Author Archive
16 Mar 2026
30 Days Out, March 2026 #2: Michael Rabinowitz Quartet, Somewhat Petty, Lee Fields, Della Mae
A world-class jazz musician, a pair of celebrated Asheville-based acts and a top-flight bluegrass group: those are among the highlights of the coming 30 days in live music here in […]
13 Mar 2026
Take Five: Classics from Echo & the Bunnymen
Roaring out of Liverpool, the English port city that birthed the Beatles, Echo & the Bunnymen combined sharp songcraft with modern electronic elements and a melodramatic aesthetic that made their […]
12 Mar 2026
A conversation with Tikiyaki Orchestra’s Jim Bacchi
Jim Bacchi is the founder and leader of exotica ensemble the Tikiyaki Orchestra. As with my Randy Wong conversation, I interviewed Bacchi in connection with a feature I wrote for […]
11 Mar 2026
A Conversation with Waitiki 7’s Randy Wong (Part 2 of 2)
Continued from Part One… From my perspective as a listener, exotica is a quintessentially American form because it plunders from a lot of different things. And what could be more […]
10 Mar 2026
A Conversation with Waitiki 7’s Randy Wong (Part 1 of 2)
Randy Wong is the founder and leader of exotica ensemble the Waitiki 7. The group recently released two new albums: Caves of the Sea and Enchantment Under the Kiawe Tree. […]
09 Mar 2026
Exotica’s Enduring Appeal
A shorter version of this featured appeared previously in SPIN. One of the most intriguing and unexpected current-day musical phenomena is the enduring popularity of exotica, a style of music […]
06 Mar 2026
Box Set Review Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here 50: Deluxe Edition (Part 2 of 2)
Continued from Part One… LP4: Live at Wembley 1974 In June 1974 – more than a year before Wish You Were Here was released, and in fact more than six […]
05 Mar 2026
Box Set Review Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here 50: Deluxe Edition (Part 1 of 2)
In 1975, Pink Floyd was one of the biggest bands in the world, a status that its members – and most observers – could have scarcely imagined even three years […]
04 Mar 2026
Hundred-word Reviews for March 2026: Archival
This roundup of new(ish) archival releases features five albums, all available on good ol’ back-to-vinyl. Jeffrey Runnings – Piqued Though the label is bandied about with reckless abandon, Lo-fi is […]
03 Mar 2026
Hundred-word Reviews for March 2026: New Releases
This time around it’s an assortment of riches in a variety of styles, all with my enthusiastic recommendation. Salt Collective – A Brief History of Blindness One of the most […]