Tuesday, January 24 2012
Navigating the SOPA Soap Opera
The most frustrating thing about the controversial new copyright legislation making its way through Congress? It lacks creativity.
Wednesday, December 7 2011
Walkin’ to the Beat, the Rhythm in My Feet
Walking around a new city is a good way to get to know its nuances -- the sights, the smells, and especially, the sounds. Boston taught me its rhythm, and I kept in step.
Monday, October 3 2011
What’s the Word? With Obscure Language Like Music Speak, It’s Hard not to Feel Like a n00b
Music writers and IT guys have a lot in common – at least when it comes to their cultivated, insular jargon.
Thursday, July 14 2011
I Was Dreamin’ When I Wrote This: A Trip to Tribute Land
For some fans, legendary artists of the past offer a fun diversion from the present. But what happens when that turns into an obsession?
Wednesday, May 25 2011
What’s the Value of Ownership in the Age of Cloud Computing?
My fiancée and I will soon move across the country with whatever will fit in our Honda Civic. This has brought up some discussions about which possessions are truly worth keeping.
Tuesday, April 5 2011
Kickstart the Presses
In the past month, two friends of mine have undertaken major print projects. How are they covering the costs of what some might call a foolish endeavor? By going online for funding, of course.
Tuesday, January 25 2011
The Bird’s the Word: What Does Celebrity Reporting on Twitter Say About Those of Us Who Follow Them?
Apparently, American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert was the most influential tweeter on Haiti, and Conan O’Brien and Ricky Martin reigned atop the list of those commenting on the Chilean miner saga. Sorry CNN, NPR, et. al.
Tuesday, December 7 2010
Jukebox Justice
As long as internet jukeboxes abound, we open ourselves up to all kinds of sonic disasters.
Wednesday, September 29 2010
When Cee Lo Threw the F-Bomb, Whom Did He Hit?
The F-word has been used in pretty much any way possible. I would’ve thought that by now we’d all be inured to the 'F-Bomb'. Then along came Cee Lo...
Sunday, August 1 2010
Sing, Memory
It’s comforting to think that no matter how addled my mind gets, I’ll always be able to temporarily return to a clearer past with the help of a song or two, playing in my brain.
Friday, June 4 2010
Cloud Computing: Seeding for the Coming Storm
We’re being led to believe that nearly everything would be better with the cloud in control of all our data. What could go wrong with a world in which we don’t own anything, anymore?
Thursday, March 11 2010
‘Girls’ Gone Wild
While following a storyline about the trials of a mother and daughter may not be demographically the most masculine thing in the world, neither is my unabashed enjoyment of ABC Family original movies.
Wednesday, February 3 2010
Plenty of Bang for the Buck
An economic survey of a decade of concert-going yields an average of positive returns for my dollar. Yeah, Bob Dylan was worth every penny and more.
Wednesday, December 9 2009
In the J-Zone Zone
Like college, or Play-Doh, a social media tool is what we make of it, and J-Zone's got the skills to make things interesting.
Wednesday, November 11 2009
So You Think You Can Make Me Like Dance?
Rubenstein views dance much like his girlfriend watches a baseball game; the subtleties are lost on him.
Wednesday, September 30 2009
Wedding Players
When it comes to controlling the behavior of revelers at a wedding fest -- or rather, rolling with the behavior of revelers at a wedding fest -- a live band can adapt far better than the average DJ.
Wednesday, September 2 2009
Just Eat It
I'll take the wasabi potato croquettes that came with the lamb racks in the "Sheep in Wolf's Clothing" dish (inspired by TV on the Radio's "Wolf Like Me") over Hard Rock's seasoned fries any day.
Tuesday, August 18 2009
Vinyl Spin Cycle
Each time I sheepishly purchase another CD, I’m digging myself further into the technological hole, and falling farther behind the cool vinyl-playing crowd.
Tuesday, July 14 2009
Don’t Quit Your Day Job—If You Have One
Koko Taylor imitator Ladykat drives the city bus that I occasionally ride – at least that, I hope, gives her health insurance.
Wednesday, June 10 2009
The Best of the Basket Cases: Round 2
Ben bursts open the bubble mailers and announces this round of … winners (honoring the best and brightest of the many unsolicited CDs sent to him).
Wednesday, April 29 2009
Get Your Bootleg On: A Mashup Mystery Solved
It began as a simple message board for bedroom DJs. Partnerships were formed, skills were developed, and in some cases, careers were launched.
Tuesday, April 7 2009
Waltzing with Wilco
As any experienced concert-goer knows, a lively audience can mean the difference between a lackluster event and a memorable night. Sometimes, it’s more important than the band's actual performance.
Wednesday, March 11 2009
Kids Listen to the Darndest Things
Like these kids, my enjoyment level has never been as high as it was for the crap I loved when I was 13.
Tuesday, February 3 2009
Concert Overload
Free-for-all shows are like a "cool" parent trying to be your friend, instead of your authority figure. While it seems like a good situation at first -- no curfew, no rules -- you realize, eventually, that what it really needs is some structure.
Wednesday, December 17 2008
Sold on the Street
The guys selling their hip-hop CD-Rs on the street know exactly where to find their prey: outside the independent record store, in and around shows of like-minded artists. What makes them so hard to resist?
Tuesday, November 25 2008
I’d Like to Thank…
I'm thankful for my wonderful girlfriend, the Boston Celtics taking home the NBA championship, and Wu-Tang, Nas, People Under the Stairs...
Tuesday, October 21 2008
Parents Just Don’t Understand
For every tween who raids his parents' record collection, there are 30 more who can't get in the family car without headphones plugged in to their own tunes.
Tuesday, September 2 2008
Event Etiquette
Enthusiasm at sporting events and concerts is great. But when your spirited dancing turns into a one-man mosh pit, it's a damned annoying distraction.
Monday, July 28 2008
Gone Festin’
Yes, communing with thousands of music fans at summer festivals is fun...for a while. But then it becomes a group of people whom you really didn't plan on spending your weekend with, unless you typically hang out with stoned 16-year olds.
Tuesday, July 1 2008
Getting Schooled
More than the usual ABCs, this school clearly believes in arts education, regularly spotlighting student performers at its assemblies -- and these kids are acquiring real musical skills.
Tuesday, May 27 2008
I’m With the Band
When I started writing about music, I didn't realize that it would mean I'd become "the enemy". So though writing brought me closer to music and the people who make it, it also took me further away.
Monday, May 5 2008
When They’re 65…
What will some of today's most well-known hip-hop artists be doing in 2035? Maybe they won't be running the music world, but they'll probably be doing something beyond applying Fixodent to their grills.
Tuesday, March 25 2008
TV Commercials: the New, Nonstop Playlist
TV commercials have become a legitimate source for discovering new music -- from Wilco on the Volkswagen ads, to Cat Power hawking DeBeers diamonds, to any number of artists pimping Apple.
Tuesday, February 26 2008
The Best of the Basket Cases: Round 1
Deep down, in spite of all the bad music I have to plow through, I'm still that 17-year-old kid that can't believe he's getting sent free CDs. I know, I know; it's a rough gig.
Monday, January 28 2008
Love from the ‘90s, Mix-Tape Style
Rob Sheffield's Love is a Mix Tape interprets a recent decade in the ever-shifting sound of the universal language.
Tuesday, January 8 2008
DJing the Weather Report
What is the sound of flowers blooming? How does one match an oncoming storm with sonic accuracy?
Tuesday, December 4 2007
Mic’d Up
Karaoke: Those who can't, do anyway; those who wish they could, only watch in mute rapture.
Tuesday, November 6 2007
Don’t Know Much About History
As Lupe Fiasco learned in a recent faux pas, what you don't know won't scare you – until somebody calls you out.
Wednesday, October 24 2007
Scene, Should Be Heard
The Second City has some first-rate music scenes. So listen up, New York.
Thursday, August 30 2007
Nine to Five
Eager to re-enter the 9-5 work world, before you could even say 401(k), I was halfway to J.Crew and Banana Republic to stock up on office-friendly wear. But adapting to my colleagues' taste in music? Ah, now that's much more difficult.
Tuesday, July 31 2007
Out in the Cold
HotHouse, a non-profit arts center in Chicago, embodied how beneficial a commitment to the arts could be, and surely this would override any business issues, I thought. I thought wrong.
Thursday, July 12 2007
Family Matters
A well-rounded musical background is crucial -- otherwise, you could end up like a friend of mine, who had never heard Jimmy Soul's "If You Wanna Be Happy for the Rest of Your Life", and so felt lost during some hand-clapping good times at the bar last weekend.
Friday, June 1 2007
Mixed Messages
I want the music I love to speak for me, but I can't control what it's going to say.
Wednesday, May 2 2007
Celebrity Deathmatch
Every decision already consists of two wrong choices -- it's only a matter of which is the path of least regret.
Tuesday, March 27 2007
Behind the Music
It's impossible to listen to music in a vacuum, to take the sound of a band on its own merits. There are so many outside factors at play – reviews, friends opinions, larger cultural influences . . .
Monday, February 12 2007
Moping Around
Whether it comes through teenage rebellion, alienation, or heavy drug use, chronic music appreciation is not typically a choice made due to a desire for group participation; it's more often about wanting or needing to separate oneself.
Wednesday, January 17 2007
Tapping the ‘Wire’
The Wire's season-ending musical montage was a culmination, in many ways, of a season filled with musical meaning.
Wednesday, November 29 2006
Jock Jams
I'm getting giddy imagining Chuck Klosterman and Cam'ron having a two-minute bull session on the Who's return to relevance, or, better yet, figuring out a logical way to deal with Lil' Kim.
Wednesday, September 27 2006
It Shall Be Released
Rubenstein looks back at the release of a number of highly anticipated albums to contrast his opinions then and now. How much does personal expectation factor into our ultimate enjoyment of music?
