Michael Azerrad

Unfortunately, I am not at liberty to discuss it at this time.

Exo-Tech is a semi-rotating all-star NYC band. One plants a kernel of music, the rest explode it into a spontaneous composition — nocturnal tropicalia, misty watercolor ballads, full-on Miles ‘70 etc. Last night's spellbinding show channeled the zeitgeist with fury, contemplation and joy.

Ha, no, but good to know about Kroger’s!

Just heard "Elected" in the supermarket (!) and was reminded that, for teens of my generation, it was but a short leap from Alice Cooper to the Sex Pistols.

Au revoir, Eliane Radigue. If you ever want to have a peak (musical) experience, start playing her three-hour _Trilogie de la Mort_ maybe an hour before dusk and just look out the window, preferably with a view of the sky.

Kurt Cobain, Lead Belly and "Grey Goose" The greatest song that Cobain never sang

It's Kurt Cobain's birthday today — he would have been 59. Here's something I wrote about his deep connection with Lead Belly, and why I think of Kurt as a high-flying goose.

A very happy 55th birthday to one of the more perfect albums, Carole King's _Tapestry_. Such great songs, such impeccable musicianship. And what a fitting title for a collection of music that's woven itself so deeply into the fabric of popular music.

You don’t want to know.

Thanks, that explains how they're so unbelievably tight on such complex music and clearly on the same page with their entire aesthetic. I hope I get to see them live someday.

Angine de Poitrine - Full Performance (Live on KEXP) YouTube video by KEXP

Oh. My. God.

Angine de Poitrine rules.

Congratulations to Nardwuar, one of the greatest popular music journalists ever, on receiving one of Canada's highest honors, an appointment to the Order of Canada.

Not sure how long I would’ve gone not knowing about Minutemen if not for OBCBYL. And for sure it’s the only reason I ventured outside of “Pepper” with Butthole Surfers. Just an unbelievably well-written, fun book!

Wow, thank you!

Five Best: Books on the Creative Spark Selected by George Newman, the author of “How Great Ideas Happen.”

Horn toot! For _The Wall Street Journal_, author George Newman chose my book _Our Band Could Be Your Life_ as one of "Five Best: Books on the Creative Spark."

In there with Margaret Atwood, Stephen King, Patti Smith, and Alice Flaherty.

Three of the five nominees for this year's Grammy for Best African Music Performance came from Nigeria. ALL of the 2025 nominees came from Nigeria. Four of the five nominees in the first year of the award were from Nigeria. Virtually the same artists have reappeared every year.

What's up with that?

It's unfortunate that the Grammys didn't see fit to do a full-on tribute to Grateful Dead singer-songwriter-guitarist Bob Weir. Love 'em or hate 'em, the Dead were one of the most iconic American bands, the locus of an entire culture, and Weir was a key member. Respect should have been paid.

It was funny to look at what some people wore to the Grammys last night and think about how, 25 years ago, Bjork was mocked for the beautiful, now iconic swan dress she wore to the 2001 Oscars. Lest we forget, it can be hard to be a visionary.

Happy birthday, Philip Glass
Hap-py birth-day, Phil-ip Glass
HappybirthdayPhilipGlass

The Planets - Isao Tomita YouTube video by Charclem Charcleme

Gustav Holst's 1918 orchestral suite "The Planets" is notable for many reasons, not the least of which is that it inspired this all-synth version, a certified '70s stoner classic. Best heard on big, bulky headphones in total darkness.

"Pants Prince"! 😂

Kurt Cobain, Lead Belly and "Grey Goose" The greatest song that Cobain never sang

I wrote a Substack about Kurt Cobain and Lead Belly — and a song that Kurt never sang.

tinyurl.com/CobainLeadBe...

Sad news: Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst has died. Wow, he was great: played with immense flair and power, a sonic embodiment of the band's righteousness. Also co-wrote many MO songs, was archivist, art director, political researcher, spokesperson and internal cheerleader. Like I say, he was great.

They would do well to have you involved.

Al Green - I Found A Reason (Official Lyric Video) YouTube video by Al Green

Al Green has done some great covers of great songs, uncovered new depths in them, both made them his own and everyone else's. When he does a cover, it's a kind of benediction. Here's his beautiful new take on Lou Reed's "I Found a Reason," from the Velvets' _Loaded_.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKSf...

A good executive knows how to delegate. 😉

Thanks for letting me know.

Giants steps solo by a Robot! YouTube video by Nicolas Farrugia

I've always been fascinated by what makes music swing. It's kind of an elusive thing, but sometimes one can better understand something by observing its absence. This robot playing John Coltrane's solo on "Giant Steps" is a case in point.

"Early British jazz appreciation shared with so many forms of left-wing culture an eschewal of the popular, a comradeship of the elect, which was the secret at once of its richness and its marginality."
— Kevin Morgan, "King Street blues: jazz and the left in the 1930s-1940s," 1998

Silver Bells: Communing with Phil Kline's "Unsilent Night" "Unsilent Night" is perhaps noted new music composer Phil Kline's greatest hit.

I did a Substack about composer Phil Kline's magical classic "Unsilent Night," flash mobs, self-checkout registers and benevolent conspiracies.

I think you'll find this an enjoyable follow, if you don't already.