Run-DMSteve

  • A few thoughts on why everyone hates jazz

    The demise of Gilligan’s Island in 1967 left us with many questions. Most of these questions are about Ginger and Mary Ann. The rest are about the radio. How was it that on this “uncharted desert isle,” somewhere in the middle of the Pacific or perhaps an ocean we have…

  • What we talk about when we talk about Talking Heads

    Stop Making Sense Talking Heads 1984 I’d like to have a few words with you today about the value of friends. And I don’t just mean how much money you can borrow from them. My friends have more than once straightened me out about music. Today I’d like to tell…

  • The not-so-sweet smell of success

    The birthday of our nation is a good time to complain about complainers. I am referring here to “dues songs,” in which musicians who have been made wealthy by their music describe how difficult it is to be successful. And apparently success is very difficult indeed. The ’70s were an…

  • The Power-Thru

    Sweet Oblivion Screaming Trees 1991 Unemployment has so many advantages that I hardly have time to list them all in. For example, I never got dressed today. I’ve been wearing my pajamas since last Monday. Or maybe the Monday before. For another example, I get to listen to as much…

  • I want my…I want my MTV…

    MTV went on the air in 1981 and immediately rewrote the musical map. It’s easy to see how round-the-clock music videos made stars of talented people with outlandish personalities, like Michael Jackson and Madonna. I thought it would be more interesting to see what MTV did for a band with…