Medicine at Midnight is Foo Fightersβ tenth studio album. The album was originally scheduled for 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic delayed to February 5, 2021. Three singles have been released ahead of the album's release: Shame Shame in November 2020, No Son of Mine on New Year's Day 2021, and Waiting on a... Continue Reading →
Radio Nowhere (Bruce Springsteen Sings the Alphabet)
One of my absolute favourite podcasts is Bruce Springsteen Sings the Alphabet. It's a podcast where the hosts, Rob Carmack and JB Clark, explore every Bruce Springsteen song (officially released) alphabetically, from "30" to "Z", one song per episode (368 episodes). Well, thatβs what they did the first season at least. The second season they... Continue Reading →
57 Channels (and nothinβ on): #StandWithTeachers
Tonight I finally had the chance to see #standwithteachers, a virtual fundraiser for the benefit of the educational TeachRock program, that Steven Van Zandt hosted on December 21. The TeachRock program is a standards-aligned, arts integration curriculum that uses the history of popular music and culture to help teachers engage students. The rich multimedia materials... Continue Reading →
Media Overload 2020
In this end-of-the-year review Iβm going to reflect on the passed year, a year that has been characterised by a nasty virus that has made us reevaluate and rearrange our lives. I'm going to talk about the media Iβve consumed, the trips I've made and other personal stuff. I'm starting with my own blog Stray... Continue Reading →
Turn it up, turn it up (The War on Drugs βLive Drugsβ)
Although a patchwork of moments, chosen from a number of live shows, The War on Drugsβ first live album Live Drugs (released on November 20, 2020) flows well. The songs are arranged to replicate the flow of a live set and it sure sounds like they were all from one show. My favourite song is... Continue Reading →
Letter to You
This entry is the first in quite a while. I havenβt felt motivated to write and when I started writing this piece I was quite overwhelmed and daunted by all other, perfectly written reviews out there. However, I figured I canβt run a Bruce Springsteen blog without a comment on the new album, so here... Continue Reading →
Greetings from Bury Park
Almost one year after being blown away by the film Blinded by the Light, Iβve read Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock βnβ Roll (2007), which is the memoir that inspired the film. The title is, of course, a play on words based on the part of Luton, north of London where Manzoor... Continue Reading →
The Live Series: Stripped Down
On 17 July, 2020 a new Bruce Springsteen archival live compilation was released via streaming services. It is the eight βchapterβ of the Live Series, a joint product of the Legacy imprint of Springsteenβs Sony label and Nugs.net. This new playlist gathers 15 βstripped downβ live renditions of songs that Springsteen has played with The... Continue Reading →
Turn it up, turn it up (Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit βReunionsβ)
Americana singer-songwriter Jason Isbell and his band the 400 Unit have been favourites of mine ever since I saw them in Gothenburg on June 17, 2018. Isbell has a unique voice and heβs an excellent guitarist. On May 15, 2020 they released a new album, Reunions, their first with new material since The Nashville Sound... Continue Reading →
The Live Series: Songs of Summer
Out now on streaming services and digital download is the seventh βchapterβ of the Live Series, a joint product of the Legacy imprint of Springsteenβs Sony label and Nugs.net, which produces and distributes his monthly archival sets. This new playlist named Songs of Summer features a 15-track complication of βfeel-good favouritesβ. https://twitter.com/springsteen/status/1261340566266081281?s=21 The collection is... Continue Reading →