Fade in on 1988, or thereabouts. I’ve checked out The Whole Story, Kate Bush’s singles compilation from 1986, from the library on LP. I spin it for the first time and get the strangest sense of familiarity. From the very first notes of the first…
David Byrne is the most famous person I’ve ever met outside of an autograph line. My girlfriend was Music Director at our college radio station, so we were meeting quite a few people who were famous (to us): Jill Sobule, who wrote and recorded the…
My favorite Bowie album varies depending on when you ask me. For a while it was Ziggy Stardust, then Hunky Dory took its place. Then I got hooked on Low, like everyone does, though my secret confession is that I admire the instrumentals more than…
I’ve never seen Bright Lights, Big City. I’ve only heard the soundtrack. When it came out, my best friend and I were obsessed with it. I think he was the one who discovered it, which means he’s the one who introduced us to Depeche Mode,…
I came to life early by about two weeks, as I understand it, but still very late in 1974. I was just in time for Halloween, which you’d think would be my favorite holiday, but it isn’t. To this day I still don’t like hearing…
This year I decided to write myself a birthday present: one short essay for each year I’ve been alive, about a record that was released in that year. The rules for choosing each record were simple: No repeat artists. I could choose a band one…