac  I sincerely love a band with no real agenda.  There is an organic rebellion to structure and form in their musical endeavors. Kim Salmon, the edgy front man of he Scientists, has been stood up and he's not going to take it. This under the radar gem is A jaunty song about getting jilted on date night is both comical and fucking true.  Ever stand around in your Friday night best waiting and checking the door of the place you were to meet only to slink out in dashed hopes and embarrassing defeat. You know people were wondering why you are sitting on the bar stool alone. Ouch. THe Sci...

“Anxious pre-and-post-student pop,” is how the Sydney band, Flowertruck, describes their signature sound. The band made up of Charles, Sarah and Will have been creating their unique blend of music since 2014. But I heard a late 80's peppy post punk vibe. Upon first listen I heard touches of the Church plus a drop of Ian Brown. This band hits on the shimmery sounds of the late 80s, early 90s while being housed in the climate changed 21st century. I chose "Enough for Now" because of the video and the message. I get it. Yes we are good enough for now. This band exudes late July sunshine and warmth. Jangly guitar riffs combined with boss baritone vocals make this a most charming track. It is perfect for a dank, windy Jersey afternoon in January.  The images in the video range from an outdated flip phone, a Frisbee, have a slug of milk jar, an imperfect high dive, a broken flip flop, kittens and the band wearing socks and sandals, high waisted Mom jeans, and pink polo...