As one of the few individuals to own a copy of Ugly But Honest, You Should Be At Home Here and Songs About Leaving by Carissa’s Wierd (sic), let alone ALL THREE, including their super-duper rare tour album, Scrap Book, it’s only with a hint of sadness that I relay to you the news that Hardly Art will reissue all three of the band’s proper albums. But the probable decline in value of rarities is far below the excitement I have for all the world who has yet to …

The third installment of A Retrospective, this time the focus is on 2002. The year of rebuilding, so to speak. It was the year I discovered Cider Jack (and did so plentifully) at the local Pullman bar Rico’s, and we all would rehearse Bill Brasky skits (from the SNL spots, and made up on the spot) as twenty feet away the university jazz combo performed excellent renditions of Van Morrison’s “Moondance” and various Motown favorites. As we see every year, 2002 saw several real great releases. …

The second installment of A Retrospective, in which I recap my favorite albums released from 2000 to 2008, this time: 2001. Wrought with turmoil and watching a life fall apart as so many others were having similar experiences but in a different manner; that was 2001 for you. The year I turned 21 (hence the wine bottle photo above). A year that lives in infamy. Young or old, we all seemed to grow up that year. Music, too seemed to progress in ways unthought, even …

I’ve decided to create an installment in which I do a recap of my favorite albums of the past ten years now that we’re coming up on the turn-of-decade – yes, 2010 is upon us. They key: I do them one at a time. I figure contemplating the weight of albums that have been instituted in my library for the better part (or even just half) of a decade would warrant a skewed opinion when comparing them to those released just this month. And, as these things …