Run-DMSteve

  • I made a fool of myself over ethnomusicology

    Merriam-Webster defines ethnomusicology as “the study of music in a sociocultural context.” To pry into the social and cultural context of a musician’s life, students of ethnomusicology require a laboratory of specialized electronic equipment. This is why most ethnomusicologists are employees of the Department of Homeland Security. Notable ethnomusicologists to…

  • The Freewheelin’ Run-DMSteve

    Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Various artists 2012 What was the first rock ’n’ roll song? Scholars debate “Rocket 88” (1951) vs. “Rock Around the Clock” (1955). As if! The first rock ’n’ roll song was obviously “Please Please Me” (1963), because that was the first rock…

  • Ask Run-DMSteve returns

    Questions are flooding in! If this deluge continues, I might have to outsource the answers to India. If you have a question and you’re not too picky about an answer, leave it in the comments. From there on, it’s clobberin’ time.  Dear Run-DMSteve, Here is a question that I have…

  • Ask Run-DMSteve

    In this very exciting new feature, regular workin’ stiffs just like you (and Mitt Romney) ask for my opinion and regret it later! Dear Run-DMSteve, There are small moments in songs – a guitar riff, a single lyric, a repeated refrain – that resonate so strongly that I have an…

  • Rock ’n’ roll is the union between one man, one woman, and one hit record

    For years, my dogs Emma and Sailor collaborated on free-form and synchronized barking. Though Emma was older and smaller than Sailor, she never took a backseat to him. In fact she kept him on probation for seven years. As a producer of sound, Emma was a formidable unit who could…