It may not have been the first time I heard it but the first time I took notice of this song was over the opening credits of Jackie Brown in 1997. (more…)

Leonard Cohen’s song So Long Marianne reminds me of my first job, and the time I left home and moved to London when I was 17. (more…)

I discovered Can at the same time as I discovered Faust and Gong. My reason was not a sudden interest in the avant-garde at the age of 16. It was far more simple than that. (more…)

Late-night burgers in LA with The Temptations on the jukebox. (more…)

One is a young Norwegian singer-songwriter who makes minimalist electronic folk music. The other is a legendary Jamaican reggae producer in his mid-eighties. (more…)

As the Sixties drew to a close music began to evolve. Out went cheery pop songs with clapalong beats and in came psychedelic weirdness. Perhaps it was something in the water – probably LSD.
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The most frightening musical term for me is “free jazz.” So it’s odd that I should enjoy this nine-minute noodle by the Art Ensemble of Chicago. (more…)

This old earworm has taken up residence in my head and it won’t go away. Which is annoying as I didn’t much like it way back in 1970. (more…)

A mash-up before mash-ups were invented, this finds the great/bonkers Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, taking two classic reggae tunes, pulling them apart and putting them back together. (more…)

Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys brought Western Swing to the fore in the 1940s and helped define the ‘other’ half of Country & Western music. (more…)