Curling! Congratulations Kevin Martin

Eight years ago, during the winter Olympics, I fell in love with curling. The strategy was amazing, the excitement, yes, excitement of an end coming down to one final stone, and the total coolness of seeing one stone take out 4 others blew my mind. I joined the Plainfield Curling Club and played for two [...]

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Craig Ferguson–American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot (2009)

SOUNDTRACK: BLUE ÖYSTER CULT–Blue Öyster Cult (1972). Craig Ferguson mentions that the only concert he saw as a teen in America was Blue Öyster Cult.  My guess is that it would have been around the Agents of Fortune or Spectres tour (ie, around “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”) so that must have been a killer show. [...]

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Roberto Bolaño –”William Burns” (New Yorker, February 8, 2010)

SOUNDTRACK: lions.chase.tigers: To Their Blood EP (2009). I learned about lions.chase.tigers from the Dromedary compilation Make The Load Lighter.  When I looked them up online I found this site, where you can download their debut EP.  (Normally I’d encourage purchasing the CD to give the band some £, but it ships from the UK and [...]

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Roberto Bolaño–”The Insufferable Gaucho” (New Yorker, October 1, 2007)

SOUNDTRACK: NOTHING SMELLS QUITE LIKE ELIZABETH compilation (1992). This was Dromedary Records’ first big release: a statement of purpose if you will.  This is a compilation of unsigned Jersey indie bands.  I listened to this all the time as it was being compiled and mastered.  It’s been a while since I listened to the disc [...]

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Roberto Bolaño–”Álvaro Rousselot’s Journey” (New Yorker, November 26, 2007″)

SOUNDTRACK: FOOTSTONE-Lippy (1995). This is the debut CD put out by Footstone.  Dromedary has made it available for download on their site. This disc jibes nicely with the songs the band was releasing at this time: kinda heavy, but mostly melodic indie rock (emphasis on rock). Unlike some of the other dromedary releases, there’s not [...]

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Roberto Bolaño –”Gómez Palacio” (New Yorker, August 8, 2005)

SOUNDTRACK: THE MOMMYHEADS-Flying Suit (1994). The Mommyheads continue the Dromedary catalog’s streak of consistently poppy indie rock.  Throughout the disc, the The vocals are gentle and falsettoed, setting kind of a trend on the label thus far. What sets this disc apart from a lot of comparable acts of jangly, light-on-the-bass 90s rock is the [...]

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Roberto Bolaño–”Luz Mendiluce Thompson” (Harper’s, March 2008)

SOUNDTRACK: CUPPA JOE-Nurture (1995). Fuzzy guitars, distortion, rocking noise and…that delicate voice.  cuppa joe breaks out their harder side with this album. What’s nice about this full length is the way the band really pushes the boundaries of its indie pop sound.  They explore different styles but never go so far as to lose their [...]

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Roberto Bolaño–2666 [Week 5] The Part About Fate (1 of 2) (2004)

SOUNDTRACK: Make the Load Lighter: Indie Rock for Haiti (2010). I mentioned this disc a few days ago because it’s a benefit disc for the people of Haiti.  I had encouraged people to order it ($10 to a good cause, eh?) but hadn’t fully listened to it yet. Well, after playing the disc nonstop for [...]

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Roberto Bolaño–”Praise to the Highways” (Harper’s, December 2009)

SOUNDTRACK: FOOTSTONE-Wobbles from Side to Side EP (1994). Footstone is like Dromedary’s punk brother of cuppa joe.  Their guitars are loud and heavy, their songs are fast and very catchy.  And yet, their vocalist almost feels out of place in such a heavy outfit: he’s almost soft spoken.  And this makes their whole sound very [...]

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Roberto Bolaño–”Self-Portrait at Twenty Years” (Harper’s, November 2007) & “My Life in the Tubes of Survival” (Boston Review September/October 2007)

SOUNDTRACK: CUPPA JOE-Busy Work EP (1993). This EP was one of the first releases on the Dromedary label.  It contains 3 songs.  Whenever I think of cuppa joe, I think of them being a somewhat lightweight band; charming and fun, but lightweight. And I think most of this is due to the lead singer’s voice.  [...]

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